‘Wales Coast Path’ 870 Mile Fastest Known Time – Rhys Jenkins
"It gave me that fire to go back in..."
In August 2020, Welsh ultrarunner Rhys Jenkins set a new fastest known time (FKT) on the Wales Coast Path, breaking the 2017 record set by the incredible James Harcombe. Jenkins gave Ultrarunner Magazine insight into how he managed to smash a new record despite being behind the clock up until the final day, and what gave him the grit to keep on going during the gruelling Welsh challenge that “broke him many times over!”
“The Wales coast path is mother nature’s roller coaster! It is so up and down; it is just brutal! It eats you alive and spits you out, but the views are stunning!”
“I probably won’t ever be the richest person in the world, but when I do silly things like the Wales Coast path, pushing my body to breaking point over 870 miles, people tend to donate! The money that I manage to raise goes straight out to good causes, and that is my way of leaving my footprint in the world, albeit a wrinkled and smelly imprint, after running continuously for weeks on end!”
I have raised over £100,000 for various charities since 2010, £6,000 during my time on the Wales Coast path, and that is precisely why I keep doing these things. Of course, being hugely patriotic, the Wales Coast path was a bucket list item and I wanted to get across that finish line! I love adventure and the records are fantastic but the core reason, my ‘why’, my unwillingness to yield; that has always been charity, and I think it always will be.
“Going into challenges, mentally armed with my ‘whys’, I will always find the grit to keep moving forward. The motives for running crazy long distances in the first place, will always be more powerful than any reasons I might find to quit.”
Raising funds to support charities financially is fantastic but it is equally important to raise awareness and the miles help to spread the messages. It is the stories that I carry with these challenges that people can connect with; the causes are something that can be felt. When I am tired and my body is close to breaking down, in those moments that I struggle or wonder if I can make it, I think of the people I am running for, I think of their stories and that gives me the extra grit that I need to hang on!
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