Kevin Sinfield: Leicester Tigers coach exceeds target for 101-mile MND run
ITV News Central Reporter Ciaran Fitzpatrick reports on Kevin Sinfield's latest fundraising mission
Rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield has raised more than £285,000 as he laces up his trainers again to run 101 miles in 24 hours for motor neurone disease research.
The defence coach at rugby union club Leicester, is running the 101 miles from the Tigers' Mattioli Woods Welford Road ground to Headingley in 24 hours.
The journey, which is being split into seven-kilometre segments, was originally planned to cover 100 miles but the actual distance is 101.
Upon completion of the challenge, Sinfield will have proved once again he will always go the extra mile for Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2019.
Kevin Sinfield sets off on the gruelling challenge from Welford Road Stadium earlier this morning
In December 2020, the 41-year-old led a team that raised more than £2.7 million by running seven marathons in seven days, and at the beginning of October this year, he took part in the London Marathon for the same cause.
Sinfield plans to arrive in south Yorkshire around 9pm and will continue throughout the night.
It is hoped Rob will be able to join Kevin on the finish line and be by his side when he arrives in Headingley - 24 hours after he set off.
He told ITV News Central: "I'm really looking forward to it, a challenge isn't a challenge unless it's challenging.
"So we have an army of MND family and supporters behind us and we will do our very very best today."
'A challenge isn't a challenge unless it's challenging', Kevin Sinfield tells ITV Central
Sinfield’s initial target for The Extra Mile Challenge is to raise £100,000 as he runs just short of four marathons back-to-back in a day - but pledges of support mean he has already exceeded that total.
This challenge, inspired by Burrow, will be raising money directly to benefit people living with MND.
Donations will be split equally between the Leeds Hospitals Charity appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND supporting people living with MND and their families, and the MND Association which funds multi-disciplinary care delivered at the Centre and others across the country, as well as research into potential treatments for the disease.
Sally Light, the Chief Executive of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, previously said: "Knowing the dedication, commitment and passion our MND Association Patron Kevin Sinfield has for supporting people with MND, it doesn’t surprise us at all that he’s chosen to go the ‘extra mile’ with his awareness-raising and fundraising efforts once again.
"This is an incredible challenge to be tackling and we couldn’t be more proud that he will be wearing the Association logo every step of the way from Leicester to Leeds."