Why are we still having a conversation about equal distances in cross country? asks @tomwilliams1974 I'm not sure of the answer but here are some thoughts about the history: @run_equal #RunEqual
https://twitter.com/tomwilliams1974/status/1326131323438821377
Until 1975, cross country was the further distance most women & girls in UK got to run (usually up to 2.5 miles)
Perhaps when English women finally got the right to run more than 6k, to compete against men in road races & to run the marathon, attention switched to road racing.
Perhaps when English women finally got the right to run more than 6k, to compete against men in road races & to run the marathon, attention switched to road racing.
The existence of separate cross country governing bodies for women & men until amalgamation into the English Cross Country Association in 1992 may also have played a part. There were separate events for men & women & perhaps this made the inequality less obvious to some.
The equality gains that have been made in athletics have generally come about following sustained campaigns. The women's 5000m only made it onto the Olympics programme in 1996 after years (decades!) of campaigning by Jacqueline Hansen & others runyoung50.co.uk/jacqueline-han…
Governing bodies & perhaps race/league organisers are generally conservative in their attitude to change & so are many running clubs.
There is a concern that women will drop out of cross country if distances are extended. Surveys have been used as evidence that this is the case. But this is an issue of equality not of the personal preferences of a small number of runners.... #RunEqual
Who would argue now that the thousands of men & women who campaigned against women having the vote & the hundreds of thousands who signed petitions against it were right? bl.uk/votes-for-wome…
If clubs are concerned about women dropping out/being put off cross country, they could think about what they can do to encourage them to take part. (Of course, #RunEqual doesn't have to mean that women run further, it could mean men run shorter distances) #LoveCrossCountry 
Photo of me at North Midlands Cross Country League race last November, courtesy of Dave Bish . Men ran 10k, women ran 6k
To support the campaign to equalise cross-country races in England sign the petition to the English Cross Country Association here: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/equa… & follow @run_equal #RunEqual
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