Organisers behind yesterday’s Stevenage Race for Life have set their sights on a £85,000 fundraising target – with hopes of reaching £100,000 – after more than 1,500 mums, daughters, sisters and friends descended on Fairlands Valley Showground and the neighbouring park.
There was a sea of pink as 1,508 women and girls took on either a 5k or 10k course arounds Fairlands to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and the many affected by the disease.
Organisers from the charity announced before the race that they hope £85,000 will be raised from the event, but said if an extra £10 could be donated to each participant then they could reach the £100,000 mark.
Courtney Culverhouse, Cancer Research UK’s Hertfordshire event manager, said: “Life-saving research is being funded right now thanks to the women of Stevenage running, jogging or walking at Race for Life. We’re hoping to raise an incredible £85,000 from the event.
“Our participants play a crucial role in helping to turn discoveries made in the lab into better treatments for patients in Hertfordshire and across the UK and we’d like to thank everyone who took part in the event.
“The atmosphere on the day was electric – full of emotion, courage, tears and laughter – as hundreds of like-minded ladies came together to unite in the fight against cancer. Now we’re asking everyone who took part, and all the friends, family and colleagues who pledged to sponsor them, to return the money they’ve raised as soon as possible.
“Many people don’t realise that their entry fee only covers the cost of the event. It’s the sponsorship money that really makes a difference. Money raised – whether it’s £10 or £100 – will help Cancer Research UK scientists find new ways to treat cancer and save more lives.”
Courtney also paid tribute to the many volunteers who help make the event possible, including army cadets for Stevenage north and south, and running club Fairlands Valley Spartans which was awarded a ‘Flame of Hope’ special commendation from the charity in recognition of the group’s continued support.
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with Tesco, is an inspiring women-only series of 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy, marathon and hiking events which raises millions of pounds every year to find new ways to tackle cancer – a disease which affects one in every two people in the UK.
Dr Áine McCarthy, the charity’s senior science communications officer, said: “We want to see people with every type of cancer, including those that are hard to treat, have the best chance of surviving their disease and living a long, healthy life afterwards. The advances we’ve made since Race for Life started in 1994 show we are moving in the right direction.
“Thanks to new treatments and improvements in early diagnosis, more people are surviving cancer today than ever before. But too many lives are still lost. There are hundreds of types of cancer and we need continued investment in research to help us find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat them all.
“That’s why we need everyone who took part in Race for Life in Stevenage to take the vital last step by returning their sponsorship money so that our scientists, doctors and nurses can continue to make vital strides forward in research.”
Sponsorship money can be paid in online, by phone, by cheque or in person at a Cancer Research UK shop.
For information on returning sponsorship money, or to make a donation, visit www.raceforlife.org.
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