Following the London Marathon on Sunday 27th April, fundraising hero Lindsey Burrow conquered the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon on Sunday, raising over £18,500 in honour of her late husband, Rob Burrow.
The charities that will benefit from Lindsey’s exceptional fundraising efforts are the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Leeds Hospitals Charity’s fundraising appeal for the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease.
41-year-old Lindsey battled the 20-degree heat and the challenging course to complete the marathon in just over 5 hours, driven by her determination to raise as much money as possible for two charities close to her heart.
Almost a year after Rob sadly died, Lindsey is continuing her efforts to fundraise and raise awareness of the condition that cut her husband’s life tragically short. At the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon, Lindsey was ‘Team Captain’ for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation running alongside other fundraisers supporting the charity.
Bob Bowman, CEO of Leeds Rhinos Foundation said: “Everyone associated with Leeds Rhinos Foundation feels honoured and privileged that Lindsey ran both the London and Rob Burrow CBE Leeds Marathon’s in aid of Leeds Rhinos Foundation. She has done incredibly well, especially with both Marathons in quite extreme heat, an amazing physical effort.
“The money raised by Lindsey will help us to deliver even more health related interventions benefiting those people living with conditions such as Parkinson’s, Dementia and Rheumatoid Arthritis and so we really can’t thank her enough!
“I hope she is able to have a very well earned rest and recovers well from what is an extremely demanding physical challenge. Thank you Lindsey you are a Superstar!”
Lindsey has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for MND charities and pushes herself to her limit. This is the fourth marathon Lindsey has run, after taking on the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in 2023, the Yorkshire Marathon last year and London just weeks ago.
We spoke to Lindsey about her mammoth fundraising challenge, she said: “What got me through the marathons was knowing how proud Rob would have been of me. I’m doing all of this for him, because he wanted me to continue raising awareness and funds for charities close to our hearts.
“It was heartwarming to see so many people come together to run in memory of Rob at the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon. I am so grateful to everyone who came out to cheer me on, it really helped me keep going physically and mentally when things felt particularly tough!
“I can’t thank everyone enough for donating to my fundraising efforts, I am overwhelmed and so grateful for your generosity and I know this will help both charities make a huge difference to people across our region.”
Lindsey became a patron for Leeds Hospitals Charity alongside husband Rob, after the couple spearheaded the launch of the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in September 2021. Since then, Lindsey has been determined to raise awareness and money for the appeal, raising hundreds of thousands through her personal fundraising efforts.
Leeds Hospitals Charity reached its £6.8 million fundraising target in December 2024 thanks to the fundraising efforts of thousands of people who got behind the appeal but are continuing to fundraise to support the MND centre for years to come.
Paul Watkins, Director of Fundraising at Leeds Hospitals Charity said: “It was wonderful to be part of the marathon again this year, and cheer our patron Lindsey on! So many people came together to make this an extra special event in memory of Rob, which I know will have meant so much to her.
“All of us are totally in awe of Lindsey and immensely proud and grateful for everything she has done, and continues to do to support the building of the specialist MND centre in her husband Rob’s name.”
“Lindsey’s fundraising, together with the thousands of runners who fundraised for the appeal, means we can continue to support the Leeds MND service for many years to come. We recently funded two new research projects looking at early diagnosis, and this is just the start of our ongoing commitment to make a difference to MND patients and their families in our region.”
You can still support Lindsey by donating to her fundraising page here https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/5950/2-marathons-in-2-weeks/