I went for a run and found the one place I can be my authentic self --[Reported by Umva mag]

There was a moment during my 26.3 mile run, dressed as wrestling-era John Cena, that I wondered what I was doing to myself.

Runners often talk about hitting ‘the wall’ around the 20 mile mark, and I slammed into it. By the time I finished – with a time of 2 hours 56 minutes – I was shivering so much my mum had to wrap me in a towel.

However, I had also become the Guinness World Record holder for the fastest male to run a marathon distance run while dressed as a wrestler. 

I started running when I was 13. I had been inspired by watching the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and athletes like Jonathan Edwards, so I signed up for Leeds City Athletics club, where I ran and trained once a week.

It was a big commitment so after about two years I stopped. My real running bug wouldn’t kick in for another four years.

Aged 17, I moved out of my mum and dad’s house to live alone. I had struggled with being bullied at school and my relationship with my parents was difficult, too.

I needed the freedom to develop my own ideas about life, and have my own interests, in part because I am on the autistic spectrum (though I didn’t know it at the time). Trying to work out how to move forward was something I felt I could only do on my own.

Running seemed like an obvious hobby to pick up again during this time. I felt I had a natural talent; I wanted to compete against others to improve my times, and I wanted somewhere I could go on my own. 

That’s when I came across parkrun. 

Back then, there were only a few parkruns peppered across the country and the first event I went to was in Leeds, in 2008. It was a cold December morning, five days before Christmas, and I finished third – I remember being slightly disappointed with my time.

I didn’t attend another parkrun for six months but then I found Bramhall, close to where I was at university in Crewe, and quickly became a regular.

Rather than having the Olympics as my end goal I just wanted to see how fast I could go. 

Since that very first Saturday in 2008, I have run parkrun over 350 times, and won my home local parkrun 50 times – more than any other runner. I have a parkrun 5k personal best of 16 minutes 39 seconds and I still have a mean average of just under 18 minutes.

Other runners have told me that I’ve inspired them, and I really enjoy that feeling of responsibility. 

In my personal life, things have been more of a struggle.

In 2013, aged 24, I found myself falling behind with my university course. I failed a module, which then led to me getting diagnosed with Asperger’s and fortunately, getting the support I needed to pass my degree. During this period, having sport to concentrate on, and parkrun week in and week out, helped to fill a void.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, I sadly lost my grandma during the first lockdown and just a year later, my father died of kidney failure. 

My dad and I used to watch wrestling together; it was our thing. After his death I decided to break a running record in tribute to him by running a marathon distance dressed as a wrestler – and there was only one, iconic figure that came to mind: John Cena.

On the day, I didn’t think I’d have much family to cheer me on. My mum’s side of the family live in London while my dad’s are based in Nigeria.

But I posted about my record attempt on Facebook and started to get responses from fellow parkrun runners who agreed to do some or all of the course with me.

I didn’t know them well as we lined up at the start, and because my time was important, I lost most of them in the first 10 miles. 

Halfway, however, more runners joined me and we all finished within seconds of each other. I felt really supported and so proud of what I’d achieved.

I honestly feel I would not have done what I have without the structure of parkrun, and I doubt that I would be as consistent a runner as I am now without it, so it’s been really important to me to give back.

As well as racing, I have volunteered in various different roles at parkrun. Frequently, I collect up and store all the equipment post-run, but I have also marshalled, done the pre-event set up and helped to scan runners’ barcodes at the end to ensure their finishing position is recorded.

I want to do for others what I feel parkrun has done for me.

I have met so many people and made so many friends over the past 15 plus years and crucially, I feel like I’ve become a more rounded person.

Having a disability has its challenges, and for me this is especially true at work. I’ve been a retail assistant in the same place for the last 10 years, and even in that time I have found people still struggle to grasp who I am and what I am about.

There are many others in the disability community who want to work, and can, but traditional workplaces can’t always offer the provisions they need or make the reasonable adjustments they require to maintain their role. People become marginalised. 

Organisations like parkrun are inclusive and a great place to build confidence and improve on existing experience. It’s the one place I feel I can be my authentic self, where I never feel judged or looked down on. 

Whatever my future holds, I will always go to parkrun. I’ve recently dropped down my days at work to become an exercise coach and mentor and I want to try and break a new Guinness World Record once a year – I have my eye on the record of most miles done on a treadmill in one month. 

When it comes to exercise and running, people feel scared that they have to go at a certain pace but what I say to anyone, with or without a disability, is to believe in yourself and persist. I want to encourage people to use parkrun as a starting point and a constant – then I’ll feel like I may have done something to help with what keeping active is all about.

parkrun is for everyone and the possibilities are endless. It can change your outlook. It has changed my life.

As told to Rosy Edwards

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