Sonya Byers, OBE: Three Generations of parkrun, Volunteering and Belonging

What happens when parkrun becomes more than a Saturday morning habit and grows into a family legacy spanning three generations?

In this warm and uplifting episode, Catherine is joined by Sonya Byers OBE, a parkrun trustee, dedicated volunteer and CEO of Women in Transport.

Sonya’s own parkrun journey began through volunteering at junior parkrun before she finally took on her first 5K in Kraków, Poland, in temperatures of minus eight degrees — where her 70-year-old father beat her in a sprint finish.

She shares how her involvement at Barking junior parkrun  led to community outreach work, an ambassador role and eventually a seat on parkrun’s global board of trustees.

Sonya also introduces us to her extraordinary parkrun family. Her father, now 80, has completed more than 550 parkruns and over 500 volunteer occasions. Her mother is fast approaching her 500th volunteer credit, her brother is a junior parkrun Run Director, her husband is also a Run Director, and her young daughter already has an incredible record across both adult and junior parkrun.

Together, they offer a remarkable picture of parkrun as a truly multigenerational community built on participation, generosity and belonging.

Catherine and Sonya also discuss:

• Why volunteering builds confidence, skills and friendships
• The growth and impact of junior parkrun
• parkrun’s role in public health and community wellbeing
• Creating welcoming and inclusive events
• Safeguarding and trust within local communities
• Sonya’s work supporting women across the transport sector
• Why keeping parkrun simple is central to its global success

This is a joyful conversation about family, service, inclusion and the lasting impact of showing up for others.

Listen now to The Parkrunners Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Thank you for tuning in. It's been great to have you here.. If you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Stay connected with us on social media (Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn) for updates and more inspiring parkrunners' stories. Until next time, keep running, keep smiling and keep on showing up!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Hello and a very warm welcome back to the Parkrunners podcast. My guest today is Sonia Byers. She's Parkrun trustee, a dedicated volunteer, and a passionate advocate for community and inclusion. Now Sonia's own contribution to Parkrun is significant, but what makes this story so memorable is Parkrun is woven right through the fabric of her family. Her father, now 80, has completed more than 540 parkruns. Her mum has 474 parkruns. Sonia's brother is a run director for junior parkrun. And Sonia's husband is also deeply involved. And their six-year-old daughter has also been indoctrinated into the parkrun habit. Together, they offer a remarkable picture of Parkrun as a truly multi-generational community. Sonia, a very warm welcome to the Parkrunners podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Thanks, Catherine. Thanks so much for having me. I'm here in London today, so I'm really excited to join you.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Wonderful. So let's start by, I guess, sharing with our listeners what was your first Parkrun experience and what brought you there?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

So my my family brought me to Parkrun, really. And my first experience was of volunteering at Junior Parkrun. So my brother is the co-event director for what is now Barking Junior Parkrun. Started off as Barking Exactly Junior Parkrun for 12 years ago now. And he started it and we help each other out as a family. So my mum said, Your brother's starting this thing, you need to help out. So that was my Sunday mornings for the last you know 12 years now to turn up. Volunteering at Junior Parkrum for two years before I went to a 5K event. And I was very much, you know, running's not for me, I'm not a runner. I wasn't really interested in going to the 5K. My parents, my brother, would go regularly, you know, um Christmas morning one, and I'll just, you know, sort of get breakfast ready and say, I'll I'll see you afterwards. And um then I I signed myself up for a tough mudder and realised that I needed to actually be able to run and train for that. So we happened to be going on a family holiday to Poland um in the January uh for my birthday weekend, and there was a park run there, and so my parents were oh you might as well come along and do it. So my very first 5k park run was in Krakow in January, minus eight, and my 70-year-old dad beat me.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

I did read that in a blog somewhere that he had a sprint finish that pipped you to the post, honestly. Excellent sprint finish still. Wonderful. So your first park run was in Poland. You obviously returned from your birthday weekend away. Um did you straight away establish a regular park run habit on that Saturday morning with the rest of the family?

