Fresh from completing the PlusNet Leeds Half Marathon on the 8th May Elise Abood, girlfriend of Leeds Rhinos Star Beau Falloon, is urging people to get involved in Run with the Rhinos for the Asda Foundation Leeds 10k this July and join over 100 runners raising money for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation.
Since moving to the country before Christmas with long term partner and former Gold Coast Titans Hooker Beau Falloon, the 23-year-old has been keen to keep up her running and exercise in her new surroundings in Leeds, and doing some races with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Run with the Rhinos team provided the perfect opportunity.
“I used to do races back home and thought the Leeds Half Marathon would be a good goal to make me stick to my running and make sure I do enough exercise. The commitment to the Leeds Half Marathon also made me more likely to get out in the cold English weather!” said Elise.
The PlusNet Leeds Half Marathon was Elise’s first event since moving to England but was a not an unfamiliar distance, having previously enjoyed the half marathons back in Australia:
“I have done a few 10km’s back home and the Gold Coast Half-Marathon, which is a very popular and famous Half-Marathon in Australia, so I knew a bit about what to expect in terms of the distance.”
With boyfriend Beau Falloon now fully immersed into life in the Super League as the Rhinos go in to Round 16 against the Wigan Warriors this weekend, the pair have been enjoying life in their new surroundings in Leeds.
“It’s a great opportunity to come and live somewhere so different and myself and Beau are really enjoying getting used to a new culture. We live in Horsforth which is a really nice, homely community. We’ve also seen some snow since we’ve been here which is a highlight!”
Also high on the agenda for Elise and Beau when moving to Leeds was supporting their new community by doing their bit for the local charities, something which Elise will continue when she takes on the Asda Foundation Leeds 10k on July 10th.
“I am impressed by the work that the Leeds Rhinos Foundation do in the communities in this city and think they are a great charity to support. It’s really important to Beau and I to help local causes and we always want to ‘do our bit.’
“I had such a fun day racing yesterday at the half marathon, the atmosphere around the city streets was fantastic and I actually loved the temperature on the day which reminded me of back home.”
Elise will be joining a team of over 100 runners for the headline event in the Run with the Rhinos calendar and one of the city’s favourite charity races this July, which every year remembers the legacy of the event creator and fundraiser Jane Tomlinson.
Leeds Rhinos Foundation will once again be splitting all funds raised from the event with partner charity Jane’s Appeal, who have raised over 7.5m for children and cancer charities over the past decade.
With just 61 days until the event on the 10th July, Elise is already planning for her race, taking training and nutrition tips from Beau:
“I did a few weeks of travelling round Europe prior to the Half Marathon and got some training runs in while away and I’ll keep the training up for July.”
“In terms on the preparation in the build up to the race, I usually try to copy what Beau does before matchday. For me that means a big meal the night before with lots of carbs, a good stretch before running and a light breakfast.”
“I’m really looking forward to the Leeds 10k, I hope the charity can get as many runners as possible to support their work by running and fundraising to make it another memorable day.”
If you are interested in taking part in the Asda Foundation Leeds 10k or any of the Run with the Rhinos official charity races this year to raise money for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation contact: Jessica.Bowman@leedsrhinosfoundation.org
Or visit http://www.leedsrhinosfoundation.org/events/run-with-the-rhinos.php