In one week’s time Kevin Sinfield will begin the latest in his series of incredible challenges in an effort to raise funds and awareness to combat Motor Neurone Disease, the condition that his ex-Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow is afflicted with.
Sinfield will begin his ‘Seven in Seven in Seven’ challenge from the Rhinos home ground of Headingley and run to York, finishing at the city’s iconic Minster as the first leg of the challenge.
It’s a challenge that entails seven marathons in seven days across seven different cities, with of course an extra mile tagged on to each marathon to signify Sinfield’s driving motivation of ‘going the extra mile for a friend’.
It marks the fourth major fundraiser that Sinfield and his team have done and comes just over a year after the initial ‘Seven in Seven’ challenge, however the former Leeds Rhinos captain has explained why this will be the toughest yet despite being adamant he’s not ‘crackers’.
Speaking to the media today, Sinfield explained: “I think my wife thinks I’m crackers, but I’m not. I’m all there. We’re really looking forward to going again. It’s been an incredible three years representing such a beautiful community. The support has been wonderful and that’s shown right across the UK so I’m really happy to go again.”
Just over a month ago Sinfield was coaching England Rugby Union at the World Cup, serving as the team’s defence coach, and he’s explained that due to that commitment he’s had less preparation time for what is slated to be his biggest challenge yet.
Explaining why this challenge will be his toughest, he stated: “I think it comes down to a lack of preparation time, I was at the World Cup for two months and before that I was in camp for three months. In terms of long runs, up until the start of November I hadn’t done any for five months.
“So probably from a preparation point of view we’re all a bit underdone but actually there are a thousand reasons why we shouldn’t go again and I’m not going to make any excuses at all, but there is one big reason why we should and that’s Rob and representing this beautiful community.”
Sinfield was also able to confirm that best mate Rob Burrow will be at both the start and finish line of the epic challenge which is set to start on Friday December 1st.
“He’s a bit like you, he thinks I’m crackers but he fully gets it. He’s with us 100% in spirit, he’ll be at the start and at the finish for us. He’s just such an inspirational friend and I’m delighted to be wearing the number seven again.”
So far Sinfield and his team have helped raise millions of pounds which has helped create the foundation of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, whilst this upcoming challenge will support a number of charities. Further information on the beneficiaries of the challenge and how you can support can be seen in the team’s official statement below.
“The team are inspired by MND sporting warriors Rob Burrow, Ed Slater, Marcus Stewart, Stephen Darby, the late Doddie Weir and the 5,000 other people living with MND, in the UK right now. The initial target is to raise £777,777 from the challenge. Supporters can show their support now at https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield or people can text Kevin10 to 70143 to donate £10 or Kevin20 to the same number to donate £20.
“The 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge will support five charities which support and care for people affected by MND and their families, and invest in research to bring us closer to effective treatments and a cure for the disease. The main beneficiaries will be the MND Association and Leeds Hospitals Charity’s appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds. However, there will also be donations to My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Irish MND Association and the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation plus support for the 4ED campaign to support former Gloucester and Leicester Rugby Union player Ed Slater.”
