A man from Dyffryn is taking on the ABP Newport Half Marathon to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association in memory of his dad, Gary.
Kurtis Olding, 29, will be running the race, which is part of the ABP Newport Marathon Festival, with his brother-in-law Curtis, 26.
The pair have already raised more than £2,000 for the charity and are hoping their total will continue to increase.
Kurtis’ dad, Gary, was diagnosed with MND in July 2024. Tragically, the disease claimed his life the following year and Gary passed away in July 2025, aged just 58.
Kurtis, who works as a supervisor and is father to three-year-old Freya and has another baby girl on the way, said: “My dad first started getting symptoms in 2023. His speech was becoming slurred, his muscles started twitching and he started having lots of tests to try and find out what was happening.
“It wasn’t until 2024 that he had an official diagnosis – he had Bulbar Motor Neurone Disease which was causing severe weakness in his facial, throat and tongue muscles. He didn’t talk much about it and took things day by day. Thankfully he didn’t end up bed bound, but he lost his voice in the end and needed to communicate through hand signals, writing or texting.
“As much as we lost dad last July, we probably lost him the year before that. He was always the life and soul of any party, loved everyone getting together, playing music and especially hosting BBQs in the summer. He was a big sports fan and a huge family man. We are all glad that he didn’t suffer for too long.”
Gary was a very keen runner, having completed several marathons and half marathons, more than 150 parkruns and even took part in a London to Cardiff relay twice. He also played rugby for Llandaff North when he was younger.
Kurtis said: “I’ve ran a half marathon twice before – the last one being with my dad just after Covid, which is why I wanted to take on the ABP Newport Half Marathon to raise money for the MND Association. I entered it while dad was still with us, so he knew what I was planning and then my brother-in-law, Curtis, said he’d run it with me too.
“At dad’s funeral we asked for donations instead of flowers and we’ve managed to raise £2,000 so far for MND but we’re hoping to raise even more. There’s no cure for the disease and there’s nothing you can do to limit your chances of getting it, but hopefully the money can help go towards more research and medication so we can some day prevent and cure.”
The ABP Newport Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 19 April and is part of the ABP Newport Marathon Festival which also includes a marathon, 10K and junior races.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, added: “Every year we see runners take part in our races for deeply personal reasons. Taking on the ABP Newport Half Marathon is a huge challenge and doing it to support the fight against MND is truly inspiring. We’re very proud to have Kurtis and his brother-in-law on the start line and wish them the very best on race day.”
