The Merseyside parkrun community has been "torn apart" following the appointment of a former S*n editor to the charity's board of trustees.
Parkrun, which nationally operates community 5k runs including in several locations in Merseyside, has come under fire for its decision to appoint David Dinsmore as a trustee. Hundreds of volunteers have called on the charity to remove Mr Dinsmore, who edited The S*n between 2013 and 2015.
A petition organised by a Birkenhead man has gained significant support from volunteers and runners alike. The petition stated the appointment demonstrated "poor judgement to the extreme" and Mr Dinsmore demonstrated "values and behaviour contrary to the parkrun community".
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However, an email seen by the ECHO from parkrun's CEO Russ Jefferys to a concerned local woman said he "understands the strength of feeling towards The S*n in Liverpool", but parkrun is "happy that David's personal values do match those of the organisation".
Local runner Sue Roberts told the ECHO she first heard about Mr Dinsmore's appointment from BTR Liverpool, who organise the yearly Run for the 97. Ms Roberts, who runs in Birkenhead Park, was secretary of the Hillsborough Families Support Group after her brother Graham died in the disaster.
Ms Roberts said: "When I first heard about his appointment I wanted to boycott parkrun. But I spoke with Margaret Aspinall who said why should we step away from something we enjoy? I truly think it is the best way to start the weekend - you feel better for having done it.
"I don't want our local parkrun to suffer, but people are truly opposed to his appointment. It has put us all in a difficult predicament. Lots of runners in Merseyside have Hillsborough connections, but we also oppose the decision because of other reasons as well.
"Volunteers are stepping away from parkrun because they don't want to continue. One parkrun, in Stanley Park, is at risk of folding because of it. It's one man versus hundreds of volunteers."
The petition calling for Mr Dinsmore's removal was started by John Henderson, who like Ms Roberts, runs with the Birkenhead parkrun community. The petition called on parkrun to reverse their appointment "before the brand suffers further damage". It added: "In making this call we are not standing against parkrun's core value of inclusiveness but rather standing up for it."
Mr Henderson told the ECHO: "My first reaction was to walk away from parkrun, but then I decided if I did that no difference would be made. I don't want to walk away from what I enjoy. It's a horrible decision to appoint him because parkrun can only work because of the goodwill of volunteers giving up their time - they have no part in the decision so nothing should come back on them.
"Hillsborough is still with us. It's emotional reading comments about how it affects us. But it reinforces why it's so important to stand up. His values don't align with ours."
Mr Henderson met Ms Roberts several weeks ago and they decided to start a barcode boycott, where they would run but not record their times. And Mr Henderson hopes protests will ramp up this weekend with runners wearing shirts for the 97 and hash tagged with "no more Dinsmore".
But lots of people involved in the Merseyside running community have left because of the decision. Christine Beyga, who until recently was the event director at the run at Croxteth Hall, has since stepped away from parkrun. Ms Beyga called the appointment "embarrassing" - and felt concerns hadn't been listened to.
She said: "I'm worried about the sustainability of parkrun. It will struggle for volunteers because a lot have left. The parkrun community has fully split. It's been torn apart. People are just waiting to see what happens. I do not think he shares our values."
Mr Jefferys told the ECHO: "We are aware of and extremely concerned by the upset and anguish associated with this situation. Both myself and members of our Senior Leadership Team have spoken with a number of people who have raised concerns, and we met in person with representatives of our Merseyside-based events last weekend.
"We are working hard to find a positive way forward, and discussions are ongoing between our leadership team and volunteer communities to achieve that aim."
The petition can be found here.
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