LYNN Taylor from Keighley-based RaceBest spearheaded an inaugural female 5k race to mark International Women's Day.

The race was the first to be run from the Brownlee Centre in Leeds and raised £700 for charities tackling period poverty and helping women in crisis.

The event last month raised money for the Gift Wellness Foundation, which is tackling period poverty in the UK and abroad, and the Forgotten Women’s Safe Toilets project.

IWD 5 was the brainchild of Lynn Taylor, founder and director of RaceBest, a ticketing platform for endurance sports, and was organised by an all-female team including members of the South Leeds Sisters and the Women’s Equality Party.

The not-for-profit race attracted 114 women and girls of all ages and abilities, including members of St Theresa's Athletic Club.

The race was won by Alexandra Richards from Abbey Runners in 19 minutes and 20 seconds.

Lynn, 54, who founded RaceBest with partner Martin Browne in 2013, was inspired to establish a female-only race after noticing that certain races were less popular with women than men.

She believes that some women can be intimidated by the competitive atmosphere and wanted to create a race where female felt comfortable and was is purely for them.

She chose to support the Gift Wellness Foundation, which donates sanitary pads to women in crisis, and Forgotten Women’s Safe Toilets cause, because periods and lack of toilet facilities on race day can affect female runners and their performance.

Lynn said: “Running is becoming increasingly popular, not only because it’s good for your physical and mental health, but because it’s one of the most simple and accessible sports to get into.

"There has definitely been an upward trend in the number of female runners at our events, but there were some races where the ratio was down and I wanted to encourage more women to participate.

“I launched the IWD 5K primarily, as I want more females to lace up their trainers and run and have the chance to run together without fear of embarrassment or intimidation.

"But it also offered us an opportunity to try and address the need for safe and secure toilets for women all around the world and to do our bit to tackle period poverty by partnering with two incredible charities.

"Most runners are familiar with the long toilet queues at running events, but in some countries using the toilet can become a matter of life and death for women and children."

Fifty entries to the race would provide a safe toilet for women and children in desperate need of female-only facilities in poor communities abroad, and will also provide 31 women with non-toxic sanitary pads for six months.

Founder and chair of the Gift Wellness Foundatio

Lyn and Martin, who run, run, coach and organise races, couple established RaceBest in 2013 to give runners and organisers what they call a "contemporary, intuitive and secure" online portal to handle race entries.