Kevin Sinfield announces latest superhuman effort to support Rob Burrow and the MND community
Kevin Sinfield with his good friend and former team-mate Rob Burrow - Alamy
Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield has announced his latest challenge to support his good friend Rob Burrow and those impacted by motor neurone disease.
Sinfield will run 7 ultramarathons in 7 days in 7 cities across the UK and Ireland to raise awareness and funds to support the MND community.
The rugby league icon and his team completed his third challenge when they ran from Edinburgh to Manchester, covering more than 40 miles a day for seven days straight.
And now Sinfield, the current England rugby union defensive coach, will pull on his running trainers once again to support his former team-mate and good pal Burrow.
Since Burrow’s diagnosis with MND in 2019, Sinfield and his team have raised more than £8million with three endurance events that have captured the public’s attention, love and support.
Sinfield’s latest fundraiser will combine elements from three of the previous challenges. The 7 in 7 in 7 will see the former Rhinos captain and his team run an ultramarathon every day for seven days in seven cities around the UK and Ireland.
Each run will be a marathon with an extra mile to signify the extra mile people can all go to help their friends in tough times. The extra mile each day will see invited guests join Sinfield and his team for one mile, with his aim being to complete each day’s run in under four hours.
The route Kevin Sinfield will take across the UK and Ireland
The Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon 2023 – Alamy
Starting on December 1 – three years to the day Sinfield started his first 7 in 7 challenge in 2020 – the team will leave the AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium heading to York Minster in the first leg of the challenge.
On Day Two, the team will travel to Cardiff, finishing the day on the pitch at half-time of the United Rugby Championship game between Cardiff and Scarlets at The Arms Park.
The Third Day (December 3), will start at the Alexandra Stadium in Birmingham, the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, before travelling around Birmingham, calling at St Andrews, Villa Park and Edgbaston en route to a finish in the city centre.
Day Four will see the team head across the border to Edinburgh, crossing the Forth Road Bridge before finishing at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. It will be a touching moment as not only will it mark the halfway point of the challenge – but will evoke memories of seeing Doddie Weir for the last time a year ago as he set Sinfield and his team off at the start of the Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge.
Sinfield & Co will head across the Irish Sea on Day Five to run in Dublin inspired by former Munster coach Paul Darbyshire, who played rugby league with Warrington Wolves and passed away from MND in 2011 when he was just 41. The team will work with the Irish MNDA for the first time following on from the RTE broadcaster Charlie Bird who raised more than €3million for charity with his Climb with Charlie following his own MND diagnosis.
On Day Six, Sinfield will head to the South coast of England to Brighton before concluding the challenge on December 7, running from Twickenham Stadium to the Mall, the traditional finish of the London Marathon.
How to donate to Kevin Sinfield’s incredible fundraising efforts
The team are inspired by MND sporting warriors Burrow, Ed Slater, Marcus Stewart, Stephen Darby and the late Doddie Weir as well as the 5,000 other people living with MND in the UK right now.
The initial target is to raise £777,777 from the challenge.
Supporters can show their support now at https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield or people can text Kevin10 to 70143 to donate £10 or Kevin20 to the same number to donate £20.
The 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge will support five charities which support and care for people affected by MND and their families, and invest in research to bring us closer to effective treatments and a cure for the disease.
The main beneficiaries will be the MND Association and Leeds Hospitals Charity’s appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds.
And there will also be donations to My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Irish MND Association and the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation plus support for the 4ED campaign to support former Gloucester and Leicester rugby union player Ed Slater.
‘Physically this will be my toughest challenge’
On his new 7 in 7 in 7 challenge, Sinfield said: “Here we go again! I did say last year that the Ultra 7 in 7 would complete the trilogy but there was always that caveat that Rocky 4 was my favourite Rocky film.
“The MND community have always given us incredible support and we wanted to find a way that we could show that support for more people around the country.
“I would especially like to thank all the local authorities and councils who have given us their support, it means so much to everyone.
“Physically this will be my toughest challenge as I have not been able to do the amount of training that I have done previously because of my commitments for the World Cup and we have set an ambitious time target to complete each ultra so people know that we will be pushing ourselves to the limit.
“I am looking forward to it and seeing all the support out on the streets once again. For the MND community, every second counts and we will be making the most of every step on this challenge to raise awareness, funds and support for that community.”
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