Darren Wood, a 43-year-old runner from Carshalton, south London, has become the first person in the world to complete 1,000 parkruns. He achieved the milestone at Morden parkrun, where fellow members of Sutton Runners formed a guard of honour as he crossed the finish line on a warm, sunny day.
Mr Wood, who first took part in October 2004, has run at 119 different parkruns in seven countries and volunteered 415 times. He was presented with a yellow 1,000 parkrun T-shirt, a cape and a crown, and was dubbed “the king of parkrun” by well-wishers.
Reflecting on his achievement, Mr Wood said: “For me it’s a habit, I just rock up every week and I just do it.” He added that he loves exploring new parkruns and meeting new communities, but described the attention as “a little bit overwhelming”.
Mr Wood has spoken openly about how parkrun helped him with his mental health after his marriage ended, leaving him in debt and struggling at work. “When I went to parkrun, everything felt normal,” he said. “I wasn’t judged any more, I could just be me and talk to people.”
He is using his milestone to encourage others to seek support, saying: “I’m doing this to hopefully save a life. If I can save somebody else’s life, that’s all I want out of this.” He urged people to attend their first parkrun, stressing that everyone is welcome, regardless of speed.
Parkrun began in 2004 with 13 runners at Bushy Park in south-west London. There are now 913 parkrun locations across 23 countries, with more than four million participants.
