The inaugural Lighthouse Classic last summer raised more than $70,000 for Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute. This was enough to fund a cancer research scientist for the year.

Now FECRI is calling on people to follow Janet's lead and to continue promoting a beacon of hope in her legacy. Janet, a former Ballarat resident, died in October aged 58 having faced three separate cancer battles spanning 33 years.

Each Sunday in January, starting this weekend, a group of participants will walk the 12-kilometre out-and-back track from Urquhart Bluff to Aireys Inlet Lighthouse. Anyone travelling the Surf Coast is invited to join in.

Or you can chose a different lighthouse in your travels - yes, even Cape Clear's lighthouse would count.

Ms Jones had been a passionate support of FECRI from its humble beginnings and its work as to why some human cells become cancerous - and what can be done to stop this.

"We tend to think that cancer is either hereditary or the result of an unhealthy lifestyle but in my situation - and for so many others - that's not the case at all," Ms Jones said ahead of the first Lighthouse Classic walk.

Ms Jones sought to tap into the walking and running trends of the pandemic. Choosing a walk to the lighthouse was both a practical and symbolic exercise for Ms Jones, who was keen to promote hope.

A tireless community advocate, Ms Jones received an Order of Australia Medal in Queen's Birthday honours this year.

The second annual Lighthouse Classic will honour Ms Jones' life, be a tribute to others affected by cancer and raise funds for the Ballarat-based FECRI.

More than $13,200 has already been raised ahead of the Classic's official start.

All money raised will support FECRI's internationally recognised research, which has a strong focus on the role of the immune system and how it can be used to better fight cancer.

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FECRI's research programs include breast, brain, ovarian, lung, bowel and blood cancers with each aiming to unlock more details for helping a person's immune system fight a range of cancers.

FECRI is the only regional-based cancer research program in Australia. The institute receives no government funding and relies on community events and donations.

To pledge a lighthouse walk for January, or for more details, visit fecri.org.au.

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