Brecon - Cardiff Bay Walk for Coedpenmaen Primary

Hi Everyone,

My name is Eddie Frelford and I am attempting to raise money to buy PE/Sporting equipment for Coedpenmaen Primary School in Pontypridd which has found itself in need of support and I would like to do my small part to try and get it back on its feet by attempting to walk the Taff Trail, where possible, from Brecon to Cardiff Bay in one day. The overall distance is between 40-50 miles depending on the route.

I feel what the children at the school need now is for parents to pull together and help in any way they can to work with the school to bring about positive change.

The walk will commence at around 5am on September 17th from Brecon and end in Cardiff Bay at whatever time we manage to get there within the 24 hours!

I am a former pupil of the school (and still a proud yellow house captain) as well as a parent to two children who currently attend the school.

I myself have been teaching for 12 years and am currently a Specialist Teacher at Cardiff High School and know the challenges schools, teachers and families have been facing especially during the COVID era so any help to Coedpenmaen I know would be beneficial to all involved.

I will be accompanied on the walk by 2 fellow ex pupils of Coedpenmaen - Ashley Matthews and another former yellow house captain - Nicky Williams as well as another teacher and former colleague of mine, Matt Kuster. I am doing this for Coedpenmaen school, Matt is doing it because as a teacher he also cares about children of all schools and the importance of health and wellbeing. Ashley and Nicky are both doing it for the craic as Coedpenmaen means a lot to us!

The other reasons I decided to undertake this specific challenge were;

Firstly, it highlights the importance of keeping fit, both mentally and physically and shows resilience. In this technological/digital age it is more important now than ever to promote healthy lifestyles to our children and I hope this walk inspires others to walk and exercise more and the money raised will be used to buy sporting equipment for pupils to be able to use during the school day.

Secondly, I wanted to do something that was different from other fundraisers and one that was a real challenge to complete. I have never walked such a massive distance in one go before, have not trained for this and although I do realise just how difficult it may be to do I'm willing to give it a go and do everything I can to get to Cardiff Bay for the children of Coedpenmaen.

Any donations, however big or small would be gratefully received and every single penny will go to Coedpenmaen School.

Thanks so much,

Eddie