Daventry transgender runner ‘flies her flag with pride’ after raising more than £30k for UK charities

A Daventry transgender athlete runs while “flying her flag with pride” after raising more than £30,000 for UK charities.

Glenique Frank, a 55-year-old transgender woman, is planning to compete in the Boston Marathon and the 2024 London Marathon, after last year's backlash from the running community, as she continues to raise money for Whizz-Kidz’s vital services for young wheelchair users.

Upon the completion of the Boston Marathon, Glenique will be honoured with ‘The Six Star’ Abbott medal in recognition of finishing all six world major marathons. The medal was introduced by the Abbott World Marathon Majors to honour the runners who completed all the marathons.

“I am going to continue to raise money for charity until I can’t run anymore, or I’ll walk.

“I just want to help. I want people to know that I’m happy for their support,” said Glenique.

Glenique, a personal trainer who works with clients with disabilities, is running in the 2024 London Marathon to raise £2,000 for the children’s charity Whizz-Kidz.

Glenique said she will be "flying her flag with pride" during this year's marathon for the 18th consecutive year.

Over the years, Glenique has raised approximately £36,000 for UK charities.

The running community’s attention was drawn to Glenique after she was interviewed by the BBC upon completing the 2023 London Marathon. She faced criticism from the British athlete Mara Yamauchi and the community for participating in the female category.

Glenique said: “I still feel terrible that I upset so many women and Mara Yamauchi. She could’ve called me personally.

“Look what happened to me. I try to raise money for charity, and then I get abused verbally. It has affected me. It’s quite a serious thing. When that story broke, the world's media thought I was a cheat, and all I am is a charity runner. It knocked my confidence.”

Following the event in April, Glenique ran in the non-binary category in two marathons, one in Chicago on October 9 and one in Berlin on September 24.

“It’s all about my identity. I don’t want to offend non-binary people. At the moment, when I enter, I’m forced to enter under the non-binary category. Unfortunately, they don’t have a transgender category.

“I don’t have a choice. It’s very limited. I feel left out. It’s not good enough. If they just added transgender women and men to the categories, we’d all be happy. I’m not ‘other’. I’m transgender,” said Glenique.

Glenique plans to run in the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2024. Upon the completion of the race, she will be honoured with ‘The Six Star’ medal and the Six Star Finisher Certificate introduced by the Abbott World Marathon Majors in recognition of finishing all six world major marathons, including Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York City, and Tokyo.

On April 21, 2024, a week after her Boston Marathon, Glenique is set to run her 18th consecutive London Marathon.

“Because I don’t conform, angry people think that I'm evil, negative, or bad. I’m campaigning for all people who don’t conform to the norms that are expected of them.

“Humans shouldn’t be angry with each other but rather ask questions. I’m still getting people hating and saying horrible things,” said Glenique.