A man is set to become the first person in the world to complete 1,000 parkruns this Saturday, May 30, describing the weekly community event as life-saving. Darren Wood, 43, from Carshalton, first participated in October 2004 and has been a regular ever since.
Wood has run at 119 different parkrun locations across seven countries and has volunteered 415 times at the 5k or junior 2k events. He is 36 parkruns ahead of his closest rival. 'It's nice to be the first to do things, but it's not what I set out to do all those years ago,' he said. 'Anyone could be in my situation now. I was just fortunate to know about it from the early days. And it's not about the milestone, it's about how it's changed and saved my life.'
Parkrun began on October 2, 2004, as the Bushy Park Time Trial with 13 runners. Now there are 913 locations in 23 countries, with over four million participants. Wood, a member of Ranelagh Harriers, initially skipped the first event, thinking he wasn't fast enough. He joined the following Saturday and says, 'The rest is history.'
Mental Health and Community Support
Wood has been open about his mental health struggles, including self-harm after his marriage ended, debt, and work problems. 'I think it's good for people to know I'm only human. I had those battles,' he said. During his darkest days, parkrun provided routine and community. 'Everything felt normal. I wasn't judged any more, I could just be me and I could talk to people and explain how I was feeling.'
A mental health first aider at work, Wood urges others to speak out and seek help. 'We're all going through our own different battles. Don't be afraid to talk. There's nothing to feel ashamed of, lots of people go through it.'
Volunteering and Expanding Parkrun
Wood led the team that set up Edenbrook parkrun in 2022 and has worked with parkruns in prisons, including Feltham Young Offenders Institution. He says volunteering offers a sense of belonging. 'It's, in some cases, their one bit of the week where they get to meet other people. The friendships which are built from that are something I'm really quite passionate about.'
He has completed parkruns in England, Wales, Germany, Denmark, the US, the Netherlands, Poland, and Finland, often with his partner Kellyjo Tapsell. His 999th was Vaxjosjon in Sweden, which reminded him of parkrun's early days. 'No matter where you go in the world, the concept remains the same, everyone is so friendly and lovely.'
Challenges and Achievements
Wood has completed the parkrun alphabet and set his personal best of 17 minutes 58 seconds at Bushy Park in 2007, with an average time of 23 minutes 7 seconds. He recalls one of the hardest parkruns was on crutches after foot surgery. 'I didn't want to miss a parkrun because I'm sad like that and I thought it would be good fun to try and do it. Little did I know it would be the hardest thing that I would ever do.'
Despite his commitment, Wood emphasizes balance. 'It can't take over your life. This is something that we do for fun, it's not a job. I just run it week in, week out when I can. Yes, I will try to get back from holidays early so I only miss one rather than two, but that's just because I love that sense of family, that parkrun family.'
His sons Josh, 11, and Harry, 14, will watch his 1,000th parkrun. 'They don't quite enjoy it as much as me, but I think they are very proud of their dad. They often google me and show me to their mates.'
A celebration will follow the milestone run in South London. 'I'm going to run round with everyone else, nice and easy, just have a little bit of fun and be with people who want to run with me. It's not about it being a race. I'm not going to go out and pb or go extra fast, I just want to enjoy it and soak up the atmosphere. At the end of the day we just want to run and have fun. It's just a run with friends.'
