7 (sub4?) marathons in 7 Days for MND
5 watchers
Dec 2020
11:13am, 1 Dec 2020
4,075 posts
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Nelly
I am sure many people will have heard about former Leeds Rhinos (Rugby League) star Rob Burrow's diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in December last year. You may have watched the inspiring BBC documentary in October (if you haven't and you can find it, then I'd certainly recommend it), and seen how aggressive the disease has been in Rob's case. But through out it all, Rob has faced the challenges head on, and used his profile (at least in the traditional RL areas of the country) in a positive fashion to raise awareness and funds to fight the disease in the future. Bringing it round to running, his friend and former teammate/captain Kevin Sinfield this morning started a challenge of running 7 marathons in 7 days. And not just that, I believe he is aiming to run each of them in sub 4hrs. The significance of seven being the shirt number Rob wore throughout his career. bbc.co.uk If you can, then maybe consider putting a few pennies into the pot here justgiving.com |
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Dec 2020
11:21am, 1 Dec 2020
4,076 posts
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Nelly
Marathon #1 completed in 3hrs40mins twitter.com
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Dec 2020
11:24am, 1 Dec 2020
10,291 posts
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lammo
I saw this was happening. The physical change in Rob has been dramatic, and very sad to see. For somebody like Kevin to be able to run like that is super impressive, not built for marathon running, and shows how much his mate means to him. |
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Dec 2020
11:39am, 1 Dec 2020
4,077 posts
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Nelly
Agreed lammo, one of the things that struck me most in the BBC documentary was the rapid physical change Rob has encountered in less than a year, when he was sat in the room being interviewed alongside (ex Scotland RU player) Doddie Weir and (ex footballer) Stephen Darby both of whom who had lived with the disease for at least 18-months longer than Rob. Not sure if you know already, but Kev was due to run this years Manchester marathon, before it got postponed, so ran a solo marathon in 3:18 in late March (again raising funds for MND). The bond between that group of ex-players is immense. |
Dec 2020
11:49am, 1 Dec 2020
13,463 posts
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Cerrertonia
Thanks for posting this Nelly. I have a massive amount of respect for Rob, Kevin and some of his other ex-teammates, very happy to make a donation to MND.
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Dec 2020
4:20pm, 1 Dec 2020
12,837 posts
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❄larkim❄
I just saw this and was about to post. So many charity attempts are "X marathons" full stop. 7 in four days sub 4 hours I think makes it a challenge that runners can identify with better. I'm not sure that even in my best race shape day I could guarantee being able to do back to back sub 4 hour efforts for more than a couple of days. And, most importantly, for a great cause and being done by someone who clearly really wants to make a difference. Thanks for posting Nelly! |
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Dec 2020
8:44pm, 1 Dec 2020
4,080 posts
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Nelly
I think they underestimated their original target of raising £77,777 for MND. The justgiving.com page is at more than double that after Day 1. For those that know the NW of England, Kev is not taking an easy option with the route(s). I read that two of the marathons will be around the Saddleworth area, three around the wider Oldham area, and two in Leeds. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions they are not publishing the routes/days so not to introduce concerns with social distancing etc. |
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Dec 2020
8:49pm, 1 Dec 2020
13,464 posts
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Cerrertonia
He lives in Saddleworth and will have been training on those hills, I suppose. I read that the original plans were to possibly run it around RL grounds, but Covid has put paid to that. 3hr40 for his first marathon today. Bet he's glad Rob Burrow played no. 7 though. |
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Dec 2020
11:03am, 2 Dec 2020
4,081 posts
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Nelly
Marathon #2 completed in 3hrs38mins twitter.com
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Dec 2020
5:43pm, 2 Dec 2020
13,466 posts
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Cerrertonia
Nice press release from Leeds City Council about a mural of Rob Burrow which has been picked up by the BBC now bbc.co.uk |
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