A group of early-morning runners from Knaresborough will be upping the pace this Sunday, when they take part in the first ever Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon. 

The 15 members of the Early Bird Running Crew have been in training for 19 weeks to run the 26.2 miles and will be raising money to create a brand-new motor neurone disease (MND) unit, at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds. 

Early Bird Running Crew member Dr Deborah Goldfield said: 

“I’ve felt very passionate about MND ever since a friend was diagnosed with it and later died. 

“It’s one of those stigmatised diseases; there’s a sense of complete and utter despair, because it seems as if there’s nothing you can do. As an A&E doctor, I see it every day.  

“It’s about time we looked very seriously at finding a cure for this appalling disease, and this project gives a massive sense of hope.” 

MND is a condition that progressively damages nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, called motor neurones. These control muscle activity including walking, speaking, gripping, swallowing, and even breathing, and as MND progresses, it can become more difficult to do some or all of these. MND eventually leads to death.

Former Leeds Rhinos rugby league player Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND in 2019. Since then, he has campaigned relentlessly to raise awareness and funds to support families living with the disease. 

MND campaigner Rob Burrow (seated) and best friend and fellow ex-Rhino Kevin Sinfield OBE (right) will cover the marathon course together.

The inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon will see over 10,000 participants take on a new route through Leeds that starts and finishes at Headingley Stadium, home of the Leeds Rhinos. Rob Burrow himself will be cover the route, pushed in his wheelchair by best friend and fellow ex-Rhinos player Kevin Sinfield OBE. 

Dr Goldfield said: 

“If Rob Burrow can do the course, I’m sure we can wheeze our way round it. 

“It would be amazing to be part of creating this new MND unit, so please donate anything you can afford. No worries if that’s just a cheer on!” 

Dr Goldfield, who works at York Hospital, is aiming to raise £500 through the event, which is being held in support of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal as well as the MND Association.

You can help her reach her fundraising target by sponsoring her online.

Dr Deborah Goldfield (back row, centre) with fellow Early Bird Running Crew runners at their Market Place meet-up in Knaresborough.

The Early Bird Running Crew is a social running group that encourages people of all abilities and promotes well-being. It meets daily from Monday to Friday at 6.30am in Knaresborough’s Market Place for a 5k run. A Harrogate group meets at the same times, at the War Memorial in the town centre. 

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A Harrogate man with motor neurone disease is to scale Snowdon to raise funds for Leeds Hospitals Charity and the MND Association.

Ian Flatt, 56, was diagnosed with the terminal illness in 2019 and needs a ventilator for 16 hours a day.

Despite his diagnosis, he’s already completed two 100-mile trips to raise money for a new state-of-the-art MND facility in Leeds.

His latest challenge will see him ascending the highest mountain in Wales, which is 1,085 metres tall and the equivalent of climbing 4,610 steps.

The Leeds-based hospital charity is raising money to build a new Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Seacroft Hospital, where both men are cared for.

The former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow MBE has become an ambassador for the disease since his own diagnosis in 2019.

Mr Flatt said:

“The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease is very important to us as a family. We’re passionate about supporting other families going through this difficult disease.

“The support of the team at Leeds and their specialist help is so crucial for us to live as well as we can as a family. Whilst my mobility, dexterity and respiratory functions are failing, my sense of adventure remains intact.”

Read more:

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Mr Flatt’s wife, two daughters and around forty friends will be joining him on the Snowdon trek. Staff from both the MND Centre and Leeds Hospitals Charity will also be climbing the mountain.

The charity’s appeal has raised £2m of the £5m needed to build the new centre.

To donate visit: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/ian-flatt-whats-your-mountain

A Green Hammerton man with motor neurone disease is to embark on a 100-mile trek in aid of a Leeds hospital charity.

Ian Flatt, 56, was diagnosed with the disease two years ago and is to take on the challenge despite needing a respirator for 16 hours a day.

He is fundraising for a Leeds Hospitals Charity appeal to raise £5 million to build the new Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in Leeds.

Ian will complete the 100-mile challenge in a series of 18 walks, which include some of his favourite trails around the Hole of Horcum, Rievaulx Moor, Thixendale and finishing with a trek around the dramatic Sutton Bank escarpment.

He said:

“I was inspired to take on another 100-mile challenge to support this important appeal, spearheaded by Rob and his family. 

“Such a facility would make a vital difference to people like me and our loved ones. A bespoke care centre that meets the needs of MND sufferers and their families is so needed as MND is such a cruel disease.”

Ian, who has already completed a 100-mile trek with his family this year, was diagnosed with MND in March 2019.

Read more:

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Speaking to the Stray Ferret in May ahead of his fundraising for Saint Michael’s Hospice, he said news of his diagnosis took its toll on his family at first.

However, despite being told not to plan beyond Christmas that year, he was determined not to let his condition stop him being in the great outdoors.

With the help of Saint Michael’s, he got an off-road wheelchair that allows him to continue enjoying walks with his family.

‘My sense of adventure remains intact’

Now, with the support of his wife Racheal and their two daughters, he began his latest trek yesterday.

He said:

“Motor neurone disease is a disease for which there is no treatment or cure, with 50% of sufferers sadly dying within the first two years of diagnosis. 

“Thanks to the critical help, compassion, expertise and kindness provided by the specialist MND team in Leeds, my family and I have maintained our sense of fun, and our wonderful ability to laugh with each other. 

“Whilst my mobility, dexterity and respiratory functions are failing, my sense of adventure remains intact.”

You can donate to Ian’s fundraising effort for the Leeds Hospital Charity appeal here.