Hetherington hails another new landmark for Headingley Stadium

Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington has hailed Sunday’s Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon as one of the greatest occasions in the stadium's 133-year history. 

Over 15,000 participants were joined by friends, family and an army of volunteers to make the inaugural event a huge success with nearly £4 million raised for good causes so far. The Rhinos were represented by ex-players like Jamie Peacock, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Matt Diskin, Keith Senior, Adrian Morley and Barrie McDermott along with Luke Burgess and Matt Adamson who had flown in from Australia to be part of the day. The club's backroom team also played their part with every department and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation represented in a 20-plus team which included Head Coach Rohan Smith. 

But it was the images of former skipper Kevin Sinfield carrying his friend Burrow across the finishing line at their spiritual home at Headingley that went around the world and will be recognised as one of the most iconic images of the year. 

Commenting on the day Hetherington said, “Headingley has hosted so many memorable sporting occasions over the past 133-years and the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon can now be added to this illustrious list. The 15,000 runners, organisers, stewards, volunteers and the thousands who lined the route all played their part and we at Leeds Rhinos are very proud to have been so involved.

“Headingley is a unique venue, capable of hosting any type of occasion and having reflected on a spectacular event last Sunday, our staff and management were back at work on Monday morning, ahead of another big occasion this Saturday when the Rhinos entertain Wigan in the Rugby League Challenge Cup.

“When we took the decision to re-develop Headingley a number of years ago, it was to put the stadium at the heart of the Leeds community and be able to give our city the chance to celebrate world-class events. Since then we have hosted seven Rugby League World Cup games including a record crowd for a womens game in this country, the city’s World Champion Josh Warrington created an unforgettable night of boxing here and earlier this year we kicked off the Year of Culture with the Awakening concert. We have ambitious plans for the future to build on all this hard work and I look forward to more occasions like Sunday in the years ahead," added Hetherington.

People can now sign up for the 2024 Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon, which will take place on the 12th May 2024. Click here for more details.