Rugby League legend and Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association patron Kevin Sinfield OBE is set to pull on his running trainers again for a new epic challenge to raise awareness and funds to support those affected by MND.

Since 2020, Kevin and his team have raised over £8 million with three endurance events that have captured the public’s imagination, having been inspired by Kevin’s former Leeds Rhinos team mate and fellow MND Association patron, Rob Burrow MBE.  

The fourth and latest fundraiser, the 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge, will see Kevin and his team run an ultra-marathon every day for seven days in seven cities around Great Britain and Ireland. Each run will be a marathon with an extra mile to signify the extra mile people can all go to help their friends in tough times. The extra mile event each day will see invited guests join Sinfield for one mile. The aim is to complete each days run in under four hours.  

Speaking ahead of the challenge Kevin said: “Here we go again! I did say last year that the Ultra 7 in 7 would complete the trilogy but there was always that caveat that Rocky 4 was my favourite Rocky film. The MND community have always given us incredible support and we wanted to find a way that we could show that support for more people around the country.” 

Starting on Friday 1 December, three years to the day since Sinfield started his first 7 In 7 challenge in 2020, the team will leave AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium heading to York Minister in the first leg of the challenge. On Day Two, the team will travel to Cardiff with day three starting at the Alexandra Stadium in Birmingham, the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games before travelling around Birmingham, calling at St Andrews, Villa Park and Edgbaston en route to a finish in the city centre of Britain’s second city. 

On the fourth day, the team will head across the border to Edinburgh, crossing the Forth Road Bridge before finishing at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. This will be a poignant moment as not only will it mark the halfway point of the challenge but also evoke memories of seeing Doddie Weir for the last time a year ago as he set Sinfield and the team off at the start of the Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge. 

The team head across the Irish Sea on 5 December to run in Dublin inspired by former Munster Rugby Union coach Paul Darbyshire, who played Rugby League with Warrington and passed away from MND in 2011 when he was just 41. On 6 December, Sinfield will head to the South coast of England to Brighton before concluding the challenge on Thursday 7 December running from Twickenham Stadium to the Mall, the traditional finish of the world famous London Marathon. 

The initial target is to raise £777,777 from the challenge. The event 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 the Leeds Hospitals Charity’s appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds. 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.

Tanya Curry, Chief Executive of the MND Association commented: "The fundraising from Kevin's previous challenges has helped us expand our services and invest in vital research into this devastating disease. This new endeavour, inspired by his friendship with our patron Rob Burrow, and the 5,000 people living with MND in the UK right now, will continue his incredible legacy. We are so grateful for his continuing efforts and will be rallying behind him as he laces his trainers for 7 in 7 in 7.”

Find out more about the work of the Motor Neurone Disease Association here, or donate now.

Image: Motor Neurone Disease Association