“The words 'cancer' and 'children' shouldn’t be included in the same sentence,” says Felinheli Councillor Gareth Griffith (pictured) who has been prompted to run the London Marathon this year to raise money for Children with Cancer UK charity.
The 60 year old Gwynedd Councillor loves a challenge, and this is one of his biggest challenges to date.
“It's a year late due Covid19, so the journey has been a long one,” explains Plaid Cymru Councillor, Gareth Griffith.
“Those who know me will tell you that I enjoy my food and a pint, but I've lost eight stone since starting this process and I’ve been training hard in preparation.
“The challenge is made slightly easier as my daughter, Ceri, who lives in London, also has a place in the race, and more importantly for my personal motivation, my wife, Christine, will also be running. We've both been training together and pushing each other when we’ve found it difficult. The support from Christine has been extremely important.”
(Photo: Wife Christine, with Gareth and their daughter Ceri, pictured at the end of 2019 during their training for the marathon)
The Councillor is no stranger to challenges, as he walked a 60 mile continuous journey in 2017, to raise money for GISDA in Caernarfon and Wales Air Ambulance. He walked with four of his friends from Felinheli, to Pwllheli across to Cricieth, Rhoslan, Bryncir and back to Caernarfon, raising £800 each for both charities.
“I'm determined to finish the marathon, but I won't be setting a time limit. I’ll break the journey to sections, as I’ve been doing in training. I tell myself, ‘I’ll run to that lamp post.’ Once I get there, I say, ‘I’ll run to that corner of the road,’ and that’s how I’ll continue throughout the race.”
'Children with Cancer UK' will benefit from Gareth’s marathon challenge. The charity states that 12 families daily in the UK receive the devastating news that their child has cancer. Funding vital specialist research, the charity does all it can to ensure that these children have every possible chance of surviving the disease.
"The charity carries out in-depth research projects to enable more children to survive, find kinder treatments that avoid long-term side-effects, support families to stay close to their children during their treatments and organise special days for children, young people and their families to enjoy.
“This is what I’ll be thinking about during this journey on the 3rd of October - the children and families who will benefit from the money raised by running this marathon.
“I'm very grateful to everyone who has contributed through the Virgin Money Giving page or to me personally over the last few months. Every penny will go to this worthy cause, so I'm honoured to be able to raise funds for them.
“I'm counting the days now and keeping my strength up so I’m strong and ready for the challenge. Running through the streets of London will be very different to travelling across Gwynedd's footpaths and lanes, but I'm looking forward to the camaraderie of the day and being part of a world famous event that I've watched from a distance over the years.”
If you would like to donate to Gareth Griffith's charity, Children with Cancer UK, click on this link <https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=GarethGriffith2&pageUrl=1>
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