00:00The Race for Life is a fundraising event organised by Cancer Research UK, first held back in
00:071994 in Battersea Park in London, as a women's-only 5K run to raise money for cancer research.
00:13The event grew rapidly, expanding to multiple locations across the UK. Since its launch,
00:17Race for Life has raised over £950 million to fund research into 200 types of cancer.
00:22The first Race for Life in Wales took place in Cardiff in 1997, and following a successful
00:27first outing, more events were introduced across the country, including in Swansea,
00:31Wrexham and Newport. Over the years, the event has evolved, introducing different distances
00:36and even pretty muddy obstacle courses, and in 2019 it became open to everyone, regardless
00:41of their gender.
00:42Today, Race for Life remains one of the UK's largest mass participation fundraising events.
00:47They're still going strong, possibly bigger than ever, with thousands of people already
00:51signed up this year. But Leanne from The Traitors, who lives in North Wales, wants to see more
00:55people sign up and raise money for cancer research.
00:58Yeah, absolutely. I think these events are really lovely, actually, because it brings
01:03people together. Everybody's there for a different reason. You know, there's over 200 different
01:07types of cancer, so everybody there is racing for a different reason, but we're actually
01:12all there for the same reason, and that's to raise money for Cancer Research UK. That,
01:17you know, this research saves lives, and I think it's something everybody is grateful
01:23for, so these types of events are very special to a lot of people.
01:28This year, you can also get involved and add songs to the playlist for the event called
01:31Play for Life, where you can upload a song that could mean a lot to you or a loved one,
01:35or just a great upbeat track that gets you in the running mood.
01:38Yeah, so the Play for Life playlist is basically you submit a song that is personal to you,
01:47to your journey, or to a loved one's journey, and you add it to the playlist for this year's
01:52Race for Life, and music is known as a motivator, you know, it encourages people to keep going,
01:59so it will be a playlist that's played throughout these races, and you can submit your own song
02:06by visiting the raceforlife.org website and submitting your song there.
02:12Leanne says the charity is very close to her heart, as her partner was diagnosed with grade
02:17three breath cancer. She's since got the all clear, but says that the Race for Life is
02:21something she wants to be a part of.
02:23So it's really close to my heart, actually, and being involved in the Race for Life this
02:27year means a lot to me, because my partner was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer
02:32last year, and that is something she has been fighting since last July, and we're very,
02:38very lucky to say that she has beaten cancer, and the chemotherapy, the radiotherapy, everything
02:45has worked, so that is why we'll be doing this together. She'll be doing it with me,
02:51alongside our family, who have helped us through the toughest times as well.
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