Ryan Jones is running 100 miles to raise money for NHS charities.

Ryan Jones Is Running 100 Miles . . . On The Road To Nowhere

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At 1.00pm on Friday (April 24), Ryan Jones will start running on a treadmill. He has no idea when he’s going to stop. But having been bitten badly by the endurance sport bug when he finished playing, he’s unlikely to be distracted until he reaches the fundraising finishing line, as he told Graham Thomas.

Ryan Jones admits he will be riding into the unknown this weekend – even though he won’t be leaving the discomfort of his own kitchen.

The former Wales rugby captain – now the Welsh Rugby Union’s performance director – has already run a full 26-mile marathon in his back garden and clocked up 100 miles on his Wattbike, parked up on the patio.

Now, he’s moving indoors for his biggest challenge so far, in order to raise funds for charities that are supporting NHS employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday afternoon (April 24), the 39-year-old will attempt to run a daunting 100 miles on a treadmill – almost four continuous marathons.

Even if he ran steady 10-minute miles without any sort of rest period, that would take well over 16 hours.

So, the plan is to take five-minute breaks every 55 minutes or so, in order to drink, eat, visit the loo, change his running gear, or even grab a power nap as he powers on deep into the weekend.

 

His two Herculean efforts so far have already raised an impressive £47,000 and the century mile challenge should take his fund-raising efforts well past the £50,000 mark.

Add in the £500,000 donation Gareth Bale is handing over to the Cardiff and Vale Health University health board, plus the similar figure he is donating to the equivalent in Madrid, the £350,000 Geraint Thomas generated during his 36-hour garage bike ride, the hand-crafted lego men raffled by Welsh football referee Bryn Markham-Jones, and the cash being raised by Newport fitness instructor Diana Hopkins and her group, then the totals raised by those in Welsh sport are piling up.

Then, there are the £20,000 contributions donated by Wales and Juventus star Aaron Ramsey, the bike rides planned by former rugby stars Shane Williams and Jonathan Davies, plus the £35,000 – and rising – achieved by 91-year-old Ceredigion farmer Rhythwyn Evans for walking around his garden 91 times, inspired by the godfather of current fundraisers, Captain Tom Moore.

The Welsh efforts don’t end there, either. Many people are expected to take part in this Sunday’s 2.6 Challenge – https://twopointsixchallenge.justgiving.com/ – an opportunity to raise valuable funds for charitable causes that are being starved of their normal income.

The 2.6 Challenge starts on Sunday 26 April, the day when the London Marathon should have taken place, and it aims to encourage anyone to raise funds to help raise cash for charities who are losing out.

 

The London Marathon is the world’s biggest one-day fundraising event, which raised more than £66.4 million for thousands of charities in 2019. Without the 2.6 Challenge, none of that cash would on stream for 2020.

Jones’ efforts are helping fund “wobble rooms” for NHS staff, where they can take a break from the stresses of front line duty.

If you’re planning on some physical activity yourself this weekend and would like to contribute to Ryan’s epic electronic plod, then go to his Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ryan-joneskitchentreadmill100.

The triple Grand Slam winner scaled plenty of heights during his playing career, but with a previous longest distance completed of 50 miles in ultra-marathons, this will be a step – or steps – into unchartered territory.

“It’s a long way, 100 miles,” he says. “I worry I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this one and by Friday I’ll probably be a little bit terrified.

“But I’m not in bad shape and even though my body is a bit beaten up nowadays, I’m still competitive and determined to succeed.

“I’m also interested in the limits of what people can achieve, physically and mentally, and I think this is about right on my limits. This is me against me and every time I do these kinds of challenges I learn a little bit more about myself.

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“It’s not so much about blocking out pain, but embracing it and understanding it. I have a friend, Gareth Jones, who’s a physiologist, and he’s been helping me come up with a workable plan.

“I was never the greatest rugby player, to be honest. But I was good at being determined and single-minded. Those were my attributes. I kept going and made a little go a long way.”

That will involve starting at 1.00pm on Friday afternoon, meaning that by the time Jones reaches 10pm he is already heading into the dark unknown – past his own previous endurance boundaries in Ironman events.

He’ll have a playlist for his music system, and the TV will be available in the corner, but when his trainers thump on into the wee small hours, even those watching on his live stream may choose to leave him to it.

Five of his mates plan to do 20 miles each from their own homes, but he admits: “Once I get to 10’o’clock, then you’ve got eight hours of night-time darkness to run into the unknown.

Treadmill? Check…Clipboard? Check… Isotonics and energy bars? Check…Where’s Ryan?

“But I’ve felt I wanted to do my bit and play my part and the most humbling thing for me was when a nurse knocked on my door during the garden marathon and thanked me for what I was doing.

“As awful as this situation has been, it’s also been heart-warming how people have responded and come together.

“The reaction to Captain Tom has been incredible. People will be talking about that for years to come and it shows that sometimes the worst of times can bring out the best in people.”

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ryan-joneskitchentreadmill100.

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