First Sanctuary Runners group has maiden run in Western Sydney The Refugee Council of Australia leading on the Sanctuary Runners model down under Plans to build groups in other cities across Australia It’s a bright Saturday morning in Auburn Botanical Gardens and over 30 people with the words ‘Sanctuary Runners Australia’ emblazoned across their blue
It’s a bright Saturday morning in Auburn Botanical Gardens and over 30 people with the words ‘Sanctuary Runners Australia’ emblazoned across their blue tops dart between the trees and along by the stream.
The first Sanctuary Runners group in Australia is born and if their first outing is anything to go by this is the dawn of something truly special down under.
Under the leadership of Paul Power, and colleagues from the Refugee Council of Australia, the first steps in developing the movement in Australia were extremely positive last Saturday morning.
Participants took part in the Auburn Botanical Gardens parkrun in the Western Sydney suburb. Amongst them, unsurprisingly, many Australians but also people originally from the Philippines, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Palestine, South Sudan, Syria and Iraq.
WATCH – Sanctuary Runners begins in Australia
Given a wonderful welcoming reception by the local parkrun organising team it was very much in keeping with the super relationship built between the Sanctuary Runners and parkrun in both Ireland and the UK.
For Graham Clifford, Head of International Development with the Sanctuary Runners, the first outing by a group in Australia marks a hugely significant step in the expansion of the model beyond Ireland.
“It was surreal, just as I was going to bed in Ireland getting sent pictures from Sydney of beautiful runners and walkers with the broadest of smiles across their faces. We’ve always believed that our model can easily travel and sport is such a huge part of society in Australia and the perfect vehicle to share solidarity, friendship and respect to, and with all,” he said.
Graham paid tribute to Paul Power and his team for not only getting the first group in Australia off the ground but for putting in place the foundations on which the Sanctuary Runner movement will be built in Australia, working closely with Sanctuary Runners in Ireland.
He said: “The Refugee Council of Australia has really embraced the Sanctuary Runner concept and we are so grateful to them for all their work in getting us to this stage. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Paul now for four years and since our first meeting in Cork in 2023, we’ve worked together on a number of initiatives including the Global Solidarity Run. Paul has so much experience and expertise in this area and he understands so well the great potential for the Sanctuary Runners model to break down barriers and bring about greater community integration.”
Anna Pringle, CEO of Sanctuary Runners added: “We are so excited to see Sanctuary Runners launch in Sydney. Irish people have long migrated to Australia so it’s particularly meaningful to have a group there bringing locals and migrants together based on a community integration model that originated here in Ireland. We are delighted to support this initiative”.
Those interested in joining the group in Western Sydney, forming their own group in months to come or wishing to support the initiative in Australia can visit https://action.refugeecouncil.org.au/sanctuary_runners_australia
Already queries have come in from cities across Australia with groups, organisations and individuals keen to establish their own Sanctuary Runner groups.
In August Sanctuary Runners Australia will be officially launched at a reception and event in Sydney.
Meanwhile the Sanctuary Runners continues to grow in the UK with new groups lined up to begin in Bristol and Kingston Upon Thames in the coming weeks while a first group in the Netherlands (Alkmaar) is earmarked for the coming months also.
