A SPORTY 31-year-old is taking on the gruelling Snowdonia Trail Marathon in aid of a children’s hospice charity.

Tom Williams, of Abergele, will be running over 27 miles around the rugged Snowdonia National Park, up the draining slope of Pen Y Pass and finally up and down Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) itself, to raise money for Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith.

Tom has been training along the coast of North Wales and up on the trails above his home town with wife Amy, getting through 20-25 miles a week.

He said: “I’ve never done a trail marathon before but did complete the much flatter Manchester Marathon inn 2018.

“When I decided to take on this challenge I really wanted to raise money for a local good cause to give myself some extra motivation and help children and families in the area.

“My colleagues at North Wales Training have been very generous and I am halfway to my fundraising target already.”

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Renowned as one of the toughest trail marathons in the UK, and ascending 1,685 metres along the way, the July 9 event is based in Llanberis and draws competitors from around the world.

Tom said: “I’ll be carrying a running backpack with supplies like water, energy gels, waterproofs and some jelly beans.

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“I’m hoping to do it in about five and a half hours and would like to thank all my colleagues, friends and family who have sponsored me so far, hopefully we can exceed our target for this brilliant local charity.”

Vanessa Marubbi, Tŷ Gobaith fundraiser, said: “We are so grateful to Tom and all our supporters for putting us at the forefront of their sporting endeavours.

“This sounds like such a tough challenge but all money raised will go directly to supporting seriously ill children and their families locally by helping us provide nursing, respite, counselling and family support at our hospices."

Support Tom by donating via justgiving.com/page/tl-williams-1681156011299