‘Here we go again’ – Sinfield’s latest epic fundraising challenge
England defence coach Kevin Sinfield has embarked on his latest incredible challenge, which will see him run seven ultra-marathons in seven days, having set a £777,777 target to raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease research.
Sinfield began his challenge on 1 December, running from Leeds to York before moving on to Cardiff - finishing at Cardiff Arms Park at half-time of Cardiff v Scarlets - then Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin and Brighton.
The final leg started at Twickenham Stadium on 7 December and finished on The Mall in central London.
Kevin has raised over £8million towards vital research into MND since 2020, having been inspired by his close friend and former Leeds Rhinos scrum half and teammate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with the disease in December 2019 just two years after he retired.
“There is one big reason why we should keep going and that’s Rob,” says Kevin, who was joined by Burrow at Headingley Stadium on the starting line for the first leg.
“Rob and his wife Lindsey are the reason we're here and for what we're doing and also the MND community that's been ravaged for decades and is finally getting the support that they need."
“Why would we stop? We haven’t got a cure. We feel we can help some more.”
This is Kevin’s fourth gruelling challenge for MND, with the latest ultra-marathons the toughest yet and coming soon after returning from the Rugby World Cup, where he helped England to a third-place finish.
He added: "I was at the World Cup for two months, before that I was in camp for three. In terms of long runs, up until the start of November, I hadn't done one for five months.
“But, while there are 1,000 reasons why we shouldn't go again, there's one big one why we should – Rob and this beautiful community.
“If there’s someone you’ve not spoke to for months and you’ve had a daft fall out or whatever, please pick the phone up. Let’s look after each other, let’s make this a better place.
Let’s look after the MND community and start looking after each other a bit better.”
The 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge is raising money for the MND Association and Leeds Hospitals Charity's appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds.
There will also be donations made to My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Irish MND Association and the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, plus the 4ED campaign to support former Gloucester and Leicester rugby union player Ed Slater.
To donate, visit the 7 in 7 in 7 fundraising page.
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