Darren from Cwmaman raises £6,000 for Cancer Research Wales

We'd like to say a big 'thank-you' to Darren Evans, 52, from Cwmaman near Aberdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The father of two and grandfather of two, who is married to his best friend Ceri, has raised almost £6,000 for Cancer Research Wales.

Cwmaman feel the noize

Darren organised a rock gig in his hometown in April, and more climbed the Welsh Three Peaks – Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), Cadair Idris and Pen y Fan – in May.

The concert saw local acts Joe Dargavel, Hoop, Next Day Shakes and Cripplecreek rocking out to support our work.

For the Welsh Three Peaks challenge, Darren and his friends braved driving rain and uneven paths to reach their goal and raise an incredible £5,925.62.

Training hard

Darren prepared for the Welsh Three Peaks by walking 15 to 20 miles every Saturday and 9 to 10 miles a day, split into two sessions around his work.

He was accompanied by 'his shadow' – Delilah the Rottweiler – and for the challenge itself, Darren was supported by his family and friends.

"I'm grateful for the incredible support from family, friends, colleagues, and the boys who completed the climbs with me. A special mention goes to my shadow, Delilah the Rottweiler, who walked every training mile by my side," said Darren.

Incredible people

"I was joined on the climb by some incredible people. Ian Galbraith completed all three peaks, despite originally only committing to Cadair Idris, which was a huge achievement for him. Chris Haines took part in Snowdon and Pen y Fan, even though he'd only planned to do Snowdon — another brilliant effort. Richard Jones, bassist of the Stereophonics, joined us for the Pen y Fan climb."

"The challenge was my idea, and I was the only participant who was fully sponsored. Everyone else committed to one peak each, which made their support even more meaningful," said Darren.

Pushed harder than expected

"We hired a bus, and myself, my wife Ceri, Ian and his wife Ally, and Chris all travelled up from South Wales on the Friday and stayed overnight outside Llanberis. A close friend and his wife – who don't want to be named – kindly did all the driving for us.

"It was an early start on the Saturday – we were up at 3.00am for breakfast and ready to start climbing at 5.00am. The weather started dry with patchy cloud on Snowdon, but halfway up the rain arrived and it stayed with us for the rest of the challenge. Cadair Idris was the toughest for me. The weather conditions and the uneven, difficult paths pushed me harder than I expected."

Yes, I would do it again

"We covered 21 miles of climbing in 7 hours 55 minutes, with a total challenge time of 15 hours 20 minutes. We finished at 8:20pm and, yes, I would absolutely do it again. In fact, my next goal is the National Three Peaks," added Darren.

And Darren's friends are very proud of him.

"For me, butty, it's our journey from our first walk, when we couldn't even hold a conversation, to completing the Welsh Three Peaks," said Ian Galbraith.

"I would just say how proud I am of one of my oldest friends, to put so much time and energy into raising awareness and funds to fight a disease that has affected so many lives," added Richard Jones.