Ben Parker is leaving Runna, and why that matters to me
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Written & published 25th June 2026
Today the running world got a little piece of news that, for me, lands more personally than most. Ben Parker, co-founder and head coach of Runna, has announced that this is his last week at the company he helped build from a homemade PDF generator into the world's number one running coaching app.
If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you'll know Runna isn't just an app to me. It's part of how I got my life back. So forgive me if this one reads as much like a thank-you note as a news post.
Ben Parker leaving Runna: what he said
Parker shared the news of him leaving Runna on his Instagram (@benparkerfitness), and it's worth reading in full. It's a heartfelt, slightly tearful goodbye rather than a corporate sign-off.
The short version: after five and a half years, he's stepping away. He tells the story of how it began back in 2020, when his co-founder Dom Maskell suggested automating the in-person coaching Ben was doing at the time. The first version wasn't the slick app we know now. It was a PDF training-plan generator that emailed you your plan fifteen minutes later, under a different name and logo, with around a dozen paying customers. Three of them, he admits, were his dad, his brother and his sister.
What followed, in his words, was the most relentless, rewarding, terrifying, joyful experience of his life. He thanks the team, the investors, and, touchingly, everyone who ever trusted the app with something as personal as their training, attended an event, bought the kit, or put up with his voice on the podcast.
His reason for leaving isn't drama or fallout. He says the company is now full of people smarter than him, running efficient and imaginative teams, and that for the first time he feels able to step back and let Runna flourish without him front and centre. As for what's next, he's honest that he hasn't fully worked it out. He was a personal trainer and running coach before he was a founder, and he wants to get back to being the healthiest, happiest version of himself while continuing to help others.
You can read his full statement on his Instagram.
A quick history of Runna
For anyone newer to the app, here's the journey in brief:
2020: The idea is born. Dom Maskell suggests automating Ben Parker's running coaching, and the very first product is a PDF plan generator with a handful of paying customers.
2021: Runna launches properly under its own name. Two founders, one big idea: a personal running coach in your pocket, from Couch to 5K all the way to ultra.
2021 to 2024: Rapid growth. Backing from investors including JamJar Ventures, Eka Ventures and Creator Ventures, plus a roster of Olympian coaches. The team expands across London and Boston and the app becomes one of the top-rated running coaching apps in the world.
April 2025: Runna is acquired by Strava, the home for active people. The founders describe it as the natural home for the app.
Post-acquisition: The team grows past 200 people serving millions of runners in over 180 countries. Josh Oppenheim steps into the Managing Director role, and co-founder Dom Maskell moves on.
June 2026: Ben Parker announces his own final week, closing the founder chapter of the Runna story.
Why this one is personal
In 2021, the same year Runna was finding its feet, testicular cancer knocked me off mine. Surgery and chemotherapy followed, and for a while running, the thing that had defined so much of who I was, felt impossibly far away.
When I came back, I couldn't train the way I used to. I had to rebuild from almost nothing, and I needed more than instinct and stubbornness to do it safely. Runna gave me structure when I had none: a plan that adapted to where I actually was, not where I used to be, and that flexed around the bad days that recovery throws at you. (For anything health-related, your medical team always comes first, but as a framework to come back to, it gave me something to hold onto.)
Lacing up again on the coastal paths of North Devon, following a plan that believed I could get stronger, was one of the most significant things I've ever done. Every mile since has felt earned in a way miles before diagnosis never quite did. Without Runna, my rebuild would have looked very different, and I doubt I'd have found my way into ultra and endurance running, completed the ultras I've now run in places all over the world, or raised over £27,000 for the cancer charities that mean so much to me.
So when Runna approached me in early 2026 to become an Ambassador, it was the easiest yes I've ever given. I'll only ever put my name to a company or a product I actually use and genuinely believe in, and Runna has been woven into my recovery from the very start. To be asked to represent it, and to introduce other people to something that gave me so much, is a real honour.
Being an Ambassador also means I get to bring you the occasional exclusive. Here's one: an exclusive two-week free trial of Runna Premium, double the usual trial length. Download the app and use code ANDY2, or redeem it here. If you're standing at the start of your own comeback, that's two weeks to feel whether it fits, with no rush.
So when one of the people behind that app says goodbye, I feel it. Founders move on. That's the natural order of things, and Ben's clearly leaving Runna in a strong place. But it's worth pausing to say thank you to the people who build the tools that quietly change lives. Ben Parker built one that helped change mine.
Whatever's next for him, I hope it's exactly the healthy, happy chapter he's chasing. He's earned it.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Ben Parker leaving Runna? Ben Parker has said he feels able to step back because Runna is now in a strong place, run by large and capable teams, and he wants to focus on being the healthiest, happiest version of himself while continuing to help others. It is a personal decision rather than any fallout.
Who founded Runna? Runna was founded by Ben Parker and Dom Maskell. The idea began in 2020 when Maskell suggested automating the in-person running coaching Parker was doing, starting life as a simple PDF training-plan generator before launching as the app we know today.
When did Strava buy Runna? Strava acquired Runna in April 2025. The team has since grown past 200 people serving millions of runners in over 180 countries.
Is Runna still worth it now the founders have moved on? The app and its coaching team continue under Managing Director Josh Oppenheim and the backing of Strava. From my own experience rebuilding after cancer, the structured, adaptive plans remain the core of what makes it useful, and that has not changed with the founders moving on.
Have you used Runna on your own comeback, whether from injury, illness, or just life getting in the way? I'd love to hear your story in the comments.
About the author
Andy Hood is an ultra and endurance runner, Runna ambassador and testicular cancer survivor based in Westward Ho!, North Devon. After cancer took him out of running in 2021, he rebuilt from almost nothing and went on to take on some of the toughest endurance challenges around, from a 170-mile run along the South West Coast Path to Land's End, to the Tour du Mont Blanc, London2Brighton and UTMB. Through self-designed charity ultras and a refusal to stay quiet about men's health, he has raised over £27,000 for cancer charities and become a vocal advocate for testicular cancer awareness, encouraging everyone to check themselves and never put it off.
You can follow his running, his fundraising and his mission at runningwestwardho.co.uk and on Instagram @runningwestwardho.
Article contains affiliate links/codes, I may receive a commission if you purchase any products or services from the companies listed, at no cost to you. This goes towards running this blog, bringing you interesting running articles and supporting my cancer charity fundraising with over £27,000 raised to date.
Thanks for some analysis that is rational and non-hyperbole unlike what I’ve seen elsewhere on the web.