A London runner has become the first person in the world to complete 1,000 parkruns, receiving a guard of honour as he crossed the finish line. Darren Wood, 43, ran through a tunnel formed by fellow members of Sutton Runners at Morden parkrun in south London on Saturday.
He was presented with a yellow 1,000-run parkrun T-shirt, a cape, and a crown, earning him the title 'the king of parkrun'. Mr Wood, from Carshalton, first took part in October 2004 and has regularly participated in the free weekly event ever since.
Over the years, he has completed the 5km distance at 119 different locations across seven countries and has volunteered 415 times at both senior and junior parkrun events. Reflecting on his achievement, Mr Wood said: 'For me it's a habit, I just rock up every week and I just do it. I love getting out and exploring new parkruns and meeting new communities.'
Despite being 36 runs ahead of his closest rival, the attention has been 'a little bit overwhelming', but he emphasised that the milestone is a celebration of the parkrun community rather than himself. 'I don't want the limelight. This is about a celebration of parkrun,' he said.
Parkrun began in October 2004 as the Bushy Park Time Trial, when 13 runners joined a free timed 5k run in south-west London organised by Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a runner recovering from injury. Today, there are 913 parkrun locations in 23 countries, and more than four million people have taken part. Junior parkruns take place on Sundays in the UK, Ireland, and Australia.
Mr Wood, who was a member of Ranelagh Harriers but skipped the first event because he thought he was not fast enough, now encourages others to try parkrun. He has been open about his struggles with mental health, self-harm, debt, and work problems after his marriage ended. 'When I went to parkrun, everything felt normal. I wasn't judged any more, I could just be me and I could talk to people,' he said.
He hopes his milestone will inspire others to seek support and try parkrun. '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 added: 'My key message would be that it's important for people to talk and not to feel judged. We are all very good at hiding how we feel. If there's one thing, be kind because you never know what somebody else is going through.'
Mr Wood urged others to give parkrun a try: 'Go and try it, you will not come away disappointed. Just build up that courage. Understand that you will not be judged, everyone is welcome, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you are. Nobody is going to look at you funny because you are new to it. Everyone is welcome. There's always a first timers briefing so if you don't know the course, you are made to feel welcome. That's the nice thing about parkrun, you've got the tailwalker so nobody's going to come last. Register online, get your barcode and just rock up. It's free, it's for everyone, what's not to like?'
Looking ahead, Mr Wood plans to continue his parkrun habit and aims for 2,000 runs in another 20 years. 'Aim high, you've got to be positive, you've got to have big dreams. Whether I get there or not is another matter, but aim big. Tour a little bit more, get round a few other places, enjoy it, go on lots of adventures. About giving back as well, getting up to 500 volunteers as well. I'd love to do more volunteering.'
