LIKE clockwork, the Race For Life women have started their campaign.

You can see them everywhere; jogging together along the riverside, or pounding the pavements across York – putting in the miles in the pursuit of their goal; to finish the course and raise money for Cancer Research UK.

The motivations are many. Some will see it as a fitness challenge, and crossing the 5k or 10k marker at Knavesmire on race day will be one of the most satisfying moments of their lives.

For many, the spur is more personal, perhaps driven by the loss of a loved one or in memory of a friend’s courageous struggle against a disease that still blights too many lives.

What unites all these women is a sporting sisterhood; an implicit understanding that come race day, they really are all in it together. It doesn’t matter whether they wear an Olympic-style running kit or a pink tutu with tiara, or whether they finish the course in 15 minutes or 50 – the underlining mood is one of comradeship rather than combativeness.

It is a unique occasion. Where else would you find young girls, teens, mums and grans all taking part in a sporting event together – all kicked off with a mass outdoor aerobics warm-up session!

There have been grumblings from the sidelines that men should be allowed to take part in the event; local equality campaigner John Taylor, of Norton, maintains Race For Life is in breach of the Human Rights Act and the Sex Discrimination Act.

Happily, the Fundraising Standards Board disagrees with Mr Taylor and has waved the pink flag to say Race For Life can and should remain a women-only event.

This is as it should be. There are a multitude of other charity races men can take part in to raise money for cancer research, but only one Race For Life.

The success of the event – growing from a mere 680 participants in 1994 to 690,000 in 2010 and raising £362 million on the way – rests squarely on the fact that Race For Life is about sisters doing it for themselves.

About 5,500 women in York took part in last year’s races, swelling Cancer Research UK’s coffers by some £340,000.

The achievements of Race For Life are too great to be tarnished by a silly row over sexism. Cancer doesn’t discriminate between men and women, and to borrow a phrase from race sponsors Tesco, surely every little helps.

The millions raised through Race For Life support the work of 4,800 scientists, doctors and nurses, and lead to real breakthroughs. Successes to date include tracking down the BRCA2 gene; carrying a faulty version of which increases the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. Scientists also discovered that giving the drug tamoxifen to younger as well as older breast-cancer patients could save an extra 20,000 lives each year worldwide. And Cancer Research has put pressure on the government to roll out the national bowel screening programme, which could save more than 2,000 lives every year by 2025.

Men have always been more than welcome to support Race For Life – not least by cheering on the ladies from the sidelines. Want to do more? Then why not volunteer to babysit so your sister, friend or mum can go do some training? And don’t forget to dig deep in your pockets when asked by the women in your life to sponsor them.

These are the ways men can make their impact on Race For Life and feel they are taking part too.

How apt, then, that this year’s Race For Life at Knavesmire will take place on Sunday, June 19 – Father’s Day.

• Find out more about Race For Life 2011 at raceforlife.org