North East Lincolnshire Council Chief tackles London Marathon for hospice

Whilst the majority of us will still be recovering from festive overindulgence, Rob Walsh, Chief Executive of North East Lincolnshire Council will be donning his training top to prepare for next April’s London Marathon.

The NELC CEO will be running the 26-mile race to raise money for St Andrew’s Hospice in Grimsby, as the charity’s official London Marathon runner for 2019.

Rob spoke of his delight and being asked to represent the hospice at the world’s most famous foot race.

“It's an honour and a privilege to be asked by St. Andrew's Hospice to fill their one official marathon place in the 2019 London Marathon,” he said.

“I am able to support a fantastic organisation that does amazing things every day with my trek over 26.2 miles of the greatest foot race on the planet!

“Let's raise as much as possible to ensure that St. Andrew's can continue to provide patients of all ages with the dedicated, specialist care and support they need.”

And Rob, who has run the hallowed race before for other local charities, is looking forward to seeing some of the sights that the race presents.

“It really is a memorable race for runners, there are so many landmarks,” he explained.

“From the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, where all three start points join up, to crossing Tower Bridge and having the elite runners passing you in the opposite direction to the finish line on the Mall – there is so much to take in.”

And Hospice representatives are equally delighted to have Rob running the race for the charity.

Lesley Charlesworth-Browne is Deputy CEO at St Andrew’s and she revealed how the hospice had approached Rob about taking part in the race.

She said: “We have been fortunate enough to be allocated a charity place in the 2019 London Marathon and we were looking for a high-profile, local runner who could represent the hospice.

“Rob’s running prowess is well documented thanks to his presence on social media, and, as CEO of North East Lincolnshire Council, he was the perfect candidate to run the Marathon for us – we are delighted that he agreed to do so.

“It costs £15,000 per day to run the hospice and we only receive a small portion of that from statutory sources, so all funds raised will go a long way to supporting the hospice.

“In addition, it is the start of our 40^th anniversary in 2019, so it will be an important time for our fundraising and a poignant reflection for all those members of the local community that have supported us over the years.”

If you are a local runner that has secured a place in the London Marathon ballot and would like to support the hospice as your charity of choice, please contact our Fundraising Team on 01472 571 265 or email hello@standrewshospice.com.

To support Rob’s London Marathon fundraising, please visit https://standre.ws/robwalsh.