Female Inclusion on the trails
At Threshold Sports, we are committed to making our events as inclusive as possible. Mass participation sports have consistently struggled with gender balance on the start line, just like many other industries. We believe it is our responsibility as event organisers, to make a change and get as many women taking part as possible.
We hope that by adopting all the following commitments, our events will be female-friendly experiences where women feel empowered, comfortable, and supported from signing up to the finish line.
Pre-event
Fair deferral policies
Any pregnant woman should have the right to return to exercise when they are fit, healthy and well enough to do so. Pregnant women can defer their entry on our events for up to 2 years.
Other exceptions to the normal deferral policy:
– Participants adopting or birthing via surrogacy within 3 months of the event date can defer entry for up to 2 years
– Participants with a partner who is pregnant with a due date within 1 month, or 2 months post event date, can defer for up to 2 years
Women in Sport meetings
Every month we hold internal Women in Sport meetings to make sure that as a business, we are being inclusive as possible and always making improvements, because there is always more that can be done.
On-event
Breastfeeding support
If a participant gets in touch to say they will be breastfeeding on our events, we will do everything we can to support them and make them comfortable. We will make sure the start, basecamp, finish, and each pit stop has a chair and preferred open or private area for them to breastfeed.
Sanitary products
Expect to see sanitary products at all info desks, pit stops and outside the toilets, throughout the event. If at any point there happens to be an empty box, please inform a member of crew as soon as you can.
Toilets
In previous years we have always had the basecamp male and female cubicles within close proximity. We have acknowledged the feedback on this and now have separate female cubicles with clearer signage and sanitary products within.
Generous cut-offs
As an event organiser, we’ve done our best to provide the most generous cut offs on our events, so that they appeal to anyone. On both Threshold Trail Series events we allow 29 hours for participants taking on the non-stop 100km, and up to 14 hours for the 50km.
Safety and race rules
On every event we have our route director give a participant brief to each start wave. This includes things like adopting the correct etiquette out on the route, do’s and don’t’s, safety reminders, and more.
Equal prizes
A winner is a winner. We always have and always will reward our male winners the same as our female winners.
Merchandise
We understand that many people want to purchase event merchandise, so the option is there, and all sizes are either in male or female fit. Unisex clothes tend to be a male fit, which can deter some women thinking of taking part.
GPS Trackers
We understand that some people want peace of mind when walking/running into the night and so we want to do everything we can to support our participants and make them feel safe. We offer GPS trackers as an additional extra to give you the peace of mind you may need when running/walking through the night.
Night Running
Running in the dark is a huge barrier for many people when deciding to take on an ultra. This year we are introducing a Trail Buddy system at the night time pit stops, where you have the option to wait for someone else who would also like to buddy up to continue together.
There will be glow up signs at the latter pit stops towards the exit, reading Trail Buddy. If you would prefer to leave the pit stop with someone else then please do make use of this buddying up process by waiting by the sign and only leaving when you feel comfortable enough to do so.
Post-event
Anonymising results
We provide the option to anonymise participants results to respect the privacy of our community. If you are taking part in 2024 and would like to have your results anonymised, please contact us.
We are constantly trying to improve our events and make them accessible for everyone – ultras for all. If you have any suggestions or recommendations on how we can improve for future years, please make use of the post event survey or get in touch.
