What is Race for Life?
With their new phrase ‘Cancer, we’re coming to get you’ Cancer Research UK leave nothing to your imagination when it comes to their mission to end the suffering that cancer causes to so many.
Race for Life is a mass-participation running event that the charity organises each year.
It is a women-only event, where thousands get together in locations all over the UK to raise money for life saving cancer research.
The event is so big now, that Cancer Research UK even have their own website dedicated to information about it and full of fundraising tips and other ideas to make your event a big success.
When you visit the Race for Life website you can search for events in your area using a postcode lookup form or click on regions in an interactive map.
When we put in our postcode we found at least 13 events that were going on within easy reach of where we live. They all range from 5K - 10K runs so they suit all levels of fitness.
Types of event
As well as the 5K and 10K runs we mentioned about the website also lists other ways you can take part. These include group runs, an event called ‘Pretty muddy’ which is a fun and dirty sounding obstacle run. You can also get your school to take part and there’s lots of useful resources on the website to help get schools involved including downloads for teachers and parents.
The charity appreciates not everyone can run so they encourage people to also walk or jog or even dance their way along a 5K stretch.
Raising the sponsorship money
These days it can be daunting to imagine how you will raise sponsorship money. Firstly, all donations no matter how large or small add up to make a big difference. Secondly, the Race for Life website has so much in the way of resources to get your fundraising ideas cooking.
There’s a whole section on the website dedicated to the fundraising with information on how to raise money online, tips and tools to raise more, information on how you can sponsor other people yourself and making a straight donation to the charity.
They also have really helpful information on the work they do and how they spend the money raised, which is really good to tell people when you are asking for sponsorship.
Finally, there are ways to pay in your sponsorship money online which makes it really easy.
The Race for Life shop
To help raise awareness of the event and raise extra funds for cancer research, there is also an online shop where you can buy the latest Race for Life branded gear to run in.
Within the shop section are the following categories of products:
- T-shirts
- Vests
- Leisurewear
- Teen and kid’s
- Accessories
We counted more that 50 different products when we looked through the store and were really impressed with the prices (which started from £1) as well as the diversity and quirkiness of the items.
Getting ready for your event
If you are going to run in the events, there is handy ‘Training’ section on the website too, which takes you through all you need to know for preparation for a 5K or 10K, or a ‘Pretty Muddy’ event.
All the sub sections here have well thought-through training plans which you can download to help you. The training plans come in two flavours - one for beginners and one or intermediates.
The Race for Life blog website
There is also a standalone blog website that has regular picture-led posts on the latest buzz and information on the event. Social media is well integrated into the blog site which is a great way for the charity to spread the word and attract more supporters.
Good luck if you take part and enjoy your event!
