By Serena Coutts
A devoted sister is gearing up to conquer her first half marathon as a way of giving back to a charity which has supported her family.
Kyla is a 25-year-old from Golborne who will be taking on the Cardiff Half Marathon on 1 October, 2023, to raise money for The Family Fund: a charity close to Kyla and her family’s hearts.
The Family Fund is a UK based charity run by McCain which aims to help families raising a disabled or seriously ill child on a low income. The charity offers grants for items that otherwise the family may not be able to afford, for example, play equipment, digital equipment and family breaks.
The charity has previously benefitted Kyla’s family with the use of these grants and seeing how her family has been positively impacted due to the help of the charity, Kyla decided to take on this challenge to thank the charity for their compassion.
Kyla and her brother Harry
Kyla’s fundraising was partly motivated by seeing how grants provided by the charity have helped her younger brother Harry. Harry is Kyla’s 12-year-old sibling who has autism, epilepsy and other learning disabilities. As Harry is non-verbal, The Family Fund have provided grants to allow the family to purchase an iPad for Harry so that he can communicate his needs to his family. The grants have also helped the family buy Harry a new bed and sensory toys.
Despite the difficulties the family faces, Kyla describes Harry’s ability to ‘always make you smile with his gorgeous cheeky grin, and mischievous giggle’ and makes a note of their routine 7–8-mile walks in his wheelchair around Golborne, Lowton and Newton. She says it’s rare that people do not smile and wave to him along their route.
In previous years, Kyla participated in the 24 Peak Challenge to once again raise money for The Family Fund. The challenge involves trekking over 12 hours each day, covering around 28 miles over the weekend in order to summit 24 peaks in the Lake District. Kyla raised over £1,000 in 2019 by completing this quest.
Kyla decided it was time for another challenge and so chose running a half marathon as running is something that she had always struggled with and so this appeared to be the perfect challenge for her. After attending hot yoga sessions at Fighting For Fitness in Golborne and 1-2-1 coaching alongside her regular training she is ready to take on this significant challenge.
Support Kyla’s fundraising attempt
Kyla will be taking part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on 1 October, 2023. You can donate to Kyla’s cause through her fundraising page.
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