Jane Emily Tomlinson, (née Goward; 21 February 1964 – 3 September 2007) was an amateur English

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who raised £1.85 million for charity by completing a series of athletic challenges, despite suffering from terminal cancer. Having had treatment for breast cancer in 1991, at age 26, the disease returned in 2000 throughout her body. During the next six years, Tomlinson completed the London Marathon three times, the

London Triathlon The London Triathlon (currently known as the "AJ Bell London Triathlon", and previously the ''Virgin Active London Triathlon'', ''Mazda London Triathlon'' and the ''Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon'', for sponsorship reasons) is an annual triathlo ...

twice, the

New York Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

once and cycled across Europe and the United States. Tomlinson died in 2007, aged 43.

Early life

Jane Emily Goward was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1964, the sixth of ten children of a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

. When she was aged 11, the family

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to Australia but returned after three years. In 1990, Tomlinson applied to study Mathematics at the University of Leeds. However, when she found a lump in her breast and had a lumpectomy, she enrolled instead at Leeds General Infirmary and trained as a radiographer. By this time, she had married Mike Tomlinson and had two daughters. They later had a son. Qualifying in 1993, Tomlinson later studied to postgraduate level and became a paediatric radiographer. Three years after having a lumpectomy the cancer returned and she had a mastectomy, two rounds of chemotherapy and

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

. In 2000, Tomlinson was told that the cancer had spread to her bones and

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

s, and was given about 12 months to live.

Charity fundraising

Tomlinson raised over £1.85 million through a series of challenges including several long-distance bike rides, marathons, triathlons and a full

Ironman triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

. Since her death the charity that she founded has announced a new fundraising target of £5 million. As of February 2015 £7.6 million has been raised, and in September 2017 the campaign announced fundraising had surpassed £10m.

Last years

In July and August 2006, Tomlinson spent nine weeks cycling 3,800 miles across the United States, raising £250,000. This was her final athletic challenge. Having published ''The Luxury of Time'' in 2005, she released the second volume of her memoirs ''You Can't Take It With You'' in 2006. In January 2007, Mike and Jane Tomlinson launched ''Jane Tomlinson's Run For All'', a 10 km charity run that took place in June that year. Having had four courses of chemotherapy, she developed chronic

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. Having been elevated to a CBE in

June 2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutt ...

, Jane Tomlinson died in St Gemma's Hospice, Leeds, West Yorkshire less than three months later on 3 September. Her Requiem Mass, which was conducted by Arthur Roche, Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds, was held at the Roman Catholic Leeds Cathedral on 14 September 2007. Later that day she was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

in a private family ceremony. On 15 November 2007 Tomlinson's ten-year-old son collected her CBE from

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. In March 2011, train operator Northern Rail named a 158797-class passenger railcar ''Jane Tomlinson''.Northern names 158797 '' Today's Railways UK'' issue 113 May 2011 page 66

References

External links

Jane's Appeal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, Jane 1964 births 2007 deaths Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University Deaths from cancer in England Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from breast cancer English health activists English women activists English memoirists English Roman Catholics People from Wakefield English female marathon runners