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Uh yeah, pretty much. I think from then I started going every Saturday, really miss it. Uh and so yeah, it's just become part and parcel of my weekend both on a Saturday and a Sunday morning. Um yeah, it became a bit of an obsession, I guess. It doesn't feel the same if you're not at parkrun on the weekend.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

I know it's parkrun day as opposed to Saturday. That's what a lot of people jokingly say. So, what has kept you connected to the movement over that period of time?

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Uh I think it's the the sense of community that we have, the friendships. There's definitely a sense of having a parkrun family, you know, aside from our real family, there are friends that I have a made at Parkrun that I look forward to seeing too, that my kids look forward to seeing seeing. And so that's what really keeps me coming back. And then from the volunteering side, I just really enjoyed it, got involved because we had a very small event. It's still a relatively small event for our barking juniors. I got involved in outreach and then became a run director, became an outreach ambassador for Park Run, focusing on first on junior parkrun, increasing participation, participation, then on health and well-being, and then later I became a trustee.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

So it's, I guess, when the entire family uh is participating both on the volunteering side and the run side, it's impossible not to spend your Saturday morning in the park run habit. And what a wonderful habit to be fostering. The volunteering movement which you are involved in so deeply. Does that contribute in any way to the other roles that you have? And what has that insight given you for your role as global trustee?

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Yeah, it it hugely contributes. Um, I get so amount so much out of being a volunteer, um, because in fact, in substantive part of my day job, I started off as a volunteer in that organisation as well. So I'm a huge believer in the skills building that comes from volunteering and the diversity of experience that it offers and the confidence that it gives gives you, because you know, in part in the park context, you get as a run director, you get and as an ambassador, you know, it's about relationship building, external relations, communications, confidence in standing up and talking in front of a lot of people, doing different technology and stuff like that. And then as a as a trustee for Park Run, it really helps to have that event day experience, I think, and to bring that into the boardroom. In my other roles, in my day job, it's really helped me being a trustee to bring that learning into my own organisation, which is much smaller but has similar challenges and and is also a non-profit. So there's a lot that it's a lot of crossover. Yeah, a lot of governance and and there's also a volunteering model in my organisation. So there's a lot of crossover in terms of the experiences and challenges and benefits as well.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

That's fascinating, and it's really rewarding, I guess, when each of these activities feeds off and nurtures the other one. Because I do agree with you that there's an awful lot of skill building that can happen in Parkrun. So, Sonia, I'd love to know what is your favourite volunteer role, or do you have one and why is it your favourite?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

A lot of the time I'm around the funnel. So I I actually do love being a marshal. So I got the benefit of being a marshal this weekend. I went to um Dartford Juniors for their 10th anniversary, which was wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

Lovely.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

And I really enjoyed that, you know, just like cheering on the kids, seeing all the happy faces, giving out high vibes, and then being around the funnel, you get to see, you know, the kids coming over the the finish line and just the the happiness and joy on their faces and the pride of their families as well. I mean I don't say that any role that I enjoy more than any others. I just enjoy the experience of being there, and that sounds a bit, you know, it's just seeing how much the families get out of it.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

