A father and daughter from Llanelli will be taking part in the 2025 Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K to raise money and awareness for the Brain Tumour Charity.
Dafydd Matthews-Williams, 40, will be running the 10K event before then taking part in the family-fun run with his 11-year-old daughter Celyn.
His wife, Madsen, 30, discovered she had a brain tumour in 2023 after she started experiencing symptoms at the end of 2022.
Dafydd said: “Mads had just finished her PGC and had started working as an English teacher when she started getting headaches. We didn’t think much of it at first but her headaches started getting worse and she started having seizures.
“Her doctor referred her for a CT scan which showed she had an epidermoid cyst – a tumour on the brain that was pressing on an area which was leading her to have epileptic seizures.”
Dafydd said that Mads had to quit her job, give up her driving licence and needed to register as disabled. He also needed to leave his job as a night-shift worker in a hotel, finding a new role as a delivery driver so he’d be around to care for Madsen.
He said: “Mads was referred to surgery but because of the type of tumour and its placement there is only a 50/50 chance of success. Given that we have a young daughter and Mads is young we thought it was best to put the surgery off for as long as possible and deal with the other symptoms that comes with it.”
Mads has been given anti-epileptic medication to help control her seizures. She’s also had two MRIs since her diagnosis which has thankfully shown that the tumour hasn’t grown.
Dafydd said: “Our life has been turned upside down and I was struggling to find something good to come out of it. The Brain Tumour Charity have been giving us all so much help, with counselling and information, so I decided to try and raise as much money as I can for them.”
Last year Dafydd took part in four 10K races and a half marathon, raising £1000 for the charity. He now wants to keep going for as long as he can, raising awareness too.
He said: “I want to help debunk the myth that benign is fine. It’s not. It comes with its own problems that people need to understand.”
Dafydd and Celyn both took part in the Porthcawl 10K last year and will be doing so again on Sunday 6 July. Mads will also be coming along to cheer them on.
Dafydd added: “Celyn is just a spark of wonder – she’s the reason I feel I can go to work knowing she can keep an eye on Mads and help look after her too.
“I’m also constantly blown away by my wife’s positivity given everything she’s going through. I’m so proud of her. She has up and down days but she’s determined to live life to the fullest and do all the things she wants to do. “
The Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K takes place on Sunday 6 July and is set to be its biggest yet.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, added: “Dafydd and Celyn are both taking on such an inspiring challenge to raise money for a cause so close to their hearts and we wish them all the best with their training as race day nears.”
