'Rob will be with me throughout London Marathon'

Lindsey Burrow says her late husband Rob "will be with me throughout" when she runs the London Marathon on Sunday.

Mother-of-three Burrow, 42, is running in memory of former rugby league great Rob, who died in June 2024 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019.

She will also run the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon two weeks later to continue raising money for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Leeds Hospitals Charity.

"He will be in spirit with me throughout the whole run, in my head saying 'come on run faster, you can do this'," Burrow told BBC Yorkshire.

"As I lace up my trainers I'll definitely be thinking of Rob and the MND community. That is ultimately why I am running the race, to make Rob proud."

Rob's MND diagnosis came two years after he retired from a stellar 17-year career at Leeds Rhinos, during which he made almost 500 appearances and won 13 trophies.

With the help of former team-mate and close friend Kevin Sinfield, they raised more than £15 million for MND charities as Rob battled the disease himself. Both men were awarded CBEs in the 2024 New Year Honours.

"Rob will will be at the forefront of my mind. It will be emotional but I'm looking forward to it," said Burrow, who will run the 26.2 miles alongside her brother Mark.

The official charity of the year for the 45th edition of the London Marathon is Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Pancreatic Cancer is the deadliest common cancer - more than half of people in the UK who are diagnosed die within just three months.

Thousands of people will be running and raising money for the charity, which is aiming to collect £2m to provide vital early detection tests.

Earlier in April, 797 pairs of running shoes, donated by survivors, supporters and families affected by pancreatic cancer, were displayed on the banks of the River Thames in London.

Among those running on Sunday will be Jo Curtis, who lost her husband, Stewart, to pancreatic cancer. Stewart, who had been training for the marathon when he was diagnosed, underwent successful surgery but the cancer returned a year later.

"A key thing for me has been that we can't have gone through this for no positive to come from it. I kept thinking, 'What can I do?' There was a lightbulb moment where I thought, 'I can do the marathon for him'," Curtis told BBC Sport.

"My hope is that collectively all of us who are doing it on the day raise a significant amount of awareness for the charity, hopefully a huge amount of money, and that can prolong the life of a dad, a mum, a sister and allow them more time with their family."

"Stubborn to a fault... A lot of grit and determination... Just dad".

That's how Dave Heeley's daughters Grace, Georgie-Lee and Dannie describe their father as they prepare to join him for his 17th and final London Marathon.

Widely known as 'Blind Dave', the 67-year-old from West Bromwich first ran the London Marathon in 2002 and has embarked on several extraordinary physical challenges to raise money for charity despite being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 10.

Among his achievements, Heeley became the first blind person to run seven marathons across seven continents in seven days in 2008. In 2011, he ran the length of the UK, completing 10 marathons in 10 days from John O'Groats to Land's End.

"I asked the question, 'Why me? What have I done to deserve this?' Then I went on a bit of a journey and thought, 'You know what kid, life is for living'. Let's go out there and enjoy it," Heeley told BBC Sport.

"Don't worry about what you cannot do. Concentrate your efforts on what you can do and you will achieve."

Heeley, raising money for his club West Brom's Albion Foundation, said running with his daughters on Sunday will be "the best memory of all" after they persuaded him to run one last London Marathon having undergone two knee replacements.

Flora Turnbull will continue to spread awareness of prostate cancer after losing her father, former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, to the disease in 2022.

The number of prostate cancer referrals within the NHS reached a record high a year after Bill's death, following his work to raise awareness of the disease.

His diagnosis coincided with that of actor Stephen Fry, with their willingness to speak about prostate cancer termed the 'Turnbull and Fry effect' by NHS England.

On continuing the legacy of her father by running the marathon for Prostate Cancer UK, Turnbull, 33, said: "After his death, we as a family were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and thanks from people across the nation, and particularly those men who were inspired to learn more about their own prostate cancer risk and speak to their GP.

"But there is still work to be done. I want to ensure that everyone can keep their dads, partners, brothers, sons, grandads, uncles and friends around as long as possible."