Last Sunday I completed the Race for Life 2006 in Southampton. My reasons for deciding to do the 5 km run (that’s around 3 miles, give or take), can be seen on this post. Suffice it to say, I’ve lost lots of people I care about to cancer, and I know there many more who are battling the disease at the moment.

The Race for Life is an annual women only event organised by Cancer Research UK. All the money raised through sponsorship goes directly to the charity – all admin costs for the run etc are covered by the entry fee paid by all the runners – so you can be assured that any money you donate will go straight into funding the fight against cancer.

This is a cause I care passionately about and, I promise you, this will be the only time I ask you for money (till next summer rolls around and the 2007 Race for Life). Several of you have already sponsored me and you have my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. Several more of you have said things along the line of “damn it, I missed it. I’ll sponsor you next year”. Why wait till next year? The online sponsorship page is still open and will be till the 30th of July.

So how did the Race go? Well, I managed to beat last years time and got home in under 50 minutes. The actual time is somewhere between 45 minutes and 50 minutes because the girl with the watch (Moose) and I got separated at about the 2 km mark and I’d been finished a little while before I remembered to nab someone with a watch and do a time check. Moose managed it in 43 minutes! (Big woot to Moose!) I was no where near as fit as I was last year, or as fit as I wanted to be – I had grand plans to run the majority – but it was just too hot and I’m just not built to move at any great velocity I am afraid.

My thanks also to illyna and Super Girl who looked after house-keys etc, waited around for an hour on a blazing hot Sunday afternoon, and met us at the finish with large bottles of water. I didn’t take any pictures this year but the ones from last year basically tell the same story. Lots of women, lots of sun!

It’s a cliche, but every little really does help, and I would love to reach my target of £180. Whether you decide to give 50p or £50, I appreciate it. Sponsoring is really simple – go to the online sponsorship page, click on the pink “sponsor me now” button at the bottom of the page, and follow the instructions. If needs must I’m also still accepting sponsorship via paypal – if you want to use this option (though I do recommend and prefer the official sponsorship page) contact me and I will let you know the details.

Thank you again to everyone who’s already sponsored me, and thank you in advance to anyone else who decides they are going to do their little bit for a very worthwhile charity. The closing date for sponsorships is the 30th of July – just over a week left, so you’d better get a wiggle on 🙂

Cas