A Carmarthen woman will climb Pen y Fan for 24 hours this weekend for a lifesaving Welsh charity.
Determined Lara Griffiths is fundraising for the Wales Air Ambulance as part of her journey towards Ironman Wales.
Lara, a triathlon coach, has secured one of the Wales Air Ambulance charity places for Ironman Wales and is aiming to raise £3,000 for the all-Wales charity. So far, she’s already raised an incredible £970.
On Saturday 2 May, Lara will be climbing up and down South Wales’ highest peak for 24 hours and has invited anyone who would like to join her to take part. She said: “Anyone who wants to join me is welcome. A donation of any amount gives you the option to come and climb with me.”
Lara, 26, who is the owner of Pegasus Holistics and Performance has a number of fundraisers planned prior to the big event in September.
These include a 5km Fun Run on Sunday, 31 May at North Dock, Llanelli. It is optional fancy dress and £10 entry.
She will also hold a beach yoga session and following the success of her previous wellbeing evening, she is set to hold another wellbeing fundraising event.
Reflecting on the challenge ahead of her, Lara said: “It feels a little surreal to be taking on a 24‑hour Pen y Fan challenge but knowing it’s for such a valuable cause makes it feel completely worth it.
“Luckily, I love triathlon anyway, so training has been enjoyable, and I’m excited to keep building consistency as I work towards Ironman Wales in September. It will be my debut Ironman, and I wanted to make it a special one so raising money for an incredible cause felt like the perfect way to do that.
“I chose to support the Wales Air Ambulance after hearing so many moving, lifesaving stories from people who have been rescued. It’s easy to forget that this service exists until you hear what happens in those critical moments.
“Many of the stories involve adventurous, active people like myself, who simply couldn’t have been reached without the air ambulance. I also know people who have personally received their lifesaving help, which makes the cause even more real and meaningful to me.”
Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency critical care.
Gail Windley, Wales Air Ambulance’s Events and Partnerships Fundraiser, said: “Good luck to Lara with her up-and-coming fundraiser this weekend. Lara has set herself the challenge to climb up Pen y Fan for 24 hours, which is something most people would shy away from.
“As well as this challenge she has a number of different fundraisers planned before taking part in Ironman Wales, which is incredible. We’re extremely grateful that Lara is raising funds for our charity.
“Lara has already raised an amazing £970 towards her £3,000 and is also inviting people to go join her on her Pen y Fan hike for a donation towards our service. We hope people get behind Lara and show their support to such a determined woman.
“Wales Air Ambulance needs to raise £13 million every year and fundraisers, like Lara’s, will ensure we continue to be there for the people of Wales when they need us the most.
“We’re really grateful that Lara is raising funds for our Charity and look forward to her other fundraising events in the leadup to her Ironman Wales. Diolch yn fawr.”
Lara feels ‘genuinely warmed and grateful’ for the amount raised for the charity already and has described the support from everyone around her as being ‘phenomenal’.
She said: “Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared, supported, or reached out. I hope you know the difference it makes.”
You can show your support to Lara and help her reach her fundraising target of £3,000 by donating to her fundraising page IRONMAN Wales 2026 – Wales Air Ambulance | Lara Griffiths
All of Lara’s upcoming events can be found on her social media: Facebook: Pegasus Holistics and Performance Instagram: @pegasusperformance.wales
