Rugby player Kevin Sinfield brings Rob Burrow challenge to Liverpool

Rugby League player Kevin Sinfield will be in Liverpool this weekend for a poignant reason. The union coach is taking on another fundraising challenge and, this time, has chosen to join thousands of eager runners in the city’s annual BTR Santa Dash.

The festive fun 5k run is just a small part of a bigger task the 44-year-old is taking on in memory of his friend Rob Burrow, who died from Motor Neurone Disease earlier this year. Kevin, a former England and Great Britain player, is running more than 230 miles in seven days across seven regions.

This will be the dad-of-two’s fifth annual challenge, having already raised almost £10m for the MND community. The loose forward will stand on the start line of the sold-out 20th anniversary Santa Dash on Sunday, December 1.

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This will be on the final day of the ‘Running Home For Christmas’ initiative, which ends in Kevin’s home area of Saddleworth. Kevin Sinfield said: “I am really looking forward to the start line, and being joined by over 8,000 Santas will certainly put us in a festive spirit.

"This year’s event will be particularly poignant having lost Rob in June, but our commitment to Rob’s memory is to continue to support the MND community. We are looking forward to meeting more people than ever from the MND community throughout the week, giving them the opportunity to continue to bang the drum for MND.”

Kevin will be joined by a small support team throughout the challenge, covering over 50 kilometres per day. Each day will be broken down into 7K blocks – the number 7 is always central to Kevin’s charity challenges in recognition of former teammate Rob Burrow, who wore the number during his career at Leeds Rhinos.

The team will aim to complete each 7K within one hour before the next block, which must start in the hour. This means the only rest the team will get between each leg is the time spared after they have completed the block.

The first leg will see Kevin run from Liverpool to Wrexham, which also takes in Seacombe, Port Sunlight, Hooton, Ellesmere Port, and Chester. The following days will then cover Gloucester to Bristol, Belfast, Glasgow, Beverley to Hull, Northampton to Leicester, and finally Old Trafford to Saddleworth.

Kevin Sinfield’s challenge is to raise money for six MND charities, including the Darby Rimmer Foundation, which was set up by former Liverpool FC defender Stephen Darby after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2018. In another connection to the city, Kevin has been joined at stages on his last three challenges by Liverpool FC Women’s defender Gemma Bonner. Click here to read all about the Santa Dash including the route, time and how to get involved.