A group of seven women who have never run competitively are preparing to take on the Sport Relief BIGK 10k race in aid of Manorlands hospice.

The women who are in their thirties and forties know each other through fitness classes and are awaiting the big day with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

Alison Bridge, from Steeton, has lost four stones in the past year and said that the race had set a target for her to work towards.

She said: "I haven't really run since I was at school and when I heard about the BIGK 10k run I felt that it would be good to get involved since it was the first time it was happening in Keighley.

"It was also a distance I felt was achievable and raising money for Manorlands made me want to do it too.

"But it is the first time I have done anything like this and I am a bit concerned about the hills. I haven't done the route because I thought it was best to leave it as a surprise for the day, otherwise I thought I might get put off!"

Mother-of-three Mrs Bridge said that the group had tried to get together once a week to train for the big race.

She said: "We have been really nervous about going out as a group and doing the distance but I think on the day some will take off at their own pace and others will stick together and see how we do.

"I think the atmosphere will really spur us on and we will be proud once we've done it."

Fit for Life instructor Mary Parkinson first motivated the team of friends and people who attended her fitness classes to get involved and is included in the group. She said: "It is really good for them to have a goal to aim for and get people together who have never run before.

"I do a lot of work with people who have disabilities and I am thinking next year of getting them together and seeing if we can walk the route.

"I run an Asian women's fitness class and I am also thinking of asking them. I think it is a really good thing to get the people of Keighley together."

Altogether the group has raised hundreds of pounds for the Oxenhope hospice.