Leeds United head of commercial Steve Lewis flew the flag for the Back The Bid Leeds while raising money for charity in New York.

Steve was part of 14-man team who were 'Running for Helen' at the New York Marathon on November 1. The inspiration for the team was Helen Verity, who was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer in 2004 shortly after the birth of her daughter Lilly.

The team included Yorkshire Tourist Board Chief Executive Gary Verity and David Parkin, editor of thebusinessdesk.com, and they have currently raised over £245,000.

In addition to raising funds, Steve was also keen to lift the profile of the Back The Bid Leeds campaign, aimed at securing World Cup host city status for Leeds in 2018, and he was hoping the scarf would attract worldwide attention.

Steve said: "I took the Back The Bid Leeds scarf to help promote it overseas and, who knows, to try and get a glimpse on the terrestrial TV stations streaming the 40th NYC Marathon.

"However, because I couldn't keep up with Paula Radcliffe and the other elite athletes, the TV stations had long gone home when I posted my time of 5 hours 16 minutes and 20 seconds!"

No matter! Steve is pictured with the scarf and if you still want to donate to the charity please see www.justgiving.com/running-for-helen

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