MUCKING ABOUT FOR TRAGIC BROTHER
Siblings take on man’s favourite race after he’s killed while out on bike:
THE family of a man who took on 25 Tough Mudder events before he was fatally hit by a car have completed the gruelling course as a tribute to the “loving” dad.
Gwyndaf Bailey died on February 27 after being hit by a car while riding his bike in West Lothian in Scotland.
The 37-year-old dad-of-one, from Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, had been living in Livingston with his wife Leanne and their eight-year-old daughter Emily.
Now, his sister Rebekah, 21 and two brothers Emlyn, 35, and Jack, 17, have completed the obstacle course and mud run in his memory – a challenge their brother had proudly completed 25 times.
The siblings competed in Tough Mudder’s Cholmondeley Castle event earlier this month.
They also raised almost five times their initial fundraising target for road safety charity Brake, which supported Mr Bailey’s family following his death.
Miss Bailey, from Harlech, said: “Tough Mudder was Gwyn’s primary hobby. He used to do them all the time and even went across Europe doing them.
“So me and my brothers decided to do it this year in his memory and to celebrate something he loved doing.
“His wife Leanne also ran with a group of Gwyn’s friends who do it every year.”
Police in Scotland said Mr Bailey died following a crash involving a Mercedes C220 on the A89 in Dechmont in West Lothian.
Almost seven months later, Miss Bailey said the sudden loss of her brother has still not sunk in.
She added: “I was in the cinema with my friend at the time, and I remember my mum kept phoning me. I ignored it at first, but she kept trying so I thought it must be something urgent.
“I went outside and that’s when she told me what had happened. I was just in genuine shock. I couldn’t believe it. I just thought it was some sort of sick joke.
“It was so sad. It’s all a bit of a blur. It’s still a shock when I think about what’s happened today.”
Mr Bailey went to Ysgol y Moelwyn and lived in Blaenau Ffestiniog until 2008, before moving to Scotland after meeting Leanne.
He had a number of jobs around the area, including working in the quarries at Blaenau Ffestiniog and as a shop supervisor in Porthmadog.
“We always talk about him and will always remember him as being a really loving and caring person. We were always laughing at him,” Miss Bailey added.
“He only came down about once a year, but he often texted me and asked how I was.
“He was just like you’d expect an older brother to be – he used to tell me what to do, he told me what to wear, although I never listened to him.
“We just had a laugh together all the time.”
To donate, visit Rebekah Bailey’s GoFundMe page.