Sharron set for 100-mile cycle challenge for cancer charity in memory of dad

Sharron Tonge is due to set off from Nettleham on the Castle to Coast cycle ride at around 7am tomorrow morning (Thursday).

She will pedal, along with the 450 other participants, to Chapel St Leonards and back again, hoping to return by 5pm, accounting for rest breaks along the way.

Sharron said: “I’m doing it in memory of my dad, Keith Tonge, who died four years ago in September from bladder cancer aged 64.”

She aims to raise at least £1,000 from sponsorship and donations for the Lincoln-based Candles cancer research charity which funds pioneering treatment trials at Guy’s Hospital in London.

Sharron said: “They have been raising money for 14 years for trials in a type of treatment via injection to help your own immune system fight off the cancer, which has had excellent results so far.

“When my dad was very poorly I wished for an alternative to chemotherapy as it absolutely destroyed his body.

“I truly believe that one day a treatment will be available that will treat cancer successfully allowing the person to live a full life with the disease and without trials into new treatments this cannot happen.

“Heartbreakingly too late for my dad, but someone will benefit from this and to know I’ve helped in a small way to end the devastation and sadness during and after this cruel disease will be worth it.”

She has been getting into cycling for pleasure for about a year and has been building up her distances with the incentive of doing this challenge.

Sharron said: “I am not expecting it to be easy, but I’m excited to be doing it. I’m a bit worried about the weather and going over the Wolds but I will make sure I enjoy it.

“I will probably feel a bit weary but the sense of achievement will last for a while.”

She fully intends to continue fund raising for the charity in the future too.

People can donate to her cause via her fund raising web page: www.justgiving.com/Sharron-Tonge or add to the collection box at her cousin’s pub, The Shoulder of Mutton in Ruskington.