A mother-of-three suffering from terminal cancer personified the spirit of the Great North Run when she crossed the finishing line yesterday.

Jane Tomlinson, 38, who plans to hang up her running shoes having completed the 13-mile course. She finished the race in one hour 51 minutes - pipping her husband Mike at the post.

She said: "I can't believe I have finished so quickly, I would have been delighted to have done it in two hours.

"The best thing is that I beat Mike, he was two minutes down the road when I crossed the line."

Jane added: "I am looking forward to seeing the kids and having a sit down, because I am feeling the aches and pains. I'm glad I have done it, it was all worthwhile."

Jane, from Rothwell in Leeds, has already taken part in two big races this year, the London Marathon in April and a triathlon in August.

She has also been presented with the Yorkshire Woman of Achievement award and was chosen by the City of Leeds to hand over the Commonwealth Games baton to the Queen.

Before this year Jane had never taken part in a race but after being diagnosed with terminal cancer she has pushed her body to its limit training for the races, in an attempt to reach her target of raising £100,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Jane was first diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago at the age of 26.

She thought she had beaten the disease after having a mastectomy, then had a recurrence three years ago which was put into remission by chemotherapy.

Then, in September 2000, t secondary cancer was found in her lungs and bones, which the doctor told her was incurable.

But Jane had signed up to the London Marathon three months before and was not prepared to give in. Despite suffering from intense pain, she persevered and managed to finish the course in four hours and 53 minutes.

Chief executive of Cancer Research UK, Sir Paul Nurse, said: "Jane's courage and determination to live life to the full has been truly remarkable and she is an inspiration to us all."

Jane will now be relaxing and undergoing the chemotherapy which she hadput off for the last month so she could train harder.

The drumming of thousands of feet pounding across the Tyne Bridge and the Red Arrows roaring overhead marked the start of the world's biggest half marathon yesterday.

More than 30,000 people, from elite athletes to joggers, took to the 13.1-mile course to raise more than £1m for charity.

Serious runners dressed in running kit and shoes, but many ran in outlandish fancy dress.

From an Egyptian cloth-bound mummy to Clarence the Lion, singing nuns, naughty nurses, Peter Pan and Paddington Bears, the route teemed with colour to match some perfect weather.

Such was the attraction of the event, now in its 22nd year, that every postcode of Britain was represented, with entrants from at least 24 other countries.

The field included a host of celebrities and sportsmen, such as former jockey Richard Dunwoody, ex-England footballer Peter Beardsley, former boxer Frank Bruno and television presenter Gaby Logan and football commentator John Motson.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who had "two slices of toast, a few bananas and freshly squeezed orange" before the race, was ready for a full English breakfast after completing the course in 1hr 33min.

Also running was minister for sport Richard Caborn and political opponent and twice Olympic champion Lord Sebastian Coe.

Dave Martin, of organisers Nova International, said: "The good weather contributed to the best ever Great North Run. The sun shining just made it all the better for the runners. We had more than 30,000 finishers and are still counting to see whether we have beaten our previous record of 36,822."

The event was preceded on Saturday by the Junior Great North Run, which attracted 6,500 young people.

No one is reported to have suffered serious health problems during the races.