GOAL-SETTING
Ihat's the spirit
When ultra runner Scott Jenkins hit a bump in the road, he feared his dreams were shattered. But his story proves that mental toughness is as important as physical strength
We talk a lot about comebacks, but usually only in terms of professional athletes. But what does it mean for an amateur runner? Scott Jenkins’ personal and humbling experience is a lesson in mental fortitude and the power of dreams...
I’m an amateur ultra-runner whose hobby outside of a corporate job for Johnson and Johnson is to run extremely long distances whilst raising money for charity.
Over the past 11 years I have undertaken a lot of ultra endurance endeavours to raise money for charities close to my heart, none more so than Operation Smile.
These challenges have offered me the opportunity to experience the world and make memories with friends and family, and each year I would set myself goals to try to push myself and my body further. 2021 was destined to be my most exciting year of running yet.
The plan was to run the Cocodona 250-mile run in Arizona (May), the Badwater 135 in Death Valley (July), Bigfoot 200 in Washington (August), Tahoe 200 in Tahoe (September) and finally run the Moab 240 in Utah (October).
It felt ambitious. It scared me. It would push me to my limits. But it would do good. It would hopefully inspire. It would hopefully raise money. It would hopefully raise awareness. But the road to my goal was not smooth.
Mr average
As I said, I’m no professional athlete just a regular guy, who works 9-5 in a job he loves and uses his spare time to train and drag his wife to ultra runing events. However, I am proud of what I have achieved to date in my amateur running.
Covid inevitably played a role in my preparations, but I did manage to secure a slot in the Badwater race, which as I was about to discover involved something not dissimilar to putting your head in an oven such was the incredible heat we all had to endure. That meant that beating the three key cut-offs would prove to be very, very difficult and I only made the first one with one minute to spare –a close call after more than 12 hours of running!
My 11-year dream was nearly brought to an abrupt end at a mere 50 miles in.
Had it not been for my best friend, Chris, encouraging me to sprint up a 10% gradient to meet the cut-off ahead of schedule, it very truly would have been over at the first big hurdle. Now, I’m glad to say, I recovered from that and finished 53rd, covering the 135 miles in 42 hours.
Hitting the lows
Next up was the Bigfoot 200, a 210-mile race through the Cascade Mountains with 43,000ft of elevation gain and surrounded by imposing dense dark forests (hence the race’s name). You could be forgiven for believing Sasquatch would reside in such a place.
Now, coming from Wales and living in London, let
