Swansea-based boxer Ewan Rees is making strong progress in his endurance challenge for The Brain Tumour Charity, despite battling foot injuries early on. The army reservist set out from Swansea on June 3, running the Welsh coastline and the English border, aiming for around 15 miles a day before returning to Swansea after completing the entire loop. The challenge involves just over 100,000 feet in elevation—the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest three times—and is expected to take around two months.
Overcoming Early Setbacks
At the very start, injuries to his feet threatened to slow him down, but he dug deep and is now close to completing 250 miles. Rees said: “My body has started to adapt to the challenge. My feet and toes have begun to callous, my shoulders are slowly growing and getting used to the weight! My legs are recovering faster, however my knees struggle on the downhills! One thing I didn’t plan for, which was so silly of me, was the horrendous rain on day 1. This led to a list of problems with my feet that have only now started healing 2 weeks in. Now I’m hoping to press on further than scheduled, to try finish the run early.”
Inspiration Behind the Challenge
Rees’s inspiration is his Bampa (grandpa) Wynford Bater, who died from a brain tumour in 2020. Rees said: “Losing my Bampa is something that has stayed with me, and this challenge is my way of turning that loss into something positive. He was a very smart man, and after he was diagnosed in January 2020, it was tough to watch him slowly deteriorating. I discovered sport, and boxing, after his death. I was actually quite overweight when he was around. I think he’d be very proud of me for doing this, although he’d probably also tell me I was mad! Every mile I run is for him, and every donation will go towards supporting The Brain Tumour Charity and the vital work they do in research, support, and awareness.”
Fundraising Success
Fundraising is going brilliantly, with Rees already tripling his original £1,000 target. He said: “A huge thank you to everyone who has donated. The support from the public has been amazing! Keeping me going is my faith and trust in God, which is helping me find a strength I never knew I had. I’m so grateful for the support of my family and girlfriend, who come to see me on my rest days, bringing me supplies and refreshing my morale! And then there’s the support and messages I keep getting from friends and even strangers! The stand out moments for me so far have been meeting people who have been affected by brain tumours and seeing how much joy it brings them seeing someone raising money for the charity.”
Charity’s Response
Stacey Vincent, from the community fundraising team at The Brain Tumour Charity, met up with Rees in Chepstow on Day 8 of his run. She said: “A huge thank you to Ewan for his dedication in taking on this gruelling challenge. What he is doing is so inspiring. Every day in the UK, 35 people hear the words ‘you have a brain tumour’ – and unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years. We are leading the way in changing this and truly fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work. It’s through the incredible efforts of people like Ewan that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year.”
How to Support
Follow Ewan on Instagram at @ewanjohnrees or donate at https://www.justgiving.com/page/welsh-border-run. The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK’s largest dedicated brain tumour charity, committed to fighting brain tumours on all fronts. It funds pioneering research to increase survival and improve treatment options as well as raise awareness of brain tumour symptoms and effects to bring about earlier diagnosis. The Charity also provides support for everyone affected so that they can live as full a life as possible, with the best quality of life. To find out more, visit https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/.
