Race for Life is a series of fundraising events organised by the British charity, Cancer Research UK. They involve running, jogging or walking a 5-kilometre course and raising sponsorship for doing so. The money raised is donated to the charity to fund cancer research and campaigns. The races are limited to women, though men can volunteer to help organise and marshal the event.
Race for Life was conceived specifically for raising awareness of women's cancers. The first Race for Life event took place in 1994 when 680 participants participated in a race in Battersea Park, London and raised £36,000. Race for Life has subsequently grown to become one of the UK's largest fundraising events, which in 2006 involved 240 races, 750,000 participants and raised £46 million. Since Race for Life began in 1994, 4.7 million participants across the UK raised over £327 million for the charity. In 2003 a male member of the equality campaign, Parity, objected to being unable to take part in a Race for Life because of his sex. The Equal Opportunities Commission declined to consider his complaint.
Notable participants include Jane Tomlinson, whose first fundraising event was a Race for Life in 2001 after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She went on to raise over £1.75 million for charity before her death in 2007. In 2009 actresses Laila Morse and Lynda Bellingham became a Race for Life ambassadors in memory of Wendy Richard and Jade Goody, both of whom had recently died from cancer.
