SAMBA dancers are set to swap their sequin bikinis for their running shoes as they take on the Liverpool women’s 10k race.
A troupe of eight dancers from across the city will be shaking their tail feathers on Sunday as the annual Sefton Park event gets under way.
The dancers – Viva Brazil company students – will be among thousands of women running the 6.2 mile course, which has taken place in Liverpool every year since 1986.
Former Brookside actress Suzanne Collins gave starter’s orders to the 3,000 women who took part last year, with winner Jenny Clague, of Liverpool Harriers, completing the course in just 36 minutes and 19 seconds.
This year, the samba troupe are keen to add a dash of colour to proceedings.
Dance teacher Simone Reeves, 28, said: “I thought it would be a great idea to get my samba students doing it, as it is for a number of great causes and it will also be great training for them as they are taking part in a carnival parade later in July.
“The great thing about the Liverpool 10k is that you don’t have to be a professional to run it – it’s a great event for everyone to get involved in, and, at the end of the day, it is the taking part that counts. That’s the message we wanted to get out there.
“I think it will be a bit of a shock to the system for the girls at first, but if we can come together and support each other, we will definitely be able to make it all of the way to the end.”
One of her students, 33-year-old Angela Greer, from Kirkby, has never run 10k before.
