Journey begins for Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon 100 space giveaway winners
Runners taking on the challenge of the Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon for the first time have been given expert advice from Wales’ top athletes.
Winners of 100 free spaces, coordinated by half marathon organisers Run 4 Wales gathered for a beginners training evening at the Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Llandaff campus on Wednesday evening.
They were put through their paces by a group of experts including current Welsh half marathon champion Ieuan Thomas, Wales’ fastest marathon runner in 2015, Mike Kallenberg, and up-and-coming Great Britain international Josh Griffiths.
The group of winners won their space via Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon social media channels, Sport Wales, Welsh Athletics and Parkrun. Their motivation to enter had been inspired by weight loss, raising money for charity and improving physical/ mental health
Matt Newman, Run 4 Wales chief executive, said: “Running has the potential to transform everybody’s health and well-being and that’s why we came up with the initiative of giving 100 free spaces away to people who have never run a half marathon before.”
“The training evening was the first step in what will be a challenging, but very enjoyable, journey for everyone taking part.”
“With the advice and tips they have been given we are confident everyone will have a fun three months training for, and completing, Wales’ largest mass participation event, the Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon.”
Runners at the training evening were given a goody bag containing a host of gifts from event partners, such as Lloyds Bank, Arriva Trains Wales, Brecon Carreg, MaxiNutrition and their very own “I’m training for the ‘Diff” t-shirt courtesy of Brooks Running.
Each runner also received a free subscription to Nudjed, a unique automated system designed to support people to be as healthy as they want to be. Based on scientific research and behavioral psychology, Nudjed allows users to track their health and set tailored challenges to improve bodyshape, fitness, and mood.
Speaking at the training evening, winner Simone Leonce from Cardiff said “I am using training for the Lloyds Bank Cardiff Half Marathon as a way to lose my post pregnancy weight. The training run was my first and although it was hard I feel a big sense of achievement for completing it.”
“This evening I have learned a lot of useful information about how to approach my exercise over the next 15 weeks. I’m also delighted as I was one of 10 winners tonight who won a pair of Brooks running trainers, there are no excuses now!”
