THOUSANDS of Pink Ladies raced along Bournemouth seafront in a touching tribute to cancer sufferers past and present.

The town hosted two Race for Life events on Sunday to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Both events attracted thousands of entrants, many of whom were clad in pink or fancy dress and were running either in memory of loved ones or in support of friends or family currently battling cancer.

Caroline Palmer, of Bournemouth, said: “I lost my stepdad to cancer back in March. I’ve never done Race for Life before but wanted to do it this year.”

And Emily Homan, taking part with six-year-old daughter Evie, said: “My sister-in-law had breast cancer two years ago. She’s fine now, she’s recovered but I thought it would be nice for my daughter and I to take part in this race together.” The two races were at 11am and 2pm. A total of 3,500 people took part in the earlier race, followed by another 2,800 in the afternoon.

Large crowds of spectators lined the course, which stretched from Bournemouth to Boscombe Pier and back again.

It took approximately 20 minutes for Rachael Mailer to cross the line in the 11am race. She was followed by Clare Allen and Caroline Laraman.

In the 2pm race, Elaine Wilkins of Poole was the first person to complete the course with a time of around 21 minutes. Second was Katy Stanzel, also of Poole, who came third in last year’s event and was thrilled to have gone one better.

The quickest junior runner was 12-year-old Bethany Connor, with a time of around 27 minutes. The youngster, who has only recently taken up athletics, finished slightly ahead of her mother.

Karina Walker, of Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s been an absolutely fantastic day, absolutely amazing.

“It’s a great atmosphere. We’ve had women taking part in a variety of forms of fancy dress, we’ve had several generations of the same family together, women with pushchairs, people taking part with their dogs.”

Race for Life (11 am starters).doc

Race for Life 2pm starters (a).doc

Race for Life 2pm starters (b).doc

A further Race for Life event takes place this Sunday in Poole.