Parkrun has been threatened with legal action over its policy of allowing participants to register by gender identity rather than biological sex. It is one of 10 sports organisations sent formal letters on 23 April 2026 by the Women’s Sports Union, fronted by Baroness Sharron Davies, and ADF International, a conservative legal advocacy group, first reported by The Independent.
Other recipients include the Football Association of Wales, the Irish Football Association, Swim England and British Gymnastics.
The letter, posted publicly on ADF’s website, argues that parkrun’s policy is “not aligned” with a UK Supreme Court ruling issued last year and that the charity is exposed to “immediate and substantial legal liability”.
The ruling at the centre of the dispute
In April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled on terms within the Equality Act 2010. It found that Section 195, which allows the lawful exclusion of athletes from gender-affected sports on the basis of sex, was “plainly predicated on biological sex”.
Several governing bodies, including the English and Scottish Football Associations, updated their regulations after the judgment. World Athletics has gone further, with a ban on transgender women in elite female competition and mandatory genetic testing for female athletes. The Supreme Court itself noted that its ruling should not be used to discriminate against or vilify trans people.
Davies, a silver medallist for Great Britain at the 1980 Olympics, said in a statement: “It is a true scandal that men are still allowed to compete against women in sport, a year after the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling.”
She added: “Some organisations have merely acted to protect sport at the elite level, while allowing men to compete against women at the amateur level. This is unacceptable.”
Davies warned: “Today, we put 10 sports bodies that fail to recognise biological reality on notice. If they don’t act to do the right thing, we will not hesitate to pursue all legal options.”
The campaign sits within a wider debate over eligibility rules, which has also touched non-binary categories in major marathons and sex-verification charges levied on British female athletes.
Parkrun’s position
Parkrun’s events are free, volunteer-led and described by the charity as non-competitive. Participants walk, jog or run a 5k course at their own pace, with times recorded but no winners declared.
The organisation’s published gender categorisation rules allow participants to take part according to their gender rather than their sex.
“We feel this is aligned with us as a health and wellbeing charity that provides non-competitive, socially-focused physical activity, and allows people to identify in the way they feel most appropriate and comfortable,” the policy reads.
Parkrun has been contacted for comment. The charity has been at the centre of other policy disputes with its community in recent years, including the resignation of CEO Russ Jefferys following the removal of performance statistics.
According to data published by parkrun in March 2026, the events save NHS England an estimated £36.5 million a year, including £13.8 million in reduced depression treatment costs and £13.5 million in avoided Type 2 diabetes care, as reported by Left Foot Forward.
The response
More than 2,100 parkrunners and supporters have written to MPs asking the UK government to defend trans-inclusive community organisations, according to PinkNews. The Trans+ Solidarity Alliance is running a counter-campaign at protectparkrun.uk.
“Anti-rights movements won’t stop with trans people, and we must hold back the tide,” the group said.
ADF International was also involved in the 2022 US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade.
None of the 10 organisations has yet been taken to court. The dispute is now in the hands of each governing body, and of parkrun, which has so far defended the policy.
