THOUSANDS of women descended on Southampton Common to put cancer through its paces.

Ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes turned the park into a sea of pink yesterday for the second day of Race for Life events.

Last year more than £500,000 was raised in Southampton, allowing Cancer Research UK’s doctors, nurses and scientists to advance research which is helping to save the lives of men, women and children across the city and the UK.

On Saturday 3,000 women tackled the Pretty Muddy obstacle course, raising £165,000 of the event's £500,000 target.

Today's 6,000 runners were split between two events.

Ladies taking part in the 10k event crossed the start line at 9am while thousands of women who have signed up to tackle the traditional 5k race are being urged to gather in front of the stage for entertainment and a warm up before the race gets underway at 11.30am.

The events wound up early on Sunday afternoon, with road closures lifted on The Avenue.

Currently one in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives, but the good news is more people are surviving the disease now than ever before - survival rates have doubled since the early 1970s.

An estimated 60,000 women are taking part in Race for Life events across England this year.

Photos by Stuart Martin