NEXT Wednesday (April 17) Ryan Flowers will be following in the footsteps of his granddad Ken Flowers when he attempts to run the seven hills surrounding Abergavenny.

The date is significant because it’ll be 60 years to the day since Ken flowers and Ray Hardee completed the same trek in a record-breaking time.

Like his granddad before him, Ryan will set off from the town hall, have a quick dash around the seven hills before returning to Abergavenny’s iconic and green copper-tipped landmark.

The exact ground covered will be a distance of 26 miles and a climb of 6560 feet.

It’s a big ask, but to do it in the time that his granddad Ken did it way back when, might just be a step too far.

“It would be impossible!” Revealed Ryan.

“Alongside his friend Ray Hardee, my granddad broke the record in 1959. Eleven years later, with running partner Peter Maloney, he set another record of three hours and 24 minutes. That record still stands. If I can do it in double that time I’ll be proud!”

The 37-year-old runner’s granddad was once well-known about town as a formidable and famous athlete. Ryan on the other hand came to running late. In fact he didn’t start pounding the pavements and blazing the trails until some seven years ago.

“It all started when my mate in work did the Cardiff half-marathon” explained Ryan who is the manager of Caerphilly Garden Centre.

“After the event I said, ‘Next year I’ll have a crack at that.’ This led to a lot of smirks and I thought, ‘Right! It’s like that is it!”

Determined to prove the naysayers that the engine under his hood was still in full-working order, Ryan began training and successfully completed the Cardiff-half. In fact, he got a taste for it and the next year he had another stab at it. This time around he completed it in under two hours.

From then on in Ryan has been running. He prefers trails because he admits he hasn’t “got the gears for the road.” He also said it’s “nicer scenery” and he doesn’t have to worry about getting hit by cars when he’s running cross-country.”

In prep for the big day Ryan has been marking out his route. He’ll start from the Town Hall and chart a cost up the sheer face of the Blorenge before tackling the Sugar-Loaf, Llanwenarth Breast and the Rholben. He’ll then make a loop to the Deri, down to the big Skirrid, and onwards to the little Skirrid before returning to the town hall.

Ryan explained, “I’ll be taking a different route to my granddad because some sections have become impassable. But the distance will remain the same and I’ll still be tackling all seven hills.”

Ryan added, “My granddad has been a great help in terms of the route by showing me the exact way he went. He’s been very supportive but that’s the kind of man he is. He’s probably the most encouraging person I know. I’m nowhere near the athlete he was but rather than saying, ‘You’ll never beat my time,’ or ‘I don’t know why you’re bothering,’ he’s just keen to help me focus and get the job done.”

Reflecting on his own glory days, Ken Flowers, who used to run for Wales, told the Chronicle, “Ryan’s something of a latecomer to running but I admire his dedication. He’s also going solo. The first time I tackled the seven hills I had Ray Hardee with me who knew the terrain like the back of his hand. He knew all the shortcuts so that was a great help.

“I’ll be wishing Ryan all the best for next Wednesday because it looks like the run has now become something of a family tradition. I only wish the old legs still had enough life in them for me to keep pace alongside him.”

Not only was Ken Flowers a successful and disciplined athlete he was also once one of many young men who fought in what history now remembers as ‘The forgotten War’ - the Korean conflict of 1950-53.

In memory of those who served we have reposted online an Abergavenny Chronicle interview with Ken from 2006 where he discusses his time as a soldier in that war