Ultrarunner Rhys Jenkins, who is attempting to set a new world record running from John O'Groats to Land's End while summiting each of the highest peaks in each of the home nations, was joined by local runners as he passed through the Axbridge area.

Rhys is today (August 5) approaching Land's End ahead of the record, and he has raised more than £4,000 to support victims of child abuse.

On July 13, Rhys began his attempt to set a new record running the entire 1,000 miles from John O'Groats to Land's End while submitting Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon along the way.

As part of the attempt, he ran through Winscombe, Sandford, Axbridge and Weare, and tackled parts of the Strawberry Line.

Local amateur runner Chris Hewett ran with Rhys for seven days of his challenge, and he said: "I met Rhys during a 75-mile ultra marathon, the first time I'd ever attempted such a long distance.

"I was ready to give up at 25 miles but bumped into Rhys. With his encouragement I made it to the finish line 50 miles later.

"When I saw he was planning a thousand mile run I decided that I would repay the favour and do everything I could to get him to his destination."

Rhys's route took him through Somerset on Sunday (August 1), starting at Failand and finishing in Taunton 45 miles later.

Chris said: "Rhys had a wonderful Somerset welcome.

"He was joined for much of the route by Andy, a local runner who completed his own JOGLE in 2016, and a gaggle of people from the Valley Festival who joined him for the Strawberry Line.

"Stuart, an athlete from Winscombe bumped into Rhys on the Strawberry Line and got caught up in the spirit of things and diverted his Sunday route to accompany us for a few miles.

"As Rhys was passing Axbridge his phone pinged and it was a message from John Kelly, one of the most famous international ultra athletes, who lives in Somerset. The message contained a encouragement and advice, and this really boosted his spirits.

"As we passed through Weare by chance we encountered a pair of JOGLE walkers who are ten weeks into their journey - which really puts Rhys's three week race into perspective.

"Rhys was really moved by all the Somerset people who joined his run or waited at the roadside to see him."

In this incredible test of human endurance, Rhys will need to run the equivalent of 40 marathons and tackle an elevation gain more than 100,000ft in less than 30 days.

For Rhys, this challenge is not just about the record, he is running for a much bigger cause that's extremely close to his and his wife's heart.

"Unfortunately, growing up, my wife Cerys was abused as a child, so I'm running this challenge for her and all the other victims of child abuse across the UK," he said.

"I'm not just running to raise £10,000 for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a child abuse support charity, but I'm also aiming to raise awareness and help normalise discussions on abuse, to remove the secrecy that surrounds it and keep it out of the dark.

"It will also help those that have been subjected to abuse realise they are not alone or different to anyone else."

As an ambassador for the virtual running challenge brand Rokman, Rhys is no stranger to brutal challenges.

In 2020, he broke the world record for running the 870-mile Wales Coast Path in 20 days 10 hours and 36 minutes.

He said: "Breaking the Wales Coast Path record last year was the most brutal 20 days of my life and the one person I could not have done it without is my wife, Cerys.

"She was not just my support driver for the whole challenge but she was my rock. She looked after me every step of the way, feeding me, hydrating me and putting up with me when I was tired and grumpy."

Rhys has a huge amount of respect for the current record holders, Adam Kimble and Kris King, who set a time of 30 days 8 hours and 18 minutes on July 31 2018.

"What Adam and Kris achieved was fantastic," Rhys said.

"They set an amazing benchmark time in which to beat. If I want to break their record, I'm going to have to push myself harder than I've ever done before. It's going to be epic."

You can track Rhys live and donate here: https://rokman.co.uk/blogs/articles/three-peaks-jogle