Uptempo Running Code of Conduct

Our goal at Uptempo Running is to create the best community in the world for becoming a better runner. We want every member of the Uptempo community to feel elevated and able to focus their full attention on unlocking their running potential, both at Uptempo Running and out in the running community at large. This is impossible to do if you are being minimized, harassed, stalked, or discriminated against.

Accordingly, all Uptempo Running members, staff, as well as any guests or visitors, are expected to show respect and courtesy to each other in all interactions, whether during in person trainings, our online communities, or any other contexts (races, public events).

To make sure that everyone has a common understanding of what “show respect and courtesy to each other” means, we have adopted the following code of conduct, which also includes a strict anti-harassment policy.

The code of conduct is enforced by the Uptempo Running coaches and staff.

Note: Uptempo Running sometimes shortened to “UR” for clarity.

Scope

Who does this apply to?

• All Uptempo Running (UR) members subscribed to personal coaching programs or subscribed to community access.

• All UR coaches and staff, including volunteers.

• Guests or visitors participating in events organized by UR.

Where does the code of conduct apply?

We hold all UR members to the standards outlined in the code of conduct at all times whenever participating in UR communities and events, whether online or in person.

We also encourage members to adhere by the code of conduct in all their interactions outside of UR spaces. Running is a community sport and your experience as an UR member will also often extend beyond our own spaces, both in your interactions with other UR members and your interactions with the run community at large. Abusive or unwelcoming behaviour between members or towards any other persons outside our spaces is equally as damaging to those individuals and on the broader run community, even when occurring beyond our walls.

Some examples of where we apply the code of conduct includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Interacting on our online community tools and platforms: Training Peaks, Basecamp, WhatsApp, Strava, etc.

• Attending our organized in-person community events, workouts, or races.

• Participating in runs or events organized by other run crews or organizations.

• Speaking at or attending talks, whether online or in-person.

• Communicating through social media to other Uptempo Running members or any other person.

• Creating social media content identifying, mentioning, or representing Uptempo Running.

• Participating in a race or event where you may be identified as a member of Uptempo Running, for example while wearing UR branded apparel.

While Uptempo Running is a recreational community, it's also a community of friends. We ask you to be aware of the fact that conversations that may be appropriate within the context of a specific friendship or relationship with another member may be inappropriate in our spaces or in a group conversation with other members you don't know as well.

Anti-harassement Policy

Uptempo Running is dedicated to providing a harassment free training and community experience for all runners, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion.

We do not tolerate harassment of UR members, or harassment by UR members towards others, in any form. The following types of behaviour are unacceptable, both online and in-person, and constitute code of conduct violations.

Harassement

Harassment does not need to be recognized as unwanted or unwelcome by anyone other than the person being harassed. Harassment includes, but isn't limited to:

• Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination [related to race, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, or religion.

• Sexual language or imagery in public spaces

• Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following

• Harassing photography or recording

• Sustained disruption of training, discussions, talks or other events

• Inappropriate physical contact

• Un-welcomed attention, sexual or otherwise

• Threatening, advocating for, or encouraging any of the above behaviours

Unwelcoming Behaviours

• Blatant -isms saying things that are explicitly racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. For example, arguing that some people are better/worse runners because of their gender, race or religion. We make a distinction between blatant and subtle -isms; mistakes of speech or behaviour which, while inappropriate and requiring redress, are not considered code of conduct violations. However, repeating something after it has been pointed out to you, or antagonizing or arguing with someone who has pointed out your subtle -ism is considered unacceptable behaviour, and is not allowed at Uptempo Running.
  
  See here for more details about subtle-isms.
  

• Maliciousness towards other Uptempo Running members deliberately attempting to make others feel bad, name-calling, singling out others for derision or exclusion. For example, telling someone they’re not a real runner or that they don’t belong at Uptempo Running.

• Being especially unpleasant for example, if we’ve received reports from multiple members or staff of annoying, rude, or especially distracting behaviour.

Enforcement & Redress

Uptempo Running members asked to stop any harassing or unwelcoming behaviour are expected to comply immediately. Coaches and staff have the obligation to maintain a welcoming and safe environment for all members in our spaces and events, both online and in-person.

Coaches and staff may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting events or making the community environment hostile for any members.

If we witness or receive a report about unwelcoming behaviour we will contact the member involved to explain why their behaviour was unacceptable, and warn them that a second code of conduct violation will result in us terminating their membership [without refund] and removing them from the UR community (including in-person events).

