Kevin Sinfield to finish fifth fundraising challenge in Saddleworth

SADDLEWORTH hero Kevin Sinfield CBE is coming home with his latest fundraising challenge.

And he will be literally ‘running home for Christmas.’

The rugby league legend, now defence coach of England’s rugby union team, has announced his fifth physical feat in the name of former teammate and friend Rob Burrow and those living with motor neurone disease (MND).

And it will end in the area he lives in and at the location where his first – the 7 in 7- started, at Grasscroft’s Farrars Arms.

Sinfield and his team will run at least 50 kilometres a day – more than the distance of a marathon – in seven cities around the UK over seven days in December.

This time, it will be broken down into seven-kilometre blocks – representing the number Burrow graced alongside him at Leeds Rhinos – with each completed with an hour, then the next started on the hour.

There will again be Extra Mile events, when members of the MND community join Sinfield and his team to complete their own mile.

Starting from Liverpool to Wrexham on December 1, Sinfield will run from Gloucester to Bristol – honouring Ed Slater and Marcus Stewart, who are also living with MND.

Then he goes to Belfast before Scotland in a nod to the late Doddie Weir, then Hull before going from the head office of the MND Association in Northampton to Leicester.

His final day, December 7, sees Sinfield head home by starting at Old Trafford and ending in Saddleworth.

Sinfield, who has raised almost £10 million for cases associated with MND and has been awarded a CBE because pf his efforts, said: “It is a special time of year for our challenges.

“It’ll be a little different but still with the similar themes we’ve done for the last four years.

“We always say that people like to see us battling through the elements but for us it is wonderful to arrive in cities with the Christmas lights up and everyone feeling good.

“The MND community is always in our thoughts but especially at that time of year when families are going through tough times.

“We want to meet as many of the MND community as we can along the way, whether that is at our stops after each 7km block, or at the Extra Mile events, which was so special last year.”

“We are announcing a bit earlier this year so as many people as possible can get involved either as supporters or sponsors.”