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Dan’s incredible challenge gets people talking

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November Challenge: With friends Matthew Evan and Jason Jones

CAREW’s Dan Mumford set himself a challenge at the start of 2015: to run 2015 miles in the year.

At nearly 39 miles a week or an average of 5.5 miles a day, it was going to be a serious test, but Dan had a great inspiration for trying to achieve this incredible feat, raising money for a cause close to his heart. Dan was raising money for Mind Pembrokeshire after suffering with depression for a number of years. He has found running to be of great assistance in helping him to regain control in his life, but he also wanted to do something that he felt could help others in the same situation: “Something had to be done to get people talking, to help others like me who couldn’t talk about it, to make people aware that they do not need to settle for poor mental health, to show people that they can achieve great things and to raise awareness of the help that is out there.”

A target was set to raise £1200 for Mind Pembrokeshire to help train a member of staff to become a Mindfulness Practitioner, at the end of the challenge just over £3000 and counting has been raised which will pay for all the staff to receive the training, which will benefit everyone who attends in the future. Dan is very open about his own battle with depression, saying: “It all began years back when I slipped deeper and deeper into depression. “Despite being a Gym Instructor and also a PTI in the Territorial Army, I stopped exercising. I struggled to socialise, my weight increased and my marriage was struggling under the pressure. “The emptiness of the depression left me feeling nothing, well apart from the worthlessness that I felt. I was suffering but felt too ashamed to discuss it, I felt that no one would understand and it got worse. “I started on medication, which numbed me further, I struggled with Neuralgia and other conditions which made the problem worse. I ended up on the sick for months.”

But then the breakthrough came when a good friend suggested he should go out running with him: “I hadn’t run for years, but I always loved running. Running used to make me feel relaxed and the benefits of running were almost instant. I could feel something, even if that something was pain and discomfort. “I kept going, with a fair bit of help and persuasion from my wife and a good friend. Slowly, things just seemed to get a bit easier. I returned to work, lost weight and the pain started to drop off.

“That was three and a half years ago and here I am recapping my 2015 challenge.” But how did Dan go from running to ease his depression, to raising thousands of pounds and completing a remarkable challenge? “I contacted my local Mental Health Charity, Mind Pembrokeshire. We discussed my challenge and what I aimed to do. The funds raised would go to pay for the whole team to be trained as ‘Mindfulness Practitioners’. “Mumford & Runs was born, I laced up my trainers and off I went. I signed up to a few races including the Born to Run 40 mile Ultra.”

“I had to run long in training. Running 30 milers on your own is tough, so I organised a tag-a-long run. We would run from Tenby to Mind Pembrokeshire in Haverfordwest and people could join in where they wanted. Around 30 people joined me that day, most of them had a story to tell, and they felt safe to talk with me, as I was so open with them. The miles flew by and we soon arrived at Mind to a warm welcome and cake!” When the day arrived for the 40-mile Ultra, Dan was inundated with messages of support on social media and through his dedicated page ‘Mumford and Runs’.

He flew through the marathon point with a personal best time, and he kept on going well, finishing in 4th with a time of 5hours 28mins, which set the tone for the year to come. Dan entered numerous races over the course of the year, including the Manchester Marathon, Swansea Half, Tenby10k, Wales Marathon, Ealing Half & Cardiff Half. He worked extremely hard to get ready for every race, and wanted to go faster every time, which he achieved. Although he ran in all these high profile events, Dan’s favourite event was one that was dubbed ‘Mumford’s Mile’ and was ran alongside The Autism Centre at Pembroke School: “We arranged a sponsored 1 mile run, as running helps to calm and keep the youngsters active. We set off on the route, some running, some walking, but everyone had a smile on their face, and this is what it is all about!”

Continuing with the community events, Dan helped set up the Carew Running Club which aimed to get people of the community get out running and the club has helped numerous people to achieve their own personal goals, with many people who have never ran before having taken part in 10k and half marathon events in the last year. However a year of non-stop running, as you may expect didn’t always go according to plan. The challenge had it’s pressures and this pressure at times affected his mental health, as he struggled to fit in his weekly miles and missed out on time with the family.

