Pink ladies take on cancer in Shrewsbury Race For Life

Women from across the region took to Shrewsbury's West Mid Showground, decked out head to toe in pink, to run the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research.

Raising £85,000, almost 2,000 people flocked to the event held at the Berwick Road site yesterday.

Event organiser, Amy Hall, said: "It's been an amazing day. We have had 1,870 ladies running to raise £85,000. It's great to see the residents of Shrewsbury come together and support the cause.

"It's been a fantastic atmosphere and everyone supported each other, the sun even came out for a little bit and the motivation from everyone was fab.

"The uniqueness of the outfits showed that everyone had gone to a lot of trouble."

With fundraisers coming from all over, many were inspired by family members or friends who have been affected by cancer.

A board at the event displayed messages from runners who gave their story behind the run.

One said: "Keep fighting Louise", and another said: "Mum, you're always in my heart."

One team of four taking on the challenge was work group from Curteis, a jewellery business in Ellesmere.

Dressed in pink with face paint and tutus, the group were all taking part for their own reasons.

Sue Ellis-Lear, from St Martins, near Oswestry, said: "We've all got someone we're running for, and we wanted to support each other so came together.

"It's such a great cause and such a brilliant way of doing it.

"I think we're most looking forward to getting over that finish line!"

Along with some inspiring stories, the ladies brought some unbelievable costumes, their own dogs and as many friends and relatives as possible to the Berwick Road site.

With mothers and daughters a common theme of the day, Vicky Magor, of Llanfyllin, Powys, said she couldn't stop her three-year-old daughter getting involved.

She said: "Betsi was just so eager to come along as soon as she knew I was doing it.

"She understands that it's to raise money for cancer, and my mum and dad were diagnosed, so it's a good way to give something back. It's the first time we've done it, but we're having such a great day."

Kicking off the event, racers were invited to warm up with Zumba activities and a special dance, The Cancer Slam. A flock of bright pink, the women danced their way through the morning, ready to take on cancer in the race.

Jenny Morris, of Crew Green, Shrewsbury, said the event was an emotional but brilliant day.

She said: "We were looking at doing it last year, but we didn't for one reason or another.

"Since then we've had a few knock-on effects with different family members being affected, and we thought, right, this is the right time to do it. My sister had bowel cancer, then breast cancer, and is now getting over lung cancer, and we've lost two people in the family to cancer as well. In a way, it's nice to know that everyone here is going through the same thing with you."

Inspired by their loved ones, many racers said it was exactly what was needed to take on the disease.

One team, named The Teapots, was formed of two mothers and daughters taking on the race together.

Jan Everest, from Shrewsbury, and best friend Terry Bellis, from Wrexham, brought along their daughters for the race.

Jan said: "We've been friends for years! Well, we're called the Teapots because we just love drinking tea, and it was Terry's nickname at work. We all know someone who's been affected by cancer, and it's a great way to give back to the work they do."

Event organiser Amy Hall said: "It's been great, it's so brilliant to see everyone here today.

"It's been an amazing day, we have had 1,870 ladies running to raise thousand of pounds."

And the day has also given Cancer Research UK shops a chance to collect extra donations. Louise Parry, manager of the charity's shop on High Street in Shrewsbury, said: "It's a fantastic event, and it's nice because we get to hear stories from different people about why they're here. We've really been reminded why we're raising the money in the first place."

With children, dogs and babies in pushchairs even taking part, anyone could get involved whether they wanted to walk, jog or run. But for some runners, weeks of training went into the event, and the race saw some personal bests and thrilled athletes.

Sally Brocklehurst, of Shrewsbury, was the first woman over the line in a time of 16 minutes and 33 seconds.

She said: "Quite a lot of my best friends are here, and they're the reason I've taken part. I'm absolutely exhausted but I feel great and I'm so glad I took part."

For Nicola Prosser, from Shrewsbury, who was one of the first four to cross the finish in 18 minutes and 15 seconds, the excitement of the day gave her a personal best.

She said: "I'm thrilled.

I've run for a few different people today, relatives and other people, but everyone knows someone who's had it or is affected."

• For information on Cancer Research UK’s volunteering opportunities visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/support-us/volunteer