Kevin Sinfield: England rugby coach halfway through ultramarathon challenge as £300k raised for MND charities

Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield has officially passed the halfway point in his most daunting challenge to date as he raises money for the fight against motor neurone disease (MND). The former club captain embarked on the epic ‘7 in 7 in 7’ challenge on December 1, which has seen him take on an ultra-marathon every day since, in cities including Leeds, Cardiff and Birmingham.

The feat of endurance continued today as the rugby league star took on the fourth leg of the challenge in Edinburgh – and he’s already raised more than £300,000. On each marathon, he is – quite literally – going the extra mile as he runs slightly further than the distance of a normal marathon, symbolising the amount that people can do for their friends when they are facing tough times.

It comes after Kevin’s best mate and former rugby league star Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND back in 2019. Since then, Rob has raised huge sums of money for charity with the help of his wife Lindsey and ex-teammate Kevin. There has been a huge amount of support for Kevin on his latest challenge, which began at Headingley Stadium. Well-wishers include Rob’s dad Geoff, who described the sports star in a post on X [formerly Twitter] as “the perfect example of a human being”.

This fourth day of the challenge will see Kevin cross the Forth Road Bridge near the Scottish city before visiting various rugby clubs, as he has along the way on previous legs. It will finish at the Murrayfield Stadium.

The final three days will take him to Dublin, Brighton and London, where he will complete the challenge on December 7. Kevin recently told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he was sent into a “tailspin” by news that his friend had been diagnosed with the terminal illness, but revealed that Rob’s fighting spirit has not wavered once in the four years since.

A spokesperson for the MND Association said: “The efforts of Kevin and all who support the charity are building hope in the most practical way for thousands of people affected by this devastating condition.” This will be Kevin’s fourth challenge in aid of MND charities, as previous challenges he has completed with his team have raised in excess of £7.8m.

This time, he is aiming to raise the very specific figure of £777,777 – chosen as a nod to Rob’s number seven shirt he wore while playing for the Rhinos. It is expected to benefit charities including the Motor Neurone Disease Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association, and My Name'5 Doddie Foundation. Leeds Hospitals Charity has plans to build a specialist, state-of-the-art MND centre in Leeds and money from this challenge is expected to benefit that project.