“Racing took it out of me and left me unable to run for days. I suffered a couple of injuries and illness too. The challenge was almost out of reach at the end of October, meaning I’d have to run 9 miles a day every day until New Year’s Eve. I had to do something and this is when I decided to do the November Challenge. “This was to run an extra mile every day in November. If I completed this it would bring me right back on track, but it would be tough. There was no guarantee I could finish it and I didn’t! “On day 23 the weather was awful, I ran in the morning outside covering about 12 miles of the 23 I had to cover that day before heading to the gym to finish off the remaining 11 miles on the Treadmill. I was feeling good until the arch on my right foot started playing up. I thought it was going to tear. I dropped the pace and nursed it to the end.

“On day 24 I got up out of bed, my foot throbbing from the 140 miles I had ran in the last 7 days, double what I’d ever done before. I couldn’t risk carrying on, and with my 2015- mile challenge under threat. I pulled out.” He did however recover in time to complete his challenge, with his children joining him on their bikes to help him get through the final miles; his daughter even dragged him out on Christmas day! “Boxing Day I went out on my tod and quietly crossed the finish line of my personal challenge. It was meant to be the following day at Carew Fun Run but I thought to myself, this is about “Doing more, talking more and Going the extra mile.” So that is what Dan did.

Over 130 people gathered at the Carew Sports Club for the Annual Charity Fun Run to support Dan and run the extra mile together. So Dan completed his remarkable challenge with 5 days to spare, and in the end ended up running 2020 miles in the year, but he couldn’t have done it without some key people and organisations: “It has been a journey that has created a bit of a buzz, started some conversations, raised awareness of our great local charity and raised a good sum of money too. I owe great thanks to everyone who has supported me all year long, especially those who fundraised under Team Mumford & Runs, WP Lewis and Son who sponsored my travel, Feel Good Inc. for collecting and doing the ‘Bungee off the Bridge’, Tees R Us for kit, Carew Club for all of the fundraising and Pembrokeshire Leisure for collecting and donating prizes.

“The biggest thanks has to go to my wife and children who continue to support me every day and put up with my coping mechanisms.” If you would like to donate to Dan’s cause you can online at http://www.everyclick.com/mumfordruns. For more information on Mind Pembrokeshire you can go to http://www.mindpembrokeshire.org.uk . You can also follow Dan’s new blog at www.mindrunner. co.uk or on Facebook or Twitter at either ‘Mumford and Runs’ or ‘Mindrunner’.

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Business

Largest Welsh port appoints communications and marketing director

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THE Port of Milford Haven has announced that Anna Malloy has been appointed as its first Communications and Marketing Director.

Anna is appointed to the Senior Management Team and this new role will be pivotal to the delivery of the Port’s long-term growth and diversification agenda and in ensuring that its obligations to coastal communities, future generations and to nature are honoured.

Tom Sawyer, CEO of the Port of Milford Haven, congratulated Anna and said: “Anna has a key role to play in our future and it’s doubly lovely to see ‘port-grown-talent’ flourish and for colleagues to progress up through our organisation.”

Anna will lead across the public affairs, marketing, sustainability, media relations, and community relations activities. She will therefore play a central role in the development of new and existing partnerships, including the Celtic Freeport, the Milford Haven Energy Cluster and the Celtic Collection; sitting alongside the delivery of major projects like Milford Waterfront and the Pembroke Dock Renewables Terminal.

“This is such an exciting opportunity. I am proud to be joining the Senior Management Team and look forward to delivering our ambitious strategy,” commented Anna Malloy, Communications and Marketing Director.

She added: “The Port of Milford Haven is playing a key role in the transition of South-West Wales’ economy to a decarbonised future. A beautiful place, with great people, that I am privileged to call my home.”

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Community

First deadlines met following enforcement action at landfill site

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THE first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).  

NRW issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on Thursday 18 April.

