Ben Parker: The wheelchair racer planning to push his way across the UK
In Episode 26 of the Running Tales Podcast, part of the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network, we spoke to Ben Parker about he how used his MS diagnosis to reshape his working and athletic life
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Ben Parker’s life changed when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009.
The debilitating condition has since left Ben in a wheelchair, but it’s done anything but stop him moving forward.
His latest challenge will see him push himself from one side of the UK to the other, raising money for Andy's Man Club and No Child Without.
It is the most recent stage of a journey which saw him retrain as a maths teacher when MS meant he could no longer work as a bus driver. To start his new career, Ben had to retake his GCSEs, do his A levels and complete a maths degree!
It is that kind of determination that saw him turn to parkrun to boost his fitness after he finally had to accept he needed a wheelchair, something he says provided an unexpected new lease of life.
Since then he has completed half- and full marathons, and has an ultra event lined up. But his ultimate challenge - for now at least - is to push his wheelchair from Lowestoft to Land’s End, covering a distance of 60km a day.
Not bad for anyone, but especially for a man who had never completed a race of any kind prior to his diagnosis.
On the podcast, we spoke to Ben about:
His shock at being diagnosed for MS and why he decided to swap a life on the buses for one teaching
Taking the plunge to use a wheelchair for the first time - and how it gave him a new lease of life
The vital part the parkrun community played in shaping his wheelchair racing journey
Why supposedly-helpful fellow racers should never give him a push without asking
Planning to wheel his way across the UK, and how his preparation is being left to the last minute
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Key points:
Planning to push 60km-a-day to raise money for charity
Last summer, Ben Parker was feeling his way into the world of wheelchair racing. This year he will be pushing himself around 60km per day as he attempts to travel from Lowestoft to Land’s End.
Ben will be taking on the incredible challenge in aid of two charities: Andy’s Man Club, a men’s suicide prevention charity offering support across the UK, and No Child Without, which provides financial support for young people across Harlow to help them access educational and extra-curricular opportunities.
He has already raised more than £2,500 and that figure continues to increase.
Ben told Running Tales the challenge came following a throw-away remark made to the Principal of the school he works at. After completing one parkrun event, he somewhat flippantly remarked that he’d be pushing his way across the country next.
When she called his bluff, and said he should do it for charity the germ of an idea was born.
“When you say it often enough, you’ve got to go through with it,” he said. “Part of me thought ‘I could really do this, it would be great fun’.
“It won’t be fun. It’s going to be horrible, but I’m going to love it.”
Just do it: ‘You don’t get any help if you don’t turn up’
There are few things that have shaped Ben Parker’s journey as much as parkrun. When he first went to the event, it took him one hour and 18 minutes to complete the 5km course.
But he was immediately struck by the support he received, and how no-one was worried about what speed he was recording.
He told Running Tales that his advice to anyone thinking about trying out their local event was simply: “Just do it.”
Ben said: “At that hour-and-18, people were saying to me as they were going past me, ‘well done, mate’.
“I am now that bloke going past people going, ‘well done, keep going, you’re doing good’. I’m doing what people did for me.
“And nobody looks down at you because there’s so many people that aren’t even doing it, so just do it. It’s worth it. It’s brilliant.
“You will get all the encouragement and all the help you need when you turn up. You don’t get any help if you don’t.”
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