Families complete Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon

Julie Alcock, 66, from Louth, completed the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon – her first ever marathon – along with her daughter Steph and friend Tracey Wilkinson, 56, and their families to raise money for the charity on Sunday, May 14.

Julie and Steph walked and ran the marathon, running for 90 seconds and walking for 30 seconds, around the tough 26 mile course, and completed the gruelling marathon in an impressive six hours six minutes, while Tracey, who was running with six members of her family, completed it in five hours 18 seconds.

Julie said they did experience some tough moments where they struggled a little, especially at about the 17 miles in but the crowds played a huge part in helping them through it:

“​It was great, obviously there were parts which were a bit tough but we expected to have a few low moments.

“The crowd were amazing, even during the parts down narrow country lanes, there were people in their front gardens with water stations and spraying people with their garden hoses to cool us down because it was a hot day.

"There was a brass band playing and girls in cheerleader costumes, with lots of people shouting your name.”

Tracey also struggled with the heat: “It was so hot!” she said, “There was a point where I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish because of the heat, but the crowd lined the whole route and they were amazing, and we got there.

"I was a bit slower than I’d like, I did say I wanted to just get round but we all have a time in our head we want to finish, but at least I did it.”

The Rob Burrow Marathon has been inspired by former Leeds Rhinos captain, Kevin Sinfield OBE, and his fundraising challenges in recent years in support of his friend and team mate, who has MND.

The sporting world will never forget the sight of Sinfield, who had pushed Rob Burrow in his wheelchair for the 26.2mile route, and then lifting him up and carrying him across the finish line.

Julie said: “It was very moving, we all cried when Kevin carried Rob over the line.

"That’s what the atmosphere was like, looking after each other and having fun.

“It didn’t matter about the time, we weren’t trying to get a personal best it was just as Kevin Sinfield said – it was about running with a mate, for a mate.”

For anyone thinking about running a marathon, Julie said that about 90 percent of it is mental effort, and that as long as you stick to a training plan and train properly, anyone can do it.

The team have so far raised more than £7,000 between them for MND, and you can still make a donation to the ladies’ tough Leeds Marathon challenge, visit Julie and Steph’s JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/steph-alcock