So there's there's a lot of feel-good factor on a Saturday and Sunday morning when you get get those groups together in the park, which you know I think probably keeps us all coming back. Yeah. I would love to know really how your journey eventually led you to becoming ambassador and a global trustee of this amazing movement.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Yeah, so um it was just really getting involved at Junior at Barking Dagmon Parkrun. We had very low numbers. Um, and after less than 10, I think our average was um 12, something like that. And through the winter months we dropped to single digits. Um, and so in the the early days of of junior parkrun, uh you only knew about parkrun if you knew about parkrun. To advertise it, it was very much about organic growth, very different to how it is now. Um and I remember my brother getting a slap on the wrist for like promoting our event on on Facebook. It was very much about keep it, keep it local and keep it quiet and not promote it. Let it grow at its own pace. Yeah, exactly. Of course, it works for a 5k, but for our tiny 2K event in a very um deprived area wasn't working. We started to do a lot of work on community outreach to schools, um local. Yeah, spread the word. And and do some like stuff with the local press and really try and see if we could stimulate some interest in the event. And it just happened to coincide with somebody joining the Parkrun team called Rowan Ardill and some funding way back then from a company to look specifically at growing junior parkrun in a very targeted way. So that's how I got involved initially. And then when the uh global trustee role came up, honestly, I I didn't initially think about applying, sort of ruled myself out thinking of I don't have enough experience or don't have global experience. Um, but a conversation with somebody at Parkrun prompted me to apply because they were looking for people who had core team experience, event delivery experience, and could bring that voice to the boardroom, um, as well as having some executive experience, which I had. Um, and so I I applied and was very fortunate to be appointed. They're obviously well sought-after roles, and there's an incredible range of trustees who are very senior and very experienced in in a variety of different roles. Um so I feel incredibly privileged to be in that room.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

So kudos to you on everything you've achieved with that. I'm curious if of parkrun primary in the UK and Ireland, to what extent has that helped feed um additional attendance at junior parkrun?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Yeah, so we're seeing record attendances at junior parkrun now, which is brilliant. Beautiful. We've seen our event double, we're we're averaging 30 to 40, which is for us is really good. And they were saying that they've seen the tripling of um their numbers, so they're starting to see uh up to 150 juniors attending. It was just over 100 yesterday. And there's a number of factors, so the Parkrun Primary um initiative has really landed well and is is contributing to that growth. There's a Heart FM campaign that's running that's also uh promoting junior parkrun. There's been a growth in the team in terms of onboarding a specific social media comms person who's doing a fantastic job, as well as all the outreach offices um across across the UK targeting the smaller events, but obviously that's having um a compound effect across all junior parkrun. You know, so a lot of it still is word of mouth mouth, but it's definitely helping with getting the word out there, engaging with the schools, engaging with communities.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Yeah, and I think it's very clear to anybody who is in any way close to Parkrun that the Parkrun movement has been one of the biggest health successes of the 21st century. Sonia, you're a big champion of diversity and inclusion. Your whole professional life and family life. You can see how that's woven in. But I'd love you to share what changes you've seen in the parkrun movement in terms of diversity and inclusion since you've first been around it.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Yeah, I think it it has changed, it is evolving. I think it is important to know that everyone is welcome at Parkrun. The fast runners and the front of the pack, which I love seeing to those at the the back of the pack on walking, like I mostly do now. So, what have I seen changed? I think that that focus on recognising that park run is a public health intervention and that it has health benefits and also recognition that volunteering has as much value as the running walking bit of it. So no denying that it started very much as a running event. It was a time trial and all of that. So, you know, having a focus on a slower times, introducing volunteering as an equal form of participation, going from having a tail runner to having a tail walker, having the park walk initiative, having juniors and recognising the benefit of that. So I think that evolution over time for me has been about the focus on looking at how we can support more people to be in that movement. Actually, now we're actively trying to encourage more people into that. And of course, that comes with these challenges, and those are things that we have to manage as an organization. But that's a great problem to have other than you know, something to um bit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

And how important are safeguarding and care in building trust within community events like Parkrun?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Hugely important, and and I'm now sharing the safeguard committee on behalf of the board, and it is at the heart of what you know, people are at the heart of Parkrun, and it is incredibly important to us as trustees and to all of our volunteers. And we look at it from both the health and safety perspective, but also from the inclusion perspective and the belonging perspective.

