KEVIN Sinfield has told how Saddleworth plays a huge part in his preparation for his latest fundraising challenge – even the less-glamourous bits.
The rugby league legend, now England rugby union’s defence coach, will embark on his Ultra 7 in 7 in 7 as he looks to add millions of pounds more to his already huge fundraising total.
As it has for the past three, people living with motor neurone disease will be the beneficiaries, both in terms of money and awareness.
Sinfield and his team, which will feature fellow Saddleworth residents David Spencer and Chris Stephenson, will run a marathon, plus an extra mile to signify how far people caring for those living with the condition go, every day in different cities across the UK and Ireland.
Friend and former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow, who is living with MND, is the main reason why he is doing it.
And before starting with a run from Leeds to York on Friday, December 1 before heading to Edinburgh, Cardiff, Dublin, Birmingham, Brighton and London, the Grasscroft native said his home streets are proving perfect preparation.
Sinfield told Saddleworth Independent: “I’d been back from France and the Rugby Union world Cup two days before I was back out running in Saddleworth!
“It’s at about 5.30am, getting up at 4.45am, but it’s been really important that we make the training as tough, as dark and as horrible as we can.
“Running around Saddleworth at 5.30am on a Wednesday in the rain isn’t all it’s cracked out to be but I’ve got an idea now of what my body needs and how I can try and get it into the right sort of shape.
“As you’d expect, it’s a lot of hard work and trying to get into some of those dark place – I feel underdone but I’m ready to go.”
Sinfield will have the same team that helped him complete the original 7 in 7 – much of which was done around Saddleworth, a 101-mile continuous run from Leicester to Leeds and the Ultra 7 in 7, which went from Murrayfield in Edinburgh to Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
And he believes that bond helps him get to the finish line, while also revealing how challenges are decided.
He added: “The great thing about that is the togetherness, the continuity we’ve got, the camaraderie.
“We’ve grown as a group. Everybody mucks in and everybody knows how t help each other. We’ve showcased how great teams operate.
“What we do has come from me each year. I try to make it a little different each year but understand how good a vehicle running has been for us.
“Ultimately, I’ve got to run it, so I’ve got to be excited about it. It’s got to really inspire me to want to go. I feel like the rest of group will follow no matter where I go.
“Then it’s a bit like, ‘Can we make this happen?’”
Sinfield, who knew what he would be doing about the time of this year’s Six Nations, admits his commitments with England’s rugby union side meant he could not get in his normal amount of running.
But he is ready to be like ‘Humpty Dumpty’ and the reaction of Burrow and the MND community makes it worth it.
He added: “In my mind, it’s been trying to get my body into shape so I can run for four hours a day, then spend the next 20 trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again!
“In that time, there’ll be some travel and disruption, which means nutrition and recovery won’t be perfect. But life for people with MND and their families isn’t perfect.
“I was at the World Cup for two months, before that I was in camp for three. In terms of long runs, up until the start of November, I hadn’t done one for five.
“But while there are 1,000 reasons why we shouldn’t go again, there’s one big one why we should – Rob and this beautiful community.
“And while the plan was to do three challenges, why would we stop? We haven’t got a cure. We feel we can help some more. There’ll come a point where I can’t run any more but I’ll find another way of banging that drum.”
While Sinfield is going through the pain barrier to raise funds and awareness, the Government has put £35 million of the £50 million it pledged towards research and treatment in search of a cure.
But he fears some of those who may benefit may not see the results.
Sinfield said: “It’s more the time. People with MND don’t have time to wait. As we saw with Covid-19, if you throw enough money at something, you can get a cure.
“But whether that money had all been released or not, we’d still be getting ready to run.
“That’s for finding a cure and drugs, 50 per cent of what we raise goes to that human side – that helps people, that makes their journey a bit better.”
Go for it Kev.My son in law has it.My grandson recently did 3 in gym running rowing and cycling for MND