A CHARITY race’s new home in a South Lakeland village is expected to draw more than 1,000 women to the area and provide a welcome boost to trade.

Cartmel Racecourse will host the 2012 women only Race for Life after events at the Westmorland County Showground and Barrow-in-Furness were scrapped due to falling numbers.

Organisers at Cancer Research hope the new location will attract up to 1,100 people and raise £67,000.

Sandy Kitching, secretary of the Guild of Cartmel Traders, said: “We hope to get lots of local people signed up and raise lots of money for a superb charity. People can stock up on their sticky toffee pudding too!”

Annette Quarry, Cancer Research UK event manager for Cumbria, said the 5km charity races at Kendal and Barrow were no longer cost effective so a single location between the two towns had been chosen.

She said: “Race for Life raises money to fund life-saving research so we owe it to our supporters to ensure that we raise as much money as possible in the most cost-efficient way.

“And although 877 women took part last June, entries were still lower than anticipated. Taking the cost of staging the event into consideration, we have had to take the difficult decision not to hold it again.

“I’d like to thank all the team at Westmorland County Showground for their support over the years.”

In 2010 Kendal’s Race for Life was cancelled after numbers dropped to 1,144 from around 1,500 when it first started in 2006.

But the pink-themed event was brought back in 2011 after readers of the Gazette complained.

Cartmel Racecourse manager John Garrett said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have it in Cartmel - it will be really good for the village. We’re doing it predominantly for the charity so it’s really all about raising money for a really good cause.

“Hopefully by running one single event rather than two small ones, they will raise a lot more money and I really hope it works.”

More details of the Cartmel Race for Life can be found at www.raceforlife. cancerresearchuk.org.