“Parkrun pulled me out of a hole and it has changed my life” says Southport parkrunner

Rebecca Lyth, who is one of the 250,000 people who attend a parkrun each week, explained: “Parkrun became a constant in my life, it pulled me out of the hole I had allowed myself to get in.

“Parkrun has a different meaning for everyone, and everyone has their own personal story to tell about why they started and why they keep going.

“That’s why I want to share my story, in the hope that I can inspire even one other person to join us and take part in such a wonderful event. That can be as a volunteer, runner, jogger and walker to improve your personal fitness, self-esteem, mindfulness, meet new friends and get support to improve your quality of life in so many ways.

“It just shows that improvement is possible for everyone!”

Parkrun are a charity who have enabled over eight million people to get active with their mission of transforming the health and happiness of their community by empowering people to come together, to be active and to be social outdoors.


Lyth’s parkrun journey began in 2018 when her cousin and Olympic Skier, Dave Ryding, finally got her to attend their local parkrun after some time: “To me it sounded insane. I couldn’t even run, I never run, and I was far from what anyone would describe as a natural athlete!

“He told me that parkrun wasn’t all about running but it was about achieving your own goals at your own pace, whether that is run, walk, jog or a little bit of everything in between.

“That is exactly what I did and it’s been my salvation, it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

“A year down the line, however, parkrun started to get harder, I was feeling more fatigued before setting off, my legs felt heavier and I couldn’t move as easily as I had done before, this is when I received my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and my world fell apart.”

The pandemic then hit, and Lyth along with the rest of the country had to take a break from outdoor activities. With motivation low, she dug out her running shoes again and got running, “It was like starting again from day one but with a diagnosis of MS and my symptoms got worse every day.”

Fast forward to the present day and parkrun has become a constant in Lyth’s life, she didn’t want to let her diagnosis determine the rest of her life and she explained: “I got my head straight because my heart really wanted just one more PB (Personal Best)! I decided that no one was going to decide for me that I couldn’t do something and that the impossible could become possible if I worked at it hard enough.”

After four years, she got her official PB at her local parkrun and now has the Manchester Marathon in her sights in April with the hopes of raising money for MS-UK.

Lyth’s local parkrun is Southport parkrun and you can find yours at parkrun.co.uk

You can find Lyth’s Just Giving page for the Manchester Marathon here