Winchester'S first ever Race for Life was a major success, with a capacity 1,200 women taking part in the fundraising event.

The sun shone down and the crowds gathered to cheer on the women who had come to complete the 5km course at River Park Leisure Centre.

Everyone had been touched in some way by cancer and many were running in memory of loved ones.

Tina Lawes from Alresford and her sisters Tracey Wareham, Wendy Goodfellow, Rose Finch and Elaine Angel were all running in memory of Brenda Laws - a family member who died from cancer at the age of 51.

"We won't be the fastest here today - but it's the taking part that matters," said Rose.

Tesco is the official sponsor for the annual fundraising event that raises millions of pounds nationally for research into the causes of cancer - and Winchester fielded a large team for the race.

First over the line was Katherine Thompson, 29, from Shawford.

She led the field right from the start and crossed the finish line with a commendable time of 19mins 26 secs.

"I was just trying to get round in under 20 minutes so I am really pleased," she said afterwards.

Hot on her heels was 13-year-old Hannah Mitchell who was in the top five.

A keen runner, she took part in memory of her grandparents.

Organiser Karina Morgan said: "We are delighted with the turnout.

"We thought that we would have about 750 runners taking part, but we topped that figure and reached our capacity of 1,200."

She added: "We hoped to raise £53,000 from this race, but now we had 500 more women taking part so that figure will rise."

There's still time to sign up for the Southampton Race for Life, which takes place on Sunday, July 18 - and it could be a record-breaker this year.

"Currently the biggest Race in the UK on one day is Cardiff, which takes place on Wednesday, 7th July - with 8045 women taking part.

"If we go over that number, Southampton will be the largest Race in the UK on one day.

"To become the biggest we need another 753 people to take part, so we hope we can reach that target before the day itself," said Karina.

4-page picture special on Winchester's first ever Race for Life plus a complete list of runners in today's Daily Echo.