Rugby legend Kevin Sinfield to run from Bury St Edmunds to Ipswich as part of motor neurone disease fund-raising challenge

Suffolk will be the starting line for rugby league icon Kevin Sinfield’s sixth marathon challenge later this year.

The Leeds Rhinos and England legend is set to take on seven marathons in UK and Ireland over the course of a week in the hopes of raising £777,777 for various motor neurone disease (MND) charities.

His odyssey will begin in Bury St Edmunds on December 1 and will see him run all the way to Ipswich.

Mr Sinfield told BBC Breakfast this morning he was inspired to visit the county after becoming friends with former Ipswich Town player Marcus Stewart, who was diagnosed with MND in 2022.

This will be his sixth major 7 in 7 Challenge, the proceeds of which will be split between the MND Association, Leeds Hospital Charity, Irish MND Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, MND Scotland and The Darby Rimmer Foundation.

Mr Sinfield described the five previous fund-raisers as ‘brilliant’ but ‘really tough’.

He will be completing the tour in memory of Leeds Rhino teammate Rob Burrow, who died from MND in June last year, aged 41.

He said: “To be honest it has become less about the running and more about the connections and people we’ve met along the way. We pick up on their energy and use that as fuel to help us get round.

“It’s tough and it’s challenging but the people and families we have met are amazing. We’ve got a wonderful team who are right in it from day one and they take in all that energy as well.

“It’s important that we keep Rob’s memory going.”

The other legs of Mr Sinfield’s tour will take him to Cork, Swansea, Sheffield, Workington, Whitehaven, Dundee and North Yorkshire before he arrives in Leeds on December 7.

Tanya Curry, chief executive of the MND Association, said Mr Sinfield was a hero to many within its community, pushing himself to the limits to raise funds and awareness.

She added: “We are thrilled to learn that Kevin and his extraordinary team will be taking part in this, their sixth challenge, which, once again, will see him travel the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland.

“As always, the MND community – and everyone at the MND Association – will be right behind Kevin and the team, wishing them well and spurring them on every step of the way.

“We can’t wait to get started. The countdown to December is on.”