![\"'Cancer](\"http:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/files\/2014\/04\/1403RACE02-ceidiog.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nRosemary Conley diet and fitness instructor Jane Mann, who won her own battle with cervical cancer 20 years ago, led the charge.<\/p>\n
The grandmother from Chester led a fun and energetic fitness routine to up-beat music.<\/a><\/p>\n She was also on hand to chat to shoppers and hand out information leaflets, as was her husband David, a retired army Major who recently beat prostate cancer.<\/p>\n Jane said: \u201cWe\u2019re fired up and ready to go. This is where it starts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting the message out to the masses with our leaflets and out balloons and the positive energy is spreading from Eagles Meadow throughout Wrexham.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get a load of girls together wearing pink, fluffy preferably, and good things happen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018Cancer Slam\u2019 has been absolutely fantastic. It\u2019s an easy routine. It\u2019s something that everyone can join in with, and it\u2019s very effective.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a really fun day, and we\u2019re gearing up for the Race for Life.\u201d<\/p>\n Those words were echoed by Liz Booth, the Wrexham events manager for Cancer research UK.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cWe\u2019re encouraging the ladies of Wrexham to sign up and come and join the fight. It\u2019s a battle cry. We\u2019re trying to really the troops, and get the message out there that we want to take cancer down.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to do everything that we can to get rid of this disease which affects 1 in 3 people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a great space here at Eagles Meadow to do the launch which we\u2019re really grateful for, and it\u2019s been great to interact with the people of Wrexham.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people have said that they\u2019re looking to sign up. There\u2019s lots of interest, and we hope people go away and tell their friends and family as well.<\/p>\n \u201cOver six million people have taken part in the race for life in the UK it has raised 457 million for cancer research UK over the years. Last year in Wrexham 1,400 took part. It raised \u00a369,000. This year we\u2019re looking for 1,500 people to take part and we have a target of \u00a380,000.<\/p>\n \u201cRace for Life is non-competitive. It\u2019s not about being fit or fast. Most women are able to walk 5k in an hour while chatting and having fun. Or they can choose to jog, run or even dance around the course if they prefer.\u201d<\/p>\n Eagles Meadow shopper Funmi Arikewuyo added: \u201cI think raising awareness in this way is a good idea. It\u2019s a good way of letting people know what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n Jane’s proud husband, David, 65, who started his military career, aged 17, at Sandhurst where Princes William and Harry completed their military training, paid tribute to his wife:\u00a0\u201cJane is an inspiration to me on many fronts but most especially this one. Before we were married she had invited me to come and Help at race for Life, and I just remember seeing her inspiring ladies as they crossed the line.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I had been in an environment where motivation and inspiration was important in the forces. But I was charmed, bowled over and inspired from what I saw in Jane\u2019s ability to connect with women especially and encourage them.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s been a leading light for me – a star actually. Not only to help me through a challenging illness, but also in day to day life.\u201d<\/p>\n David, who served in the Light Infantry regiment in countries including Germany, Pakistan, Gibraltar, Malaya, and Northern Ireland, was diagnosed with cancer in March and after undergoing six weeks of radiotherapy he has been given the all clear.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cJane knows what it\u2019s like to have been made aware that you are suffering from a life-threatening disease.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all going to die at some stage but the moment when the prospect of that comes closer is quite a shocking event. You become aware of your own mortality.<\/p>\n Eagles Meadow Manager Kevin Critchley said: “I wish Jane and the gang all the best in the Race for Life. This is an extremely important cause and they deserve all the support they can get.”<\/p>\n Jane recalled how her own painful fight with cancer which led to a full hysterectomy, made her determined to make a difference: \u201cI was devastated. For me it was a double hammer because obviously it\u2019s a life-threatening disease and I had a child to look after and I was single.<\/p>\n \u201cBut at the same time I was challenged with the prospect of not having any more children, and that was devastating as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was as much of a challenge for me as a woman at that age, as I\u2019m sure it is for ladies who have to have mastectomies and things like that. It is part of your identity. It is your womanhood. It\u2019s who you are.<\/p>\n \u201cI was lying in my hospital bed after the operation and a friend of mine came in and said \u2018Why don\u2019t you run the London marathon?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI was just sitting there all wired up and recovering from a major operation. But then I started thinking that it was quite a good idea, that I needed something to focus on, something to take my mind off of what\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n \u201cSo a bit like Forrest Gump I got up out of bed and started running. \u201cI was angry, so I needed something to get it out my system.\u201d<\/p>\n Six months later in April 1992 brave Jane was running her first London Marathon.<\/p>\n Jane added: \u201cI recovered and trained for it from a standing start, and I did it and it was the best thing I ever did.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then Jane has become an ardent supporter of the Race for Life.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cIt creates positive energy all channelled in one direction with all these people giving up their time and their energy to do something to help others.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like nothing else, turning something negative into a positive, and that\u2019s the sort of thing we need to fight the cancer. Look it in the eye and say no not me, not now. It\u2019s making a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n To enter Race for Life Wrexham today go to www.raceforlife.org<\/a> or call 0845 600 6050.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n