The Race For Life gives women the chance to raise money to beat cancer. It's also a grand day out, reports MAXINE GORDON

LITTLE Connie Johnson is looking forward to her big day at York Knavesmire. The five-year-old from Fulford is taking part in the Race For Life with mum Karen.

While Karen jogs ahead with friend Lorraine Bradshaw, Connie will walk around the five kilometre course, hand in hand with big cousin Megan.

Cheering them on from the sidelines will be dad Billy and granddad Colin.

The race - on May 20 - will be an especially poignant day for the Johnson family.

It takes place one year since Christine Hibberd - Karen's mum, Connie's granny, Colin's wife - lost her battle with cancer.

For Karen, that battle is an even more personal one. She was treated for cervical cancer three and half years ago and still has to go back to hospital for regular check-ups.

Taking part in the Race For Life is something Karen is doing in tribute to her mother, but also to heighten awareness of the need to raise more money for research into cancer.

"By putting money into cancer research now there might be some advances by the time Connie is my age," says Karen, 34.

Besides asking friends and family to sponsor them, they hope to boost the Race For Life coffers by holding a collection at York's Grand Opera House on May 4 and 5 during the run of The Red Shoes, in which Connie stars.

Karen is a regular at the Barbican gym, but new to running. She is being put through her paces by mate Lorraine and says she will feel a sense of achievement in completing the 5km race.

Exercise, she says, has had a crucial role to play in helping her cope with the stresses of recent times.

"Keeping fit helped me to get through the cancer. It helped me cope with the pressure," says Karen.

Cancer also made her a different person, she insists. "I've always been fit and I ate well and I never smoked. My friends say they cannot believe it happened to me. But cancer can happen to anybody.

"But you can't dwell on it and waste your life. I don't believe in being morbid.

"If cancer has taught me anything it is to enjoy your life and get the most from it."

Organisers hope at least 2,500 women and girls will take part in the York Race For Life, which aims to raise £95,000. It will be one of 71 races taking place across the country this summer in aid of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's pioneering studies into cancers which affect women.

The first Race For Life was run in 1994, raising £36,000 and this year the charity hopes to collect more than £6.5 million - that's £1.2 million more than last year.

Open to women of all ages, many will be taking part with friends, daughters, mothers and sisters. And despite being called a race, women can choose to walk the 5km.

Helen Taylor and her seven-year-old daughter Charlie are planning to speed walk the distance in under an hour. Each weekend they don their Race For Life 2001 T-shirts and put in some practice round their village, Holme on Spalding Moor, near Pocklington.

And they have already won lots of support from friends and neighbours. Charlie has sponsorship pledges of more than £400 while mum has around £80.

"People know it's for a really good cause. Just about everybody knows someone who has been affected by cancer, so consequently they want to do their bit," says Helen, 39. The race, she adds, will be a bitter sweet experience. "Lots of people will be having a nice day, doing something for the common good," she says. "But at the same time, you are aware there will be people there taking part in memory of a loved one and it will be really poignant."

How to enter

The York Race For Life will take place at the Knavesmire on Sunday, May 20 at 11am.

It costs £7.50 to enter the race, or £4.50 for girls under 16, which covers organisational costs. Participants are asked to try to raise at least £30 each in sponsorship.

You can enter either using a form available from Imperial Cancer Research Fund shops, GP surgeries, fitness centres, libraries or by calling the hotline number: 08705 134 314.

You can also enter by calling this number, but please have your credit or debit card at hand. The hotline is open from 8.30am-8.30pm and all calls are charged at a national rate.

Postal entries should be sent to: Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Race For Life, PO Box 264, Exeter, EX1 1ZH. Note, the closing date for postal entries is one week before the race. You can also enter online via the website: www.raceforlife.co.uk

You may enter on the day of the race for £10, however if the race is "full" this will not be possible.

Because of insurance restrictions, no prams, pushchairs, baby joggers, pets, rollerskates or inline skates will be allowed on the course.

How to get in shape

STAFF at York's Barbican centre and Courtney's fitness centre are running training programmes to help women prepare for the Race For Life.

Each centre is hosting a series of free training sessions aimed at getting women ready to tackle a 5km run.

The sessions aim to build distance and stamina in walking and running.

Courtney's at Monk's Cross is holding its sessions on Mondays and Fridays in the lead up to the race. The next session will take place at Courtney's track on Monday, April 9 at 6.30pm.

The Barbican's training programme runs every Wednesday at 7pm until May 16.

Each session includes a warm up followed by timed jogs and runs to boost stamina and endurance levels. Instructor Mark Sullivan will be leading the Barbican sessions and will also be offering advice on nutrition and training.