Family, friends and teammates of Tom Thornton complete Manchester 10k in his memory

Family, friends and teammates of Tom Thornton complete Manchester 10k in his memory

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Family, friends and teammates of Tom Thornton took part in the Greater Manchester 10k run on Sunday (10 May) to raise money for The Tom Thornton Fund.

John Gillighan, who took part in the run, said: “It was a pretty good day. There were 30 of us altogether of varied ability but it was a good atmosphere and everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the run.”

People who hadn’t met Tom, but had been touched by his story, took part in the run were along with his friends and family.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/94120/family-devastated-by-new-dad%E2%80%99s-death

John added: “It was a combination of people who have played rugby with Tom, his friends from his social group and people who played rugby with Tom’s dad, so we had people ranging from 50-years-old down to 18-years-old. One guy heard me talking about it in the pub and said he would do it simply because he had heard Tom’s story and wanted to get involved.”

Tom, who lived in Middleton, died in January at the age of 25 after battling cancer. Since his death, those who knew him have set up The Tom Thornton Fund to raise money for Tom’s family.

So far, those who took part in the run have raised over £3,000 with money still coming in.

John added: “We had an online page where people could donate and I think that has raised over £3,000 and then a few people have got cash donations so we still have all of that coming in.

"We have another event on 23 May and once we have all of the money from that, we will announce what we have raised.”

Money raised for The Tom Thornton Fund will go towards supporting Tom’s wife Chantelle and young son Maxwell.

“The Tom Thornton Fund initially was set up to help support Chantelle. She has just had a baby and is on maternity leave so there are going to be costs and we all just wanted to help. Long term, the money could be used for things like university fees but whatever it is needed for, it is there. We want them to know that if they need it, then we are here.

“Tom was genuinely a nice guy and I can’t think of anyone who didn’t like him,” said John.

Those behind The Tom Thornton Fund will continue to raise money throughout the year via a variety of events.

To donate visit:

http://www.gofundme.com/ldjlss