A WOMAN from Caerleon whose dad died while they were out jogging together on holiday is taking on this weekend's Cardiff Half Marathon in his memory.

Sioned Thomas, 22, was jogging with her father, Grahaeme, in the French seaside town Les Sables-d’Olonne on Friday, June 28, when she saw him collapse.

“We ran down towards the beach and we had done about 2km,” she said.

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“I was really tired as I am not a runner at all, so I asked if we could stop for a bit.

“My dad then said: ‘Right, when we get to that rock we will start running again’.

“He ran ahead because he was a better runner. Then he sort of fell over and I just thought, ‘oh God he has tripped over or something’.”

Ms Thomas rushed to help him up, but her dad did not respond.

Passers-by came to her father’s aid and an ambulance was called, with Ms Thomas then ringing her mother and sister.

But, although paramedics attempted to resuscitate Mr Thomas, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It doesn’t feel real,” said Ms Thomas.

“I literally talked to him seconds before.”

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Sioned and Grahaeme Thomas pose for a selfie. Image: Angharad Thomas

Doctors later discovered that Mr Thomas, who was 51, had an undiagnosed heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), despite showing none of the symptoms of the condition, which can include shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, light headedness and fainting.

“He was probably the fittest he has even been," said Ms Thomas. "He went to the gym every morning at home and had already been for a run this holiday.

“There have been times where he has been very unfit and he has been fine and when he is the fittest in his life, this happens – it just doesn’t seem fair.”

Now, despite having an operation on her knee two years ago and having only ever run a 5km parkrun, the former Caerleon Comprehensive School pupil is attempting a half-marathon on Sunday, October 5 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) - and has already smashed her original target by more than 1,000 per cent - collecting £3,256.41 so far.

“We’ve had so much support in my village,” she said.

“My dad knew everyone and the lounge was just full of cards.

“People loved my dad.”

Mr Thomas was a “big name” at Caerleon RFC during his playing days and his daughter fondly remembers going down to watch him “all the time” when she was young.

Ms Thomas hopes to raise awareness of the condition and wants people to take up free CPR classes offered by BHF.

“In my village they have been putting them on and it was only half an hour of my time and you could potentially save someone’s life.”

You can donate to her at justgiving.com/fundraising/sionedeviethomas