Iron Man Jon raises nearly £3k for hospice

A GRATEFUL husband has raised nearly £3,000 and counting for Rossendale Hospice after completing one of the country’s toughest races.

Jon Cleaver, from Loveclough, tackled the UK Iron Man in Bolton on July 16 to give something back to the charity that helped his wife Joanne.

Joanne was diagnosed with cancer last year and had to undergo chemotherapy, but has thankfully now made a full recovery and is in remission. The triathlon involved a sapping 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride, capped off with a marathon run.

Jon, who said the ●● Jon Cleaver has raised £2,920 for Rossendale Hospice after doing an Iron Man race was the “challenge of a lifetime”, has raised £2,920 so far.

He said: “The hospice gave my wife invaluable support last year while she was fighting cancer and helped shine some light on those very dark days for our family.

“The hospice not only do wonderful work for those in their final days, they also help anyone with life limiting diseases.”

Jon, 37, did several races including a half iron man distance triathlon to prepare for the event, which took place in hot weather. He finished in 12 hours 32 minutes, to place 507th overall out of more than 2,000 entrants.