Cardiff Devils hero Jeff Smith leads life of adrenalin

Jeff Smith's ultra-marathon running has included the Marathon des Sables across the Sahara

Thirty years ago Cardiff Devils won the thrilling 1990 play-off final against Murrayfield Racers on the 24th shot of the penalty shoot-out, when Jeff Smith saved to take the league and cup double for Cardiff and become something of a club legend.

On playing such a crucial role in that win, the former netminder said: "I didn't play well when we played friendlies, but put me in Wembley in a penalty shoot-out that's where I really enjoyed playing my hockey. It was very adrenalin- fuelled."

An adrenalin surge is something Smith has chased throughout his life after professional sport.

Smith felt that, unlike some sportspeople, he comfortably managed the transition from full-time sport but did miss the buzz of being in a sporting arena.

So he became a qualified skydiver.

"I was definitely craving adrenalin. I filled that void by getting qualified to be able to jump on my own, which I did for quite a while," he said.

Then, in 2007, it was the loss of a close friend that motivated Smith. Smith's former Streatham team-mate Gary 'Moose' Cloonan had succumbed to cancer, prompting him to reflect on his life.

"As I helped carry his coffin into the church I became aware of my mortality in a way that I never had before. I vowed to myself to get the most out of every minute of my time on this planet and always in a positive way," Smith said.

In 2010 his youngest daughter Chloe, then 15, decided she wanted a challenge and came up with the idea of climbing Kilimanjaro.

Because of her age she could not go without a guardian, so Smith offered himself. Chloe duly became the youngest Welsh woman to summit the mountain.

"It was a great experience doing it with my daughter, but then it sparked something in me which made me want to climb another one," Smith said.

Jeff Smith celebrates on Everest in 2017

The following year he went to Russia and climbed Mount Elbrus followed by Denali in Alaska in 2012.

With three sizeable peaks under his belt Smith started to think of climbing the biggest one of all.

"Once I'd done Denali I felt that I was ok at mountaineering, not just a pretender. So I decided that the dream of Everest could potentially become a reality," he added.

He was advised to climb another 8,000-metre peak first, which led him to Nepal and the eighth highest mountain in the world, Manaslu.

Smith's first attempt on Everest in 2014 failed after an avalanche that had killed 16 sherpas led to the mountain being closed.

By 2015, Smith had undergone a double hip and knee replacement.

"My surgeon said to me, 'The only thing I suggest you don't do with your new hips is marathons'," he said.

Instead he went off and did ultra-marathons, including one of the toughest of them all - the Marathon des Sables - a week-long, 250 km run through the Sahara Desert.

In 2017, aged 53, Smith scaled Everest at the second attempt. Whilst on the peak, he spread some of Cloonan's ashes at the request of his widow Julie.

"Every now and then you look back on these things, and think 'actually that was phenomenal'," Smith said.

The desire to remember 'Moose' was behind Smith setting up a not-for-profit, charitable company called Big Moose, with the vision of leaving "the world better than we found it".

One aspect of that is the Big Moose Coffee Company, which helps homeless people and people with mental health issues find work and gives them a chance to rebuild their lives.

Even during lockdown, Big Moose have been able to help people in need.

Former Devils player Archie Nelson - who also played in that 1990 team - is now a senior manager at a supermarket and has passed on food that was going out of date,

"Archie's great - he just rings me and says 'Right I've got this'," Smith said.

Amongst all these projects, Smith owns a printing company, is in demand as a motivational speaker and mentors board level corporate executives.

His next challenge is one that is intended to last through the 2020s.

On the last day of 2019 Smith set up an Instagram account - jeffrunsthedecade.

He explained: "It was a whimsical idea really, where I attempt to run every single day of the decade. The whole purpose was to stimulate people getting out of the door and running because we know that running helps with mental health massively."

When holding talks or encouraging people to achieve their goals, Smith sometimes uses archive of his 1990 save.

His message? "Teamwork, never stopping believing that things can happen and not giving up until the last moment," said Smith.

It appears he will not be stopping any time soon.