He flew 21,000 miles to run just 26.2 but ex-Leeds Rhinos star Luke Burgess wouldn’t have it any other way.
The retired prop, 36, was back from Australia to take part in the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon. It was important he did so for a number of reasons. Burgess played for four years alongside Burrow at Rhinos, including winning the 2009 Super League Grand Final together. Burrow - pushed around the course in his wheelchair by his incomparable former captain Kevin Sinfield and then carried across the finish line - was diagnosed with motor neurone disease four years ago.
Burgess, who moved Down Under to join his brothers Sam and George at South Sydney in 2011 with Tom coming later, knows plenty about it. He said: “I lost my dad to MND back in 2007 so I do have a connection to it. I was really happy to come back and support the marathon and the charity. It was a big occasion, not just for me but Rob and motor neurone disease.
“Rob’s a very close friend. We spent a lot of good years together at Leeds. It’s unbelievable what he and Kev have managed to do. I was speaking to them on Friday about it all as back when my dad was diagnosed we didn’t know too much about MND. Now, through what they have done, it’s well and truly been put on the map. There’s so much awareness around it now. Kev has put his body on the line and done some remarkable things along the way.”
Sinfield, of course, has raised millions of pounds for MND research with his mind-blowing running challenges, including completing seven ultra-marathons in seven days during last year’s World Cup. Thousands of people lined the streets of Leeds as 12,000 participants took on the marathon which will help raise funds for the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease. The route started and finished at Headingley, where Burrow, Sinfield and Burgess used to run around together so often.
Yorkshireman Burgess, who clocked a time of three hours 58 minutes abd 37 seconds when completing the race with ex-Castleford winger Nick Youngquest, said: “The city of Leeds has really got behind him. There were people everywhere and it was such a great atmosphere. It just goes to show how much Rob is loved around the place and how much he’s done for the city. And it’s great to hear they’re now building that specialist MND centre in Leeds. It’ll make such a difference to so many.”
Ex-Catalans forward Burgess retired after finishing his playing days with Salford in 2018. He admitted: “I don’t get back to England much. The last time was early 2020 when I came with Sam to watch George make his Wigan debut. It’s been great to be back and so good to see former team-mates and catch up with them. I saw Keith Senior, Matt Diskin, Kev and Rob, Barrie McDermott and Gary Mercer on Friday and went for a run with Jamie Peacock. Adrian Morley was here today, too. I'm absolutely cooked now! But I’m looking forward to having a few beers with them all.”
