A GWYNEDD woman put herself through the pain barrier to run a half marathon in aid of a cause she cares passionately about.

Nia Davies Williams, 46, who works at Pendine Park’s Bryn Seiont Newydd Care Home in Caernarfon, tackled the Cardiff Half Marathon despite having badly bruised ribs.

She was determined to run the race to raise money in aid of Music in Hospitals and Care in Wales, with £200 being collected for the cause.

Last year the musician in residence's work at Bryn Seiont Newydd was rewarded with the Sir Bryn Terfel Foundation Wales Care Award for Promoting the Arts in Social Care.

She said: “I really wasn’t sure I was going to be able to take part and my doctor’s advice was that I shouldn’t run as it would be too painful.

"But I thought I’d give it a go and it wasn’t too bad.

"I did the same run last year and actually my finishing times were within seconds of each other.

“I wanted to raise funds for Music in Hospitals and Care in Wales that works to take live music to patients or those in a care environment.

“I’m an ambassador for the charity and we provide a variety of musicians to hospices, care homes and hospitals to play for patients and residents. It’s about matching the right musicians to the patients."

The mother-of-three revealed how her injury was sustained, saying: “I was with my partner and as he was celebrating his 50th birthday we went to Athens for a break.

"I was in a swimming pool when he accidentally bashed into me and I was left with bruised ribs. It was so painful.

“I went to the GP and was told I shouldn’t run, but when you see cancer victims and other sick people lining up to race I just thought I had to give it a go.

“This year has been tough. I lost my mum just a few months ago and that severely restricted my preparation."