SPEAKER_02 13:50

And on the ground, if there's somebody out there listening who thinks, you know what, I'd love to like I'm looking for a volunteer role, I'd love to get involved in parkrun, what is the process for somebody looking to make their first appearance at a like a junior parkrun? What are the procedures that might have to step through so I guess people understand um what's involved? I think that could be useful.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, so um just to to turn up and volunteer. Um basically if you register first so that you've got a barcode so that you can it makes it easier. Um then you know come along to your local event. Um you don't need to be be DBS checked in England and Wales unless you're a a run director, or so there are some additional requirements in other locations, right? So I'd start off with marshalling is a really great way to start off, doesn't require any or any special um requirements, so you can um put on the high beers once you've um been added to the roster and then um you know stand and cheer and clap and make sure um everybody is having a a great time and knows exactly where they're going. Yeah. And then any other role, you know, you'll get you can get training for um and be helped normally be guided along. Do email the event team, yeah. There's always an email address on the on the web page and you can ask any questions ahead of time.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

Has there been anything that's surprised or inspired you about that role?

SPEAKER_00 15:21

I think anyway, I'm surprised at how much I've got out of it. I've I've gained a huge amount in terms of my own professional development, my personal development. Um it's been a different way to enjoy uh Park Run. I'm definitely inspired by the commitment um and the passion of all of the staff that work up in Park Grant is on is under the microscope and in you know, in the media, spotlight, there's a lot of sort of social media noise. And you know, it's a relatively small team to the the size and the impact that Parkron has. Yeah. And that is a challenge, and I'm always impressed with the grace and the dedication in the way they go about their business, and by the passion of all of people that sit in that in that room. There's a real sense of purpose and a sense of responsibility and an awareness of how important our volunteers and our all of our participants, however they participate, um, are important.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

And Sonia, are you able for our listeners to share with them an update on the number of countries and total registrations Parkrun Global Movement has right now? Because I know it's constantly getting added to. So it'd be great to have a quick update if you have one.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

So we're we're 23 countries now and over 12 million registered participants. It's amazing. It's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

And that includes the volunteers as well, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Yes, and I mean weekly participation is um upwards of 400,000 a week.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

So and growing all the time. Greater diversity and inclusion means people who are slower and not necessarily starting out as runners are joining the movement and getting value from it. What do you think parkrun gets especially right?

SPEAKER_00 17:08

The idea that you can turn up to a parkrun wherever you are in the world, and it'd be more or less the a similar thing. The guardrails are there in terms of you know, you can turn up with your barcode, run walk or volunteer, and get a timer or credit for that participation and also enjoy the same type of experience. So and I think that is not an easy thing to achieve, and that is a mixture between what the the staff team do and the fantastic work that the volunteers do on the ground.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

That's a good summary. The keeping it simple is so important and it does make it so much easier for people to participate. Just looking now at your own professional career, how much do the themes of visibility, confidence, um, and inclusion overlap with your role as CEO of women in transport?

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Yeah, it totally aligns so much of it resonates. You know, I was watching the news this morning about having an all-female team on the air ambulance, and uh they were talking about how they were hoping that encourages women to consider careers as pilots and the importance of being seen and being visible in those in those spaces or roles. Um, and that's so much of what we do at Women in Transport is about um you know ensuring that women are represented, are supported, um, and can thrive in in the transport sector. And and I think in the parkrun context, you know, it's important that everybody feels like they um are welcome and could belong and they can have a place. So, you know, there's work to do on that, but um, hopefully people we can help them overcome the barriers to turning up to their first parkrun and knowing that they're they'll be able to participate there in a way that feels comfortable to them.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Yeah, and I especially younger women and boys as well, making them feel that it's a place that they fit into would be a very um worthy goal. So in in the women in transport role, do you do you cover all transport sectors like aviation, trains, buses, cars, the the whole the whole lot?

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Yeah, I always say women transport is a very broad church, um, that's what recognized in itself as a sector. So anything that moves, but it includes things like built environment, active travel, so walking, white wheelings and cycling, and also how we interact with spaces. So we equally have people who are architects, analysts, and so on and so forth. So there are people who are on that front line you might think of as transport, so bus drivers, train drivers, etc., but equally people who are policy makers or are you know designing the spaces that we we travel in or that we we travel through. Um so there's transport planners, town planners, every mode, every discipline, every level that works in transport.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

And have you seen advances in the participation of women in those industries since being part of women in transport?

