Equal Footing
The push for parity of distance for men and women in cross-country
IF YOU TOED THE LINE AT a cross-country event last year, you may have noticed some runners wearing green-and-purple ribbons. They’re two of the colours of the Suffragette movement (the other is white) and are being worn to highlight the inequality that many feel still exists in our sport.
‘On the roads and on the track, men and women compete over the same distances,’ says Maud Hodson, a member of East London Runners and a Run Equal campaigner. ‘But at the majority of cross-country events in the UK, men run significantly longer distances than women.’
At this year’s English National Crosscountry Championships, for example, senior men will run 12km while senior women will run 8km. ‘We wouldn’t stand for that on the roads,’ says Hodson. ‘Why should cross-country running be any different?’
It might be argued that, compared with the right to vote, the right to run equal distances in the mud is a niche issue. For Kelly Clark, a member of Victoria Park Harriers, that’s missing the point. ‘This is about equality and the message we’re sending out to the next generation of runners,’ she says. ‘It’s reinforcing the idea that men love to challenge themselves and that women are somehow less able.’
The Run Equal campaign has gained support from many male runners, too. Alan Venning, of London City AC, is one of them. ‘Run Equal is about gender equality and respect, and these are things I believe in', he says. ‘Wearing the ribbon is encouraging debate and raising awareness among runners.’
In fairness, there have been a number of surveys on the subject of equalising the distances at club and league AGMS – and the results have shown sizeable support for both sides. Hodson, however, takes umbrage with how these survey questions have been phrased. ‘If you ask people, “Would you like to run further across mud and hills?”, of course they’re going to say no. Ask them, “Do you believe that race distances should be equal?” and you’ll get a different response.’
While the pace of change has been slow, the Run Equal campaign has contributed to some major changes. The most notable is the decision to allow men and women to run the same distance, 10K, at the UK Inter-counties Championships. Elsewhere, the World Cross-country Championships are also run over an equal distance (10K), as are the Scottish National Championships (also 10K). For now, however, men and women run over different distances in most events in England.
Why? Some cited tradition: it’s always been this way, and this way it must remain. ‘You don’t lose tradition by making things equal,’ says Hodson. ‘You could still have iconic venues like Parliament Hill in London [where major cross-country events are held]. It used to be tradition for women to run up to only 1500m in the Olympics. We now compete over 5000m, 10,000m and the marathon. Have the Olympics been watered down as a result?’
Until the English National equalises the distances, Hodson and others like her will be headed to Falkirk to take part in the Scottish Nationals instead. If you want to show your support while staying south of the border, there’s a simple way: wear the ribbon.