MORE than 1,500 people turned Poole pink in this year’s Race for Life.

Women, men, and children gathered at Baiter Park in Poole today to take part in either 3k, 5k, 10k or pretty muddy events in aid of Cancer Research UK.

An impressive £68,172 was raised by participants ahead of the event.

Event manager Joe Hutchinson said: “We are always proud to bring a sea of pink to Baiter Park and it’s great to see such a brilliant turn out for this year’s event here in Poole."

For many runners, Race for Life is a chance to remember loved ones, celebrate survivors and bring hope for the future whilst raising money for Cancer Research UK.

Joe added: “The participants never fail to make us smile by dressing up and really embracing the day, whilst also remembering the importance of why we Race for Life and thinking of those who we may have lost along the way.”

Bournemouth Echo:

54-year-old Gail Turner ran in the 10k event alongside her daughter, Savannah. Gail had lost her father, mother and sister to cancer. 

Gail said: “I have had cancer running in the family for generations.”

Today’s event marked Gail’s 17th year of running in the Race for Life, and Savannah’s 18th year.

She said: “We started running when my dad got his second lot of cancer and became terminally ill. He was alive for our first race and then we’ve run every year after in his memory. Then my sister died of cancer and my mum recently passed of cancer too.

“It’s really important to us that people realise the impact and what we can do to help.

“It’s such a good cause.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Another pair to take part in the race were Nicole Hezlett and Summer Green. The women met during a clinical trail after both receiving a cancer diagnosis in 2019.

Summer said: “Everyone is affected by cancer in some way.

“It’s about supporting people who are going through it.”

Dorset based running group runFAR also joined in with the Baiter Park event, with its members taking part in both the 5k and 10k runs.

Bournemouth Echo:

Julia Bradley, the group’s director, said: “Two of our members here have just finished chemotherapy this year so its particularly important to us.

“We’re all here to raise awareness for them specifically, so it’s an emotional one for us.”

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life will come to Bournemouth on Sunday June 12. For more information visit https://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org/