Pink ladies smash £1million target on 20th anniversary run
The Pink Ladies’ Tractor Road Run has revealed it has raised a record-breaking amount following this year’s event – breaking its £1million target for its 20th anniversary.
The fundraising event, started by organiser Annie Chapman in 2004 to raise money for Cancer Research UK’s breast cancer appeal, collected £201,000 this year, taking them above the seven-figure total.
The announcement was made at the event’s annual celebration evening on September 8, in front of hundreds of supporters, including this year’s pink ladies, the support crew, marshals and the wider team.
Annie said: “2023 is a year I will never forget. When I asked my pink ladies to ‘go for a million’, the response was like a cork popping from a bottle of champagne.
“Suddenly, fundraising events and activities were happening all over the place. There seemed no end to the energy and enthusiasm of the ladies, their families, friends and supporters.
“Well, we got to our £104,000 and our target of £1 million.
“But then it became clear that something remarkable was happening. The money just kept flooding in until we hit the spectacular total of £201,000.
“There are no words of thanks that seem adequate but, still, I must offer my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made our 20th anniversary so very special.”
At the presentation, Annie was joined by Jane Roderick-Jones to present a cheque to Myles Godfrey, senior manager at Cancer Research UK.
Before presenting the cheque, Jane said: “The story of how it started with a few friends, to the fund-raising movement we have today, is astonishing and encouraging.
“We have to pay tribute to everybody who has contributed over the years, great and small.
“And to those who have been affected, the survivors and loved ones and those we have lost along the way.”
On this year’s run, which took place on July 2, a record 201 women swathed in pink took to 198 decorated tractors to wind their way on a 20-mile route through south Norfolk and north Suffolk.
Thousands of people packed the route, cheering on the pink ladies in towns, villages, laybys and gardens, with homes and businesses also being decked in pink bunting, banners and flags in support of the highly-popular run.
On receiving the cheque on behalf of Cancer Research UK, Mr Godfrey said: “In all the years at Cancer Research UK, I have never been so inspired by a community coming together to make such a difference.
“I genuinely did not know how much this cheque was going to be for and, in the 18 years I’ve worked at CRUK, I have never heard of a cash collection at any event in central England that was higher than your cash collection this year.
“Your strength as a community is remarkable. Some 55,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and the research funding you give us saves more lives.
“Two in four people survive cancer but, by 2034, we want three in four to survive. Thank you to Annie, she is a living legend at CRUK.”
After thanking Mr Godfrey, Annie said it was all down to team work.
Asked if there would be a tractor run again in 2024, she said: “Yes, there will be a road run next year because the research into improved treatment for breast cancer must go on.”
