A SUPPORT group has been launched to help people affected by cancer, in conjunction with Parkrun.

5k Your Way, Move Against Cancer launches this month with their first run on September 28.

It’s open to people going through any stage of their cancer treatment, as well as the family and friends of people suffering from the disease too.

Alex Conboy, who herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, set up the group after noticing that it was really hard to find a personal trainer once she mentioned that she’d suffered from cancer.

“I thought ‘there is a huge gap in the market here, then it became about giving something back.”

Alex was a professional sailor and later a businessperson before she was diagnosed.

After recovering, she decided to retrain as a personal trainer.

“I have gone part time on the business side and do personal training three times a week,” she told the Gazette.

“For me it’s all about helping people.”

Alex says the event is completely inclusive, and you can walk or run the full 5k or only part of it.

“We are completely aware that sometimes there will be people who can only walk a little bit of it.”

The group meets on the last Saturday of every month, starting on Saturday, 28 September, between 8:30am and 8:45am outside the Totally Tennis Pavilion in War Memorial Park, in time for the 9am Parkrun start.

Alex is keen to show the benefits of keeping fit whilst undergoing chemotherapy.

“I was lucky to be able to keep running throughout treatment,” she said.

“I really believe that the fact I kept on running helped me through the treatment and I found that if I sat on the sofa I felt rubbish.

“It is about keeping moving, keeping active.”

She is joined in running the group by Sarah Govind, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015, and Sue Bowen, a local GP.

Those interested in joining the group are encouraged to register with 5k Your Way (www.5kyourway.org/register) and Parkrun (www.parkrun.org.uk/register).