Teachers run in Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon

 

Two teachers have taken part in the first Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon.

 

In an emotional fundraising event, Miss Huggett and Mr Ball joined 12,000 runners who departed from Headingley Stadium at 9.00 am.

 

"The atmosphere around the course was brilliant. Supporters were only too pleased to help and cheer us on in the sweltering weather conditions and hill terrain. When I got home, I realised I had sunstroke and needed plenty of rest, but it was worth the pain as I raised £420 for the Rob Burrow Motor Neurone Disease Centre they are aiming to build in Leeds," said Mr Ball.

 

"I conclude with a quote that typifies last Sunday's event for me: 'Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty'. If we can bring this mindset into our lives, we will achieve so much more."

 

Miss Huggett described the experience as a day she will never forget.

 

"It is a humbling experience to complete a marathon. I am not the fastest runner, so I was in the last wave to leave, but it meant that you got a real sense of the number of people taking part as we heard all the other waves go off. We also heard the great cheer as Rob and Kevin set off. I was never going to run alongside them, but I was lucky enough to see them coming the other way as I was heading towards the university!

 

The support from the crowds watching was amazing. It spurred you on at the start and kept you going when it got tough. And it did get tough! Those that got out the hoses to cool us down will never know how much we appreciated it! It was hot, very hot!

 

I finished in 5 hours and 12 minutes, which is a personal best for me. Now I'm hankering for a sub-five-hour time more than ever!" said Miss Huggett, who has raised £537 for MNDA so far.

 

The event raised over £800,000 for the Leeds Hospitals Charity. It brings the amount raised to build a specialist MND centre at Seacroft Hospital to more than £4 million.

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