For MAXINE GORDON, Race For Life held a challenge - to get fit and raise money for a good cause

AS trophies go, it's a rather modest one. But the gold-coloured coin attached to a purple ribbon still gives me a warm feeling inside when I think back to how I earned it. I was just one of 160,000 women across the country who won' this medal last year for participating in Race For Life.

In York, almost 3,000 of us completed the 5km route (about three miles) around Knavesmire before collecting our medal.

I wonder what they've done with theirs?

My one is on display in my kitchen - hanging on a nail on the back of the door. Not particularly glamorous, I know, but at least I see it every day.

Even now, almost a year on, I still feel good about my achievement. Not only did I raise £150 for cancer research, I realised a long-held goal of being able to run (or rather jog) for more than five minutes without collapsing in a red-faced, puffed-out heap, gasping for oxygen.

Even if there were no medals, you still feel like a winner when you do the Race For Life. Every woman who has ever taken part says it's a fantastic event: and trust me, it is.

Where else would you find thousands of women waving their hands in the air in unison as the DJ blasts out Shania Twain's I Feel Like A Woman? Where else would you find three - or even four - generations of one family going out for a walk that might lead to a cure for cancer? And where else would you see such a supreme example of sisters doing it for themselves?

Sorry if that sounds cheesy, but Race For Life offers women a rare opportunity to come together and make a difference.

The event itself is an emotional one. For many women, they will be spurred on by the memory of a loved one they have lost to cancer.

Others will be celebrating the fact they have beaten the disease themselves. Just being among thousands of women, all clad in the Race For Life T-shirt, all focused on achieving the same goal, can make you well up. For sure, it beats pushing a trolley round Sainsbury's on a Sunday morning.

Don't let the title Race For Life put you off. While many women do run the 5km route, lots more choose to walk, or do a combination of both.

Whichever you decide to do, make sure you get in some practice. If you are going to walk, get out and do some longish strolls in the lead up to the race.

If you're going to run, the best advice is to do regular walks and runs in the weeks before the race until you are able to run the distance.

And get some proper running shoes too.

Many gyms and fitness centres across York are offering free training sessions in the lead up to Race For Life, which are the perfect way to prepare for the big day - and a good way to meet other women taking part or find prospective training partners.

On the day, make sure you get some friends and family to come down and give you some support.

There's nothing better for spurring you on than spotting a smiling face in the crowd.

And a final tip. Set yourself a mini challenge. Whether it is to raise a certain amount of money or to complete the course in a set time, you'll find this gives you a boost on the day.

I can still picture the surprised look on a friend's face when I crossed the finishing line last year in 34 minutes and 59 seconds. He'd pledged £25 if I could finish in under 35 minutes.

Getting him to part with the cash was almost as pleasurable as hanging the medal around my neck.