Emma Sutherland

On Saturday, I lost someone at ParkRun. That’s not a sentence I ever expected to write—especially as a tail walker. If you’ve never volunteered at ParkRun, the tail walkers are the people at the back. The safety net. The ones who make sure no one is last, because someone is always behind them. It’s a role I genuinely love. There’s just something about being there to enable others—to take the pressure off, make participation feel safe, and hold the space rather than take it. And, if I’m...

January had a theme. Not the forced “new year, new you” kind. Not the polished Instagram affirmation kind. But something deeper. Something that kept surfacing in conversations, in content, in reflection: Confidence. Confidence is an interesting word for me. Years ago, someone in a formal support and coaching role told me I “lacked confidence.” This was someone I was encouraged to trust. Someone positioned as part of my development. And yet, rather than strengthening my belief in myself, the...

A sarcastic guide to being ignored, overlooked, and somehow still present There’s nothing quite like stepping off a tube train and immediately being body-checked by someone who treats the “please let passengers off first” announcement as a quirky suggestion , somewhere between “try the new Pret wrap” and “mind the gap.” And there I am, just trying to exit like a normal human being, when someone launches themselves inside as if the train is the last chopper out of Saigon. I mutter, “For fuck’s...