Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is turning Rhyl BLUE to mark the launch of #MoveAMarathonForEthan, an event to honour the memory of Ethan Ross from St. Asaph and to raise funds for Wales Air Ambulance and Young Minds.

Teenager Ethan tragically lost his life following a collision on the A55 near St Asaph in September, and his family and friends are encouraging the public to ‘move a marathon for Ethan’ in his memory. 

Over the weekend of 18th/20th June 2021, you can help raise funds for this worthwhile cause by completing 26.2 miles of any activity you enjoy.  You can get friends and family to join you in as many activities as you want and break your ‘marathon’ into as many sessions as you need.  Once your 26.2 miles is complete, you’ve moved your own marathon!  Ethan’s dad Paul will taking the tougher route by running a full marathon on Sunday 20th June and Paul would like to invite as many people as possible to join in and support him along the way.   

The event launches this week, and Denbighshire Leisure Ltd as official partner, will be lighting their buildings in Rhyl, including Rhyl Skytower, 1891 Bar and Rhyl Pavilion Theatre to mark the launch on Tuesday, 1st December.

Ethan was a hugely popular, and well respected young man, who worked part time as a waiter in Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel, and was also a member of the Denbigh Town FC Development Squad.  He was described by his family as “selfless, kind, caring, determined, quiet and gifted with huge competitive nature “. Ethan’s Year 13 class and friends at Denbigh high school have designed a wall in the Year 12/13 common room in his memory, featuring all his favourite things, including computer games, music, his football team and some things that signify personal memories of their happy times with Ethan.

Planning for the event is well underway, with a number of activities already lined up.  On Friday 18th June 2021 a number of schools from Llangollen – Denbigh – St. Asaph – Prestatyn will also be taking part, and holding a fundraising day in their school. A logo in Ethan’s memory has been designed by his girlfriend Mya, and a webpage has been created as a hub for the event (denbighshireleisure.co.uk/moveamarathonforEthan).

Helen Ross, Ethan’s mum, said: “We would love as many people as possible to get involved and Move a Marathon in memory of our beloved son Ethan. We would like to thank Denbighshire Leisure Ltd for offering to support the event and for being our official partner. We have chosen the Welsh Air Ambulance and Young Minds, two charities that are very important to our family.  We would like to thank everyone who has been in touch already, let’s make this event as ginormous as Ethan’s heart and make him as proud as he did us.” 

Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is proud to be the events main partner and supporter, raising funds for the company’s charity Wales Air Ambulance. Donations can be made on the event Just Giving link on the official webpage, set up in Ethan’s memory.

Jamie Groves, Managing Director of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, said: “Denbighshire Leisure Ltd are proud to be the official partner for this charity event, in honour of the memory of a wonderful young man. As a company we will be coordinating a number of fundraising activities leading up to the main event and coordinating the social and marketing campaigns to encourage as many people as possible to get involved and support two very worthwhile charities, Young Minds and Welsh Air Ambulance, both of which are close to Ethan’s family’s hearts.  We would also like to wish Paul all the best in his efforts on the day, and look forward to following his journey and training for this.”

Visit denbighshireleisure.co.uk/moveamarathonforEthan for more information, including the Just Giving page, how to get involved and when you can make a donation in Ethan’s memory at Denbighshire Leisure’s centres.