Sadly last year I lost my brother Gareth after a short but valiant battle to cancer. Shortly before he died, the hospice where he was being treated, ‘Y Bwthyn’, arranged for a ‘Make-A-Wish’ ambulance to take him to the seaside one last time at Rest Bay, Porthcawl, the nearest beach to the hospice. Having grown up next to the beach in Aberystwyth Gareth and I spent many a happy day there. Beaches and the sea were also very special places for Gareth and his wife. At Rest Bay we were blessed with great weather, but sadly, due to the steep ramp and soft sand, the ordinary ambulance wheelchair couldn’t make it down onto the sand.

Having worked with disabled and autistic children, and seen how they sometimes miss out on activities those more physically able take for granted, my brother thought it would be a great idea to fund raise for a beach wheelchair for Rest Bay. As can be found at many beaches around the coast of Wales.

This got me thinking, I’d always thought of running a marathon but never had the inspiration to run one. So, I decided that I would try and break the Guinness World Record for the fastest Lucha Libre wrestler (similar to the film – ‘Nacho Libre’). Why a wrestler? Whilst growing up I used to love watching Reslo on S4C, specifically the legendary El Bandito! I’d already run the Aberystwyth 10k dressed as a wrestler as it used to have a fair few fancy dress runners. For this I’d dressed up as a Lucha Libre tribute to El Bandito. So, to raise funds for the Beach Wheelchair, a number of his friends and colleagues have had fundraising events. The wheelchair is to be purchased from a company in Bridgend. To get the total up to the £3,500 required, I am looking for sponsorship to beat the current Lucha Libre outfit world record marathon time of 3 hours 24 minutes at the Great Welsh Marathon, around Pembrey & Llanelli beachfront. The race is on 2nd April. The training starts now, as does the final touches to the outfit! Any cash over the required amount to purchase and house the chair at Rest Bay Porthcawl, will be donated to the Make-A-Wish charity