Parkrun, a free weekly running event in open spaces around the world, has removed data such as speed records from its website in order to be less “offputting” to new participants.
The event will also no longer record men who finish in under 17 minutes or women who finish in less than 20, in addition to age grade or category records.
Entrants will continue to receive personalised results via emails and individual profile pages and event results pages will stay the same.
Parkrun told the BBC it had been looking into making changes to the data it published since before the Covid pandemic and the decision was not in response to criticism it has faced for allowing transgender women to participate in the female category.
In December, the Policy Exchange thinktank said its analysis found that at least three parkrun female records were held by trans women.
Parkrun said in a statement on its website on Thursday: “As parkrun has grown over the years we have made many changes to our digital communication including things such as layout, design, imagery and the language we use – and will continue to do so as we evolve.
“We try hard to make sure the information we share is consistent with our values, and that, in all that we do, we continue to find ways to remove barriers to registration and participation.
“We know that our websites are an important source of information for all parkrunners, especially those who are new and yet to take part, and we therefore established a global working group to consider how we can present data in a way that is not offputting and doesn’t imply that parkrun is a race.
“This project group has spent many months now making detailed investigations and recommendations.
“What was clear is that there was a disconnect between the performance data displayed so prominently on the site, and our mission to create opportunities for as many people as possible to take part in parkrun events – especially those who are anxious about activities such as parkrun, but who potentially have an enormous amount to gain.”
The 5km and 2km events take place at more than 800 locations in countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. To date, there have been more than 3.1 million finishers making a total of more than 52.6m finishes.
The first parkrun took place in Teddington, south-west London, in 2004 and featured 13 participants.
