For ultra runner Jonny Davies, running the London Underground wasn’t enough. He’s already over 700km under his belt with his next fundraising running event: Run the Capitals.
Davies, 32, plans to run in the five capitals of the UK and Ireland.
In total, Davies faces a challenge of 900km in just 11 days, covering a total of over 8,500 metres of elevation gain, almost the height of Mount Everest.
The challenge began on September 12th in Edinburgh and consisted of a 186km trek across Scotland, then a ferry ride to Belfast, before continuing 174km via Ireland to Dublin.
Arriving in Dublin, Davies boarded the ferry to Holyhead. Over the last five days he ran 326km south to Cardiff and overnight to Newport, where he reached the 700km mark.
When Davies reached Cardiff Castle late on the evening of September 20, he was surrounded by a group of local runners, hoping to give him a boost and support him during the final three days of the challenge.
“It means everything to me. I would still be stuck in Scotland if it wasn’t for these guys,” Davies said.
“That support, care, love and trust are the things that get you through the tough times.
“I don’t just do it for myself, I do it to make these boys proud, to make everyone back home proud.”
After covering over 700km, Davies embarks on the final leg of his fundraising campaign to raise money and awareness for the suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
He hopes to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by raising awareness and using his social media platform to reach people around the world.
“That’s the beauty of community-run projects: so many people come together to connect and make friends,” Davies adds.
“Running is such a beautiful activity, not only for your personal health, but also for your mental health.
“I think we live in a society today where people find it very difficult to connect with others or make friends.
“Young people in particular suffer the most from their mental health today.”
When asked about the challenges of running through Wales, Davies said: “On the map it doesn’t look that hilly, but if you run the whole length of Wales it’s incredibly hilly.
“Tomorrow will be a flat day towards England.
“Today was downhill. People think that’s really easy when you’re running, but it’s not. It’s really hard on the quads and my legs have been feeling bad all day.
“Last night a party from the army helped us down to Pen y Fan at midnight to make sure we got the distances right for the day. This morning they left me to run the walk down.”
The total elevation he has to overcome during his journey is over 8,500 meters. He has to climb half of the elevation during his journey to Wales.
Davies will run his race in London on Monday, September 23, after completing a total of 920km.
When asked what his next challenge would be, Davies joked: “Go run a 5km, nothing on this scale.
“It takes a long time to plan for these kinds of things and to recover from them, but you never know.”
