The Run/Walk with the Rhinos team will be joined for the second year running by fundraiser Lisa Carney, who is hoping to beat both her last year’s Asda Foundation 10K race time along with her fantastic fundraising effort, that raised over £820 for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Jane’s Appeal.
The Rhinos fan, who ran her first ever timed 10K in July 2014, after recovering from a serious back injury, was one of the success stories of last year’s event, not only in completing the 6.2 mile Leeds course in a time quicker than her training, but through her single minded determination to raise funds for two of her most treasured charities.
Lisa’s total of £821 raised last year, that was split between the Jane’s Appeal and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation made her the highest individual fundraiser on the Run with the Rhinos team.
The event which takes place on July 12th provides another unique challenge for Lisa who enjoyed a personally memorable day in July last year. She said:
“It was made very memorable as I got to run with a team who I have followed for years, and seeing my family, friends and partner as I was running round and actually completing and getting to that finish line was very emotional. I had said that I wanted to challenge myself after injuring my back the previous year and hardly being able to walk without the aid of crutches for months, so as soon as I got fitter I did a three hour Zumbathon and then decided I needed another challenge and the Run with the Rhinos came up, so that was my next challenge!”
Lisa’s connection with the Leeds Rhinos and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation was a key reason behind her decision to run on behalf of the charity:
“My partner Gary Hazelwood, is a lifelong fan of the Leeds Rhinos and the company where he works were in partnership Leeds Rugby as both were marking the 150 year anniversary last year, so he asked me if I wanted to help raise funds for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation which I thought was a fantastic idea, and knowing that it was also in conjunction with another fantastic charity, such as The Jane Tomlinson Appeal I couldn't turn it down and I knew I wanted to do it.”
Last year’s worthy effort both in crossing the race off her list of challenges and through her fundraising determination was only the start for Lisa Carney, who this year wants to set a new personal best and improve on her overall donation to the two charities:
“My time last year was 1 hour and 14 minutes which I was really pleased with as my training had been coming in at a lot longer,” she said. “This year I am aiming to finish below an hour and in training so far I’ve ran under an hour and 10 minutes, so there isn’t much more to get off that time. I raised £821 last year and I’m not sure how much I will get this year, but I would like to raise nearly £1,000 and improve on that as well.”
Leeds Rhinos Foundation would like to wish Lisa well in her fundraising and training for this year’s event. If you would like to take on the challenge of running or walking with the Run/Walk with the Rhinos team this year, charity places are still available for this year’s ASDA Foundation 10km race on Sunday 12th July.
To register your interest you can fill out and return an online booking form at http://www.leedsrhinosfoundation.org/downloads/RunWalk_with_the_Rhinos_Booking_Form.pdf
Or by contacting Jessica.bowman@leedsrugby.com