Lindsey Burrow has said the legacy her husband and Kevin Sinfield are building will never be forgotten as the fight to find an effective treatment and cure for Motor Neurone Disease continues.
Sinfield completed his latest fundraising challenge last Tuesday in front of almost 1,000 fans at Headingley Stadium, having run, and at times walked and hobbled, the 101 miles between Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road Ground and the Stadium he called home during his entire Rugby League career.
Former team-mate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with the disease in December 2019, was there to greet his best friend at the finish line, while his wife Lindsey, and eldest daughter Macy, nine, completed the final mile of the route with Sinfield.
The challenge, less than a year after he raised £2,730,919 (by Sunday afternoon) by running seven Marathons in seven days, saw Sinfield raise another £1,802,835.51 by Sunday afternoon, way ahead of his £100,000 target with an additional £370,822.98 of Gift Aid to be split between the MND Association and the Leeds Hospitals Charity appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND.
For Lindsey, the work this money will help fund will only add further awareness of the disease that has really been brought to the public eye since Rob’s devastating diagnosis.
“From the MNDA side of things, the money will be going into supporting the work that goes into the care centres, but also the development of the new care centre in Leeds will mean so much for patients,” said Lindsey.
“It does make things a bit better to know other families down the line might not have it as tough as we have. This has never been about Rob; it’s been about raising awareness for those sufferers that don’t have a voice and I am incredibly proud of him for using his platform to raise awareness of the disease.
“We’ve had people say to us that when they tell people of have a family member with MND, they don’t have to explain what it is any more because people know about it. Rob and Kev have put it on the map and made people so much more aware and that will help so many people going forward.”
Whilst the Burrow family were cheering Sinfield all the way on his latest challenge, Lindsay admits that just taking part in the final stages was enough for her.
“It’s really difficult to put into words just what Kev put his body through, but mentally as well,” added Lindsey.
“I was never in any doubt that he would do it and I’m incredibly proud of him.
“It was brilliant to do the final mile with him. I was quite nervous when I was looking at the times when they first set off, but overnight it started getting slower and slower. So I knew that, unless he had a sprint finish, which I wasn’t expecting, we’d probably be able to keep up.
“Kev was really struggling towards the end and kept apologising the whole way for not running it, but we told him to stop apologising. We were happy to walk with him and be there to support him at the end.
“The reception we got when we came into the stadium was incredible and I just about kept Rob’s no tears policy intact. The support all the way has been fantastic and that kept Kev going during the whole challenge.
“Rob has always said he’d do the same for Kev, but I’d question if Rob would do 101 miles in 24 hours. Anyone who’s got any sense about them wouldn’t think of doing that with no sleep. It’s just crazy.”
However, Sinfield has insisted that he will not stop in his efforts “until we get a cure”, largely because of the inspiration that Rob and his family have provided him, and admitted he is already “looking forward to doing something again” to raise further funds and awareness.
“I don’t think we’ll ever stop,” said Sinfield.
“As I get older, the challenges will have to change, just because my body won’t be able to cope with some of it, but I’ll continue to do what I can do help.
“Whilst Rob is continuing to fight as he has and is doing, and whilst he’s being so brave and courageous and the whole family is, it’s only right that his former team-mates continue to do what they do as well.”
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