Sinfield breaks new ground as he heads to South West on latest challenge

Rugby League and fundraising legend Kevin Sinfield CBE will break new ground when he travels to the South West of England on the second day of his latest epic fundraising challenge on Monday 2^nd December.

Sinfield will run in memory of his friend Rob Burrow, who passed away from MND in June this year. This will be Sinfield’s fifth annual challenge for the MND community having raised nearly £10 million in the first four events. But he will also be inspired by three men linked to the area. Former Gloucester Rugby forward Ed Slater will set Sinfield off from Kingsholm at 7am, Slater was diagnosed with MND in 2022. Sinfield will then face a gruelling challenge of running nearly 40 miles to Bristol. As he enters Bristol, Sinfield will stop at the Memorial Ground to meet for Bristol Rovers striker Marcus Stewart, who has been battling MND since 2022 and former Gloucestershire cricketer and current President, David 'Syd' Lawrence, who was diagnosed this year. 

This year’s challenge has the tagline of ‘Running home for Christmas’ as the seventh day will end in Sinfield’s home area of Saddleworth.

Sinfield will be raising money for six MND charities with the MND Association being the major beneficiary to enable their work across all regions of the country.

The week long challenge started on 1st December with Sinfield and the team covering over 50km per day, visiting seven regions across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Each day will be broken down into 7km blocks, the number 7 as always central to Sinfield’s challenge in recognition of his friend and former team mate Rob Burrow, who wore the number during his glittering career alongside Sinfield at Leeds Rhinos. The team will aim to complete each 7km within one hour before the next block must start on the hour, meaning the only rest the team will get between each leg is the time spare after they have completed the block.

This will be the first time that Sinfield has visited the South West in his annual challenges. Bristol-born footballer Marcus Stewart commented, “From the moment I met Kev, I knew he was a special bloke. He has gone above and beyond for the MND community. What started out as “A run for a mate” for Rob, has just grown and grown in awareness and funds for the fight against MND.

“Kev, including Bristol and the clubs I played at in his next challenge really means a lot. Myself and my family will do all we can to support and get involved in his challenges. He genuinely cares about finding a cure and those affected by MND. The world is a better place for people like Kev." 

Lawrence echoed those sentiments, he added, “It’s been amazing what Kevin has done with the fundraising and bringing so much attention to this awful disease. That Kevin continues to keep MND and the MND Association in the media spotlight is really important for all of us with this illness. Talking with Kevin has also been a great source of strength, I look forward to meeting Kevin when he comes to Bristol.”

Ed Slater commented, “Everyone should have a friend like Kevin Sinfield. What Kev has done for the MND community is incredible and I am sure the Gloucester public will come out in big numbers to cheer him on when he sets off from Kingsholm on 2^nd December. I was fortunate to be there in Cardiff last year and the atmosphere at the start line is something special with so much love and support for the MND community.”

Commenting on the start of his new challenge, Sinfield said, “It is been wonderful to see the support that the people of Gloucester and Bristol have given to Ed, Syd and Marcus since their own diagnosis. We have seen over the last four challenges how much this country cares for the MND community and we must continue to give all those impacted by this disease the hope to carry on.”

Members of the public can sponsor Sinfield at https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield-and-teams-fundraising or by texting Kevin10 to 70143 to donate £10. For more details of the entire route for the 2024 challenge visit http://www.therhinos.co.uk/the-club/sinfield-christmas-2024

You can follow Kevin and the team's progress live using our live tracker. This is available on the Run For All app, available wherever you usually download apps or you can watch on your web browser at https://track.rtrt.me/e/RFA-7IN7IN7CHALLENGE-D2-2024#/dash/RB7GC83M throughout the day as they head to Ashton Gate in Bristol. The stadium will be open and it is free to attend so make sure you head down to welcome Kevin to Bristol