REPORT: Marathons: Transgender runners can qualify using gender they identify with

As the most reliable and balanced news aggregation service on the internet, DML News offers the following information published by APNEWS.COM:

BOSTON (AP) — In 1967, a Boston Marathon official nearly dragged a woman off the course after she managed to enter the men’s-only race. Five decades later, race officials aren’t as concerned about gender boundaries: They’re now publicly acknowledging that transgender runners can compete using the gender they identify with.

“We take people at their word. We register people as they specify themselves to be,” said Tom Grilk, chief of the Boston Athletic Association, the group behind the race. “Members of the LGBT community have had a lot to deal with over the years, and we’d rather not add to that burden.”

It is important to note that the article goes on to state the following:

At least five openly transgender women are signed up to run the storied 26.2-mile race through Boston and its suburbs April 16. And while they aren’t the first, their presence helped bring clarity to the race’s stance on transgender runners.

Several other major marathons said they have no official policies but are taking a similar approach to Boston. Organizers of the Chicago, New York City, London and Los Angeles marathons all said they honor the gender that runners submit during sign-ups.

DML News offered you the above information as part of our ongoing effort to educate and inform people around the world. You can obtain additional information by visiting APNEWS.COM.