York 10K: York student running in memory of mother (From York Press)

York 10K: Andrew Lea running in memory of mother, Clare

7:56am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in News

A YORK student will be putting on his running shoes this weekend in memory of his mother, who died of cancer earlier this year.

Andrew Lea, a 19 year-old sports student at York College , will be joining his uncle, Colin Lea, in the York 10K this Sunday, wearing a special T-shirt printed with a photograph of Andrew’s mother, Clare.

The pair will be racing to the finishing line to raise funds for St Leonard’s Hospice, which cared for Clare in the final stages of her battle with cancer.

She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in July last year, and died on February 13, leaving behind Andrew and his younger brother and older sister.

Now Andrew is determined to raise sponsorship for the hospice to thank them for all their support both to his mother and the rest of the family, helping the family to make memory boxes and supporting Clare’s children.

Colin, an experienced runner, said: “This is a great chance for Andrew to channel his energy into doing this race as well as raising money for the hospice.

“I think this run will be really quite a challenge for Andrew, particularly considering that he is running in his mum’s memory.

“But he’s got a lot of passion for it and has a real ‘let’s do this’ attitude”.

The running pair have already raised about £90 from family and friends but don’t have a specific target for their fundraising. “We just want to try and raise whatever money we can to give to the hospice as a thank-you.”

The Jane Tomlinson 10K run this Sunday will see thousands pound the streets of York in the name of the Leeds woman who raised £1.85 million for children’s and cancer charities before her death in 2007. One of three charity runs in the region set up in the memory of Jane, participants can run for either their chosen charity or the Jane Tomlinson Foundation.