Dame Kelly Holmes wants reluctant runners to join charity event

Dame Kelly Holmes wants reluctant runners to join charity eventOlympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes teams up with comedy and social stars to get the nation walking, jogging or running to help beat cancerCommentsNewsEllie Clibbens16:27, 14 Apr 2026Cancer Research UK call for reluctant runners to join Race for LifeDame Kelly Holmes has joined forces with social media's most hesitant runners to motivate the nation to put on their trainers and take part in Race for Life. In the campaign video, the double Olympic champion appears alongside social media personalities - comedian Garron Noone, chef Poppy O'Toole, and LadBabyMum Rox Hoyle - each offering their own reasons for avoiding running.‌And there's a good reason for it, with someone in the UK receiving a cancer diagnosis every two minutes, if the 47% of people across the UK who 'never' run each raised just £50 for Cancer Research UK's Race for Life, an additional £1.3 billion could be spent funding life-saving research and supporting those affected by cancer.‌In the video, the team addresses the nation's leading excuses, showing you don't need to be a sporting champion to make a life-saving impact.‌View 2 ImagesReluctant runners have classed themselves as 'Athleasts'(Image: Cancer Research UK)These excuses, uncovered in research of 2,000 adults commissioned by the charity, spanned from being deterred by poor weather (42%) or feeling under the weather (31%), to a restless night's sleep (30%).Others confessed that needing to wash their hair (6%) or being unable to leave home because their headphones had run flat (6%) were primary reasons for avoiding running.‌More amusing excuses included 'recovering' from a blister that had already mended, their pet appearing dejected when they were about to depart, and even a few superstitious people deciding against it because their horoscope advised them to take things easy that day.The activities people claimed they'...