Scott Jenkins is currently deep into his brutal training regime for something pretty extraordinary. Something that when you stop and actually think about, kind of blows your mind. We caught up with him via Zoom to get more of an insight into his life in general and the challenge that lies ahead of him for 2021.

I first heard about Scott towards the end of 2020. His wife, Abby, had sent a message through to us at SoulKind highlighting not only his running achievements, but also his likeable, determined and generous character. He currently resides in London, his day job working as a regional sales manager for Johnson & Johnson’s Knee Portfolio, but his story really began back in Penarth, Cardiff, where he was a GP referral personal trainer for phase-four cardiac patients. A role that provided people with known coronary heart diseases, the possibility to benefit from supervised exercise sessions.

It was working with these patients that got Scott thinking about life’s bigger picture. He says “Most of the cardiac patients had been through a major life event and come out the other side. It gave them a new lease of life and I started to wonder what I was doing positively in my own life that I would be able to look back on and be proud of.”

With a profession built on helping others and a nagging need to do something for charity, Scott believes this time was the catalyst for his first challenge. Growing up in Wales surrounded by miles of countryside, he and his younger brother, Rhys, both became avid runners from an early age, so it was running that gave him the idea for his first adventure. “We decided that we would fly over to America, (there’s more space to do this kind of thing out there) and run to raise money for the British Heart Foundation as well as the local heart group back in Wales. Our plan was to run from Boston, Massachusetts to Austin, Texas, a distance of about 2000 miles and we had 75 days to do so.”

“what am I doing positively in my own life that I’ll be able to look back on and be proud of?”

The pair completed the distance, amounting to a marathon a day for 75 days and it was Scott’s first real introduction into the world of adventure or “Ultra-Running”. He looks back fondly at the time: “We got to raise money for others and have an adventure along the way -what more could you want? These are the things that I’ll reflect on in later in life, the people that I have helped and the adventures that I’ve had.”

Subsequently Scott and his brother have gone on to endure numerous challenges including running the perimeter of Wales and across Iceland and Death Valley to name a few. By doing so they have raised over £50,000 for a variety of charities to which they both have close connections. As well as running with his brother for charity, Scott has also completed many other ultra, endurance races such as the ‘Canal Slam’, a series of 3 races (totalling 425 miles) along the UK canal systems and he recently became the first Welshman to complete the Moab 240, a gruelling, non-stop, 244 mile race through the Moab desert in Utah.

Scott recalls a moment towards the end of the Moab 240 where he became delirious, drifting off the route and literally crawling under a large rock to lie down. He says “My wife joined me to pace the last leg and I was in 15th place. However, fuelled by mainly caffeine, now desperately affected by the lack of sleep, I became more exhausted and I started to hallucinate. There was a point where I wasn’t even sure who she was.”.He laughs. “I remember looking out from under the rock and thinking Abby was a witch and I said ‘go away you witch!’. I was eventually coaxed out with cookies and ended up finishing the race at 4.30am in 35th place. The sleep deprivation along with the physical and mental toll a race like that has on you is incredible. It’s the hardest race I’ve ever experienced and whilst I may have underestimated it, I learned a lot.”

Through his work at Johnson & Johnson, Scott was given the opportunity to attend a mission in Mekele, Ethiopia, for a charity called Operation Smile, the charity that provides surgical intervention for children and adults with cleft lips and palates. His trip involved the assisting with screening and in theatre. He says “Smiling is an international language of the world that connects us, something that we all take for granted. Seeing first-hand the impact that the charity has really connected with me, so when I returned home I wanted to help raise more funds to support them.”

Scott is now an official ambassador for the charity Operation Smile and continues with fundraising for the challenge of 2021, one of the biggest he has ever undertaken. He says, “With 2020 being such a difficult year for many charities, I wanted to do something unique to help my favourite, Operation Smile.”

Due to the current Covid pandemic resulting in the postponing of the Badwater Race, Scott has the opportunity to become the first person on record to run all 5 races in a calendar year. The grand slam of Ultras, is deemed by other runners as ‘quite remarkable’ and also ‘completely insane’. The attempt will see him run the Cocodona 250, Arizona in May; The Badwater 135, California in July; August brings the Bigfoot 200, in the Cascade Mountains in Seattle; September the Tahoe 200 and finally the Moab 240 in Utah.

The training regime, working with his coach remotely, involves as you can imagine, lots of running. A typical heavy training week will see Scott running 100 plus miles, often in the very early hours, or through the night, (as he is still working full time), running for sometimes 10 hours at a time.

He also self-funds all of his trips and equipment, even his running shoes that cost £150 upwards and perish after every race are not supplied. Come on Nike, Salomon, someone…get involved!

“Smiling is an international language of the world that connects us, something that we all take for granted”

I later read that as a result of his ongoing pursuit of charity fundraising and adventure, Scott has also had to overcome rhabdomyolysis, a serious syndrome due to a direct or indirect muscle injury. But it’s not something that he has ever brought up, another demonstration of his humble, modest character.

Scott is such a modest, likeable chap, who for me epitomises the good in people. The hardships that he puts himself through are for the gain of something bigger than he himself. Sure, he is pushing his personal boundaries, making memories and ‘creating his highlight reel’ to look back on, but ultimately, his reward is seeing the positive effects he can make on other people - and that is hugely commendable.

You can follow Scott and his progress for the grand slam on Instagram @scottjjenkins and @theJenkobros on Facebook. The heart warming Operation Smile Charity are also on Instagram @opsmileuk

If you would like to support Scott with his fundraising efforts head here too >>