Thousands take part in Cardiff Bay runs
THOUSANDS of runners descended on the sun-drenched Welsh capital yesterday to take part in the Cardiff Bay 10k race.
Many of the participants were raising money for charity and were from running clubs as far afield as Merthyr Tydfil, Port Talbot and Swansea.
This year the new route passed the iconic Wales Millennium Centre, looped around the Bay Barrage and finished in the Roald Dahl Plass.
As well as the main 10k race, there was a 2k family fun run earlier in the day.
One of the participants in the family run was 10-year-old Jordi Blake who, despite having cerebral palsy, finished the course in 23 minutes along with his mother.
His success in the race meant Jordi and his family raised £251 for Unicef UK.
His mother Natalie Grice said: “He’s always been willing to have a go and try new things.
“He loves sports, he’s played disability football before and he’s a big fan of football and rugby.
“He saw me doing a few runs a while back and was inspired to do it.”
Josh Llewellyn-Jones, 28, from Cardiff, was also running for charity and took part in the run to prepare for a 24-hour fitness challenge to raise money for cystic fibrosis.
The daunting challenge includes a 100-mile cycle and 10-mile row but Josh said he was feeling confident.
“A couple of years ago I saw the World’s Fittest Man challenge and this is a slightly watered-down version of that,” he said.
Holly Matthews, 26, from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, said 238 runners were taking part to help those affected by the condition.
In the main 10k race, Dewi Griffiths, 25, from Carmarthen, triumphed over 6,000 competitors to take first place.
“I’ve been running 100 miles a week to prepare. It’s a full-time thing,” he said.
Steve Tyler, 34, from Cardiff, finished at just under 45 minutes and said: “It’s been excellent.
“Lots of people on the course and its a great setting for it. I’ve got two kids, though, so there’s not a lot of time for practice.”
Cenydd Burden, 56, from Newport, said the atmosphere had been amazing and added: “It can’t get better than this.”