It is always a pleasure to highlight the sporting prowess of newcomers to our county, especially when that person is already making his own contribution towards integration by helping out a very worthy local cause.
 
Jonathan Bell originally hails from Yorkshire and was a hugely promising rugby league player in his younger days, representing Great Britain at youth and student level as a player with the renowned Huddersfield Giants – but now he’s living in Pembrokeshire and is looking forward to running the forthcoming London Marathon for the Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru.
 

Nice tribute to a great rugby coach and a real gentleman

 
Jon had previously lived in London and had already been accepted for the world-famous marathon as a resident of the city but then he moved to live in our county with his girl friend, Lowrie Evans, and decided it would be nice to raise funds for this locally-based charity.
 
“I had wondered who I should try and raise funds for,” said Jon, “but then the decision was made for me, almost by accident when I met Judith Griffiths and discovered the details of the superb work done in rugby union by her late father Ray Williams, and the equally wonderful efforts he had made in starting up the Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru.
 
“What better way to start out in Pembrokeshire than to raise funds for the memory of another rugby lover, albeit from the other code – it is just perfect.”
 
So now Jon has the task of seeking sponsorship, never easy when there are so many worthwhile causes, and is hoping that anyone who knew Ray might help out, or anyone who loves sport might chip in with a donation, no matter how small.
 

Eight marathons in eight days

 
This won’t be the first marathon that Jon has undertaken because he has always kept himself fit since injuries forced him out of rugby league, and he once completed eight marathons in as many days.
 
“It came about in an unusual manner,” explained Jon, “because I was getting ready to jet off to South Africa when I received a phone call from my college friend Steve Lewis, who lived in Merthyr Tydfil and was trying to help raise £60,000 for much-needed treatment for a local girl.
 
“He had thought of running the eight marathons and asked me if I would help and of course I said yes, thinking I would have time to get really fit – but when I got back from South Africa there was a message telling me it was just a week away!
 

Superglue ‘cure’ for blisters

 
So the intrepid duo set off from Wakefield, Jon’s home town, and collected money as they ran via Huddersfield, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Milton Keynes, Merthyr Tydfil, over Caerphilly Mountain to Cardiff and then to the finish at Newport.
 
“I wasn’t far off 14 stone at that time,” Jon told us, “and it was very hard work but we were really boosted by people’s generosity. I developed a nice blister on day four that was the size of two 50p pieces so I phoned a paramedic friend and he told me a last resort was to put superglue over it.
 
“He forgot to mention that it would be really painful after application and it was agony – but strangely enough it eased as it hardened and helped me get through the eight days – but I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else!.
 

Other long-distance challenges

 
Jon ran the Paris Marathon a year later and can still vividly recall the crowd support, which he said was second only to London.
 
“Then I took part in the Comrades ‘Ultra’ Marathon in South Africa, which covers a distance of 56 miles and takes in the mountains between Durban and Pietmaritzburg. It has been going for over eighty years and the starting point alternates between the two towns – and if Paris was daunting this was torture because of the terrain.
 
“I managed 40 miles but then had to drop out with a stress fracture in my foot, but I was proud to have got so far and might go back sometime to give it a second go.”
 

Early start to his rugby league – followed by international recognition

 
Jon’s dad was from Bradford and so Bell junior was brought up supporting The Bulls’ rugby league team, but when the family moved to Wakefield he took up the game and played in the centre, where he caught the eye of Huddersfield Giants and played for their academy and second teams before he was out of his teens.
 
“I was thrilled to be selected for the British Amateur Rugby League Association team to play against our counterparts from France, with the games played at Hull and Le Meaux. I was only 18 at the time and will never forget the match in France, where I saw some of the opposition kissing their wives and children goodbye before the match. Then there was a hostile crowd and even more aggression on the pitch – they were not there to take prisoners!
 

Playing in southern hemisphere – and tense local derbies

 
“When I was at university in Huddersfield I went with the British Students on a superb tour of Australia and New Zealand, where I learned a great deal about playing the game, but also about life in general. It really was a wonderful experience and we were regally treated.
 
“I also loved playing rugby league for Yorkshire against Cumbria and Lancashire, our traditional rivals – but I had suffered shoulder injuries for a while and when I broke my leg at 25 years of age I knew it was time to stop playing a game I loved.”
 
It was a body blow but Jon enjoyed his other challenges and says that he hopes to compete in a couple of duathlons with Pembrokeshire County Council in the near future, ruling out triathlons because he is a hopeless swimmer!
 
New challenges
 
Jon also faces other challenges because he is starting out with Barnados, charged with the role of getting youngsters to help others with special needs, and will tutor people with special needs to try up to A Levels via his new web site, ‘The Pembs Tutor.’
 
But before that there’s the matter of returning to London and Jon admitted,
“I have run sub-four hour marathons but am looking to soak up the atmosphere and make sure I finish so I’ll be pleased with anything under five hours.”
 

And finally . . .

 
Someone who is delighted that Jon has joined our sporting fraternity is John Daniels, the Hon Secretary of Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru, who told us,
“We are delighted Jon is running the marathon for us, because it is not only great to have our funds boosted but it is in memory of a great man in Ray Williams.
“We hope our supporters across the county, and anyone else who knew Ray, will give total support to Jon Bell and his magnificent effort.”
 
We can only endorse that view and we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk have already have already made a donation to such a worthwhile cause as the Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru!