TODAY, the Daily Echo launches its Do it for Anne c a m p a i g n .

Every year, 10,000 women line up on Southampton Common to take part in the hugely popular Race for Life event.

I've been there for the past five years or so and each time I feel it's a privilege to be a part of such a wonderful day.

There are people there who have lost loved ones, come through cancer or are still having treatment.

It's an emotional day, when it's easy to shed a tear - but ultimately it's really uplifting.

You feel stronger for taking part - and it helps you to understand where the money goes and why it is so important to continue raising those funds.

To help focus everyone's mind on where the money goes, the Daily Echo has joined forces with Cancer Research UK to launch the Do-itfor- Anne' campaign.

The Race for Life events in Southampton and Winchester are expected to raise a whopping £800,000 this year - and that's enough to pay for Anne and a team of 14 Super Nurses across the UK.

It's sad but true that each year just under half of the women who take part fail to send in any money.

The Southampton race does fall at an awkward time of the year in mid-July just when everyone is going off on holiday - so it's easy to see how difficult it can be to collect sponsorship money.

But race organiser Hannah Davies is hoping that participants in Winchester and Southampton can get behind our campaign and ensure more money than ever gets returned to the charity.

She said: "Anne and her team of nurses do such a fantastic job.

"I would urge every woman taking part to help us raise this money, which is needed to fund Anne and her nursing colleagues."

Race for Life is keen to get women doing fundraising events in the run-up to the big day - and you can always pay sponsorship money online and reduce the hassle.

The money that every woman taking part raises is helping to fund the work of Anne and her team.

They are the link between the cutting edge science and the patients fighting the disease.

Their role is fundamental - and together we can ensure they can continue their important work by raising £800,000 this year.

Let's Go For It