An army of pink-clad women braved the elements for a mud-spattered fundraising fun run.

The Pretty Muddy Race for Life drew hundreds of women to Chirk Castle on Saturday morning, with the aim of completing the five kilometres of gruelling and muddy terrain.

About 1,300 runners, aged 13 and above, dressed in their new pink ‘Real Women Wear Mud’ branded T-shirts in aid of Cancer Research UK, having raised thousands in sponsorship between them.

The women – some of whom had never run 5km before – had to crawl through pools full of muddy water, jump over inflatable obstacles and endure the blast of cold water hoses, all in the name of Cancer Research.

Individual runners, families, and work teams such as Wrexham Waterworld staff, Oswestry Leisure Centre staff and colleagues at Tesco Cefn Mawr, completed the not-so-so-sparkling race route, and the female
staff at B&M in Wrexham even dressed as nuns for the run.

Fiona Futcher, from Llangollen, faced the race with three friends and said: “The Dolls of the Ceiriog Valley had a great time and raised some funds for Cancer Research. We were the last to start and took it easy most of the way around.

“We got very wet and muddy but it was fun and I’ll be back to do it again next year. Thank you to everyone who donated money.”

The event doesn’t pride itself on who won, how many miles were covered, or how many thousands were raised, as their motto goes: “Whatever the distance. However dirty you get. This is beating cancer.”

Pictures by Craig Colville / CC081017C