On 14 July, Team ELLE will be donning their trainers and heading to Hyde Park in London to run the Cancer Research UK 10k Race for Life. Below, we explain our personal reasons for doing so.

Lorraine Candy, Editor in Chief

I am running in memory of William Roy Candy, father to my husband, grandfather to my four children and a wonderful man who we all miss.

Georgia Simmonds, Features Assistant

Running the Race for Life for Cancer Research UK will be my second 10k and good training for the half marathon I’ve signed up for in September. I know how lucky I am to be able to say that none of my close friends and family have been affected by cancer but I'm also aware of how unusual this is. I feel proud to be supporting such an important charity.

Claire Sibbick, Junior Sub-Editor

I'm running the 10k Race for Life for two reasons.

1. I've never run 10k before. I did the 5k Race for Life last year, and really enjoyed it – both the actual run and being surrounded by women with inspiring messages on their backs (relating to who they were running for). So I thought it would be a good challenge to run 10k, and a chance to get fitter in the process (the cakes in the ELLE office are just too tempting to resist!).

2. Sadly, I lost a good friend to cancer at the turn of the year. He put up a really brave fight for two years, always with a smile on his face, but unfortunately his cancer was too aggressive. I wanted to run so we can get closer to beating cancer – that way, others don't have to say goodbye to those they care about.

Debbie Morgan, Editorial Business Manager

As I've been crazy enough to sign myself up for a 50k ultra marathon in October, I’m running as often as I can, and what better way to do this than to raise money for such a good cause as Cancer Research UK in the process. I've always admired how everyone comes together to help fight the battle by being part of Race for Life, and I'm happy to be one of the team this year.

Miette L. Johnson, Art Director

With our 10k We Own The Night event done and dusted, general consensus at ELLE HQ is that having a race in the diary is the best motivator to keep up with training. It’s nice to have a goal in sight. But I’m not running Race for Life for the good of my health. I’m running it for the good of my father’s health. And my mother’s. And my sister’s. We’re a family of five, and so far three have had cancer, and got better. I’d say that we’re lucky – but the truth is, without early diagnosis, brilliant advice and excellent surgeons… I’d be writing a very different story. I’m not hoping for a cure, I’m looking for answers. Cancer in my family wasn’t cured, it was successfully treated by people who understood what they were dealing with. That’s what research gives us. So, I spend an hour on a Sunday, wearing pink, sweating (read: swearing) it out in public, and I get to keep John, Marsha and Stephanie? Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me.

Faye O’Sullivan, Contributing Designer

I appear to be a member of an obscure minority: blessed enough to have passed 25 years without the big C affecting anyone I know and love. The amount of people who are shocked by this is evidence of the inevitability that at some point, cancer will touch everyone in some way. A few months ago, a lovely friend received the news that at 24 years old, she has grade-3 cancer. Her resolve is incredible and her road is a hell of a lot longer than 10k. Bring it on, Race for Life, bring it on.

Think we can do it? Sponsor us here (whatever you can spare)

How to run a 10k

We Owned The Night (our last 10k)