A WINDERMERE mum-of-four plans to cycle across some of the toughest terrain in the world to raise cash for a charity close to her heart.

Despite not being in the saddle for more than 30 years, Jane McClure is now in training to tackle a 350km ride from Tanzania to Zanzibar Island.

Mrs McClure, whose husband Matthew is the managing director of food delivery company McClure’s, is raising funds for Genesis Research Trust to improve the health of women and babies worldwide.

And Mrs McClure knows all about the importance of the charity after suffering the tragedy of four miscarriages herself.

“We all know someone who has suffered one or more of these unfortunate conditions,” she said. “It touches everyone’s heart strings.

“I know first-hand the true pain of miscarriage and thankfully I now have four wonderful healthy children.”

Over five days on a journey from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Stone Town on Zanzibar, Mrs McClure, alongside 25 other women, will face baking heat and days of lung-busting cycling when she embarks on the adventure in November.

And despite not cycling for more than three decades Mrs McClure is well and truly gearing up for the challenge with a number of practice events and cycling around 70 miles a week.

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She recently completed an 100km bike ride for the Acorn Trust in Yorkshire and is planning on cycling from Manchester to Blackpool on July 13.

“Starting at two miles was painful; building it up to do a bit more each week is hard,” she said.

“Finding time with a large family and variable Cumbrian weather to train is not always easy.”

Through raffles, cake sales, a pyjama day at work and car boot sales she has already raised more than £2,000 of her £3,100 target.

She said: “With nearly 250 babies dying every week in the UK from complications during pregnancy, the work of the charity has never been so essential.”

To donate visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/jane4.