KEVIN Sinfield CBE will be coming to Wrexham as part of his latest ultra-marathon challenge in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.

The rugby league legend will lead his fundraising team for their fifth annual running challenge in support of the charity, with this year’s theme being ‘running home for Christmas’.

He was inspired to start raising money for the MND Association after his former Leeds Rhinos and England teammate and close friend, Rob Burrow, was diagnosed with the disease in December, 2019. 

Since then, Kevin has raised over £1million for the charity - which is dedicated to finding a cure for the disease, and supports those suffering from it. 

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The week-long challenge will start in December with Kevin and the team set to cover over 50km per day, visiting seven regions across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The route will see Kevin and the team finish day one of the challenge in Wrexham, where he will run to from Liverpool.

This year, rest will become a precious commodity as the team will attempt to complete each days’ distance in 7km blocks which will start on the hour, every hour. This means they will race against the clock to complete the 7km distance and have time to rest before starting the next stage.  

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Members of the MND community will have another chance to run with Kev and the team at set points during the seven days, which revives the popular Extra Mile events from last year’s 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge.  

Like Kevin’s previous four challenges, the feat is based around the number seven – made iconic by his former teammate and fellow Association patron Rob Burrow CBE who wore the number 7 shirt during a glittering career with Leeds Rhinos and England.

Kevin’s ‘running home for Christmas’ route

Day 1: Liverpool to Wrexham

Day 2: Gloucester to Bristol

Day 3: Belfast

Day 4: Stirling to Glasgow

Day 5: Hull

Day 6: Northampton to Leicester

Day 7: Manchester  

Kevin Sinfield CBE said: “It is a special time of year for our challenges. We always say that people like to see us battling through the elements but for us it is wonderful to arrive in cities with the Christmas lights up and everyone feeling good.

"The MND community are always in our thoughts but especially at that time of year when families are going through tough times. We want to meet as many of the MND community as we can along the way, whether that is at our stops after each 7km block, or at the Extra Mile events, which was so special last year. We are announcing a bit earlier this year so as many people as possible can get involved either as supporters or sponsors.” 

Jo Coker, director of income generation, MND Association, said: "Like everyone who has followed Kevin’s team over the past few years, we are in awe of their achievements and relentless determination to raise funds and awareness of motor neurone disease (MND).

"There are more than 5000 people living with MND in the UK, and so many of them have told us how much it means to have Kevin championing them and raising the profile of this brutal disease.

"We’re delighted that during ‘running home for Christmas’ people affected by MND have another opportunity to run with Kev and the team, and excited to cheer them on from our national office in Northampton on the penultimate day of the challenge.”