Cancer Research UK has urged Mersey runners to look beyond lockdown and sign up for its annual Race for Life fundraiser this year.

COVID-19 caused many events to be cancelled in 2020 and the charity is predicting an income drop of £300 million over the next three years making the race, it says, more important than ever.

Sarah Hunter, Cancer Research UK’s Event Manager for Merseyside, said:

“All 400 mass-participation Race for Life events across the UK were cancelled last year to protect the country’s health during the COVID-19 pandemic. So this year, more than ever, we need people to come together and help beat the disease.

“The truth is, COVID-19 has slowed us down, but we will never stop, and we are absolutely determined to continue to create better cancer treatments.”

She added: “Every step our scientists take towards beating cancer relies on our supporters. Our Race for Life events are open to all and we’re sending a heart-felt message to everyone to come together in 2021.”

Race For Life will be slightly different this year but Sarah promised that the health and safety of participants, staff and volunteers was a top priority – and that the event, while socially distanced, would still be a great experience as well as raising vital research funds.

This year’s Mersey Race for Life events will take place at Aintree Racecourse on Sunday, June 13, and at Sefton Park on Saturday and Sunday, July 3 and 4.

There are also events at Birkenhead Park on Saturday and Sunday, June 26 and 27, and at Haydock Park Racecourse on Sunday, July 11.

Sarah stressed: “Although ‘Race’ features in the name, our events are not competitive. Instead, ‘the Race for Life’ is about our doctors, nurses and scientists working as hard and fast as possible to help more people survive.

“Every year around 42,300 people are diagnosed with cancer in the North West.”

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Participants will be asked to respect social distancing before, during and after the events which are open to people of all ages and abilities, and they will either set off on the course alone or in small socially-distanced groups. Hand sanitiser will also be provided at all events with participants encouraged to use it before and after the event.

As an incentive, too, anyone who signs up this month can claim 30% off the entry fee by using the code ‘JAN2021’. 

It is the 20^th anniversary this year of Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life partnership with Tesco, and the usual series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events, which raise millions to help beat cancer by funding crucial research, will all be staged.

Sarah added: “The Race for Life is a powerful, inspirational movement which unites participants in Merseyside with people across the North West and the whole of the UK.

“People get together and remember loved ones lost, or they celebrate the lives of those who have survived.  At the same time, they are helping to make a difference to people with the disease, right now.   So, please go to the Race for Life website, choose an event, and sign up today.”

To enter, visit www.raceforlife.org

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