'She was soon well ahead of the rest of us'; Eight-year-old girl from Northampton runs with the ladies in pink at Race For Life

Amongst the sea of pink shirts at the Northampton Race for Life event, held in Abington Park on June 4, was eight-year-old Katy Thompson, who ran with a team of ladies from her grandfather's law firm.

Seeking a challenge, Katy, who is a regular at her local 5km park run, took on the 10km route and crossed the finish line in just one hour and 10 minutes.

Katy's mum Claire Sharman said: "This was Katy's first 10km run. She started running when she was seven at her junior park run scheme.

"She really enjoyed herself and she seemed just fine afterwards too. I'm very proud of her."

Katy joined 3,600 mums, daughters, sisters and friends to help raise an estimated £300,000 for Cancer Research UK over the weekend of June 4.

There was a 5km course, a 10km run and the Pretty Messy 5km course, which included mud pits and slides.

Christina Chappell, 31, a solicitor at SP Law who ran on Sunday, said: "We entered a team of five when one of the firm's partners, Martin Sharman, said his granddaughter wanted to run as well. So she joined in with us.

"We set off as a group and some of us only wanted to walk. But Katy wanted to run and soon enough she was well ahead of the rest of us. She did us proud."

The team of six girls from SP Law raised a total of £968.75.

Katy's grandad Martin Sharman said: "I think 70 minutes is a brilliant time for an eight-year-old to run 10km. She did very well.

"Well done to all the ladies from SP Law who ran on the day, they did extremely well."