Three thousand women from Oxford took part in a charity race
to aid the struggle against cancer last Sunday. The organisers
hope that £180,000 will be raised for cancer research. The
‘Race for Life’ has been run in Oxford since 1996
around a 5km course in University Parks. Participants in the
event also released pink balloons to remember those affected by
the illness. Over the last ten years, a million women across the country
have participated in the ‘Race for Life’ campaign,
making it the UK’s largest fundraising event. During this
time, it has raised £50 million for Cancer Research UK. More
than a quarter of a million people are diagnosed with cancer in
the UK every year. The disease is the cause of over a quarter of
all deaths annually. Jane Tomlinson also passed through Oxford, last Thursday, as
part of a 2,000-mile charity cycle ride that has taken her
through Florence, Monte Carlo, Lyon and Paris. She has battled
through breast cancer to raise £135,000 on her ride for a number
of charities, including MacMillan Cancer Relief and Leeds Acute
Paediatric Services. She arrived in Oxford at 2.30pm ahead of an
overnight stay at the Oxford Business Park, in Cowley. Tomlinson was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 26 and
in 2000 was told that she had secondary metastatic bone cancer.
She was given six months to live. Throughout her ride she has
battled against her disease. “My illness doesn’t go
away,” she said, “it’s progressive and I have to
get on top of that.” Tomlinson has also run three marathons,
a half Iron Man triathlon and completed a cycle ride from John
O’Groats to Land’s End, raising over £600,000 for
charity. She arrived home on Monday.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004
Charity runners and riders
