Three generations of same family take on Cardiff Half
Three generations of the same family successfully completed this year’s Oysho Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 5 October.
Mike Hogan, 74, ran this year’s race along with his daughter Amy Williams, and granddaughter Arwen, 19, with an aggregated time of under 6 hours.
Mike said: “I managed to complete the run in 1hr 49mins, so I was pleased to achieve my goal to finish in under 1hr 50mins. My family all live in Cardiff, and it was a memorable and emotional experience, and something we may repeat in the future.”
Mike, a retired chartered civil engineer, said: “Amy and I have been competing in the Cardiff Half Marathon since 2009, but this year was the first time that my granddaughter, Amy’s daughter, Arwen took part in the event with us.
“Arwen turned 19 four days before the race and this was her first ever half marathon, and I was so pleased and proud of her for making this achievement possible.”
Mike, who is originally from Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, completed his first half marathons in the 1980’s, whilst working abroad in Qatar.
Mike said: “In school I enjoyed cross country running and representing the school. I continued road running as an adult, when I lived in West Wales, and continued when I moved to Cardiff”.
Amy has always been a keen runner and is a member of Les Croupiers running club. Arwen was capped for Welsh Schools football at under 16 level and played at county level throughout her childhood. As a qualified football coach, she really enjoys helping the younger footballers in her spare time.
The proud father and grandfather ran with Amy in their first Newport Marathon in 2018, aged 67, Mike ran the Newport Marathon again in 2022, qualifying for the London Marathon on both occasions. He has completed over 400 Cardiff parkruns, in which hundreds of runners take part every Saturday, and he enjoys the experience.
Amy has also run several half marathons and ran the London marathon twice. All three are members of their local gyms and Mike said, “My wife Beth and I visit the gym regularly, it’s important to maintain your core strength, especially as you get older.”
Mike ran this year’s race for the Tŷ Hafan and hopes to raise money for them again in next year’s event.
He said: “The race sold out so quickly this year, so I decided to run for a charity. I have run for the NSPCC in a previous Cardiff Half but I have been a supporter of Tŷ Hafan for several years and admire the work that they do, so I chose them on this occasion and managed to raise over £350.
“Overall, it was a wonderful day and a great atmosphere and I’m looking forward to competing again next year when I’ll be running in the 75 – 79 age category. There is no age barrier, and I hope to continue running this event for as long as possible, hopefully with other members of my family.”
Next year’s Cardiff Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 4 October, and while all general entries have now been secured through the ballot, there are still a number of charity entries left for keen runners to snap up.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, added: “It’s incredible to see three generations of the same family taking part in the Cardiff Half – what a fantastic achievement for them all.
“We’re very much looking forward to welcoming Mike and his family back to the start line of the Cardiff Half next year as well as all of our other participants who’ve either got a place through the ballot or are choosing to run with one of the event’s official charity partners.”
