Youngsters from across Caerphilly county borough, together with Mayor of Caerphilly county borough Cllr Michael Gray, present a cheque to runner Mark Lewis Jones
A Welsh actor set to tackle the ‘toughest footrace race on Earth’ has visited youngsters in Caerphilly county borough to give them an inspirational talk about his upcoming charity adventure.
Next month Mark Lewis Jones and Richard Harrington take on the Marathon des Sables – a gruelling 151-mile race in the searing heat of the Sahara Desert – aiming to raise £100,000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.
On Wednesday 12th March Mark Lewis-Jones dropped in to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Penallta House headquarters in Ystrad Mynach to tell young people from Caerphilly Youth Service, Inclusion Services, the Caerphilly Hub Team, community focused schools and those undertaking education outside of a conventional school setting (EOTAS), about the charity challenge.
Fans will be used to seeing the duo on a number of prime time TV shows -Mark most recently as Rob Morgan in hit Sky One comedy Stella, while Richard starred as DCI Tom Mathias in the acclaimed S4C drama Y Gwyll and its English-language counterpart Hinterland screened on BBC One Wales.
But now actors Mark and Richard are set to take on even more important roles by attempting to raise £100,000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.
The pair will have to endure scorching temperatures as they run around 151 miles over six days while carrying everything they need to survive on their backs. Mark told the Penallta House audience that he and Richard would also have to avoid dangerous scorpion stings, spiders and snake bites while they compete in the race.
Those present also heard from Dr Chris Pepper, who carries out Leukaemia and Lymphoma research at Cardiff University. He told the young people about the impact that money raised could have on advanced research into curing blood cancer.
Following the presentation Mark participated in a question and answer section with the young audience, who were keen to know more about his training and his feelings about the challenge ahead.
Speaking after the event, Mark said: “It’s such a fascinating race and I think everyone gets the Marathon des Sables bug after hearing about it, it’s got a real special attraction to it. The talk seemed to go down very well, the young people asked some very good questions at the end which showed that they had taken the information on board. I think that the more we spread the word about what we’re doing the greater chance we have of getting Dr Chris Pepper the £100,000 for the year’s research, which will be a marvellous thing.”
Sophie Jones, 17, Vice Chair of Caerphilly Youth Forum, said: “All the young people were looking forward to this beforehand. It was really good to hear how much hard work and training has gone into this, and it was brilliant to be able to get hands on and see the equipment.”
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning, said: “The young people who attended today were completely captivated by Mark’s enthralling talk about the Marathon des Sable. The videos and specialist equipment he provided really brought his presentation to life – I think everyone in the audience found it very inspiring.
“We wish Mark and Richard good luck as they embark on this exciting challenge to raise funds for a worthy cause.”
Caerphilly County Borough Council held a charity raffle to support Mark and Richard’s work, which raised £303. Prizes were kindly sponsored by Tesco, Ystrad Mynach.
To support Mark and Richard in their fundraising mission, please visit www.leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk/mds.
