Thousands to take part in Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon

Streets will be filled with runners and supporters this weekend as thousands take part in the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon.

It marks the fourth time this event has taken place and the second since the death of rugby league legend Burrow in June 2024.

The marathon was launched in 2023 to honour Burrow's campaign to fund research into motor neurone disease (MND).

Five thousand runners are expected to take part this year, raising funds for various charities.

The marathon was launched by Burrow and his family as part of their efforts to support people living with MND.

About 45,000 people have taken part across both the marathon and half marathon since it began.

This year the event will be held in support of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal as well as the MND Association.

At the inaugural marathon in 2023, Burrow's friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Kevin Sinfield pushed him around the course in a specially adapted wheelchair before carrying him across the finish line.

The marathon will get under way at 09:00 BST on Sunday, with competitors in the half marathon setting off at 10:00.

Burrow was one of the most successful English rugby league players in history and an inspirational MND campaigner.

During a 17-year career he made nearly 500 appearances for Leeds Rhinos, winning eight Super League Grand Finals, three World Club Challenges and two Challenge Cups.

Just two years after retiring from professional rugby, Burrow was diagnosed with MND in December 2019.

Burrow and Sinfield raised millions of pounds to fund research and care for the condition and inspired countless others to do the same.

Burrow was supported by his wife Lindsey and their children as well as his parents Geoff and Irene.

This will be the first marathon since Burrow's father Geoff died in March.

Burrow and his family successfully raised funds and campaigned for an MND centre to be built in the city where he spent his sporting career.

The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease opened at Seacroft Hospital in November 2025, five months after the death of the rugby league legend.

Construction work on the site began in June 2024, the day after Burrow's death was announced by his family.

The £6.8m centre was funded through donations to the Leeds Hospitals Charity, with much of the cash raised through marathon donations as well as with the help of a campaign led by Sinfield.

The marathon will start and end at Headingley Stadium.

Runners will follow a circular route which takes them through Woodhouse Moor before heading out through Adel, Lawnswood, Bramhope, Pool in Wharfedale and Otley.

The Leeds Half Marathon follow a similar, abridged route.

From 04:00 BST on Sunday, part of St Michael's Lane in Headingley will be closed to vehicles.

Sections of Cardigan Road, Kirkstall Lane and North Lane will be shut from 06:00.

By 08:00, roads between Headingley and Far Headingley will also be closed.

Additional closures will come into force from 08:30 in Adel, Lawnswood and Bramhope.

Further along the route, roads will be closed in Pool in Wharfedale and Otley from 09:00.

Traffic going to and from the Harewood area of Leeds will be diverted along the A61 Harrogate Road and the A61 Scott Hall Road.

The A65 Kirkstall Road, A65 New Road Side, A65 Leeds Road and A6038 Bradford Road also have diversions in place for anyone travelling to Horsforth and Adel from the Meanwood area of Leeds.

In Kirkstall, from the A65 Kirkstall Road, drivers have access through to the Leeds Inner Ring Road.

Leeds City Council said affected roads along the route would be reopened on a rolling basis during the day, as soon as it was safe to do so.

The forecast on Sunday in Leeds is expected to be cooler than on previous years, with a mix of cloud and sunny spells.

Temperatures are expected to peak at 12 degrees Celsius at about 1400 BST.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.