Race For Life - We Did It!!

Our dedications

I posted yesterday to tell you that my Mum & I were doing the Race For Life, those of you who follow me on Twitter will probably already know we completed it but I thought I'd tell you a bit more about it & share some pictures.  Thanks so much for your messages yesterday, Nan was an amazing woman & I think she'd have been proud of us both.

Waiting for the start

We had hoped that it would be a nice sunny day for the race but typical British weather meant it was very grey, raining and freezing cold!  It didn't seem to put anyone off though and there were hundreds of women and children lined up to take part.  As we all waited for the start there was a sea of pink in the park (although some of it was covered by raincoats lol) but luckily the cold didn't dampen everyone's spirit & we were all raring to go.

Mum just before we set off

After a warm up it was time to set off and we had a great time.  It was really moving to read the dedications people all had on their backs, but upsetting to think of how many lives cancer has effected.  Seeing young children with dedications to their mothers and cancer survivors walking for fellow patients really made you think. 

Some of the other's taking part

The Race For Life really is a great family event with mothers, daughters and grandchildren all taking part together, one woman who took part had only given birth 10 days ago and had her baby with her in a pushchair!  It isn't a massive walk (5K is just over 3 miles) and it takes about an hour to complete, even less if you decide to run it.  We took part in the event at Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells which is a beautful setting and apart from the massive hill right near the end which nearly killed us it's a fairly gentle walk.

The killer hill (which is longer & steeper than it looks lol)

Mum & I completed the race in about 55 minutes, I'm sure we could have finished faster but when there are so many of you setting off at the same time you're kind of stuck at the same pace as everyone else.  We did overtake quite a few people though.  There was a lot of support from the crowd as you crossed the finishing line, and it felt really good to have taken part in something so important.

Me & Mum with our medals

We have already decided that we're going to sign up to take part again next year but are hoping for a nice sunny day!  In fact I've decided that next year I want to train to actually run the race (so if any of you are runners & have any training tips please let me know!).  They have 2 races at Dunorlan Park so I'm aiming to run the morning event and then walk the afternoon race with Mum.  I just hope next year is warmer because I'd lost feeling in my fingers and toes by the time we'd finished yesterday! 

Between us we have raised £120 so far which is fantastic and higher than we were aiming for so I'd like to give a massive thanks to everyone who has sposored us!

Why I'm doing the Race For Life

Me & my Mum

Today I'm very proud that my Mum and I are going to be taking part in the Race For Life, in fact as this post goes live we should be setting off on our 5k walk.  Yes, we're walking not running - one of the things about doing a very low calorie diet like I am, is that you can only do gentle exercise! - but at least we're taking part.  If you're not in the UK and have never heard of Race For Life it is a massive fund raising scheme organised by Cancer Research UK to raise money for their life saving research.  There are events all over the UK and literally thousands of women take part, mostly in memory or support of a loved one.  I think at the event we're attending today there will be about 2250 women taking part!

Betty Vaughan Stone nee Davies

My wonderful Nan

Back in 1973 my wonderful Nan was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was given a mastectomy and had radiotherapy.  She was told she had less than 5 years to live but my Nan was a determined woman and she wasn't going to take that diagnosis lying down.  Nan had 16 good years before the secondary bone cancer started to spread.  She suffered a great deal when side effects from the treatment and her bone cancer caused her spine to start crumbling, making it difficult for her to walk but still she refused to give in and continued to take her dogs to the park daily. I'm sure part of the reason she survived as long as she did was because of her positive attitude.  She fought long and hard and went on to live for another ten years before finally stomach and liver cancer took her from us.

This was a fabulous 26 years after her first diagnosis.  It was without doubt thanks to both my Nan's determination and the wonderful staff at Guys and St Thomas Hospitals who looked after her for so long.  In fact when she died back in 1999 she was Guy's Hospital's longest surviving patient on the then trial drug Tamoxifen. This breakthrough drug was brought about by research but cancer treatments have come even further since then and survival rates are increasing all the time.

If my Nan had died within 5 years of her diagnosis she would never have met any of her grandchildren but she went on to be able to spend time with all 7 of us and I'm so grateful that I had her in my life for 20 years.  Watching a loved one battle with a disease like cancer isn't something I would wish on anyone but it really makes you appreciate the time you have.  Watching my Nan fade away was the hardest thing I've ever done and I still miss her every day but I'm thankful for the time we had.

Cancer is a vicious disease and one we still have a lot to learn about it before we find a complete cure.  That's why the work done by Cancer Research UK is so important, they are the world's leading cancer charity and with their help we have seen cancer survival rates double within the last 40 years.  Considering that 300,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK alone you can see why this is so important.  I'm pretty sure that you can all think of at least one person you know who has been effected by cancer at some point in their lives.  I hate to ask for sponsorship because I'm sure that everyone gives whatever they can to the charity of their choice already but if anyone would like to make a donation you can do so by clicking the button below.  Every penny you give can help make a massive difference and will be greatly appreciated.



Even if you can't afford a donation I hope you'll wish my Mum & I good luck for the race & I'll try to post an update later to let you know how we got on!