RUGBY LEAGUE and fundraising legend Kevin Sinfield CBE will kick off latest fundraising challenge in Liverpool on Sunday 1st December as he sets off to run over 230 miles in seven days across seven regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Sinfield will run in memory of his friend Rob Burrow, who passed away from MND in June this year. This will be Sinfield’s fifth annual challenge for the MND community having raised nearly £10 million in the first four events.
This year’s challenge has the tagline of ‘Running home for Christmas’ as the seventh day will end in Sinfield’s home area of Saddleworth and it will have a fitting start in Liverpool as Sinfield’s opening stage will include him taking part in the city’s annual BTR Liverpool Santa Dash which starts at 9.30am on the waterfront by the famous Liver Building.
Sinfield will be raising money for six MND charities including the Darby Rimmer Foundation which was set up by former Liverpool defender Stephen Darby after he was diagnosed with the disease back in 2018. In another connection to the city, Sinfield has been joined at stages on his last three challenges by Liverpool Women’s record breaking defender Gemma Bonner, who is a big supporter of the Darby Rimmer Foundation as well.
The week long challenge will start on 1st December with Sinfield and the team covering over 50km per day, visiting seven regions across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Each day will be broken down into 7km blocks, the number 7 as always central to Sinfield’s challenge in recognition of his friend and former team mate Rob Burrow, who wore the number during his glittering career alongside Sinfield at Leeds Rhinos. The team will aim to complete each 7km within one hour before the next block must start on the hour, meaning the only rest the team will get between each leg is the time spare after they have completed the block.
The challenge will once again see the return of the Extra Mile events from last year’s 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge when members of the MND community joined Sinfield and the team to complete their own mile.
Commenting on the start of his new challenge, Sinfield said, “I am really looking forward to the start line and being joined by 7,000 Santas will certainly put us in a festive spirit. This year’s event will be particularly poignant having lost Rob in June but our commitment to Rob’s memory is to continue to support the MND community. We are looking forward to meeting more people than ever from the MND community throughout the week and giving them the opportunity to continue to bang the drum for MND.”
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