A SEA of pink could be seen across Down Grange playing fields as people united in the fight against cancer at the Basingstoke Race for Life.

Hundreds of people attended the Cancer Research UK event on Saturday to run around a 5k or 10k course over the fields and tracks at Down Grange Sports Complex, in Pack Lane.

Earlier in the morning, Cancer Research UK hosted a Pretty Muddy event at the same location, where participants took part in a muddy obstacle course, scrambling over A-frames and crawling through mud pits.

Jess Hurford took part in Pretty Muddy with three friends.

Despite being the last to finish the course after an hour and 15 minutes, the group said they had an “amazing time”.

Jess added: “We got extra muddy as we were the last ones to cross the finish line.”

Basingstoke Gazette:

It was an emotional event for many, who raced in memory of loved ones who have died of cancer, or those still fighting the disease, with the names of family and friends on display on the backs of T-shirts.  

Basingstoke Gazette:

Among those taking part in the 10k Race for Life was inspirational Basingstoke mum Danielle Butler, who took a break from her London Marathon training to complete the course.

The 44-year-old was diagnosed with grade 3, stage 2 invasive breast cancer at the start of the pandemic in March last year.

The mother-of-two told the Gazette: “You go through a lot of different emotions. I remember being on my knees to start with, thinking oh my gosh what’s happening, this can’t be happening to me. You always think it’s going to happen to someone else. One in three people get cancer at some point in their life, you hear that but you don’t believe it.”

Danielle finished her cancer treatment in June this year and decided to inspire those on a similar journey by taking part in this year’s London Marathon in October for Breast Cancer Now.

Basingstoke Gazette:

But she had to delay training until after her treatment finished because the chemo tablets she was taking made the soles of her feet sore.

Her husband, Mark, who is training with her, said: “We completed Race for Life 10k in the middle of a 16.5-mile training run for the marathon. It was very tough but we did it.”