Mel Bound, founder and CEO of This Woman Runs, has been awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for services to women’s community sport. The Bristol-based entrepreneur and running coach was recognised this month for her work in helping tens of thousands of women overcome barriers to physical activity by fostering a running community centred around connection.
This Woman Runs operates as a nationwide UK behaviour change movement and digital community. It is designed to transition women from wanting to be active to becoming regularly active. The organisation focuses on providing accessible and sustainable entry points to fitness, starting with 30 minutes of walking or running.
The initiative began in Bristol in 2014 when Bound posted a simple call-out on Facebook looking for local running partners after returning to exercise following childbirth and major back surgery. Having suffered from asthma as a child, she had been encouraged by her GP to take up running, which sparked a lifelong belief in the power of physical movement.
The group originally launched as This Mum Runs before rebranding to This Woman Runs in 2024 to address the reality that many women want to be active but lack the confidence to participate in traditional fitness environments. Today, the organisation supports tens of thousands of women across more than 35 cities in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The non-profit structure relies on a network of trained volunteer Run Angels who lead free weekly 30-minute walks and runs on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. These sessions are intended to offer non-judgemental spaces for women to build confidence and connect with others. Alongside the community runs, the group has developed Run30, a structured coaching programme delivered both in person and through its proprietary mobile application.
According to internal member surveys conducted by the organisation, the impact of the community extends heavily into wellness indicators. Approximately 94% of participants reported a positive impact on their physical health, while 96% highlighted improvements in their mental health.
Mel Bound, Founder and CEO of This Woman Runs, said “When the letter arrived, I cried, not because this work has ever been about recognition, but because recognition like this makes visible so much of what usually goes unseen: the early mornings, the quiet encouragement, the nervous first steps, the volunteers who notice who needs support, and the hundreds of small moments that help women believe they belong.”
She added “This work is everything to me: joyful, rewarding, challenging, relentless and completely worth it. But what makes it so special is the people: the women who trusted us enough to turn up, often terrified, and kept coming back; the volunteers who give up their Sunday mornings because they genuinely believe what they are doing matters; and my team, advisors, partners, funders and champions who have believed in this movement and helped build it from the ground up.”
Commenting on the space needed for women in sport, Bound said “Women don’t simply need to be told to exercise more. They need spaces where they feel safe, welcome, understood and able to begin. That’s what This Woman Runs exists to create.”
The volunteer network reflects this sentiment. Lydia, a local Run Angel, said “If you’d told me two years ago when I was just getting back to running after my second child that I’d be able to do a half marathon I’d think you were mad. I love getting out running with This Woman Runs so much and the community we’ve created. It’s because of them I believed I might actually be able to do it one day.”
In addition to her responsibilities leading the organisation, Bound also serves as a Non-Executive Director for the Sport England This Girl Can campaign, continuing her advocacy work for wider inclusion and accessibility across the grassroots sports sector.
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