A father-of-four from Caerphilly will be donning his wetsuit to run the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K in memory of his best friend who loved to surf.
Lee Treherne also plans on carrying a bodyboard with him around the course in the hope to raise awareness of brain tumours, a condition which tragically took his friend Chris Moore’s life.
The 47-year-old said: “Chris passed away quite suddenly just over a year ago. He was a fit guy, and it didn’t appear there was anything was wrong until he collapsed in work in 2022. He went home but his girlfriend said he was talking gibberish and called the hospital.
“He had a scan, and doctors discovered he had a brain tumour. He was given just 12 months to live.”
Chris was operated on straight away and while medics managed to take out a smaller tumour above his left ear, there was another deeper within his brain which couldn’t be removed.
Chris underwent chemotherapy but his health continued to decline. Sadly, he passed away in January 2024 aged just 47.
Lee said: “I was shellshocked when Chris told me his diagnosis. He was a very fit and healthy guy and not stereotypical of someone who you think would get ill. He didn’t deserve it at all.”
He added: “Chris and I met on our induction day when we first started teaching at Cardiff University School of Engineering. We started hanging out and sharing lifts to work and became friends from there.
“I’d been wanting to change jobs for a little while and when he passed away I took a position at UWE in teaching automotives. Chris was an inspiration for that and made me realise that life is precious. It’s sad. It makes you grab hold of life and do what you need to do.”
Lee is now planning to run the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K on Sunday 7 September in memory of his friend.
He said: “I’ve decided to run the Brecon Carreg CDF 10K in my wetsuit as Chris loved to surf. He was a typical surfer dude. He was devilishly handsome, had blonde locks and was a cheeky chap.
“I miss him dearly. He was someone I’d always call for a chat and you don’t realise how much it impacts you until it’s no longer there.
“I’m most worried about the chaffing during the run, but me suffering in a wetsuit for an hour is nothing to what he suffered for a year and a half. It’s just a small gesture of something I can do to raise awareness of brain tumours.”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers, Run 4 Wales, said: “What an amazing thing Lee is doing in memory of his friend and to raise awareness of brain tumours. It won’t be an easy challenge running in a wetsuit, so we’ll be making sure to give Lee a huge cheer around the course when we spot him.”
