THE ICONIC Cardiff Bay Run returns this Sunday, May 22 with 5,000 people expected to participate.

Runners supporting the British Heart Foundation (BHF)’s race to the next life-saving breakthrough in heart and circulatory research will be able to take in all of Cardiff Bay’s most iconic landmarks, starting and finishing in Roald Dahl Plass and passing the Wales Millennium Centre, Mermaid Quay, the Pierhead Building, Senedd, Porth Teigr and the Cardiff Bay Barrage.

Among the participants fundraising for BHF Cymru is 9-year-old Ollie Banks from Pontypool.

Ollie will be running in the Children's Future Challenger 1 mile race, supported by his proud parents Kirsty and Steve, and his big brother Jack.

Ollie has a condition called Ebstein’s Anomaly, which means the valve which directs blood through the right side of the heart doesn’t work properly.

Ollie said: "My heart has a 'glitch' that is changing as I grow, and it means that I will need an operation to fix it. I run to keep my heart healthy and happy. I want to help all the heart doctors learn new ways to fix broken hearts and be the best that they can be in helping children like me."

Ollie raised £900 running the children’s mile as part of the Cardiff Half Marathon in March, £100 for every year of his life, and he’s set a target of £1,000 for October’s event to celebrate his tenth birthday.

You can support Ollie at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Oliver-Banks6.

Phil Fiander, 65, from Abercarn, who completed the virtual and in-person Cardiff Half Marathons was inspired to support BHF after his brother Dave survived a heart attack at the age of 57, almost four years ago.

Mr Fiander said: “My brother Dave is not a smoker, but has the occasional drink, plays golf and has been active all of his life. We did not expect him to have a heart attack, and we are glad that he survived when many others don’t, so I wanted to raise some money for a very important cause.”

Phil’s fundraising page is at: www.justgiving.com/team/RunningwithDave.

Nikki James, BHF Area Fundraising Manager for Wales and Northern Ireland, said: "We are so grateful to everyone taking part in Cardiff Bay 10k in support of the BHF.

"In the last 5 years [2016-2021], we’ve funded £9.5m worth of research in Wales, supporting the work of 64 research staff. Today in Wales around 340,000 people are living with the daily burden of heart and circulatory diseases and dozens of families will lose loved ones to devastating heart diseases.

“With donations from the public, the BHF funds ground-breaking research that will get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases, and a world of cures and treatments we can’t even imagine today.”