SPEAKER_00 20:17

So it's interesting, women in transport is um going to be you know coming to the end of our 20 years, coming into our 21st years. Yeah, and uh I've been involved from 19 of those, which is aging me. And um, you know, so it's a very similar journey to to parkrun in that sense in terms of the longevity of it. Um so yeah, I have seen change and we measure it as well. We've got uh our equity index, we measure the participation of women. So it is increasing, but we also see um issues around you know gender pay gap and um the number of women working in leadership and also the you know whether women stay and also how we can help them thrive. So it's definitely increasing participation, which is great. It's gone over the time that I've been involved from 18% to now 27%, which is brilliant, but slower than we would like.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

Yeah. And the gender pay gap is is a real problem. I I read this weekend something encouraging because in Iceland they've just made it unlawful to pay women differently. They've completely eliminated that through a legal uh means. So maybe other countries might look and learn from that model, but it's definitely still still an issue as we know. So we're we're coming towards the end of our time together, Sonia. And I have another question for you about what keeps you energized about doing this work with Parkrun at the grassroots level on Saturday and Sunday?

SPEAKER_00 21:46

I think it's just the pure joy that we get out of it as a family and that I see in my local community. So there's something really special about seeing what Parkrun does for each individual. Everybody has. Their own parkrun journey, as you well know from the podcast. Um, everybody's journey is very unique because we are all unique. Um, but what keeps me going is just that joy that I see every week, week in and week out, and the joy that we get from it.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

So we have a few quick questions to wrap up. Your favourite post-parkrun activity?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Going to the cafe um with our parkrun family. So we um normally find us in um our local cafe and we'll have a uh a drink and um and a panini or what does a perfect Saturday morning look like for you? It is parkrun and then parkrun faff in the cafe, and then normally a bit of play in the park. So I don't know, I think we're normally not leaving the park until midday, one o'clock and such. Yeah, that's similar.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Favourite park run running shoes?

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Um I have got A6. A6. And favourite parkrun. Well, I have to say it's Barking Juniors.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Um then on a Saturday we're normally at Valentine's parkrun where my mum's also in RD.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Um, do you have a bucket list parkrun destination that you are planning at some point in the future?

SPEAKER_00 23:13

Uh there are so many places that I want to go. I'd love to do a parkrun in every single country. So I've done over 10 so far. Um 13 to go. Yeah, so there's quite a few. I'd love to go and do um sort of one in Japan, New Zealand, South Africa's, you know, some some of the further fun ones that I haven't done yet.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Yeah, yeah, I would have to say Japan is definitely one of those on my to-do list. And finally, if you could run with any famous person a park run, who would that partner be? Well, any famous person.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Wow, that's a good question. You've stumped me now.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Saying Kelly Holmes, I think she had the joy of meeting her at a recent partner event. I just loved her energy and um how much she she'd got out of it, especially being injured. Not that I could run with her because I wouldn't be able to keep up with her.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

Even an injured Kelly Holmes is faster than most most females in not even just her age category.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

But I did park walk with her when um when she came to Valentine's for the um Valentine's Day parkrun.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

That's a little bit of a claim to fame. Well, I really enjoyed having her on the podcast as well. She was super popular. Um Sonia, it's been a real joy listening to your parkrun story and sharing just the depth of your commitment, your family's contribution to Dagenham Junior Parkrun, but many other parkruns in your area. And the community, it's truly impressive. And I'm sure that people listening to this podcast will feel inclined to come on down and meet you and maybe get involved in one or more parkruns, either as a walker, jogger, runner, or volunteer. You are genuinely an inspiration, and so too are all your Parkrun family. So thank you very much for joining me on the Parkrunners Podcast, Sonia. Thanks, Catherine. Thanks for joining us on the Parkrunners Podcast. I'm Catherine Stenson and I love sharing stories from our amazing Parkrun community. So if today's conversation has inspired you, why not share it with a friend? Or better still, bring them along to your next parkrun. Now don't forget to hit follow so you never miss a new parkrun story. Until next time, keep moving, keep smiling, and I'll see you at the start line.