18 December 2023 , 17:16
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Fundraising hero Kevin Sinfield says he’s “in this for life” after raising just short of £10million for MND (motor neurone disease) charities.
The former Leeds Rhinos star was speaking days after completing his 7-in-7 ultra-marathon challenge. Sinfield, 43, visited cities around the UK and Ireland to raise money for those impacted by MND. It was the fourth endurance fundraiser for England's defensive coach who has already raised millions of pounds to support MND sufferers and his close friend Rob Burrow.
But he has now vowed he will never give up his incredible fundraising efforts until a cure is found. Kevin Sinfield and Burrow, who are icons in rugby league, are reportedly set to be denied knighthoods when the New Year Honours are announced.
The pair, who have raised awareness of MND, the devastating condition that Burrow, 41, suffers from, are set to land CBEs. But supporters want to see them get bigger honours after Kevin has reached just short of £10m for charity and on Monday Sinfield revealed even more had been raised in Burrow's name - around £15m, including his marathon in Leeds.
When the England coach was asked if he is going to stop his fundraising now, he told Radio Five Live: “I feel okay and I think there’s always a choice in this. People with MND don’t have a choice. And I know the effect we have had and the connections we’ve had with people with MND.
Kevin Sinfield goes extra mile for MND sufferers as he brings hope to Rob Burrow
“I’m in this now for life, so in some way, shape or form, I’ll continue to fundraise whether that means carry on running, we will have to see. But I’m in this now until we find a cure and we find a way of supporting families properly…then we have to continue."
Kevin Sinfield has raised huge sums for his friend Rob Burrow (Getty Images)He agreed it was a "lifetime commitment" for him. When asked if he’d recovered from his extraordinary fundraising efforts, he said he is feeling good. “I was tired for a few days, as you would expect and my feet were a bit of a mess," said Sinfield.
Last week Sinfield was told how enough money has now been raised for a centre to be built in Leeds in Burrow's name for those suffering with MND. He said: “The Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in May, over 12,000 people ran in Rob’s name and then there’s different fundraising events that have taken place to make this centre a reality.
“This is going to be bricks and mortar, a place for people to go, but how people feel about the MND community now has changed and that’s been really important to our team. I know it’s important to Rob. People with MND have talked for years about being ashamed of coming out of the house because people don’t understand. People understand now, and that’s really important.”