Before Sheila Dennison lost her battle against breast cancer she made her daughter promise to continue taking part in the Race for Life.

It was a wish 23-year-old Cara was more than happy to honour and on Sunday, June 1, she will be pulling on her trainers to take part in the women-only five-kilometre run in Lister Park in Manningham to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

A former pupil at the then Bradford Girls' Grammar School, Cara now lives in London, but she will be travelling back to her home town to join a team of around 25 who will be running in memory of her mother.

Sheila was Bradford Council's swimming development manager and the team is made up of her former colleagues at Bingley Pool and staff from ward 15 at Bradford Royal Infirmary where Sheila was treated.

The team can be identified on the day by their T-shirts which support Bradford Council's B-active campaign on the front and ward 15 on the back.

Sheila was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. She received treatment and was in remission for four years, but the disease returned in 2004.

She underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy and organised a team to take part in Race for Life in Bradford in 2005 - but by the time the race came round she was too ill to take part herself.

"I ran it in her place and she said make sure you continue it when I am not here' and I said I would," said Cara.

Sheila died shortly after Race for Life in 2005, aged 51.

Her daughter and colleagues have taken part in the race every year since, raising thousands of pounds for cancer research and Cara is hoping to raise more money than ever this year.

Her dad Bob, 62, of Sandy Lane, and brother Matthew, 26 and James, 20, will be there to cheer her on.

Lister Park is hosting two races, one at 10.30am and one at 2.30pm. The morning race is now full but places are still available for the afternoon event.

Jenny Key, area event manager, said: "Last year's events had an unforgettable atmosphere and we raised £243,000. This year, we are hoping that 5,000 women will sign up to take part in the Bradford events, helping us to raise £295,000."

The Bradford participants will be among 750,000 women across the UK taking part in more than 260 events. To enter visit or call 0871 641 2275.