5 May 2026
Meet Cerys. Cerys is Noah’s Ark’s Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer.
We caught up with Cerys, fresh from the Brighton Marathon and still coming down from race day.
We asked her why she wanted to run the marathon for Noah’s Ark. She said: “In the two and a half years I’ve been at Noah’s Ark, I’ve seen just how incredible the work of the charity is and how much of a difference it makes to children and families. I felt it was the least I could do.”
Cerys has made such a positive impact at Noah’s Ark that she was recently promoted. She says: “I'm really loving working with our corporate partners to build those relationships and having more responsibility.”
Cerys’ role is key to the work we do at Noah’s Ark. Cerys explains her day-to-day: “I work with our key corporate partners, working with them to find different ways they can support us by hosting their own events. I regularly invite our Corporate Partners to The Ark for tours, or visit them in person to share more about our work at Noah’s Ark. These conversations help build engagement, encourage their continued support, and provide an opportunity to address common misconceptions about children’s palliative care. Another big part of my job is engaging new businesses and identifying new partnership opportunities to grow our corporate income.”
Cerys is a regular runner and has completed several half-marathons and one full marathon but still found the Brighton race tough. She says: “It was a big challenge, I struggled the whole way as my training's not been the great recently as I’ve had recurring tonsilitis, so it was pretty brutal. It was also a tough course, a lot of hills and extreme wind but I powered through and at the back of my mind I knew the reason I was running it and that gave me a boost when I was struggling.”
Cerys still beat her four-hour target, completing the race in 3 hours, 57 minutes, and 58 seconds. She says: “I really wanted a sub four hours but after the first 10K I thought that might be out the window, so I was chuffed just to finish the race.”
Cerys says the encouragement of the crowd really motivated her. She says: “I had the best cheer-squad made up of family, friends and members of my team from Noah’s Ark. It was so nice to see them popping up and cheering me on, it really gave me a boost. I also had so much encouragement from everyone at Noah’s Ark before the race and on the day, I had lots of messages in the morning and congratulations afterwards.”
Cerys first decided to enter the Brighton Marathon when Noah’s Ark were about to confirm places for the London Marathon. She says: “When I saw someone from one of our corporate partners commit to running, even though they weren’t a runner, it made me think: I shouldn’t be asking people to do things I wouldn’t do myself and I just wanted to challenge myself personally.”
Cerys raised £1.5k for Noah Ark Children’s Hospice and even though her legs are still aching from Brighton, she’s planning her next marathon, she’s unstoppable.
Find out more about taking on a Challenge Event for Noah's Ark
