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 on a warm, sunny day, greeted by a guard of honour from fellow Sutton Runners and surrounded by friends and family.
Mr Wood first took part in parkrun in October 2004 and has since run at 119 different locations across seven countries. He has also volunteered 415 times at the 5k or junior 2k events. He was presented with a yellow 1,000 parkrun T-shirt, a cape and a crown, being dubbed “the king of parkrun”.
Parkrun began on 2 October 2004 as the Bushy Park Time Trial with 13 runners. Now there are 913 locations in 23 countries, with over four million participants. Mr Wood, who initially skipped the first event thinking he was not fast enough, described parkrun as a habit and a way to explore new communities.
Mr Wood has been open about his mental health struggles, including self-harm after his marriage ended. He said parkrun made him feel normal and not judged. He hopes his achievement encourages others to seek support and try parkrun, stating: “Go and try it, you will not come away disappointed.”
