Burry Port marathon man's stroke mission
Stroke victim Alan Cant can barely put one leg in front of the other but he has high hopes of completing the London Marathon.
The fact that he has a runner, his cousin, Gareth Davies running for him should come as no surprise.
Alan, aged 69, can only manage two walking stick assisted laps of Ward 9 Llanelli’s Prince Philip Hospital. He has been a patient there recovering from a stoke afflicting him since last May.
Distance running however is no issue for Gareth, of Elkington Road, Burry Port.
A Coleg Sir Gar lecturer in complimentary therapies, he has been more used to running 53-mile marathons than the “ comparatively mini” 26.2-mile London Marathon.
Marathon man Gareth, aged 57, has run 53 marathons of 26-miles or longer and London Marathon on April 25 will be his 54th.
Gareth has been so moved by the dedication of the nursing team around his cousin Alan at Ward 9 he has decided to run the marathon to help raise funds for the patients there and the Stroke Association.
He said: “This illness strikes without warning. Alan was flying his own aeroplane the week before this stoke laid him low. He has needed a tremendous amount of dedicated support and because of this support is close to leading a near independent life again.”
Ward 9 Sister Ann Robins said they were delighted at Gareth’s thoughtfulness and hoped to put whatever he raised towards an aid to assist stroke victims to drive again.
She said: “If Alan is still a patient with us at the time of the marathon he will be cheering Gareth along on TV with the rest of the 25 stroke patients here.”
Gareth started running when working as a construction engineer building power stations and living in Johannesburg in 1987. He was training most days and racing most weekends. He said: “Race distances got longer as I got fitter and I ran my first marathon (26.2 miles) about 12 months after I started.
“Later that year, 1988, I ran my first ultra marathons, the 35-mile 2 Oceans Marathon in Cape Town and then the 55-mile Comrades Marathon in Durban. Both of these races I completed 3 times by 1990 when my family left SA. One of the hardest marathons I've accomplished was to complete an Iron Man Triathlon – that’s a swim of 2.1 miles, cycle 112 miles and then run 26.2 miles.
The running caused a significant career change for Gareth in 1996 when Lowestoft College offered him a teaching job in anatomy and massage therapies. He moved back to Wales in 2004 and started teaching at Coleg Sir Gar the following year.
You can sponsor Gareth and Alan and support Prince Philip Ward 9 and the Stoke Association by donating money directly to: http://www.justgiving.com/Gareth-Davies-Cymro
Pic Jeff Connell
The fact that he has a runner, his cousin, Gareth Davies running for him should come as no surprise.
Alan, aged 69, can only manage two walking stick assisted laps of Ward 9 Llanelli’s Prince Philip Hospital. He has been a patient there recovering from a stoke afflicting him since last May.
Distance running however is no issue for Gareth, of Elkington Road, Burry Port.
A Coleg Sir Gar lecturer in complimentary therapies, he has been more used to running 53-mile marathons than the “ comparatively mini” 26.2-mile London Marathon.
Marathon man Gareth, aged 57, has run 53 marathons of 26-miles or longer and London Marathon on April 25 will be his 54th.
Gareth has been so moved by the dedication of the nursing team around his cousin Alan at Ward 9 he has decided to run the marathon to help raise funds for the patients there and the Stroke Association.
He said: “This illness strikes without warning. Alan was flying his own aeroplane the week before this stoke laid him low. He has needed a tremendous amount of dedicated support and because of this support is close to leading a near independent life again.”
Ward 9 Sister Ann Robins said they were delighted at Gareth’s thoughtfulness and hoped to put whatever he raised towards an aid to assist stroke victims to drive again.
She said: “If Alan is still a patient with us at the time of the marathon he will be cheering Gareth along on TV with the rest of the 25 stroke patients here.”
Gareth started running when working as a construction engineer building power stations and living in Johannesburg in 1987. He was training most days and racing most weekends. He said: “Race distances got longer as I got fitter and I ran my first marathon (26.2 miles) about 12 months after I started.
“Later that year, 1988, I ran my first ultra marathons, the 35-mile 2 Oceans Marathon in Cape Town and then the 55-mile Comrades Marathon in Durban. Both of these races I completed 3 times by 1990 when my family left SA. One of the hardest marathons I've accomplished was to complete an Iron Man Triathlon – that’s a swim of 2.1 miles, cycle 112 miles and then run 26.2 miles.
The running caused a significant career change for Gareth in 1996 when Lowestoft College offered him a teaching job in anatomy and massage therapies. He moved back to Wales in 2004 and started teaching at Coleg Sir Gar the following year.
You can sponsor Gareth and Alan and support Prince Philip Ward 9 and the Stoke Association by donating money directly to: http://www.justgiving.com/Gareth-Davies-Cymro
Pic Jeff Connell
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