Kevin Sinfield defied a serious muscle injury to pass the million-pound barrier on the final day of his latest fundraising quest in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease community.
The former Leeds Rhinos star pushed through driving rain to reach Saddleworth in the final leg of his ‘Running Home for Christmas Challenge’, a 230-mile (379km) run over seven days, shortly after total donations soared into seven figures.
But Sinfield’s physiotherapist Dave O’Sullivan revealed how the 44-year-old had shrugged off medical opinion in order to complete his set of seven ultra marathons in seven days, including stops in all four corners of the United Kingdom.
Speaking prior to embarking on the final push through Manchester, O’Sullivan told BBC Breakfast: “About 10 days before we started he picked up an injury running into Twickenham.
“We had a get a scan, we’ve had three different opinions, and unfortunately he tore one of the biggest muscles for running, and a few other injuries there as well.
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“The grade of muscle tear he got, you shouldn’t be running yet, so to do seven ultra marathons in seven days is pretty incredible. This is the first year we’ve had to say there’s a high chance you might not get through this.”
Setting off from the BBC studios in Salford Quays on Saturday morning, Sinfield called in at Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium, plus his old amateur club as well as his old junior club, Waterhead, in what was his first challenge since the death of his close friend and inspiration Rob Burrow in June.
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Addressing a crowd of supporters in Saddleworth at the conclusion of his fifth annual fundraising challenge, Sinfield admitted: “I’ve looked forward to this moment since we started. I’ve run up and down this hill a few times, and this is where it all started. To finish back here on challenge five is special for us all.
“We’ve got a wonderful team and they’ve kept us going all week. We’re really passionate about the MND community and Rob Burrow.”
Sinfield was running at least 50km (31 miles) a day for seven days to raise money for six MND charities, with half of the money raised going to the MND Association.
The Leeds Hospitals Charity will receive 22 per cent to help them to continue building the Rob Burrow Centre for MND, while four additional charities – Irish MND Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, MND Scotland and The Darby Rimmer Foundation – will each receive seven per cent.
As of Saturday afternoon, the amount raised by Sinfield’s latest challenge was more than one million, according to his donation page.
