Emma Sperring

Emma is a parkrun Event director, healthy lifestyles expert and the trainer for brand new GoodGym Swindon. She tells us how running has changed since the ‘90s, what makes running so great in Swindon and the secret to captivating a crowd.

Beginnings

I started running in the late '90's, just after I graduated from university. I couldn't afford to join a gym, so I took up running instead. I didn't really know what I was doing; I would just head out of the door and run for as long as I could. I did attempt to join a local running club, but at the time it was male-dominated and intimidating so i never went back!

I felt like a celebrity!

Spurred on by the surprise of being awarded a medal in her Race 4 Life, Emma caught the running. One of her favourite ever running moments was the Great North Run she completed in 2011,

“It was so different from any other event I had done in the past. It was so busy! I had never seen so many people at a race before. The support from the crowds was amazing… One minute it was blistering hot without a cloud in the sky; the next it was windy and raining. It was so exciting to cross the finish line at South Shields and watch the Red Arrows fly by.”

Achievement knows no age

Every so often you meet people who really inspire you. In May, Emma was lucky enough to meet Jo Pavey at Swindon's Literature Festival. She told us about the encounter and her new-found role model:

“I was inspired by her story of self-belief and determination. In 2014, at the age of 41, she won a gold medal just 10 months after giving birth. As a mum in my forties with two young children, this is so encouraging. We really can achieve no matter what our age or circumstances!”

But is her children, Luke and Grace who motivate Emma on a day to day basis. She says:

I want to be a positive role model as they grow up and for them to see physical activity and volunteering in the community as the norm.

" Swindon has a fantastic running community"

One way Emma gives back to the community is in her role as a parkrun Event Director. From her lofty platform on a bench, she’s familiar with lots of running groups who call Swindon home, “It’s quite clear from all the different coloured running vests I see amongst the crowd”

In contrast to all the uniform look of runners in the 90s, Emma has noticed a shift, she comments ‘people of all abilities and ages now feel that there is something for them out there, which wasn't really the case when I first started running’

Adding, “there is a real sense of belonging amongst the running community in Swindon”

After many a weekend of ‘barking orders from a bench’ she’s picked up a trick or two...‘The secret then is to be quiet and switch off the microphone until everyone stops talking’

All bark, no bite

In spite of this natural gravitas- Emma would like to think she is very approachable;

‘People often say that I have a smile on my face. I hope that new people to GoodGym will find this reassuring and will feel relaxed in my company'

“I'm most interested in how people are doing and whether they are enjoying themselves while getting a little bit fitter and doing some good out there in Swindon!”

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• GoodGym Swindon is launching on Tuesday 7th August! More info and sign up link here
• From then on, you can run with our team leaders every Tuesday at 18:00 from Oasis Leisure Centre Swindon
• Stay posted on all things GoodGym Swindon at @GoodGymSwindon on Twitter