Tam tells me that every Saturday, his family makes a point of looking up his parkrun time.
people who took part in the 5km running phenomenon across the world on Saturday, November 2 – but the big difference between him and most other participants is that he is in prison.
Tam was one of the first people to take part in the parkrun when it started in HMP Dumfries two months ago.
It is the first time a Scottish prison has set up an official parkrun event inside its walls – and the benefits are already being felt by inmates.
That ranges from fitness to mental health and a strong sense of community, as I found out when I joined the Jessiefield run.
One prisoner told me: “I was suicidal when I first came in here.
“Prison is hard on your mental health, but this is really important. It has helped.
“Being outdoors, getting exercise and having something to look forward to every week. It has changed things for me.”
As well as runners, there are opportunities for prisoners to take up volunteering spots; time keeping, counting laps, scanning barcodes, handing out finishing tokens and acting as the tail walker – staying with the last runner and making sure they don’t get left behind.
The prison has a core team, and other responsibilities are rotated among people who want to take part. Volunteering is an opportunity for prisoners to boost their skills and confidence as well as to be involved in the group if they don’t want to run.
For anyone who has taken part in any parkrun before, Jessiefield is immediately familiar.
From the pink high vis jackets worn by the volunteers, to the start and finish signs that are the same in every event.
Each parkrun starts with a briefing – today led by Keith, a core volunteer, containing the same information and announcements that every other parkrunner will hear that morning. The parkrun has grown already in the short time it has been running, with more and more people wanting to take part every week.
Jessiefield parkrun was the brainchild of prison physical training instructor (PTI) Danny Dunlinson and was backed by the prison, who wanted to offer more opportunities to the people housed in HMP Dumfries to get active.
Numbers depend on staffing levels, with around 20 spots available if there are two PTIs available. This week, there are 20 runners – including three guests invited by the Scottish Prison Service.
Dunlinson says: “The mental health benefits of exercise outdoors are well known – and parkrun creates a real sense of community.
“People feel really happy after their run. They are laughing and joking. A lot of the tension just isn’t here.”
He oversees today’s run with fellow PTI Natasha Hyslop – a regular at nearby Crichton parkrun in Dumfries.
But the involvement of prisoners volunteering to set up and provide the crucial support needed to make sure it can go ahead means it is very much an initiative owned by the prison’s population.
And you can feel this as you take part. It’s not something that people are doing because they have to, but because they want to.
Jessiefield is a tough course. Runners take on 12 laps of the prison’s garden – including a long hill that I can only describe as “testing” after running up it 12 times.
It’s the point of the course where a few runners slow down and start walking – but it is also a bonding experience and a talking point for runners.
“That. Bloody. Hill” I pant at the top after six laps.
“Must be nearly there,” says one runner. “Keep going!”
That camaraderie and mutual support is the most striking thing about the run.
As the last runner begins his final lap, a group of people who have already finished join him for the final push – jogging around with him and cheering him on.
One prisoner tells me: “Prisons aren’t always like this. It can be a tough environment, but there’s something about this that brings people together and we help each other.”
Gary, who completed his third run that morning, gives me a fist bump after I cross the finish line.
He is surprised to see his time – 25:06 – is exactly the same as the previous week.
“I am on a short sentence – so instead of thinking I have so many weeks left, I now think, I have this many parkruns until I am released. It is a better way of thinking about it”
When I tell him people try and do this on purpose, he laughs and says: “I don’t want the same time. I want to get faster.
“This has been so good for my mental health,” he says. “It gives you a release. Being outdoors, being in nature, just helps reduce stress and anxiety.
“I ran before I went into prison, but I haven’t run since.
“It is nice feeling part of something bigger. There are thousands of people all over the country doing a parkrun at the same time as us.
“It makes you feel less like you are in a bubble. It’s less isolating.
“If we weren’t here this morning, we would just be in our cells, waiting for breakfast.
“It is good to get up and out and it sets you up and improves your mood. We can meet people from other parts of the prison, and we have something to talk about.”
