A London runner was given a guard of honour as he became the first person in the world to complete 1,000 parkruns.
Darren Wood, 43, ran through a guard of his fellow Sutton Runners as he approached the finish line at Morden parkrun in south London.
He was presented with a yellow 1,000-run parkrun T-shirt, a cape and a crown as he was dubbed ‘the king of parkrun’.
Mr Wood, from Carshalton, south London, first took part in October 2004 and has regularly run the free weekly event since.
He has taken on the 5k distance in 119 different locations across seven countries, also volunteering 415 times across the senior and 2k junior parkrun events.
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.’
The parkrun king, who is 36 runs ahead of his closest rival, said the attention around his achievement had been ‘a little bit overwhelming’ but added: ‘It’s just a nice celebration.
Darren Wood (right) during his 1,000th parkrun in Morden, south London, on Saturday as he became the first runner to reach the milestone
Mr Wood (bottom, second from left) said he wanted his achievement to be a celebration of the parkrun community rather than himself
‘I don’t want the limelight. This is about a celebration of parkrun. Just because I’ve been the first person to get there, it could have been anyone.’
He said: ‘This milestone isn’t about me, it’s about the parkrun community and what parkrun is doing for everyone. Parkrun is inclusive for everyone.
‘Everyone is welcome and it will change and save lives if we can get more and more people involved.’
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.
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 said: ‘I’d love for others who have never been part of a parkrun to just pick up the courage to attend their first event and be there.
‘Because parkrun has changed and saved my life and it will do that for others, I would almost guarantee that.’
Mr Wood was given a balloon reading ‘1,000th parkrun’ after finishing the Morden event
Mr Wood struggled with his mental health and self-harmed when his marriage ended, also facing debt and problems at work.
When he went to parkrun ‘everything felt normal’, he said, adding: ‘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 is using the interest in his milestone run to encourage other people who are struggling 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 added: ‘My key message would be that it’s important for people to talk and not to feel judged.
‘I felt hopeless but I came across as being the happiest person around. 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 try parkrun, saying: ‘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’re going to a new 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?’
Mr Wood plans to continue his parkrun habit.
‘I’m going to aim big, I’m aiming for 2,000 in another 20 years,’ he said, laughing.
‘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, this is what it’s all about. About giving back as well, getting up to 500 volunteers as well. I’d love to do more volunteering.’
