Kevin Sinfield sets sight on finishing latest marathon fundraising effort

He powered into Hull yesterday on the latest leg of his fundraising marathon in memory of his friend Rob Burrow.

It was the fifth of seven consecutive days of Sinfield’s ‘Running Home for Christmas’ campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in Saddleworth tomorrow.

Crowds turned out to support the ex-Leeds Rhinos star, whose latest run is his first since the death of his friend and former team-mate Burrow in June. He had raised over £556,000 by yesterday evening.

Thursday took Sinfield to east Yorkshire with a route that began at Beverley racecourse and concluded at Craven Park, home of 2024 Betfred Super League runners-up Hull Kingston Rovers.

A campaign spokesman said: “In June we lost our much-loved friend and colleague Rob Burrow CBE, who died from motor neurone disease (MND) at the age of 41.

“While we are all devastated by his loss, inspired by him, and his tireless determination to raise awareness of MND, our fifth challenge – Running Home for Christmas. Once again, we are raising money for the MND community, and we know Rob will be with us every step of the way.

"With Rob very much at the heart of the challenge, the number seven continues to inspire us, in recognition of the shirt number Rob wore throughout his illustrious career in rugby league.”

The team is visiting seven regions of the United Kingdom and each day is broken into 7km blocks, covering 50km in a day. They hope to raise £777,777.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The spokesman said every penny raised will honour the 5,000 people around the UK who are living with MND will be donated to the charities who do so much to support those affected by this devastating disease.

The MND Association will receive 50 per cent of the money raised, the Leeds Hospitals Charity will receive 22 per cent to help them to continue building the Rob Burrow Centre for MND. Irish MND Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, MND Scotland and The Darby Rimmer Foundation – will each receive 7 per cent.