I’m Tracy and you can Find Your Active with me, in and around Castle Point!

I have a natural interest in helping people and I like to make people smile. Stepping into this role, means I can do this in a more official capacity. The recent pandemic has taught many people how important a good and strong community is and I want to play a role in encouraging and supporting people to find an activity that’s right for them.

The recent Find Your Active campaign is already encouraging me to find mine, and I’m confident it will help many others, but I’m here to help those especially who are new to activity or don’t know where to start!

15-years-ago I started running, but not very fast! It was only when I met my husband, that he introduced me to a range of clubs such as, Castle Point Joggers and East Essex Triathlon Club, where I have made some wonderful friends who have helped boost my confidence. I’ve never been very fast, but it’s just about enjoying what I’m doing. I have also found a love for open water swimming and there are many great spots around the county to enjoy nature. My passion for helping people led me to set up Basildon parkrun to ensure it was a fully inclusive event. It has been fantastic to see people who were completely inactive, attend, enjoy it and make new friends. Activity is a wonderful tool to help bring people together.

Since stepping down from managing Basildon parkrun and my job resulting in working from home, I found myself with a lack of energy and unmotivated to do any activity, but sometimes you must realise that any small movement can make a big difference. I’m enthusiastic about the campaign Find Your Active, as no one has to go it alone and there is so much support out there. I want to provide help to others, bring a smile to people’s faces and help myself too!

Simple and enjoyable movement is key and walking my three dogs does just that! Getting outside, in open green space, you just feel the peace and calm. But for others this may not be their active, and that’s fine. If I can help raise the awareness of what’s available to people in their local community, everyone should be able to find an activity that they will enjoy. If it’s a chore, it’s not fun, and fun it must be!