PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Runners are spending the week preparing for the Broad Street Run on Sunday, and for some participants, it’s about more than a race.
Josh Fernandez is one of 10 competitors in the Broad Street Run’s Elite nonbinary division. The division has grown significantly since the category was launched three years ago.
“When this field first emerged in 2023, there were maybe five or six runners who were competing in the division. This year, it’s about 10,” said Fernandez. “We’re finding more nonbinary runners. We’re welcoming them to races like the Broad Street Run.”
Fernandez is president of Philadelphia’s largest LGBTQ+ running club, Queer Run. The Philadelphia Distance Run was the first race in the country to create an equal nonbinary division, which they said set the standard for other races to follow.
“That race built a fully competitive nonbinary division with equal prize money at the competitive level, and that showed that it wasn’t symbolic,” they said. “It was a real competition and a goal of creating equity for nonbinary runners.”
They noted that the Philadelphia Marathon remains the only major race in the city without an equal nonbinary division.
“The choice is, compete in the open division where you’re not going to receive a lot of money and still have to work just as hard as Elite men and women, or compete against Elite men and women, which unfortunately runs the risk of creating some of the transphobic narratives we see play out against trans women in sports.”
Sunday’s 10-mile Broad Street Run accommodates up to 40,000 participants.
Runners call for nonbinary equity in other races
Runners call for nonbinary equity in other races
