‘It was an honour to run in Rob’s memory’

Lindsey Burrow has said it was a “great honour” to run the London Marathon in memory of her late husband, rugby league legend Rob Burrow CBE.

Burrow died in June 2024 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019.

Mrs Burrow, 42, said: “Rob was so brave and so courageous throughout his battle, and he showed me how to never give up. He was in my ear saying, ‘come on, pick up the pace, you can do this’.”

She will also run the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon on 11 May, fundraising again for the Rob Burrow MND Centre at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation.

“It was nice to be able to give back something to those charities which are so close to our hearts,” she said.

“Thank you, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported me along the way.”

Burrow was diagnosed with MND two years after his retirement, following a 17-year career at Leeds Rhinos.

Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, his former teammate and close friend, raised more than £15m for various MND charities.

Mrs Burrow previously told the BBC it was a “privilege” to care for her husband.

“It’s so important we keep raising awareness,” she said.

“We still don’t have a cure. Five people in the UK will be diagnosed with MND today and [I want] to tell other people, other families, that there is hope.”

She said she was “nervous” about taking on the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon so soon after Sunday’s challenge.

“I’ll be sore, but my muscles will heal – patients with MND don’t have that luxury,” she said.

“I will be running for Rob again. He will be with me all the way.”