This outlined a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

During the latest site inspection which took place yesterday (Thursday 25 April), NRW was able to confirm that three actions have been completed – two ahead of the imposed deadlines.

The operator has installed 24 pin wells, which have been driven into the waste in the lower section of the cell identified as causing the odour issues (Cell 8). These have also been connected to the landfill gas extraction system.

Capping material has been placed over the same area of the cell and welded to the basal liner to encapsulate gas in this area, allowing for extraction by the pin wells and four horizontal gas wells, which were previously installed.

While progress is being made, NRW officers detected strong landfill gas odours during an offsite assessment on Wednesday (24 April) in Poyston Cross and Crundale. Weather conditions this week appear to have led to a wider spread of landfill gas to surrounding areas, not solely linked to wind direction.

NRW odour assessments follow a set route around the landfill, with designated survey spots, identified to enable consistency of assessment and reporting. This is essential to ensure the regulatory and enforcement responses where there is offsite odour attributed to the landfill is robust. 

The remaining Regulation 36 Notice actions will require significant effort by RML to ensure they are completed on time and NRW continues to closely monitor progress.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW, met with representatives from NRW’s South West Industry Regulation Team and Pembrokeshire County Council during a visit to Pembrokeshire on Thursday 25 April.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales, said:  “While visiting the area surrounding Withyhedge Landfill with our regulatory team and partners from Pembrokeshire County Council this week, I was able to see and hear for myself just what people living and working in these communities have had to endure as a result of the odour issues from the site.

“What they have been experiencing is unacceptable and our officers have been working tirelessly alongside colleagues at Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator gets this under control as quickly as possible. While it was clear that a lot of work has been done on site, there is still more to do to ensure they address all the actions set out in the enforcement notice.

“We want to make sure that happens, and are exploring every option together with Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator works quickly to resolve the issues which are clearly affecting the quality of life of people in these communities.”

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations, said: “While we are reassured that action is being carried out by the operators at Withyhedge Landfill with a sense of urgency, we are continuing our regulatory presence on site to ensure the operator’s focus remains on tackling the issues that will address the continuing odour issues being experienced by surrounding communities.

“We will be closely monitoring progress over the coming days and weeks to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May. If they are not met, we will pursue additional enforcement action where appropriate.”

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge or by calling 0300 065 3000.

Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.

These photos taken on 16 April and 25 April show the progress of capping works on cell 8. Pin wells are visible in both images. These have been connected to the landfill gas extraction system and are extracting gas from the waste mass.

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Community

Milford Haven’s war memorial is 100 years old today

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THE Milford Haven War Memorial, a significant landmark commemorating the fallen heroes of World Wars and subsequent conflicts, marks its 100th anniversary today.

The memorial, which was inaugurated on April 26, 1924 by the Venerable the Archdeacon of St Davids, remains a poignant symbol of sacrifice and hope for peace.

Constructed from 1923 to 1924, the memorial consists of a striking assembly of pink granite and white marble statues that were sculpted in Italy.

Representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force, these life-size statues stand on an unpolished three-step plinth below a main pedestal. A soldier faces west and a sailor east, with an airman atop the central column, surveying the skies.

The names and inscriptions of the fallen are carved into the polished granite shaft, meticulously supervised by surveyor J.P. Morgan with contractor E. Jones of Llanybydder.

Located on Hamolton Terrace with views over the Milford Haven waterway, the memorial is a freestanding structure in an external, roadside setting. It features a serviceman/woman sculpture in marble and Portland stone, set on a concrete base surrounded by railings. Inscribed plaques honour those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2009.

The memorial lists the names of 239 men who perished in the First World War on its polished grey granite faces. The Second World War claimed 157 lives from this community, whose names are recorded on bronze plaques around the base. Notably, the memorial also honours one serviceman who fell during the Korean War and another who was killed in Iraq in 2007.

The Milford Haven War Memorial stands not only as a historical monument but also as an enduring reminder of the costs of war and the community’s ongoing commitment to peace.

As the town reflects on a century of remembrance, the hope remains that future generations will continue to cherish and learn from the lessons of the past.

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