Date set for Kevin Sinfield's ultramarathon challenge as he goes 'extra mile' for Leeds Rhinos' Rob Burrow

The ‘7 in 7 in 7’ challenge will see the former captain take on an ultra-marathon every day for an entire week in seven cities across the country.

For each marathon, he will – quite literally – be going the extra mile as he runs slightly further than the distance of a normal marathon on each leg, symbolising the amount that people can do for their friends when they are facing tough times.

It comes after Kevin’s best mate and former rugby league star Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND back in 2019. Since then, he has raised huge sums of money for charity with the help of ex-teammate Kevin and Rob’s wife Lindsey.

Kevin recently told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he was sent into a “tailspin” by news that his friend had been diagnosed with the terminal illness, but revealed that Rob’s fighting spirit has not wavered once in the four years since.

This week, it was announced that a date has been set for his latest, most intimidating challenge. It will start on December 1 from Headingley Stadium at 12pm, where he will be joined by a team of intrepid runners.

It will finish at York Minster at an expected time of 4pm – and the venue for the ‘extra mile’ will be York Racecourse where around 30 members of the MND Association charity will help him to complete the final segment.

A spokesperson for the MND Association said: “The efforts of Kevin and all who support the charity are building hope in the most practical way for thousands of people affected by this devastating condition.”

This will be Kevin’s fourth challenge in aid of MND charities, as previous challenges he has completed with his team have raised in excess of £7.8m.

This time, he is aiming to raise the very specific figure of £777,777 – chosen as a nod to Rob’s number seven shirt he wore while playing for the Rhinos.