Region comes out in support of Kevin Sinfield for epic MND running challenge
INSPIRATION: Kevin Sinfield with supporters at Costello Stadium. Picture by Bridget Catterall
By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
Thousands of people lined the streets of Hull and the East Riding to cheer on rugby league and fundraising legend Kevin Sinfield during his latest running challenge.
The former Leeds Rhinos player ran through the region as part of his ‘7 in 7 in 7’ challenge to raise money for those suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and their families, as well as increase awareness of the condition.
It is the fifth of Sinfield’s seven planned challenges, which he launched after his close friend and teammate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND. He died, aged 41, in June.
So far, Sinfield’s challenges have raised around £10m for the MND community.
His latest fundraiser, tagged ‘Running home for Christmas’, is seeing Sinfield run 50km (31 miles) per day, broken down into 7k blocks, across seven regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, over seven days.
The number 7 has special significance, as his friend wore it during his glittering career.
Sinfield is completing each 7km within one hour, before starting the next block on the hour. Supported by his fundraising team, he is spending any time he has in-between meeting people affected by MND.
The East Yorkshire leg began at 7am today at Beverely Racecourse, with the route including Hull Golf Club, Haltemprice Leisure Centre, Costello Stadium and Queen Victoria Square, before finishing at Craven Park.
Sinfield ran the first half in the black and white of Hull FC, before switching to Hull KR’s red and white. It was also an opportunity to remember former Hull FC player Adam Maher, who died from MND in 2020.
Members of the MND community, including sufferers, their families and fundraisers, were invited to join Sinfield on an ‘Extra Mile’ at Costello Stadium. It involved running, walking or wheeling four laps of the running track.
Sinfield told The Hull Story: “Hull is a rugby mad city and Hull FC and Rovers fans gave so much support to Rob throughout his battle with MND.
“We’ve got a lot of friends here, and I always get a warm welcome – surprisingly!
“Hull has lovely people, with a lovely sense of humour. My sister came to university here, and I’ve got fond memories of playing here. They loved Rob here too, so it’s special to be in Hull.”
On his latest gruelling challenge, Sinfield said: “We wanted to do something that gave us more opportunity to meet with people from the MND community.
“The 7k blocks really lend themselves to connecting with people, rather than just running past them. It’s about showing the MND community that we care about them.
“The fact that we run with the number 7 on our vest is vitally important. I think of Rob a lot, and I’ll be thinking about him almost every step of the way.
“I miss him every day but I’m sure he’s with us in spirit. He’ll forever be in our thoughts.
“Rob was a part of the first four challenges, and to not have him around for this one is pretty tough but it means a lot to me that we represent him and his family in the right way.
“I don’t want this to be sad. Clearly, there are sad parts to it because we’ve lost a great man but he’d want us to rip into this with smiles on our faces – and that’s what we’re doing.”
Sinfield is raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, MND Scotland and The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
He said: “There are more people being diagnosed with MND than there have ever been. Some of that is due to awareness, and people going to see a doctor and getting diagnosed early, which is fantastic. However, it means there are more families having to go through this.
“We’ve got to keep trying to help. Even if we found a cure tomorrow, there are people who are too far down the journey for it to be reversed. We need to be able to support them and their families.
“You don’t have to run marathons. We can all do a little bit to help, and that will look different for everyone. If we all do a little bit, it adds up to a lot.”
Sinfield will end the challenge in Saddleworth, Oldham, on Saturday.
To sponsor, visit https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield-and-teams-fundraising or text Kevin10 to 70143 to donate £10.