Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Assembly Member Angela Burns joined with train company Great Western Railway (GWR) recently to celebrate the fundraising efforts of Marie’s Marvels founder, Marie Tilley.

Mrs. Burns presented Templeton-based Marie with three complimentary return tickets for any journey on the GWR network after learning of the work that Marie does to promote type 1 diabetes and providing a support network to local people living with the condition.

Marie’s sister and her seven-year-old son are type 1 diabetics and Marie has run a number of races to draw attention to this condition. In 2015, Marie ran five events, including Ironman Wales, the London Marathon, the Broad Haven Triathlon and the Wales Velathon, to raise money for the juvenile diabetes research foundation (JPRF). Since then, Marie has continued to undertake a number of walks, runs and bike rides stretching the whole of Wales and beyond. To date, around £15,000 has been raised for JPRF.

Over the last few years she has also found the time to form Marie’s Marvels, a group of ladies aged from 24 to 60 who train and run locally. As a group, they all completed this year’s Cardiff Half Marathon. Recently she founded Marie’s Minis for children and currently has 30 boys and girls signed up and exercising regularly.

Angela said: “Marie is an inspiration to us all. She has used her love of keeping fit to not only raise money and provide support for a charity close to her heart, but also to encourage others to have fun when exercising and lead a healthier lifestyle.

“Inactivity poses a greater threat to our population than smoking and it is great to see the enthusiasm that Marie generates amongst both young and old in bringing them together to exercise.

“I know one of the main reasons I fail to regularly exercise is due to a lack of camaraderie and group motivation. Marie’s Marvels and Minis have created this in abundance.

“I am delighted that we are able to join with GWR to present these tickets to Marie to allow her to treat herself and her sons to a short break that they most richly deserve.”

Commenting Marie said: “I’ve always had an interest in keeping fit since a young age and enjoy being in a position to pass on my enthusiasm and skills to the local community.

“It is great to see so many people getting enthused to exercise and to learn the importance of leading a healthier lifestyle. The Marvels are all shapes and sizes and they all provide motivation to one another and their children to recognise the importance of exercise.

“I’m grateful to GWR for the tickets with which we plan to spend some time exploring the sites of London when we have a free weekend.”

If you want to get involved with either Marie’s Marvels or Minis, please get in touch with Marie via Facebook.

To learn more about the work of the juvenile diabetes research foundation, please visit www.jdrf.org