Richard Rees Personal Trainer

Cardiff 10KM 2026 - Let’s go Team😆

2017 vs 2026 🏃‍♂️

106kg vs 86kg
36 vs 45 years old
20km a week vs 80km a week
100% effort vs 100% effort.

When I took up running over 10 years ago, I always felt like I was a little bit bigger than everyone else on the start line 😂 But I loved the pain cave of a 10K🙌

I think my PB at that weight was 39:58 for 10K at Swansea.

My training has always been pretty old school — lifting weights, working hard and enjoying the challenge of pushing past previous limits.

When I started my business and the gym, I was very much immersed in the bodybuilding world. Being bigger and stronger was always the goal, and for a long time that became part of how I saw myself. Transitioning away from that and becoming a more “normal” size was actually a difficult process mentally.

As I’ve got older, my goals have changed. The focus now is much more on health, wellness and longevity, while still having that same desire to push myself and see what I’m capable of.

Right now, I’m loving my running more than ever and really looking forward to the challenge of the Cardiff 10K tomorrow.🧡

Crazy to think this will be something like my 13th year racing it.

Best of luck to everyone racing tomorrow. Look out for the orange tops 🧡

INCREDIBLE NIGHT ON THE TRACK 🧡🔥

What a session tonight with a fantastic mixture of TRG Runners and plenty of new starters joining us!

3 × 1km efforts
4 × 500m efforts
Fast lap
Then a final 1km effort to finish! 💨

The energy within the club to run faster and further is real and the results are showing. Sharing tough sessions with like-minded people, pushing each other and working together really does make a difference. 🙌

This Sunday we head to Cardiff for the 10K, with everyone already having one eye on the Cardiff Half in October. 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️

The darker nights are coming… bring on the floodlit track 😎🧡

🟠 TRG MEN — PONTY RELAYS 2025 ➡️ 2026

What a difference 12 months makes! 🔥

Last year we took 2 men’s teams to the Ponty Relays.

This year we doubled that to 4 teams — and at the same time massively raised the standard at the front. 🙌

2025 ➡️ 2026

TRG 1 — 12th ➡️ 2nd 🥈
TRG 2 — 18th ➡️ 9th 🔥

And some brilliant individual improvements from our returning runners:

Dan O’Toole
7:22 ➡️ 6:34 — 🔥 48 secs faster

Richard Rees
7:13 ➡️ 6:53 — 🔥 20 secs faster

Jake Avery
8:06 ➡️ 7:51 — 🔥 15 secs faster

Rhys Thomas
7:26 ➡️ 7:14 — 🔥 12 secs faster

Then look at the standard of this year’s first team:

Marc Broomfield — 6:39
Dan O’Toole — 6:34
Kenny Bell — 6:18
Dave Locke — 5:57 🚀

🥈 2nd overall — 25:28

From 2 teams to 4.
From 12th to 2nd.
More runners, more depth and a much faster front end.

TRG is moving forward. 🧡🔥

Proud of the progress this team has made in just 12 months. 🙌

Photo credit Nathan Edmunds 📸

TRG LADIES — PONTY RELAYS 2025 ➡️ 2026

A brilliant comparison showing just how much the ladies have progressed in 12 months! 🔥

RETURNING RUNNERS

Alex O’Toole
2025 — 7:57 ➡️ 2026 — 7:31
🔥 26 seconds faster

Beth Thomas
2025 — 9:24 ➡️ 2026 — 8:53
🔥 31 seconds faster

Ashley Withers
2025 — 8:35 ➡️ 2026 — 8:15
🔥 20 seconds faster

Becky Murphy
2025 — 8:08 ➡️ 2026 — 8:00
🔥 8 seconds faster

Charm Duggan
2025 — 7:51 ➡️ 2026 — 7:47
🔥 4 seconds faster

Abbie Waters
2025 — 9:04 ➡️ 2026 — 8:39
🔥 25 seconds faster

6 returning runners. ALL 6 FASTER. 👏🔥

🏆 TEAM PROGRESSION

2025
TRG Ladies — 5th — 32:31
TRG Ladies — 8th — 35:18

2026
🥉 TRG Ladies 1 — 3rd — 31:33
TRG Ladies 2 — 7th — 34:48

Our leading ladies team has gone:

5th ➡️ 3rd 🥉
32:31 ➡️ 31:33 — 58 seconds faster!

And our second team:

8th ➡️ 7th
35:18 ➡️ 34:48 — 30 seconds faster!

The results speak for themselves — every returning lady improved her individual 2km time, and BOTH teams improved their overall time and finishing position.

