A woman will pay tribute to her "humble and kind" father by running the Newport Wales Marathon in his memory.

Anwen Davies lost her dad Ceri in September 2019 when he suffered a cardiac arrest attempting to climb Mount Snowdon as part of the Welsh Three Peaks challenging.

Ceri, who was 57, worked as a vicar in the Church of Wales and also volunteered at the learning disability provider Cartrefi Cymru.

“My father was the most humble, kind, generous and forgiving man,” said Anwen.

“You couldn’t fault him. He always put others before himself and wouldn’t judge a soul. He passed away unafraid of his limits, and I wish to follow in his footsteps and take on the challenge of running a marathon.

“This will be my first marathon and I wanted to do it this year as it’s the first time I’m going to be stationed in the UK since his death. He completed the London Marathon in the 90s and I’d like to think that doing this would make him proud.

“He was such a role model for me, and it gives me massive motivation. I’m so inspired by the way he always challenged himself and I want to emulate his determination.”

Anwen, 24, works as a survival equipment specialist for the RAF and is the eldest of four sisters who were all shocked to hear about the passing of their beloved father.

“He’d hiked up Cadair Idris on the Thursday, was doing Snowdon on the Friday and I was going to join him to hike up Pen-Y-Fan on the Saturday.

“Me, my mum, Ruth, and my sisters were waiting for him to come home but it wasn’t until 10pm that we found out what had happened. In that moment our lives completely changed.”

“It was a complete shock. He was a very physically fit man – we’d ran the Cardiff Half Marathon together just two years before – so we didn’t think something like this would ever happen to him.”

Matt Newman, chief organiser of Run 4 Wales, has praised Anwen for her touching tribute and is excited to see her undertake the challenge next month.

He said: “Anwen is a remarkable woman who is doing something positive in the face of adversity and we’re sure her father would be incredibly proud of her.

"We’re looking forward to cheering her around the course alongside her family and celebrating her achievement at the finish line.”

To find out more about the upcoming marathon visit newportwalesmarathon.co.uk/ or to help Anwen reach her fundraising goal for Cartrefi Cymru visit her page here.