My wonderful Grandad would have been celebrating his 90th birthday on November 15th of this year, unfortunately he lost his battle with dementia in April. I have chosen to mark this occasion by undertaking a monumental personal challenge, whilst raising much needed funds and awareness for causes close to our hearts as a family. 💙

My Grandad was a loving and devoted husband for 67 years, whilst being a Grandad to 12 and a Great Grandad to a whooping 32! My Grandad was a keen sportsman in his day, most notably playing football for Chatham Town F.C. while being stationed in Kent during his time completing National Service; it was here he met my Nan. Due to his Welsh roots, my Grandad was known affectionately as 'Taffy' during his playing days. He eventually retired from playing football at 50 and cricket at the tender age of 58!

I am choosing to split my fundraising efforts between Dementia UK, enabling them to continue their essential work, providing admiral nurses to families affected by dementia, and the Aneurin Bevan Health Charity, with donations being directed to their Dementia Awareness and Meaningful Engagement and Activities Programme - any funds will be used to buy resources for patients on the same ward that my Grandad spent his final days.

On Sunday November 12th I will be running/hiking/walking the entire Taff Trail, beginning in Brecon, in the darkness of the early hours, and culminating at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay - totalling 86km (just over a double marathon) with around 700 metres of elevation. I am expecting this to take me somewhere between 12-14 hours and will be largely unsupported. 😅

On a personal note this will present a huge challenge, both physically and mentally, with my longest run to date being a marathon. I have enlisted the services of TrackTrail so that family and friends will be able to track my progress on the day in real time, using the link below:

https://track.trail.live/event/taffy-trail

All donations are extremely appreciated, however big or small! If anyone would like to join me at any point on the day for a few miles or just to provide encouragement, please let me know!! 🏃‍♂️