I am taking part in Race for Life for the first time this year because in March my close friend and colleague, Jane, died very suddenly and unexpectedly from secondary breast cancer.

Jane was one of the most positive, encouraging, energetic and caring people I have ever had the privilege to know. Her family, friends and colleagues all miss her terribly. There is a team of us walking/running Race for Life in Jane's memory (please see www.justgiving.com/teams/teamjaneridley) as we want to do something to remember her whilst also supporting a cause that was important to her.

After recovering from breast cancer a few years' ago, Jane ran a marathon to raise funds for research into breast cancer. My couch potato tendencies mean that I'm not quite up to a marathon - 5K will be quite a challenge given that I haven't ever been much of a runner - but I hope that Jane will be proud of me and the rest of us all the same!

I and the rest of my team would really appreciate anything that you can give, however small, to support us and to help ensure that, in the future, no-one has to experience what Jane went through.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.