By Community Correspondent Anna Goldfinch.

For a naturally sluggish and short-legged person, such as I, the prospect of running to the next lamp-post, let alone 5 Kilometres, has always seemed a little too ambitious and actually rather unnecessary. Yet, here I find myself on a mild Wednesday evening in June, mid-stride, on what will be a two mile jog. The reason for this sudden energy surge: the upcoming Race for Life charity run on Epsom Downs this Sunday.

The fantastic thing about this race is that there is no race; with the element of competition eradicated, the primary aim is just to finish the 5K course, and raise as much money for Cancer Research as humanly possible – my kind of race. In addition to the warm, fuzzy feeling you get from knowing where the money you have raised is going, you are even adorned with a shiny silver (alright, chrome) medal as you drag yourself over the finish line, feeling the oh-so-faint semblance of an athlete. And of course, the really unique thing about the event – it is strictly women only – no testosterone here, girls.

In fact, it is astounding how many women take part in this event every year. According to the Race for Life website, 17000 women ran in the Race for Life in Glasgow this month, hinting at the ball park figure for entrants expected in Epsom on the 28th June. However, this large number is just the tip of the iceberg of the sheer number of people affected by cancer, in all its forms, either directly or indirectly. And this is the real reason women from all over the borough and beyond will be dressed in pink, poised at the starting line at 11 o’clock on a (hopefully) sunny Sunday on Epsom Downs, and as the daughter of a cancer sufferer, it is certainly why I shall be. After all, when the ‘Big C’ knocks you for six, it feels good to get up and knock it back – preferably right where it hurts and us ladies are so good at that. Go girls!

Show your support this Sunday 28th June 2009 at 11am at Epsom Downs Racecourse.