A PAIR of friends ran 254 miles from Old Colwyn to London, before then running the London Marathon, raising thousands for a Colwyn Bay charity in doing so.
Gaz Rowlands, a joiner, and Sam Ranshaw, a personal trainer and sports massage therapist, set off from Old Colwyn on September 22, arriving in London eight days later after running a marathon each day.
After a day off on October 1, Gaz and Sam, both 39, then ran the London Marathon on October 2, all in aid of the Rhos-on-Sea-based Happy Faces Children’s Charity.
School friends Gaz and Sam hope to have raised £20,000 for Happy Faces, which will go towards supporting its work helping sick, disabled and disadvantaged children across North Wales.
Both Gaz and Sam have raised money for Happy Faces on numerous occasions previously, including through running the London Marathon.
Gaz, who ran his ninth London Marathon, said: “It was horrendous pain; every day, just trying to get up and get going again was really hard work. It took us a few miles just to try and loosen the legs up.
“We ran what we could, and some days were more of a run-walk-run. We ran the whole London Marathon, though – the pain we were in was unbelievable, but worth it to see how much support we got from it, and we obviously raised a lot of money, so it was worth every bit of it.
“Every night, we had some sort of room – originally, we were going to camp, but we soon changed our minds on that!”
Nightly accommodation was kindly paid for Happy Faces, with Sam and Gaz stopping in Ruthin, Ellesmere, Newport, Tamworth, Kilsby, Milton Jeynes, St Albans, Southgate, and finally Blackheath, where the London Marathon starts.
Having pencilled in this fundraiser initially for before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam and Gaz believe they have now reached their £20,000 target.
Having trained twice for it already, it thankfully proved third time lucky for them.
The duo also made new friends along the way, on boats and in pubs, who were happy to donate to their cause after hearing of their incredible efforts.
Gaz added: “We were running along a canal near Birmingham, and there was a boat alongside us, and we were chatting to the people on the boat as we were running at the same speed as they were going. We told them what we were doing, and they then sponsored us that night.
“We also stayed at a pub in Kilsby, and told the guy there what we were doing, and he sponsored us £250. It was nice to come across people like that, who appreciated what we were trying to do.
“I don’t know the exact figure, but it’s got to be near the £20,000 mark, which was our target. Money is still coming in now.
“We started before lockdown and raised £13,000 before it all got cancelled – Happy Faces has already had that.
“Then we’ve had that £5,000, and £1,200 donated by coastal café, a £500 donation, and quite a bit of cash that’s come in.”
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Friends to run from Old Colwyn to London in aid of North Wales children’s charity
And though the pain proved as constant as it did excruciating, Gaz is proud of his and his friend’s efforts to raise such a great amount for a worthwhile cause.
He added: “I’m in bits now, it’s the same with Sam – his feet are swollen. He’s in a world of pain, as well.
“The pain with your ligaments and tendons; it’s not something you can just run through, like an aching muscle. It felt like there were screwdrivers getting pushed into our kneecaps at points.
“It wasn’t nice at all; I don’t know how we got through it.”
You can still donate to Gaz and Sam’s fundraiser by visiting: www.justgiving.com/campaign/GazandSamEpicRun2022.
For more on Happy Faces, visit: www.happyfaceschildrenscharity.org.uk.
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