Kevin Sinfield completed the final leg of his 230-mile fundraising run on Saturday in a bid to help people impacted by motor neurone disease (MND) in memory of his late friend Rob Burrow.
Sinfield’s challenge — named “Running Home for Christmas” as he attempted to run seven ultramarathons in seven days — started with a Santa Dash in Liverpool on Sunday. His final leg began at Old Trafford and ended at Saddleworth, with over £1 million raised.
“Since Rob got diagnosed it’s taught me that it’s important to take some risk — be uncomfortable and be vulnerable and, yeah, that’s what we’ve had to do this week,” Sinfield told the BBC as he crossed the finish line.
“I understood that at some point it could go wrong and I could end up having to stop, but as I said … you’d have had to chop my leg off for that.”
The seven ultramarathons is a nod to Burrow, who wore the number during his illustrious rugby league career.
Running Home for Christmas follows four previous fundraising efforts by Sinfield, who has raised almost £10m for MND charities in the process.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to Sinfield, saying his achievement was “almost unbelievable in terms of the endurance, the commitment, the dedication.”
Sinfield’s run was in memory of Burrow and fellow former rugby icon Doddie Weir, who lost their battles with the disease in 2024 and 2022, respectively. It was also in honour of footballer Stephen Darby, rugby player Ed Slater and the “5,000 other people around the UK who are living with MND.”
“The families we’ve met, the stories we’ve heard — the fight, the inspiration, the willingness to stand together to fight MND — has been wonderful wherever we’ve been,” Sinfield said.