Women make a splash and get muddy for cancer research

THEIR pink T-shirts were all shiny and clean as they were cheered off from the start line.
Competitors take part in the Race For Life, Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common.
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (160972-1)Competitors take part in the Race For Life, Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common.
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (160972-1)
Competitors take part in the Race For Life, Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common. Picture: Ian Hargreaves (160972-1)

Hundreds of women shouted in unison ‘Let’s get pretty muddy’ – and that they did.

By the end of the 5K obstacle course around Southsea Common the participants were caked in mud.

The mud-covered racers made for some great pictures.

A competitor in the Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common (160972-5)A competitor in the Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common (160972-5)
A competitor in the Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common (160972-5)
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And the event raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Research.

There was a carnival atmosphere on the common as women warmed up for the event, with uplifting tunes like ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and ‘Firework’.

The end of the race was a great spectacle to watch as women came hurtling down a slide into a pool of mud before racing to the finish line.

In first place was Britt Folkerman, 44, from Denmark.

A competitor in the Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common (160972-5)A competitor in the Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common (160972-5)
A competitor in the Pretty Muddy event on Southsea Common (160972-5)

She was on holiday in Portsmouth, having come to see HMS Victory. She thought she would try out the race.

‘It was fun,’ she said.

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In second place was Gemma Cartwright, 31, a hairdresser from the Isle of Wight.

‘It’s a really good cause,’ she said.

‘Everyone knows somebody affected by cancer.

‘This has been a fun thing to do. What else can you do on a Saturday other than get muddy?’

Holly Blaber, 29, a promoter from Southsea, came third.

She said: ‘I do this every year. I have just done the one in Southampton and I’m trying to do them all.

‘My auntie died four weeks ago and I want to raise as much money as possible.

‘It means so much to me.’

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Also competing in a team were Becci Davis, 34, from Blendworth Crescent, Leigh Park, and Tina Chase, 44, from Grebe Close, Wecock Farm.

Becci said: ‘I have done this for everyone. I just wanted to make a difference.’

Tina, who works in the health profession, said: ‘My uncle is fighting lung cancer at the moment.

‘My best friend had non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and I worked in oncology for five years.’

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