Athletic villagers are in training for a race to raise money for a trio of good causes in the area.
More than 400 people are expected to take part in the fifth annual 5k run in Llandegfan on Anglesey at 6.30pm on Wednesday, June 7.
All the money raised by the runners will go to the local school, Ysgol Llandegfan, Gwynedd and Anglesey Hospice at Home and Gafael Llaw, which supports children and young people from the Gwynedd and Anglesey area suffering from cancer.
For the first time this year two sponsors have come on board to foot all the running costs to ensure every penny is handed over to the good causes.
Peninsula Home Improvements, from Gaerwen, and Roberts of Port Dinorwic, in Caernarfon, are contributing £350 each.
Roberts of Port Dinorwic will also be donating food for the barbecue as they have done for the past five years.
As usual, all the race technology for timing the runners will be provided free of charge by TDL Event Services whose boss Tom Last lives in the village.
Meanwhile, Barclays Bank have again promised to match the money raised, pound for pound up to a £1,000 for each of the three recipients.
Organisers are aiming to beat the total of £7,800 they raised last year.
Peninsula Home Improvements chief executive Ken Grayson will be among the runners on the night.
He said: “We are very much a close-knit community in Llandegfan and the kids go to school here.
“My company thrives within this community as well as others and the village is at the heart of where we operate.
“The organisers give up a lot of their time for nothing to do charity work, and the money they raise is given to a lot of local charities including this school which I think should benefit from our support.
“The support from us and Roberts of Port Dinorwic is enough to cover all of the running costs which means that everything they raise goes directly to the charities.
“The event is growing every year, and it’s like a carnival atmosphere on the day and everybody locally who can, actually does the run or is involved in some way. It’s a really lovely event to be involved with.”
Among the organisers is pharmacy technician Bethan Roberts who said: “We have a lot of runners coming from outside the area but it is very much a community event for families.
“We’ll be here registering from 5pm and we have stalls and a bouncy castle, people selling cakes, tombolas, and other attractions as well as barbecue so it’s more than just a run.
“We raise money for the school every year and then we choose two other charities.
“We chose Gafael Llaw this year because it is such a wonderful organisation and it was particularly appropriate because Miriam Williams from Roberts of Port Dinorwic is involved with it and we felt we wanted to give something back.
“This is the first year we’ve had sponsors and it was an idea suggested by Ken Grayson, from Peninsula.
“Peninsula are very much a community based company and his two sons, Sonny and Tal, go to the school here as well.”
Fellow organiser Julie Gregson, works with Barclays, who are long-term supporters of the run.
She said: “Barclays are also matching funds so they will match up to £1,000 on each charity so potentially they will be making a contribution of up to £3,000.
“Initially it was just going to be a small event and we were hoping to get, maybe 50 people and then it’s just kind of grown and grown. It’s mushroomed. It’s been a really big success.
“The whole community comes together. It’s not just parents from Ysgol Llandegfan – we have people from different generations helping out and we’ve got Fred Evans and Beaumaris Band who come and play for us on the evening.
“Roberts of Port Dinorwic have donated food for the barbecue right from the beginning.
“It’s going to be a great evening. It’s a fun run but it’s also a bit of a fete as well because we’ve got so much else going on.”
Anybody wanting to enter the event should go to: http://tdleventservices.co.uk/enter-race.php
