Philadelphia officials announced last week that it would award equal prize money for the women’s, men’s, and nonbinary people’s races.
Organizers say that they are taking a “face-value approach to monitoring all gender categories” so runners can compete with the group that best aligns with their gender identity. They are not requiring “supporting evidence” for participants to prove what gender they belong to.
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The nonbinary division was established in 2022, but winners did not receive prize money until this year.
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According to the official website, first-place man, woman, and nonbinary runner will each receive a prize of $4,000. Second place in the categories will each receive $2,000, while third place will be awarded $1,000. The top man, woman, and nonbinary runner in the masters category, for those aged 40 and above, will receive $1,000 each.
In the half marathon and 8K, the prize amounts are lower. First-place finishers in the half marathon will receive $2,500, second place $1,500, third place $1,000, and the first-place master $500. Additionally, the course record-holder will earn $1,000.
In the 8K, first-place finishers will receive $750, second place $500, third place $250, and the first-place master will also earn $250.
The change only applies to the non-professional races. The Philadelphia Marathon also has an elite division in which about 100 professional runners compete. First-place winners in the men’s and women’s categories in the elite division receive $10,000 each, but the Philadelphia Marathon has yet to establish a nonbinary category for elite athletes.
According to C.C. Téllez, a runner and LGBTQ+ advocate who has helped other race organizers develop guidelines for the inclusion of nonbinary elite athletes, the changes, while positive, are not what LGBTQ+ advocates asked for.
“We’ve been very clear about what it is that we wanted, and it was the elite inclusion of nonbinary folks,” Téllez told Philadelphia Gay News.
“To be able to participate as equally as the women’s and men’s divisions, to have access to not just the title but also to the prizes that come along with it, to be celebrated the same way, to have that platform,” Téllez added.
The news comes after the New York City Marathon winner was not given any prize money by the New York Road Runner’s Club after winning the nonbinary division in 2023.
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