The Mother’s Day Classic on Sunday wasn’t short on excitement in Port Hedland, attracting a vibrant crowd of people dressed in pink for the 5km run and walk.

However,this year all but one runner headed the wrong way.

To raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, nearly 100 local runners took off from the Civic Centre Gardens, on Sunday morning but failed to turn at the right point.

The one runner who stayed on the correct course said she ran as fast as she could back to the finishing line to relay what had happened, resulting in the runaway racers being flagged down by a driver in a car and turned around.

One participant had almost ended up at the Pier Hotel, half way across town from where he should have been by that point in the race. Because of the confusion, no times were recorded or trophies handed out. Things were a little easier for the larger group of walkers, who all managed to complete their circuit.

The charity event raised over a thousand dollars through food and raffle ticket sales, which increased noticably compared to last year.

Before the start, the crowd heard local cancer survivor Beryl Parker share her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer after feeling pain on applying roll-on deodorant.

“Nearly two weeks after finding that lump I went to the GP and she said I had breast cancer. That was one of the worst days of my life,” she said.

One in eight women will be affected by breast cancer at some point in their lives.