Rugby League legend Kevin Sinfield has completed his latest challenge with donations sailing past £1,000,000.
Sinfield, who is raising funds to help those suffering from Motor Neurone Disease, had set a fundraising goal of £777,777 in recognition of his former teammate Rob Burrow’s iconic number seven shirt.
The ex-Leeds Rhinos man surpassed that total before even commencing the final day of his challenge, being informed of that fact live on BBC Breakfast as he prepared to depart Old Trafford to complete the seventh day of his ‘Running Home for Christmas’ challenge.
An emotional Sinfield was told that donations to the fundraiser had surpassed £782,000 but now, having arrived in his home town of Saddleworth to complete the seven-day challenge, donations have passed £1,000,000.
It marks yet another unbelievable feat accomplished by the 44-year-old who has set about a different form of extreme running challenge in each of the past four years. The challenges began in the aftermath of former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in December 2019.
This year’s challenge was particularly poignant as it marked the first that Sinfield had undertaken since the death of Burrow in June this year.
Kevin Sinfield completes challenge and smashes £1,000,000 mark
They’ve done it again…
£ 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 🧡💙
One million £ raised to support all those living with and affected by motor neurone disease. Money that will make a significant difference to the lives of those with #MND.
Thank you Kev! #RunningHomeForChristmas pic.twitter.com/RvlwX5AWUU
— MND Association (@mndassoc) December 7, 2024
Arriving in Saddleworth today, Kevin Sinfield completed the seventh of his seven consecutive days running over 50km with each days split into seven-kilometre chunks, yet another focus on Burrow’s shirt number.
Having passed that goal number of £777,777, the public has continued to support and donate on what was the final leg of the journey to help Sinfield smash the £1,000,000 mark, only adding to the multiple millions to have been raised in previous efforts of years gone by.
At the time of writing, the figure stands at £1,005,709.24 and is sure to keep on rising with the British public recognising the incredible feat of endurance undertaken by Kevin Sinfield, particularly in the midst of the British Isles being subject to multiple weather warnings as Storm Darragh hits the North West.
That weather did not put Sinfield off though as former club Leeds Rhinos shared footage of him thanking those at the finishing line for their support.
Addressing those gathered to cheer him on, Kevin Sinfield said: “I’ve been looking forward to this day and this moment since we started.
“I’ve ran up and down this hill a few times, this is where it all started some time ago when we set out with that first marathon for Rob.
“To finish back here in challenge five is really special for us all. We’ve got a wonderful team who have kept us going all week.
“You know why we’re here, we’re really passionate about the MND community and Rob Burrow. To see you guys here shows us that you are too, so I thank you for that.
“In typical Saddleworth weather, we get the rain but on behalf of all of our team thank you. We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas.
“Keep looking after each other, keep looking after the MND community and make sure you have a beer for us tonight. Thank you.”
Funds raised by Kevin Sinfield will go across six MND charities including the Rob Burrow Centre for MND.
You can read more about donating here.
They’ve done #RanHomeForChristmas
💳 Donatehttps://t.co/OFK32QFjt0 pic.twitter.com/1x8Djtlfl5— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) December 7, 2024
