World record holder Paula Radcliffe took part in a 10km race today, despite the fact she is seven months pregnant.
The 36-year-old marathon runner, whose second child is due in September, was one of 11,000 people who took to the streets for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal run in Leeds.
Radcliffe only jogged due to her advanced pregnancy but said she was happy to take part to support the charity.
The event was run for the first time in June 2007, just three months before Mrs Tomlinson died following a long battle against cancer.
It has become an annual fixture in the athletics calendar, raising thousands of pounds for the appeal.
Radcliffe said: 'It was such a big honour for me when I was asked by Mike (Tomlinson) to be a patron of Jane's appeal.
'Jane was such an inspiration to me. She was a really good friend and a really great person.'
Mrs Tomlinson raised £1.85million for charity while suffering from terminal cancer.
'It's a tough course 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.'
Inspiration: Radcliffe celebrates the end of the run wth Isla
Radcliffe ran the New York Mini 10k last month, finishing with a time of 44 minutes 36 seconds - almost a quarter of an hour longer than her world record road 10k time of 30 mins 21 secs, set in 2003.
She revealed last month that she is running every day in a bid to keep up her fitness for the 2012 Olympics.
She is the world record holder for the marathon, 20k and 10k road runs.
Radcliffe lives in Monaco with her husband and trainer Gary Lough and plans to give birth there, before embarking on an Olympic training schedule that will take her to Oregon, in the US, in January and the Pyrenees, to run at altitude, in February.
She will then begin on a series of competitive races in the build-up to the London Olympics.
She added recently: 'I am really, really excited about the Olympics. London and Britain will do a great job.'
Radcliffe's route to success has not been without its share of heartache.
She had been a favourite to win at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but a leg injury two weeks before the race forced her to take a high dose of anti-inflammatory drugs that affected her body's ability to absorb food, making her so weak, she was forced to drop out at 36km.
She said at the time: 'You go through bad stages in a marathon, but never as bad as that. I've never before not been able to finish ... I just feel numb - this is something I worked so hard for.'
Just three months later, however, she was back on form, winning the New York Marathon, then the following year's London Marathon as well as a gold medal at the World Championships.
Mike Tomlinson and his three children have continued fundraising in the wake of Mrs Tomlinson's death.
Mr Tomlinson said: 'Suzanne, Rebecca, Steven and myself are delighted that Paula has agreed to be a patron of the charity and know that Jane would have been thrilled.
'That Paula has agreed to come and take part in the Leeds 10k whilst being pregnant speaks volumes and I'm sure the people in Yorkshire will be out in their thousands to cheer her on
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