This is taken from the BBC Berkshire web site:

Reading pays tribute to inspirational runner Steve Lee
by Martin Vennard


There have been widespread tributes for a Berkshire runner who helped raise more than £40,000 for charity.

Steve Lee raised thousands to fund research into lung cancer despite having a terminal form of the disease.

The 65-year-old died on Sunday after a three-year battle with mesothelioma, which is linked to asbestos.

Mr Lee, 65, ran the Reading half marathon in 2009 with his wife, Ros, as part of the fundraising efforts with his club, the Reading Roadrunners.

He believed his fitness built up over years of long-distance running helped him survive much longer than most sufferers, many of whom die within a year of diagnosis.

Mr Lee married Ros in 2007, a short while after he was diagnosed. "Steve was the most amazing man I've ever met and I was lucky enough to marry him," she said.

The money was raised for the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund.

Chair of the fund's trustees Kimberley Stubbs said: "Steve Lee was an inspiring, positive and selfless person with incredible spirit and dedication.

"He faced this dreadful disease with a dogged determination to do everything he could to make a difference for other mesothelioma sufferers. His fundraising efforts were truly outstanding."

The money was used to set up a research fellowship in his name at Queen Mary, University of London.

Dr Adrian Dobbs, who is overseeing the research, said: "Steve's enthusiasm, questioning and inquisitive nature about the project was infectious, and was an inspiration both to myself and the researcher, Seble Lemma."

They are synthesising a naturally-occurring bacteria, which has been shown to act against mesothelioma cells, in sufficient quantities to see if it could be used as a treatment for the disease.

Chairman of the Reading Roadrunners Glynne Jones said: "Steve had been a member for over 21 years and also did a stint as secretary. He was a fantastic ambassador for the club and very popular and sociable."

Steve worked as a translator and editor at BBC Monitoring in Caversham until he retired five years ago, a place that inspired many of the poems he wrote.

Former colleague Elaine Guy said: "He was the bard of Monitoring and always saw the humorous side of things. He was head of the National Union of Journalists there and very good at representing people."

Donations to the fund can still be made via Steve Lee's Justgiving website.