Parkrun transforms confidence of doctor who was scared to speak in public

A Southport parkrun volunteer says volunteering at his local parkrun in Southport has helped him overcome his fear of public speaking and has even seen him take part in a BBC Breakfast interview.

Dr Simon Tobin is a full-time NHS GP by trade which sees him speaking with hundreds of patients throughout the week, but his fear of public speaking means he can stammer when nervous. He thanked his role at parkrun as a volunteer in helping him overcome this, he said: “I have gotten so much better at speaking in public and I have parkrun to thank for that.

“I started volunteering at parkrun when I realised the major impact it has on the mental and physical health of my patients.

“I started with the first-timers welcome and then progressed to the pre-run briefing, which helped me to develop my skills and confidence.

“I remember practising my first pre-run briefing repeatedly in the run up to that Saturday, but I remember not sleeping well the night before. It seems silly in retrospect.”

Tobin is now a run director, and just one of the nearly half a million volunteers that have contributed to a parkrun event in the UK alone in the past 19 years, and that role sees him welcome around 300 parkrunners on any given Saturday and speak to them all in the pre-run briefing.

The welcoming parkrun community played a big part in him overcoming his fear and he explained: “It helps that happy parkrunners who want to take part may not be the toughest audience, but for me it was a big thing, but it turned out I had nothing to fear. The parkrunners were kind, supportive and encouraging.

“By doing it regularly, my confidence grew.

“As time has moved on, I’ve been asked to do presentations, podcasts and interviews, including BBC Breakfast at Bushy