Sir Kevin Sinfield’s final 7 in 7 challenge gets off to a flying start as £500k raised
He will pass through Leeds this week in his final 7 in 7 challenge 🏃
Sir Kevin Sinfield has kicked off his final running endurance event to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) charities, with more than £500,000 donated so far.
The former Leeds Rhinos captain begun his seventh and final annual challenge at Hull KR's Sewell Group Craven Park yesterday (Sunday September 27), setting off on a seven-day ultra-marathon which will take him to all 12 English Super League grounds before finishing at Old Trafford ahead of the Grand Final.
Inspired by former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow, who died in 2024 after living with MND for four and a half years, Sinfield and his team have raised more than £11 million for the MND community since his first annual challenge in 2020.
Sinfield is completing an ultra marathon every day for seven days in his ‘7 in 7: The Grand Finale’ venture.
Six charities are set to benefit once again from this year’s fundraising – the MND Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name5 Doddie Foundation, Darby Rimmer Foundation, MND Scotland and the Irish MND Association.
Each ultra marathon is split into seven kilometre blocks, which must be completed within the hour before starting the next. There will also be an ‘extra mile’ event every day, when Sinfield joins members of the MND community in completing four laps of a running track.
Sir Kev will briefly pass through Leeds on Tuesday, with a checkpoint at the Makins Enterprise entrance in Garforth, before Wednesday’s stage will see him take in through Leeds - with checkpoints in Cross Flatts, Headingley and Pudsey.
The home grounds of the 12 English Betfred Super League clubs will be visited, before finishing on the pitch at Old Trafford ahead of the Super League Grand Final, where his son Jack will play for Wakefield against Warrington.
Sinfield set off on Sunday morning from Hull KR’s Craven Park before heading across the city to the MKM Stadium, the home of Hull FC, and out to Market Weighton, with the first day’s event finishing in Shiptonthorpe.
Former England boss Southgate also joined Sinfield’s team during the run towards the finish.
After Sinfield had completed his first ultra marathon of the event, the fundraising tally around 1700 on Sunday stood at just over £500,800 – well on the way to reaching the £777,777 target.
Sinfield reflected on a “really special day” when he spoke to the crowd gathered outside Shiptonthorpe Village Hall, and thanked everyone for their continued support.
“We can’t do it on our own, and you just being here today makes it all worthwhile,” Sinfield said in a video published on Leeds Rhinos’ X account.
“We all lose people we love and care about, but we lose people in the MND community too soon – we have got to start to change that.
“That is what our team is trying to do, alongside people like Sir Gareth and others who will join up this week, trying to raise awareness and funds.”
Monday’s leg will head on to York and the LNER Community Stadium, the home of the Knights, as well as York Minster and York racecourse, with the finish at Bishopthorpe Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of York.