A careers consultant from Pontcanna is taking on the 2026 Cardiff Half Marathon in memory of her mother who died of sepsis.
Charlotte Edwards, 36, who is originally from Milford Haven, sadly lost her mum Sandra in April 2020, after she contracted the infection following surgery.
She is now wanting to prove to herself that she can run the 13.1-mile distance and knows that she’ll be making her mum proud in doing so.
Charlotte, who works at Cardiff Metropolitan University, said: “Mum died very suddenly during Covid. She’d been coughing up blood for a week or two and was sent to our local hospital in Carmarthen where they found a hernia wrapped around her bowel.
“She had an operation and we’d thought everything had gone well. However, within 24 hours we discovered she’d contracted sepsis and doctors said there was nothing more that could be done for her.
“It was a complete shock and what made it even worse was that neither myself, nor my dad or three sisters, could see her due to the Covid restrictions.”
It was due to this, Sandra requested to go back home and receive palliative care.
Charlotte said: “We didn’t know how long mum had left – it all depended on the infection. She was in hospital for three days and was on her way back home in the ambulance when she passed away in front of our house.
“I’d spoken to her on the phone a couple of times but hadn’t got to see her, which was extremely hard, but mum was reassured in her final days that she was coming home.”
Sandra was just 64 when she passed away and a small funeral was held for immediate family followed by a celebration of her life 6 months later.
Charlotte said: “Mum was the backbone of the family. She ran the house and knew everything about us all. She was so supportive and always gave the best advice – she couldn’t push us to do more if she tried. It was such a horrible time when she passed away, but it definitely brought us all closer together. It made us realise that you shouldn’t take life for granted.
“This wasn’t the first experience of sepsis in the family either as my eldest sister’s boyfriend passed away from it when he was just 39. He’d been battling cancer and that also came as a huge shock.
“It’s so important that if people have an open cut, to keep it as clean as possible and if something doesn’t look right, to go and get it checked out. The longer you leave sepsis the worse it can get and there are other symptoms too such as becoming dizzy and delirious and changes to skin colour, so never leave it if something seems off.”
Charlotte now plans to take on the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 4 October alongside her partner Danny, who will also be celebrating his birthday.
She added: “Although I’m very active and go to the gym, I’m not that good at running. I decided I wanted to do something to raise awareness of sepsis and that mum would be proud of me for, so I started running in July 2025, eventually managed a 5K and then put myself into the ballot for the Cardiff Half.
“Mum would think I’m mad but would be super proud – she knows what I’m like when I put my mind to something, and I’m determined not to stop until I reach the finish line.”
The Cardiff Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 4 October and is its largest yet with more than 29,000 runners set to take part.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, added: “We’re always so inspired by the runners taking part in our events and hearing about the motivations that get them to the start line. We’ve no doubt that Charlotte’s mum would be extremely proud of her for stepping outside of her comfort zone to take part in this year’s Cardiff Half Marathon and we can’t wait to cheer her across the finish line.”
