SIR KEVIN SINFIELD brought the curtain down on his ‘7 in 7’ epic endurance running challenges in front of 70,000 fans at Old Trafford ahead of watching his son Jack win the Grand Final with Wakefield Trinity.
Well, on the UK leg of it anyway.
Since his first marathon challenge in December 2020, a year after Rob Burrow’s diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease, Kevin and his team have raised over £13 million for MND charities. And while he’d already confirmed this year’s challenge was to be his final on these shores, it will not be the end of his fundraising efforts – with plans afoot to take the challenge Down Under.
Over the last six years, the challenges have taken in visits to every corner of the British Isles, from Dundee in Scotland to Brighton on the south coast of England and from Cork in the Republic of Ireland to Ipswich on the tip of East Anglia, meeting members of the public and the MND community in the many cities, towns and villages along the way.
Now 2027 will see Sinfield run seven marathons in seven venues in Australia and New Zealand over seven days.
“To raise so much money and awareness has been wonderful, but the most important thing has been to show the MND community that they are loved,” said Sinfield.
“I have always said I am committed to this cause for life. There will come a time when I can’t run anymore but until then I am always thinking of ways I can do more.
“I have been part of the best team I have ever been in over the last six years and I could not have achieved what I have without our incredible team behind me. But seven felt like the right number to finish this chapter. Everyone involved volunteers their time, we don’t have a marketing or events company running things behind the scenes, our team are doing this in their spare time alongside their day jobs. That includes the long weeks of training and months of planning and preparing, so it would be wrong for me to assume everyone would want to go again, I hope we can but the next challenge has to look different and go to new places.
“We have seen recently in Australia, with the news that both Rugby League star Jai Arrow and Rugby Union international Nathan Charles have been diagnosed with MND, that more needs doing. Former AFL star Neale Daniher did an incredible job in raising the profile for the disease in Australia before his passing earlier this year and hopefully we can pull all the football codes together with our week long challenge.
“We have lots of friends in New Zealand, from both codes of Rugby, who have sent me messages of support down the years and it would be wonderful to go there too.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 526 (November 2026)
