Three thousand women of all ages will be running, jogging or walking the 5km route on Sunday, supported by cheering friends and family - and dozens of tireless volunteers manning water stations and handing out medals.

It is the seventh time the charity has run Race for Life in Aylesbury, last year raising £204,000. This year their target is £212,000.

One group of women hoping to help reach that amount are the Chearsley Chix, some of whom who are travelling from as far away as Belgium to honour the memory of their friend, Jackie Brown, who died last year.

Organiser Julie Gibson said they have more than 60 people involved. "Jackie was an occupational health worker at Stoke Mandeville and sadly died in October. It all started off when we held a celebration of her life. I went round with a book saying 'we're running next year for Jackie'. I got 54 names then - now it's gone up to 67.

"We are racing primarily for Jackie, but others as well. She was a wonderful person. She moved into Chearsley from Wales about 12 years ago and has two daughters and a son. She loved the arts, ballet and music and was the best party queen you could have. She was a marvellous person who always put others first before herself."

Mrs Gibson said she thought they would easily raise at least £3,000 for Cancer Research UK.

More than 260 Race for Life events will be taking place across the UK. Visit www.justgiving.com/chearsleychix to sponsor the Chearsley Chix.

If you are taking part in the Race for Life, let us know how you got on

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