'My best friend died from motor neurone disease - now I'm taking on the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon for her'
‘This is about celebrating her and her wonderful life’
When Elizabeth Wood gets to the start line at the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon next weekend, there will only be one person on her mind.
Last year, aged just 45, her best friend Tanya Stokoe died from motor neurone disease just four months after being diagnosed.
It’s an experience which has devastated her family and left Elizabeth, of Rothwell, determined to celebrate the woman she was - someone who she describes as being full of “light, love and joy”.
Elizabeth said: “Tanya was an amazing woman. She loved the joy of life, and I’m determined to remember her as she was.
“For Tanya to have experienced a disease so brutal, which left her unable to talk anymore, was just heartbreaking. This is about celebrating her and her wonderful life.”
Tanya and Elizabeth met at the University of Leeds in 1999 where they were both studying languages. They very quickly became close friends.
“We spent a term in Granada together before coming back to Leeds to finish our degrees,” Elizabeth said.
“She loved rosé wine, house music and Harvey Nichols and I have some wonderful memories of the two of us in and around Leeds.
“We’d both married and had children and she’d settled in Atlanta with her family. She would still come and stay in Leeds when she was back in the UK and I saw her in December 2024 when she was diagnosed with MND around Christmas time.
“She died the following April and we were all completely shattered.”
Elizabeth will run the marathon – her first – as part of TeamTanyaLeeds, with her brother and sister, Richard and Katherine and university friends, Steve and Matt.
She said: “She loved to talk – she had such a memorable voice and way with words, it was who she was – so to have that taken away from her was so awful. We’re determined to do everything we can to raise awareness and vital funds for the MND Association to help others.”
Every day in the UK six people are diagnosed with MND. It’s a disease which attacks the nerves which send messages to the muscles. It moves fast and can take away someone’s voice and the ability to move, stripping them of their independence. There is no cure.
Lynn Fraser, the MND Association’s Community Relationship Fundraiser – West, said: “We’re so grateful to Elizabeth and the team for taking part in the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in memory of Tanya. I know how much this means to all of them.
“MND is a cruel disease and we’re determined to improve the lives of people living with the disease right now, while also funding the research which gives us all so much hope for the future.
“Every mile – every pound raised – really matters.”
A JustGiving page for TeamTanyaLeeds has raised almost £5,000. You can donate here.