What a difference 12 months makes🧡

🧡 TRG — PONTYPRIDD PARK RELAYS 2026

What a set of results for the TRG team 🙌

🏃‍♂️ MEN’S TEAM RESULTS

🥈 TRG 1 — 2nd — 25:28
Marc Broomfield — 6:39
Daniel O’Toole — 6:34
Kenny Bell — 6:18
🔥 Dave Locke — 5:57 — FASTEST MALE LEG OF THE DAY

TRG 2 — 9th — 28:15
Richard Rees — 6:53
Harry Walton — 6:45
Morgan West — 7:23
Rhys Thomas — 7:14

TRG 3 — 20th — 30:28
Oskar Siup — 7:23
Thomas Powell — 7:04
James Barber — 7:46
Leyland Davies — 8:15

TRG 4 — 32nd — 32:48
Jacob Avery — 7:51
Joe Lewis — 8:22
Joe Nash — 8:06
David Bowring — 8:26

🔥 MEN’S TRG INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

🥇 Dave Locke — 5:57
🥈 Kenny Bell — 6:18
🥉 Daniel O’Toole — 6:34
4. Marc Broomfield — 6:39
5. Harry Walton — 6:45
6. Richard Rees — 6:53
7. Thomas Powell — 7:04
8. Rhys Thomas — 7:14
=9. Morgan West — 7:23
=9. Oskar Siup — 7:23
11. James Barber — 7:46
12. Jacob Avery — 7:51
13. Joe Nash — 8:06
14. Leyland Davies — 8:15
15. Joe Lewis — 8:22
16. David Bowring — 8:26

🏃‍♀️ LADIES’ TEAM RESULTS

🥉 TRG L1 — 3rd — 31:33
Charm Duggan — 7:47
Ashley Withers — 8:15
Becky Murphy — 8:00
🔥 Alex O’Toole — 7:31 — 5th FASTEST LADY OVERALL

TRG L2 — 7th — 34:47
Abbie Waters — 8:39
Beth Thomas — 8:53
Natasha Matthews — 8:43
Joanne Galazka — 8:32

🔥 LADIES’ TRG INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

🥇 Alex O’Toole — 7:31 — 5th fastest lady overall
🥈 Charm Duggan — 7:47
🥉 Becky Murphy — 8:00
4. Ashley Withers — 8:15
5. Joanne Galazka — 8:32
6. Abbie Waters — 8:39
7. Natasha Matthews — 8:43
8. Beth Thomas — 8:53

🏆 OVERALL TRG RESULTS

Men: 🥈 2nd | 9th | 20th | 32nd
Ladies: 🥉 3rd | 7th

🔥 Fastest TRG man: Dave Locke — 5:57 — fastest individual leg of the entire men’s race

🔥 Fastest TRG lady: Alex O’Toole — 7:31 — 5th fastest lady overall

6 teams. 24 runners. Two podiums. 🥈🥉

An incredible showing from the Orange Army. 🧡

Proud of every single runner who pulled on the TRG colours and raced for the team. 🙌

What a morning at the Ponty Relays.🥈🥉

For the first time as a club, we came away with podium finishes in both the men’s and ladies’ races, with both of our fastest teams taking an incredible 2nd place and 3rd place

For me, that’s a real marker of how far this club has come.

The Ponty Relays has always been one of my favourite events. Four runners per team, each racing a 2km leg around Ponty Park, with an atmosphere that makes everyone want to give absolutely everything.

This year we entered 8 teams, giving us a brilliant mixture of runners across the club. The ladies put together some fantastic performances to take 3rd, before the men followed it up with another brilliant 2nd place, with times right across the team improving on last year.

We turned up in numbers, supported each other and showed that as a club we’ve taken another step forward.

Really proud of everyone today🧡

Straight back with the team tonight for a brutal pyramid set on the track! 🔥

With the Ponty Relays coming up this Sunday, it really hits home just how much we’ve grown as a club. 8 TRG teams taking part this weekend! 🧡🖤

To think how far we’ve come is incredible. I can’t wait to be there cheering, supporting and racing alongside everyone.

Proud of this team. Can’t wait for Sunday! 🙌🔥

Grab the offer now 👇

Cardiff Bay 25km in the bag today 🙌 Some big races coming up, so the motivation to train is high!

I’ve said this a few times, but as soon as you pass Tongwynlais, it’s like going through the wardrobe into Narnia 😂 Runners everywhere, flat paths, lush parks… it’s everything you could ever want from a run!

Back to the gym tomorrow for weights, which is working really well for me and keeping me glued together 💪🏃‍♂️