Men join cause to Race for Life
MEN were able to take part in the Race for Life for the first time in its 25-year history on Saturday.
Some 250 people, though still mostly women, took part in the Cancer Research UK fundraiser, taking on distances of either 5km or 10km on a circular route of L’Ancresse Common.
ABN Amro (Guernsey) Ltd accountant Peter Le Cheminant, 36, took part with work colleagues, Natalie Granger, 25, and Moira Sermon, 52.
‘An e-mail went around at work and I just felt that I wanted to do it,’ he said. ‘I’ve had family members with cancer and I like to support cancer charities.’
The trio hoped to raised between £250 and £300.
AFM contracts manager Steve Martel, 31, was taking part at short notice.
‘Last night my wife [Charlie] told me she was doing the Race for Life today and asked if I wanted to take part,’ he said.
‘I usually do a 5km run once a week but today I’ll be doing 10km, so it’ll be the longest I’ve run for years.’
Race for Life area event manager Jenny Ainsworth said the fundraiser had struggled in recent years.
‘The market is quite flooded these days so we moved from the Saturday to the Sunday to avoid clashing with other events,’ she said.
The charity wanted to be open to all and with the introduction of men, it had incorporated blue into its previously pink-only branding.
‘I think there was an element of misunderstanding and some people thought we were just a breast cancer charity,’ said Miss Ainsworth.
‘That has never been the case though and we raise funds for 200 types of cancer in men, women and children.’
A 10km option had been added four years ago when the event moved to Saumarez Park so people had an option ‘to up their challenge,’ according to Miss Ainsworth. Saturday was its second year at L’Ancresse. A total of £10,000 was pledged to Saturday’s event and Miss Ainsworth said the figure usually rose afterwards.
Fire safety officer Lynda Gray took part with her retrievers, Maggie and Ruby.
‘We walk about two-and-half hours a day,’ she said. ‘We’ve already been to the park and we’ll be going out again later. I’m just getting over a broken ankle so I’m lucky to be taking part at all.’
The first Race for Life was held in Battersea, in 1994, where 750 participants raised £48,000. Since then it has grown into a series of hundreds of events across the country, raising nearly £500m.
