Rugby League legend Kevin Sinfield confirms route for Belfast leg of MND challenge

Rugby League and fundraising legend Kevin Sinfield is coming to Belfast next month as part of his latest his epic charity challenge for MND. Sinfield will run in memory of his friend Rob Burrow, who passed away from MND in June this year.

This will be Sinfield’s fifth annual challenge for the MND community having raised nearly £10 million in the first four events. This year’s challenge has the tagline of ‘Running home for Christmas ’ as the seventh day will end in Sinfield’s home area of Saddleworth in the UK.

The Leeds Rhinos legend will be raising money for six MND charities including the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and MND Association NI.

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The week long challenge will start on December 1 with Sinfield and the team covering over 50km per day, visiting seven regions across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Each day will be broken down into 7km blocks, the number seven as always central to Sinfield’s challenge in recognition of his friend and former team mate Burrow, who wore the number during his glittering career.

The team will aim to complete each 7km within one hour before the next block must start on the hour, meaning the only rest the team will get between each leg is the time spare after they have completed the block.

Sinfield's Belfast leg will take place on Tuesday, December 3 and will start at Ulster Rugby's Kingspan Stadium at 7am before running via Stormont, the Titanic Quarter and heading out north along Shore Road towards Fortwilliam Golf Club. The 44-year-old will then turn back towards Andersonstown and call at St Pauls GAA, where former Antrim Gaelic footballer captain Anto Finnegan played before he passed away from MND back in 2021. The challenge will finish at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park by the George Best statue around 1.30pm.

Last year, Sinfield ran an ultra marathon as part of his 2023 challenge in Dublin and was joined by legendary Irish broadcaster Charlie Bird for the final leg before the RTE reporter sadly passed away earlier this year following his own battle with MND.

The challenge will once again see the return of the Extra Mile events from last year’s 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge when members of the MND community joined Sinfield and the team to complete their own mile. On the Belfast leg, this will take place at Mary Peters athletics track at around 12.30pm and Mary Peters will be there to welcome Kevin.

Commenting on the start of his new challenge, Sinfield said: “We are very much looking forward to coming to Belfast. Last year in Dublin it was great to have former Ulster rugby players Tommy Bowe and Ian Madigan as part of our team and they both told us we had to come to Belfast this year because of the warm welcome we would receive.

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"Our running top for the day reflects the colours of Ulster Rugby and St Pauls GAA and it is always special to come to a new city as we look spread the word about MND and show our support for those impacted by the disease. I would like to particularly thank Mary Peters for her support, she is an inspirational person and it will be lovely to see her at the track named in her honour.”

Kevin Burn, CEO, Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association added: “We are deeply grateful to Kevin Sinfield for once again including the IMNDA in his extraordinary fundraising efforts. Kevin’s dedication and compassion for the MND community continue to inspire us all. His challenges, each more ambitious than the last, have not only raised vital funds but also shone a powerful spotlight on the battle against MND.

"We are honoured to be part of this year’s challenge once again and look forward to cheering on Kevin and his team to Belfast. Thank you, Kevin, for your relentless commitment to making a difference and for helping us provide support and hope to those living with MND and their families.”

Stephen Thompson, Chairman of the Motor Neurone Disease Association's Northern Ireland Branch, added: "We are so excited to welcome Kev to the city of Belfast. He has done so much to bang the drum for the motor neurone disease community and raised millions of pounds in the fight to find a cure.

"There are more than 100 people in Northern Ireland who are living with MND, and our aim is to ensure each person and their family have access to support should they want it. MND has touched the sporting community in Northern Ireland with Anto Finnegan, former Antrim GAA captain who passed away from MND in 2021, and the support of former Ulster Rugby players in Kev's challenge in Dublin last year.

"Motor neurone disease is very cruel but to see Kev and his team undertake what seem like such impossible challenges means so much to this community. We would love to see lots of people lining the streets and at Kev's checkpoints around Belfast to cheer them on and help us raise as much money as possible for the Motor Neurone Disease Association."

Members of the public can sponsor Sinfield at: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield-and-teams-fundraising. For more details of the entire route for the 2024 challenge visit www.therhinos.co.uk/the-club/sinfield-christmas-2024

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