Race For Life Manchester 2014

At the weekend, as some of you might already know, I ran the Race For Life in Heaton Park, Manchester to raise some pretty pennies for Cancer Research UK. The cause is one that is close to my heart and many others, including my team mate Caroline from The Afternoon Tea Club, as we have known people who have won and lost their battles with cancer.

When Scottish Power, who sponsor the event, approached me to run the race, with a ridiculously generous donation of £250 to my charity, I jumped at the chance to take part in my first ever 5k run. Yep, first ever! Running isn’t really my thing, or Caroline’s either, but we thought it was about time we gave it a go in the name of a great cause.

The atmosphere was electric down at Heaton Park, where hundreds of women and children had gathered to take part. Simply walking around and reading the ‘I race for life for…’ signs on the backs of so many was inspiring. Whoever they were running, jogging or walking for must have been really proud to see such positivity in the air for a united cause.

My ‘outfit of the day’ consisted of some lightweight purple Adidas running shorts, a Dri-FIT Nike running vest and my Saucony ProGrid Guide 6 running shoes. The shoes were a great buy from Sports Shoes, who I 100% recommend for buying your running/gym gear from, as they’re usually much cheaper than expensive running shops.

SHOP THE LOOK:

The weather slowly turned from overcast to bright & sunny, making it the perfect day for a 5k race. We walked, jogged and ran to the finish, not quite catching up to the fastest time of 12 minutes (!!) but giving it our best. Mat was waiting at the finish line, camera in hand, ready to catch my goofy running race!

After the race, we were happy to see we’d smashed our team fundraising target and collectively raised a hefty £446 for Cancer Research UK!! So proud and incredibly thankful to all of our supporters. You can still donate at my Just Giving page here, even if you can only spare a very small amount, we’d really appreciate it.

Also, if you’re taking part in a Race For Life event, make sure to look out for the Scottish Power tent. You can bag yourself a pink glove, take part in their High5 Challenge and be added to their huge High5 wave. Find out more about it over on their Facebook page.

Disclaimer: My entry to the race and a £250 donation were provided by Scottish Power.

Have you ever run the Race For Life?