In December 2022, Gwil, who works at Ascent Financial Planning Limited in St Asaph, decided to do something great with his love for running. He decided to take on the 26.2 mile Cybi Coastal Marathon for St. Kenitgern Hospice.
Gwil decided to raise funds for St Kentigern Hospice as a way to give something back for the care that his grandparents received. As part of his training he set himself a further challenge of completing the Chester Half Marathon in May.
Gwil tells us about why he takes on such a challenge for St Kentigern Hospice,
“We have all sadly been affected by cancer in our lives either directly, or indirectly through a loved family member battling this devastating disease.
The unfortunate truth is that we all have approximately a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer during our lifetime. None of us know if that will be us, when this might be, or even the severity; we just know that cancer is part of life.
Even with modern medicine, for many this disease will be too much and they will be told that the cancer is life limiting. It’s at precisely these times of darkness that we turn to the wonderful support and care that hospices provide. St Kentigern Hospice does exactly that, providing specialist palliative & end of life care to patients. Their clinical services are completely free of charge to patients and their families across Denbighshire, West Flintshire and East Conwy.
At St Kentigern Hospice they celebrate survivor-ship and well being. Their aim is to enhance the quality of life of their patients, enabling to live well with their condition.
I’ve experienced first hand the un-waivered support and care that a hospice provides when they were needed for my grandparents. It is for this reason that I have wanted to raise money for such a worthy charity, and one that any of us may need without warning at some stage of our lives.
After a few New Years Eve drinks I set myself the task to run the Cybi Coastal Marathon on 5th August 2023, and (for a bit of training) the Snowdonia Half Marathon in May this year. You will know that I do enjoy running, but these were well outside of my comfort zone – especially while sat sipping bubbly on New Years Eve!
The Snowdonia Half Marathon is billed as ‘One of the Toughest Half Marathon’s in the UK’ – I can now vouch for this!! However I don’t think it will come close to the effort that will be needed to finish the 26.2 miles that make up the Cybi Coastal Marathon. Not only is it scheduled for the middle of the summer, but in 2019 The Cybi Coastal Marathon won 1st place in the Best Marathons category of the Challenge Awards and ever since has had numerous mentions for its scenic yet challenging route. The kicker of this race is that the route sends runners up Holyhead Mountain within the last 10k.
It certainly isn’t cheap to run such a fantastic and well organised hospice, and I would like to play just a small part in helping St Kentigerns to continue to operate in our local area. I would love for you to support me running the upcoming Marathon by giving generously to this worthy cause. Your support really does mean a lot to me, and I will looking to harness the thoughts of lost loved ones and your messages of encouragement as I navigate around Holy Island on 5th August.
Thank you for you taking the time to visit my page, and for any donation that you are able to make.
Gwil”
You can support Gwil through his Just Giving Page