Legacy of Jane Tomlinson CBE breaks £10m mark
The family of the late Jane Tomlinson CBE have announced that the charity that stands as her legacy has raised more than £10m.
The milestone comes just ahead of the 10th anniversary of the tragic death of the amateur athlete, fundraiser, wife and mother-of-three, who died aged just 43.
Jane, from Leeds, passed away on 3rd September 2007, almost seven years after being told she had just months to live. Jane became a familiar figure worldwide when, despite being diagnosed with incurable cancer, she took on a series of seemingly-impossible endeavours.
Her challenges, many undertaken while receiving extremely harsh chemotherapy treatments and while in severe pain, included a Rome to Home cycle ride, the New York and London Marathons, an ironman, and her final adventure, a 4,200-mile ride across the USA.
Before her death, Jane raised a remarkable £1.8m for charity. Since then, with the support of thousands of fundraisers and through the Jane Tomlinson Run For All series of sporting events, the total raised in Jane’s name now stands at over £10m.
Jane’s widower Mike said: “I would hope Jane would be happy with what has now been achieved.
“She raised a lot of money during her lifetime, but for everything that she went through, for all of her efforts and everything she endured, it never really seemed enough to me.
“She did a TV interview not long before she died and the interviewer asked her if it had all been worth it. At the time she said ‘no’. If she was still here, I’d like to think she would now say ‘yes’.”
The fundraising total has seen scores of good causes, from children’s hospices to cancer support centres, receive vital grants to continue their good works or establish new projects and services. It has also seen the launch of a research project which it is hoped might help improve the lives of thousands of cancer patients.
Funds provided by the Appeal, are enabling scientists at Leeds Beckett University to examine whether a sports medicine technique can reduce the pain and discomfort suffered by cancer patients. Jane received the treatment in the last months of her life and it was her wish to see whether it could benefit others.
Jane’s journey began in August 2000 when, aged just 36, she was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. The cancer had returned, with Jane first being diagnosed with the disease 10 years previously. She outlived her initial six months’ life expectancy and was determined to show that people with incurable cancer could still lead active and fulfilling lives.
With her health declining, her cross-USA ride in 2006 was to become her last challenge. However, the funds raised paved the way for the establishment of the first Leeds 10K charity road race. As well as raising funds for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, the event was designed to become a lasting fundraising mechanism for countless other good causes.
That one event has now grown into an events series, comprising ten 10Ks, two half marathons, a marathon, a 10 mile run and a series of junior and family runs, through which Jane’s charity and its event partner charities have now raised more than £10m.
