Rob Burrow racehorse debuts as Leeds legend continues to inspire individuals
Two years on from his devastating Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis, Rob Burrow continues to inspire remarkable fund-raising efforts in the bid to find a cure for the cruel condition.
On Tuesday the racehorse named after him, Burrow Seven – a shared ownership scheme which has raised over £100,000 to date – finished fifth on debut at Catterick.
At the same time Wigan supporter Martyn Clarke, galvanised by Kevin Sinfield’s remarkable endurance feats, was completing the fourth day of seven consecutive half Iron Man challenges, swimming 1.2miles, cycling 56 miles and running 13.1 each time.
Former referee Dave Merrick – from the same amateur club as Burrow – is swimming over a mile every day for two months, while countless others have also picked up Sinfield’s baton.
“What an impact the rugby league community has had on motor neurone disease,” Burrow tweeted recently. “I'm so proud of how everyone has rallied round and put teams aside and just helped out one of their own.”
The popular former Leeds Rhinos scrum-half has become the focal point of a growing movement that will see a research centre built in his name in the city.
Among them is amateur rugby league coach Clarke, who ran alongside Sinfield earlier this month for part of his 101 miles in 24 hours challenge.
“I’d seen what Kev did last year with his seven marathons in seven days and didn’t know much about motor neurone disease until then,” Clarke explained. “I knew about heart disease and cancer, but not this.
“We saw what happened to Rob and thought it just wasn’t fair, especially after being the player he was, and it inspired us to go out and do something. I always wanted to push the endurance limits and to do something ultra and extreme for Rob.
“He’s been in the epicentre of it all, and the challenge has seen 80 people around the world joining in after I posted Rob’s ‘My Year With MND’ documentary on our work’s intranet.
“There’s people in Detroit, South Africa, Macedonia and Germany who didn’t know rugby league or who Rob was taking part, because they were inspired and touched by his story.”
Among others that have joined Clarke’s challenge are Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, Leigh owner Derek Beaumont and Team GB Olympic swimmer Hector Pardoe.
Across the Pennies, ex-Super League touch-judge and Championship ref Merrick also wanted to play his part after living on the same estate as Burrow.
Merrick said: “I played alongside Rob in a charity game just a couple of months before his diagnosis. I saw what Kev has done and felt like I could do something myself.
“The target was to swim from where we live in Pontefract to Old Trafford, 60 miles, but I passed that on day 36 and will keep going until Christmas Eve doing at least 100 lengths a day.
“It’s Rob’s courage and bravery that is inspiring people. Even this week he’s been tweeting about how the disease won’t beat him. When people also see what he did on the rugby field with his size, his attitude just strikes a chord.”
* For more information on part-owning Burrow Seven, see: https://burrowseven.com/
* To donate to Martyn Clarke’s challenge see: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/martyn-clarke7for7im
* To donate to Dave Merrick’s challenge see: https://leedshospitalscharity.enthuse.com/pf/david-merrick-04a67-32495-a0ab6-7d560
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