As his fundraising journey gathers pace with a special honour, mental health charity runner David Millican has thanked Federation members for their ongoing support at ‘every step along the way’.
Since December, David has been undertaking ‘Challenge 35’, a quest to run 35 different Parkruns in his 35th year of policing to raise money for mental health charity, Mind.
Despite not being a ‘natural runner’, he committed to the mission in honour of his daughter Emz, who took her own life last October (2024) at the age of 21.
Parkruns – organised, mass-attended five-kilometre runs held on Saturday mornings across the world – were picked up as a hobby by David around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he discovered they boosted his own mental wellbeing.
The moment David received the boomerang at a Parkrun.
“It’s not something I necessarily expected to happen, but as I’ve said previously, I got a bit hooked on them,” he said.
“I felt like I’d found this exercise that just became key to keeping myself feeling good, and it became routine and has stayed that way ever since.
“When we lost Emz, I decided to put this routine to good use by raising money for charity, but still make it a challenge by ensuring each run is at a different location throughout the year.
“This has taken a fair bit of planning, and I’ve managed to make the challenge cover 14 different force areas in the UK. So far, it’s all been worth it.”
Parkrun
Sergeant David has now completed 20 Parkruns, having added the South Shields version of the popular event to his ‘Challenge 35’ collection at The Leas on Saturday 31 May.
On his 19th run at Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire the week earlier, he became Parkrun royalty as a surprise responsibility was bestowed upon him.
At complete random, the 55-year-old received Bertie, a red and white boomerang continuously passed along from event to event by runners and volunteers.
Part of a set of 10 Parkrun boomerangs which originated in Australia, the object is currently the only one in circulation across the UK.
“It was cool to know out of the thousands of people in this country who attend Parkruns every week, I had the only one,” he admitted.
Boomerang
“The idea was that you take interesting pictures with the boomerang and post them to a Facebook group – so I took it to Durham Cathedral and it was with me when I was on holiday in Goathland, North Yorkshire – before passing it on to someone else at your next run.
“At South Shields, I gave it to a woman who will take it up to Cumbria next. It was a nice little addition to my fundraising journey, and it will provide a good reference point to look back on the 19th and 20th runs with.”
David then looked ahead to the rest of ‘Challenge 35’, which is set to end on Saturday 29 November in Silksworth – the same area he began his police career as a 21-year-old in 1990.
He went on to invite Force colleagues to join on him his future exploits, whether it’s to run, walk or simply have a chat and a coffee.
The boomerang outside Durham Cathedral.
“Some family, friends, and people from work have already done this, and it’s given me a real boost every time.
“But the reason I’m actually welcoming it is not for my benefit, but for yours. One colleague told me that before completing a run with me, it was a morning they had expected not to get out of bed.
“I cannot recommend getting out and exercising enough for your mental health, and I want to see my fellow police officers and staff as happy and healthy as possible.”
These meet-ups are only one element of the backing David has received on his mission, however, with donations to his fundraising JustGiving page ‘blowing him away’.
Fundraising
His original fundraising target of £1020, for his collar number of 1020, has been smashed, as a grand total now nears £2000.
David rounded off by paying tribute to this generosity, saying: “The support has been unbelievable so far, so I’d really like to thank Federation members for anything they have given.
“To do all this knowing I am raising a lot of money for charity and sending strong messages out in the name of mental health awareness means the world to me – so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
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