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Runner's marathon cash rockets after viral video

Martin Heath & Andy Collins
BBC News, Buckinghamshire
Darren Ryan Darren Ryan with very short white hair and beard wearing glasses and a black T-shirt, which says "London Marathon 2025" in white and blue writing. He has his hands on his hips and is smiling at the camera. He is standing in front of a wooden fence, beyond which is a field with trees in the background.Darren Ryan
Darren Ryan has been running around his village wearing his specially-made T-shirt

A runner who is training for the London Marathon has smashed his fundraising target after his son posted a video of him on social media.

Darren Ryan, 56, who lives near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, is raising money for Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes.

His 22-year-old son, OIly, filmed him running around the village wearing a T-shirt that showed a QR code for donations.

He said reaction to the video had been "crazy" and it had now had more than two million views.

Darren Ryan Darren Ryan with very short white hair and beard wearing a black T-shirt with "London Marathon 2025" written on it, black shorts and green trainers. He is running past some metal railings beyond which are Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial, made of white marble.Darren Ryan
Mr Ryan has been training in London

Olly Ryan told BBC Three Counties Radio he decided to publicise his dad's efforts because he was not getting much of a response face-to-face.

He said: "Dad created this T-shirt and went out four times a week around the village wearing this QR code on the back.

"One frosty morning, I woke up and I thought 'You know what? This is actually really sweet - he's not had one person stop him in the village', so I thought I would film him going out the house and just tell everyone online what he's doing."

He said the video's reception was "just crazy and it's now on about 2.6 million viewers and counting".

Darren Ryan Darren Ryan with very short white hair and beard, wearing a black T-shirt with a QR code on the back. He is also wearing black shorts and is running past a busy road on which a white recycling lorry can be seen along with a grey van. The lorry is outside a gothic stone-built church.Darren Ryan
Mr Ryan has been training for weeks for the big race

Donations have come in from all over the world, taking Mr Ryan's fundraising total from just £620 to a whopping £16,000 with more than three weeks to go until the big race.

His original target was £2,500.

Darren Ryan Olly Ryan with short dark hair and black cap on backwards. He is inside a car, looking at the camera with his right hand on the cap.Darren Ryan
Olly Ryan decided to film his father after seeing him going out for a run on a cold morning

Mr Ryan, who will be running the marathon with his other son, Callum, 24, said: "It's the fact that people are commenting - not just giving money, they're actually saying how wonderful this is - from Canada, from the US. It's phenomenal.

"We hear a lot of negative press about social media. It's put it in a completely different light; the positivity and support.

"I've not had one negative message."

Willen Hospice Darren Ryan with very short white hair and beard, wearing black glasses standing next to Callum who has short brown hair and beard. They are both smiling at the camera and wearing blue hoodies with "Willen Hospice" written on the front and a swan logo.Willen Hospice
Mr Ryan will be tackling the London Marathon with his son, Callum

Olly Ryan said that, in response to worldwide demand, there would be more videos of Mr Ryan's journey to come, including one of a fundraising event taking place this weekend.

Willen Hospice said: "We're reliant on the determination of local supporters, like Darren and Callum, to help raise around £8.7m each year, so our expert teams can continue caring for the community completely free of charge."

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