Covid: Cardiff Half Marathon postponement tough for charities

The postponement of this year's Cardiff Half Marathon will be a further blow for charities, it is warned.

Organisers Run 4 Wales say the decision to cancel the event for the third time was due to uncertainty over social distancing rules in Wales.

Calon Hearts director Sharon Owen said she had been forced to work from her garage due to the pandemic.

Ms Owen said the situation was "pretty tough," adding charities seemed to be left out "all the time".

The Welsh government said it was supporting the sector under the Cultural Recovery Fund, and Cardiff council said it supported Run 4 Wales' decision.

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She said Calon Hearts - a small charity which provides defibrillators and training to use them - gave up its office last year because she could not afford to keep it open, which was "upsetting".

She said just herself and one other person now run the charity from her her garage, supported by "amazing volunteers".

Calon Hearts director Sharon Owen said the pandemic had been "horrible" for the charity

"The weekend of lockdown saw us lose quite a lot of money in events people were organising for us, and I saw where it was going from there," Ms Owen told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"It makes you stop and think: 'What's going to happen?' I had a total meltdown in thinking: 'Where is this money going to come from?'

"It's an outdoor event and you see the scenes that have been happening in Wembley: 60,000 supporters, and then Ascot and Wimbledon, and we can't do events here in Wales outside."

Ms Owen said Calon Hearts is "not like big charities that have got big reserves".

"I'm now working from my garage," an emotional Ms Owen told Oliver Hides. "But that is what you do because you believe in the cause."

Phae Jones, of Ty Hafan, agreed there would be a "financial impact" from the race suspension

Phae Jones, of Ty Hafan hospice in the Vale of Glamorgan, agreed there would be a "financial impact" from the race suspension.

"It's a reminder that we rely heavily on voluntary raised income," she said.

"On the last two occasions, when the half marathon should have taken place, our supporters who were running would have generated more than £100,000, so it's an incredible sum of money."

Child cancer charity Latch Cymru would normally expect to raise about £10,000 from the event.

"When you see other events in stadiums going ahead and thousands of people sitting together in them, it's just frustrating really," added Latch general manager Iwan Jones.

The decision to suspend the event was taken after discussions between the Welsh government and Cardiff council.

Runner Gareth Evans was going to raise money for a cancer charity

Runner Gareth Evans, from Cardiff, said he was "disappointed" it had been postponed again as it was going to be his first half marathon and he was due to raise money for a cancer charity.

He added: "My two-year-old niece was diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this year and I wanted to do something for the charity that's been supporting my family."

It is now hoped two events will take place in 2022, with the second race in October.

Run 4 Wales chief executive Matt Newman said on Thursday: "At present there are no plans to relax the two-metre social distancing rules, which provides significant operational challenges for mass-participation event organisers".

Runners are being encouraged to participate in a "virtual" event instead.

A Welsh government spokesman said: "We have been in discussion throughout the pandemic with Run 4 Wales, including in relation to the decision to postpone.

"Major events are a vital part of Wales' visitor economy and that is why we have looked to support the sector, including Run 4 Wales, under the Cultural Recovery Fund."

Since its foundation in 2003, the Cardiff Half Marathon has become the UK's third-largest race after the London Marathon and the Great North Run.