Running one ultramarathon is an epic, exhausting and often life-changing achievement for most. So, imagine running seven ultramarathons within the space of a single week.
That is the feat that former England rugby player Kevin Sinfield accomplished on Saturday (7 December), having run approximately 230 miles around parts of the UK in the space of seven consecutive day. His reason? To support those living with motor neurone disease (MND) and to remember Rob Burrow, his late Leeds Rhinos teammate and friend who died from MND in June this year, at the age of 41.
Sinfield commenced his challenge – known as ‘Running Home for Christmas’ – on Sunday 1 December with a lengthy run from Liverpool to Wrexham. Over the course of the next six days, the 44-year-old ran through Gloucester, Bristol, Belfast, Glasgow, Hull, Northampton and Leicester, before heading to Manchester and completing the quest at his home in nearby Saddleworth.
The seven-day challenge, which finished on the seventh day of the month, saw Sinfield run more than 50K each day, broken into blocks of 7km. He also set out to raise £777,777 for MND charities that fund cutting-edge research and assist those living with MND across the UK and Ireland. (At the time of writing, Sinfield has raised well over 150% of his fundraising target.)
The reason for the number seven? It was the shirt that Burrow wore throughout his rugby career.
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But Sinfield’s seven-centric task was far from straightforward. In fact, just days before his ultrarunning endeavour was due to start, he sustained a muscle tear in his calf while coaching the England rugby team – and there were fears that he might not even be able to attempt, let alone complete, the challenge.
‘Some days we were on our feet for nine hours,’ said Sinfield, who hails from Oldham in Greater Manchester. ‘But we got through it. It was great to finish back home.’
During parts of his runs, Sinfield was accompanied by various supporters, including members of the MND community and other celebrated sports people such as former cyclists Jason and Laura Kenny.
‘We saw how much people respected and loved [Rob],’ added Sinfield, reflecting on his friendship with Burrow. ‘To see what he and his family went through was tragic but we have all taken inspiration from him.’
Running Home for Christmas marked Sinfield’s fifth annual challenge in support of MND charities, motivated by Burrow’s MND diagnosis in 2019. You can support Sinfield’s Running Home for Christmas fundraising campaign here.
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