British running legend Paula Radcliffe MBE joined thousands of runners in this year’s Jane Tomlinson’s Leeds 10K - finishing the last 100m with three-year-old daughter Isla.
Paula, who is expecting her second child in September, joined the start line alongside a host of celebrities including Nell McAndrew, actress Gemma Atkinson, actor Dean Andrews, and Ememrdale stars Chris Chittel, Lyndon Ogbourne and Mathew Wolfenden.
Thousands of spectators lined the streets of Leeds to cheer on Paula and the 7,000 others running, jogging, wheeling and walking the fourth Leeds 10K to support scores of charities and good causes.
This year the Leeds 10K was also filmed for a special hour-long programme to be shown on Channel Five at 10am on Saturday July 10th.
Paula, 36, who recently became named patron of Jane Tomlinson Appeal, finished in 45mins 35. She said: “It’s great that Jane’s legacy continues and she would have been so proud of today.
“It was a fantastic occasion and I had a lot of fun and we have to say thank you to all of the people who turned out today.
"I run every day and it felt good today, I was not concerned about running a time, it was about enjoying the day. There were people cheering all the way round, the atmosphere was great.”
The first male across the finish line was David Cowlishaw in 33mins04. The female winner was Lois Rosindale in 37mins47 and the wheelchair elite race was won by James Gaskin in 39mins11.
Also taking part were up and coming elite race walkers Leeds Met student Alex Wright, who finished in 43mins12, and Lauren Whelan from Leeds City College who crossed the line in 56mins 43.
Among the thousands running for charity were Emily Macaulay and Sue Jewell who were finishing an incredible three-week and 330 mile challenge to run from Exeter to Leeds.
Since the Leeds 10K was launched by the late Jane Tomlinson and her family in 2007 to stand as her fundraising legacy more than £2 million has been raised in total for all the charities supported by those who take part.
Mike Tomlinson said: “Suzanne, Rebecca, Steven and I are delighted that Paula is a patron of the charity and it was wonderful that she was able to be here with us today. I know that Jane would have been thrilled.
“We are always so touched by the support and enthusiasm of everyone who gets involved. We would like to thank everyone - runners, supporters and the hundreds of volunteers who have helped make the fourth Leeds 10K happen and who enable us to keep Jane’s fundraising legacy alive”
The Jane Tomlinson’s Leeds 10K team would like to thank sponsors Leeds City Council, Marketing Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University, Logistik, Mail Box Express, Gatorade and Asics for their ongoing support.
The 2011 Jane Tomlinson’s Leeds 10K takes place on Sunday June 19th. To pre-register email: leeds2011@runforall.com
Entries are also available for the 2010 Jane Tomlinson’s York 10K which takes place on Sunday August 1st. Enter online at www.runforall.com
2010 Jane Tomlinson's Leeds 10K Results
Men's results:
| 1 |
David Cowlishaw |
|
33.04 |
| 2 |
Paul Lockwood |
Wakefield Harriers |
33:20 |
| 3 |
Ryan Holroyd |
Staffordshire Moorlands AC |
33:51 |
Women's results
| 1 |
Lois Rosindale |
37:47 |
| 2 |
Claire Elener |
41:02 |
| 3 |
Melanie Pollard |
41:19 |
Race Walkers:
| 1 |
Alex Wright |
Leeds Met |
43:12 |
| 1 |
Lauren Whelan |
Leeds City College |
56:43 |
Wheelchair:
| 1 |
James Gaskin |
00:39:11 |
| 2 |
Brent Crossley |
00:49:17 |
| 3 |
Cheryl Alexander |
60:03:51 |