Graham is one of this week’s first-timers, finishing the run in 26.10.
“I usually just do gym workouts,” he says as he gets his time.
“This is a completely different type of fitness, but I enjoyed it. Seeing all the boys going out and beating their times each week made me want to have a go too.
“It makes me want to be healthier. I want to stop vaping to help me run a bit faster. But when you are in your cell and there is nothing else to do, it is tough.”
His friend agrees.
“People might read an article about prisoners doing parkrun and think life in prison is wonderful,” he tells me. “This helps us for sure, but it’s a tough place to be. When we’re in our cells its very different to this”.
The weekly, timed runs are also helping people make connections within the prison and making it easier for new inmates to settle in.
One, who recently transferred from Saughton – HMP Edinburgh – was taking part for the first time that morning.
“I’ve not done any exercise for four months,” he says.
“I used to do exercise with my family. I want to tell them about it.
“Being here means I can meet people and feel more settled here.
“I am on a short sentence – so instead of thinking I have so many weeks left, I now think, I have this many parkruns until I am released. It is a better way of thinking about it.”
“The world isn’t necessarily welcoming for people who have been in prison, but parkrun would give them something positive and consistent they can go to”
Stuart Pomfret, who is head of offender outcomes at the prison, is delighted at the impact that parkrun has had.
“At the start, I came along, and a young lad was struggling. I walked a lap with him to keep him going. Then a few other people walked a lap with him and he finished.
“I saw him again a few weeks later and he was beaming. He was getting fitter and able to complete the run. He was so proud of himself. It was great to see.
“This level of camaraderie isn’t necessarily unusual – there are lots of groups here where people get involved and help each other – but it is something that is really strong at parkrun.
“There is a real buzz about it. We have seen the numbers go up every week and there is real buy-in from the prisoners already.
“We are also really fortunate here at Dumfries that we have a garden. It’s our Narnia. It’s looked after by the prisoners and is a big green space.
“One of the important things for me is that it is something familiar that they can do when they get out of prison.
“The world isn’t necessarily welcoming for people who have been in prison, and many people don’t have stable families or relationships or work to support them, but parkrun would give them something positive and consistent they can go to, which is so important. It’s a bit a normality.”
“When are you going to run, Stuart?” one volunteer asks him.
“Before you get out,” he shoots back.
“Aye, February then.”
I ask him if he will carry on with parkrun when he is released in a few months.
He laughs and says: “Well, I am just up for parole in February. I’m actually in for another six years. But things like this help.”
I was one of two journalists invited to the run by the Scottish Prison Service. I turned up outside the prison on a chilly morning with no idea what to expect, or how I would be received by inmates.
But I crossed the finish line being cheered and high-fived by people who, half an hour earlier, had been wary of me.
Unlike at a lot of parkrun events, there isn’t a sea of runners wearing the latest trainers and sporting GPS watches.
But the elation and sense of achievement at the end of the run is just as powerful as anywhere else.
I have now been to 80-odd parkruns across the UK, and this was genuinely the most uplifting and inspiring event I have been to.
The sense of mutual support and growing self-worth among participants made it a very special place to be, and is clearly helping offenders on the journey to rehabilitation.
Certainly, for Tam and his family, the benefits are clear.
When his family checked the results on Saturday, they’ll have seen he came in first place with a personal best of 20:40.
Tam, who only started running when the initiative started two months ago, completed his first parkrun in just over 25 minutes – and has a sub-20 time firmly in his sights.
“Seeing my times go down has made me more confident,” he tells me afterwards. “I think I can do it and push myself a bit harder. I used to weigh 15 stone.
“I think it is important that it is a parkrun event, not just a run around because it means you are connected.
“When my family look up my results it gives us something to talk about. I feel proud of myself. I have a wee goal every week.”
“If we use the technology right and in an efficient way, then you will see justice earlier and be reassured that perpetrators will feel the full weight of the justice system”