SUPER KEV
Rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield MBE ran seven marathons in seven days to raise over £2.6 million for former teammate Rob Burrow and the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA)
How far would you go to support a mate? For “Sir Kev” Kevin Sinfield, Leeds Rhinos legend as a player and now the club’s director of rugby, the answer is somewhere between 183 and 184 miles.
In December 2020, Sinfield ran seven marathons in seven days – completing each 26.2-mile run in well under four hours – to raise (at time of writing) £2.6 million for fellow Leeds icon Rob Burrow and the MNDA.
Burrow, who played under Sinfield’s captaincy for much of his 17-year career, revealed he’d been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2019. For anyone, it would be a devastating diagnosis, but for an elite-level sportsman it’s particularly cruel. (And we defy anyone to watch the clip of Burrow walking onto the pitch in January 2020, to a standing applause from the Rhinos faithful, without suffering from a sudden bout of hay fever.)
RESEARCH FUNDING
As yet, there is no cure for MND – which leads to the progressive degeneration of the nerve cells that enable us to move, speak, breathe and swallow – but research is leading to new treatments that can ease symptoms. For the MNDA, fundraising is critical for the association’s continued research efforts, and its ability to offer vital support for anyone affected by the disease.
Speaking to the BBC after his seventh marathon, Sinfield said, “I’m absolutely blown away and I can’t thank people enough. The whole MND community has got behind us and it’s going to make a huge difference.”
“I hope you know I’d do the same for you,” said Burrow, who was there to greet his old captain. “It means everything to me.”