Haulwen Warlow from Penffordd recently realised a long held ambition. For many years she had wanted to run in a marathon, so she joined nearly 11,000 other runners taking part in this year's Cardiff Half Marathon, an event expected to raise nearly £1m for over 170 charities.

Haulwen decided earlier this year to make her dream a reality in 2009, but knew she needed to get fitter and lose some weight in order to achieve her aim, so, in January, she joined the Slimming World class in Narberth and has since lost nearly 2.5 stone.

Supported by her family, friends and her Slimming World consultant Mitzy Hay, Haulwen travelled to Cardiff to compete in her first ever half marathon, finishing the race in a highly respectable time of two hours 31 minutes. In the process she also raised £400 in sponsorship, which she has donated to Barnardo's.

Now that she has achieved her ambition, Haulwen intends to carry on running, as well as carrying on to lose the last few pounds to achieve her weight loss target. Judging by her performance to date, if she sets her mind to it, there is no doubt she will succeed!