‘One Small Step’, the story of how Paul Sinton-Hewit went from being a care leaver to a care leader! - Ingrebourne Hill parkrun #17 - 12/04/25

The world works in mysterious ways

It was a perfect day to be outside.

I have been working with care-experienced young people for the last two decades, and I love my work. My clients are young people who have been removed from their families, with the state seeking to protect them from further harm and improve their life chances. According to research from the Nuffield Foundation ‘there are large health, education and employment inequalities in adulthood for people with care experience’. It seems that being in care can create further challenges on top of the damage already inflicted.

I love my work and I’m seeking to buck the trends. I believe that being care experienced = life experienced, containing a box of insights and values that can enrich us all. I’ve seen it in the young people I work with, some of whom have gone on to do great things in different ways. And I experience it every week when I attend a parkrun, because parkrun was started by a care-experienced person, Paul Sinton-Hewitt. 

On Thursday, I finished Paul’s incredible autobiography titled One small step. He shares with us the lack of care he received from his mother and father. He shared how he was put in state care in South Africa, and the lack of care he experienced there. For him, this translated into poor self-esteem and difficulties he has had in his life. Paul shares how he found positive care in the social side of running clubs. It was at his lowest point; unemployed, injured and unable to run, that he created parkrun. So parkrun was built on the foundations of community, fairness and care.

One Small Step: The incredible story of parkrun, from the man who started it all, Macmillan.

by Paul Sinton-Hewitt (Author)

I find it is this core feature of ‘care’ that radiates out from parkruns when you attend. Care from the amazing volunteers who are always friendly and encouraging. Care from the fellow participants who can offer some friendly competition or a chat. Care from the natural surroundings which you might never visit if not for this free 5k event. When you attend a parkrun event you’re engulfed in care, it’s what Paul wanted to create and it stems from his lack of care in his early years.  

With its name taken from the river Ingrebourne, a tributary of the river Thames and previously a disused site, Ingrebourne Hill parkrun is situated in Ingrebourne Valley in the London Borough of Havering. It neighbours the larger 257-acre Hornchurch County Park created in 1980 and home to the largest freshwater reed bed in London. These combined spaces have a diverse ecosystem and rich biodiversity brimming with wildlife. Add in meadows, grasslands, climbs and spectacular views, and we have a parkrun situated in incredible beauty. 

I would not have ventured here if not for this event, which I needed to complete to regain my LonDone status (completing all the parkruns inside the M25) and boy was I grateful. On this wonderful morning, there were lots of milestone tops in attendance along with the usual diversity of ages, sizes and colours. Being only event 11, the numbers are relatively low, but I imagine this will change as word spreads; this is one of the loveliest parkruns inside the M25. 

One of today’s tourists, Andy Airey, who has visited 360 parkrun locations, securing 24 country flags, did today’s briefing. The course, entirely on gravel paths, starts with one lap of Ingrebourne Hill with a tasty 29m of elevation, followed by a downhill with lots of sharp twists and turns. Then laps two and three are longer clockwise loops which are relatively flat.

If the views weren’t inspiring enough, we were cheered on by the volunteer team, including the effervescent Pam Duck doing high kicks and cheering loudly. Celebrating her 86th birthday last week, her energy and enthusiasm were infectious.

With Pam Duck, a formidable runner at 86 years old!

Paul’s book is a telling account of what being placed in an institution without care can do to a person. You can hear his pride as he talks about the expansion of parkrun to prisons and young offender institutions. There was a time when running for times was important to Paul; his pursuit of a sub-2hr 30mins marathon is gripping. But it’s his need to create a community that has fair access (free for life) that underpins the ethos of parkrun. Paul shares that one of his proudest moments was when, in 2017, parkrun became a registered UK charity. It moved from being a sports organisation to a public health and well-being initiative, enabling parkrun to better work with governments and local authorities to make the world healthier and happier. 

Sitting outside the Britannia cafe after the event with tables of fellow parkrunners, I was able to see how parkrun is fulfilling its mission. People proudly wearing 500 volunteer milestone shirts swapped stories of sprints to the line, today’s views and new events and challenges to do. There was such a buzz of community and care on display, which is what Paul wanted to achieve from parkrun #jobdone

I celebrated regaining my LonDone status with a pint of strawberry milkshake.

Paul is a care leaver who has become a care leader; a powerful reminder for me to never stop seeing the potential in the young people I work with. It is a reminder to be my best to help them be their best so that we might all benefit from their gifts and perspectives. 

You can order Paul Sinton-Hewitt’s book One Small Step by clicking here. It’s a nourishing read. I hope any person or organisation working with care experienced people can give them a copy; it’s inspiring. 

Stay safe, happy running or walking and happy volunteering.

www.horizons.uk

Become is a charity that improves the outcomes for care-experienced young people. You can learn more about its work by clicking here.

You can read about when I ran my home parkrun course 8.2 times (the Burgess marathon) to raise money for Become by clicking here.