Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow were a legendary duo on the field and since the Leeds Rhinos pair’s retirement they’ve continued to form an incredible partnership, raising millions for charity, and now Sinfield has announced what his next charity event will be.
The duo were incredible together on the pitch forming a brotherly bond and that’s continued post playing following Burrow’s diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease. Sinfield was alongside teammate Burrow when he took to BBC to announce his diagnosis in 2019, and he’s been supporting him ever since.
Millions of pounds has been raised between the pair since then with Sinfield having helped that fundraising through some mammoth efforts, not least his ‘Seven in Seven’ challenge which saw him run seven marathons in seven days.
The duo also competed in and completed the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon earlier this year with Sinfield pushing his ex-teammate around the course before carrying him over the line in an emotional scene.
Sinfield has now taken to BBC Breakfast, the amazing broadcasters who have helped support Burrow throughout his diagnosis by offering brilliant coverage to help raise awareness of MND and funds to fight the disease.
The ex Rhinos captain has confirmed that he will seven marathons in seven cities across seven days, all across Great Britain and Ireland, with each marathon being the standard 26.2 miles, but with an additional mile on top to highlight Sinfield’s motto of ‘going the extra mile’ for friends and loved ones in tough times.
Confirming the news Sinfield explained to the BBC why the challenge, set to start from December 1st, will be even more challenging than previous efforts.
“I have not been able to do the amount of training I have done previously because of my commitments for the World Cup, and we have set an ambitious time target to complete each ultra so people know that we will be pushing ourselves to the limit,” he said.
He added: “For the MND community, every second counts and we will be making the most of every step on this challenge to raise awareness, funds and support for that community.
“The MND community have always given us incredible support and we wanted to find a way we could show that support for more people around the country.”
Funds raised from Sinfield’s efforts will be split across five charities, the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, the Irish MND Association and 4ED.
Speaking live on BBC Breakfast confirming the announcement, Sinfield explained: “We start three weeks on Friday. Marathons again, running. Running’s been a great vehicle for us.
“It’s been a great way of celebrating the MND community, celebrating Rob and showing people that we care and the support we’ve had has been amazing. It’s been amazing from you guys, from sponsors who’ve supported people around the streets. But yeah, we go again and the plan is to run seven marathons plus a mile, an extra mile each day.”