If we witness or receive a report about abusive or harassing behaviour we will contact the perpetrator to have a conversation with them and verify what has transpired, and they will be removed from UR. Their membership will be terminated [without refund] and they will not be welcome at any UR events. In the case of a public event, the perpetrator will be removed from the event space [without refund].

If we receive reports of unwelcoming or harassing behaviour by members happening outside of Uptempo Running spaces and events UR coaches and staff will use their discretion in deciding how to enforce the code of conduct as outlined above, taking into account the impact on the individual members involved as well as the impact on the run community at large.

Reporting

If someone makes you feel unsafe or unwelcome, or if you witness that someone else is being harassed, please report it as soon as possible to a coach, staff member, or email info@uptemporunning.com.

Harassment and other code of conduct violations reduce the value of our community for everyone. We want you to be happy throughout your entire Uptempo Running experience. Runners like you make our community stronger.

Confidentiality

We keep all reports confidential, except if we've discussed with you and agreed otherwise. When we discuss incidents with people who are reported, we will anonymize details as much as we can to protect reporter privacy.

However, some incidents happen in one-on-one interactions, and even if the details are anonymized, the reported person may be able to guess who made the report.

If you have concerns about retaliation or your personal safety and do not want us to share the details of your report with anyone (including the perpetrator), please let us know explicitly in your report. Unfortunately in that situation we may not be able to take any action.

In some cases we may decide to share an update about a major incident with members of the Uptempo Running community. If that's the case, the identities of all victims and reporters will remain confidential unless those individuals instruct us otherwise.

Licence and Attribution

Most of our code of conduct is adapted and constructed from parts of the Recurse Centre code of conduct, the !!Con Code of Conduct, and the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers.

Our code of conduct is available for your use under the terms of a Creative Commons CC0 licence

Latest update January 10 2021

This section is an adaptation from the Recourse Centre's Social Rules. We're singling out the rule on subtle -isms here, but we find the other rules interesting and worth putting into practice throughout your Uptempo Running experience as well.

No subtle -isms

No subtle -isms is a ban on subtle racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other kinds of bias. Subtle -isms are particular because they cover a class of behaviours instead of one very specific pattern.

Subtle -isms on their own are not considered code of conduct violations. Our rules around them also aren't meant to give us a stick to bludgeon people with for "being bad." Rather, these rules are designed to help all of us build a pleasant, productive, and fearless community.

Forms of these -isms include subtle or socially ingrained expressions of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, and other kinds of bias and prejudice. They are small things that make others feel unwelcome, things that we all sometimes do by mistake. For example, saying "It's so easy my grandmother could do it" is a subtle -ism.

Subtle -isms can also be things that you do instead of say. This includes things like boxing out the only woman during a group discussion or assuming someone isn’t a runner because of their race or gender.

Subtle -isms make people feel like they don’t belong at Uptempo Running. We want to create an environment where everyone can focus all their energy on training. It’s hard to do that if you’re regularly being made to wonder whether you belong.

Subtle -isms are sometimes complicated. Not everyone agrees on what constitutes a subtle -ism. Subtle -isms are baked into society by privileged classes and stereotypes in ways that can make them hard to recognize. And not everyone experiences subtle -isms in the same way: subtle homophobia won’t hurt someone who’s straight in the same way it hurts someone who’s gay.

Enforcement

Our rule of no "subtle -isms" is often accidentally broken. It's not a big deal to mess up; in most cases you apologize and move on. However, multiple offences or continuing to repeat subtle-isms after they have been pointed out to you can constitute a form of unwelcome behaviour, which is subject to our code of conduct.

If you see or experience a subtle -ism you can point it out to the relevant person, either publicly or privately, or you can ask a staff member to say something. Sometimes pointing out a biased comment can be challenging or feel awkward. If you don't feel comfortable pointing out to someone that they are consistently breaking a rule, ask a coach or staff for help.

If someone says to you "hey, that's sexist," or "that's subtly racist", don't worry. Listen, apologize, reflect for a second, and move on. It doesn't mean you're a "bad" person, or even a "bad" Uptempo crew member. We've all done these things before. However, avoid defending your comment by arguing how "joke X isn't racist" or otherwise re-framing the situation around yourself or your feelings. These types of "White Fragility" defence mechanisms are their own kind of subtle -ism used by privileged classes to invalidate an aggrieved person's experience and maintain the power dynamics that allow inequality to flourish.

If you are a third party and you don't see what could be biased about the comment that was made, feel free to talk to Uptempo staff about it. Please don't say, "Comment X wasn't racist!" Similarly, please don't pile on to someone who made a mistake. Again, the "subtle" in "subtle -isms" means that it might not obvious to everyone right away what was wrong with the comment.