Runner says 1,000-parkrun milestone will celebrate event’s community spirit

A man who will become the first person in the world to complete 1,000 parkruns said he wants the milestone to celebrate the event’s community spirit rather than his own achievement.

Darren Wood, 43, from Carshalton, south London, first took part in October 2004 and has regularly participated in the free weekly event ever since.

He has run at 119 different parkruns in seven countries and has also volunteered 415 times at the 5k or at a 2k junior parkrun.

Darren Wood took part in the Bushy Park Time Trial which later became parkrun (Handout/PA)

Parkrun started on Saturday October 2 2004 as the Bushy Park Time Trial when 13 runners joined a free timed 5k run in south-west London which was organised by runner Paul Sinton-Hewitt while he was recovering from injury.

There are now 913 different 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.

Like Mr Sinton-Hewitt, Mr Wood was a member of south-west London running club Ranelagh Harriers but he skipped the first event, thinking he was not fast enough to take part in a time trial.

He joined in the following Saturday and told the Press Association: “The rest is history.”

He is 36 parkruns ahead of his closest rival and said: “It is nice to be the first to do things but it’s not what I set out to do all those years ago.”

Challenges like the parkrun alphabet have given Darren Wood a focus between the big milestones, he said (Handout/PA)

“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.”

He added: “This should be a celebration of parkrun and of what parkrun is doing worldwide, the impact that it is having on everyone worldwide.”

Mr Wood struggled with his mental health and self-harmed when his marriage ended and he faced debt and problems at work.

“I think it’s good for people to know I’m only human. I had those battles,” he said.

The sense of community at parkrun benefits participants and volunteers, Darren Wood said (Handout/PA)

During his “darkest days” he was worried about going to parkrun but found the routine helped and the community supported him.

“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.”

Mr Wood, who is a mental health first aider at work, urged anyone who is at a low point to speak out about how they feel and to seek help from their GP.

“We’re all going through our own different battles. Don’t be afraid to talk,” he said.

“There’s nothing to feel ashamed of, lots of people go through it.”

Parkrun can also give a sense of community to those in prisons, Darren Wood said (Handout/PA)

Mr Wood led the team which set up Edenbrook parkrun, on the Hampshire/Surrey border, in 2022 and said volunteers also benefit from parkrun.

“It’s, in some cases, their one bit of the week where they get to meet other people,” he said.

“The friendships which are built from that are something I’m really quite passionate about.”

He has also worked with parkruns in prisons, particularly with Feltham Young Offenders Institution in west London, and said taking part can make people “feel wanted and part of a community”.

Mr Wood has taken part in parkruns in England, Wales, Germany, Denmark, the US, the Netherlands, Poland and Finland.

Sweden was the venue for Darren Wood’s 999th parkrun (Handout/PA)

He often runs with partner Kellyjo Tapsell and said a new parkrun is “a little adventure we go on together”.

His 999th parkrun was Vaxjosjon in Sweden and he said: “When I look at that community they normally have only 30 runners and three volunteers.

“That reminds me very much of the early days of parkrun, Paul doing it out of the boot of his car, three volunteers helping.

“But what is the impact which that is having on those 30 people who rock up week in, week out? That’s going to change their lives.

“No matter where you go in the world, the concept remains the same, everyone is so friendly and lovely.”

Darren Wood’s partner Kellyjo Tapsell often joins him at parkrun (Handout/PA)

Mr Wood has completed the parkrun alphabet – where people take part in events starting with every letter of the alphabet – and said challenges like that have given him a focus between the big milestones.

He set his personal best (pb) of 17 minutes and 58 seconds at Bushy Park in 2007 and has an average time of 23 minutes and seven seconds.

“I think one of the hardest parkruns I’ve ever done is the first one I did on crutches,” he said.

“I’d had foot surgery and I was doing it on crutches because 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 to parkrun, Mr Wood, who works in card payment solutions, said: “It can’t take over your life. This is something that we do for fun, it’s not a job.

Darren Wood celebrating his 500th parkrun with event founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt (Handout/PA)

“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 be there to watch their father’s 1,000th parkrun and he will take Josh to junior parkrun on Sunday.

“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,” he said.

There will be a celebration after his milestone run in south London on Saturday.

“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.”