Kevin Sinfield brings 7:7 marathon challenge for MND to Suffolk

Former rugby league star Kevin Sinfield – known for his feats of physical endurance in aid of motor neurone disease (MND) research and treatment – is embarking on his latest epic challenge of seven ultramarathons in seven days.

The first leg takes place in Suffolk on Monday and is in tribute to former Ipswich Town striker Marcus Stewart, who lives with the condition.

Here is all you need to know as Sinfield runs from Bury St Edmunds to Ipswich.

Sinfield is pounding the streets on seven routes in the UK and Ireland over seven days, from Monday 1 to Sunday 7 December, to raise money and awareness for those impacted by MND.

The challenge, known as 7 in 7: Together, will see Sinfield running an ultramarathon of at least 45km (27.9 miles) each day, in bursts of 7km (4.3 miles).

It begins with Sinfield and his support team running from Bury St Edmunds to Ipswich Town’s Portman Road stadium, then heading on to Cork, Swansea, Sheffield, Cumbria and Dundee before finally arriving in Leeds on 7 December.

Each day is in honour of a local personality who has championed the cause, and, as in previous challenges, includes an extra-mile event when Sinfield joins members of the MND community.

“For families to share in those moments, when they’ve spent so much time alone, has been great,” Sinfield told BBC Breakfast.

“They share in walking, running – being pushed, sometimes – over the course of a mile, and that’s the best part of the day for us.

“We stop in different locations and people come out and see us, beep their horns, and come and bring their smiles; the support has been immense.”

The 45-year-old played his entire professional career with Leeds Rhinos and is one of the most successful players in Super League history. His final game was 10 years ago and he is now a coach of the England rugby union team.

Off the pitch, Sinfield has completed five previous seven-in-seven marathon challenges. He has raised more than £10m for research into MND, a neurodegenerative condition where messages from the brain and spinal cord stop reaching the muscles, and for which there is no cure.

He was inspired by, and continues to run in memory of, his former Leeds team mate, Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed in 2019 and died, aged 41, in June last year.

Burrow’s number seven shirt has played a significant role in each challenge: each has featured seven ultra marathons in seven days, with a fundraising target of £777,000.

Sinfield and his squad set off from The Haberden ground, home of Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club, at 08:40 GMT, and head east towards Woolpit.

At St Mary’s Church in Rougham – the first 7km marker – he will be welcomed by schoolchildren and a choir, before setting off again, at 09:40 GMT, for Woolpit Institute.

Stowmarket Running Club and Nick Appleby, who has MND, are due to cheer him on at the next stop – The Shepherd and Dog pub at Onehouse, near Stowmarket – at 11:15 GMT, with Sinfield then passing through Needham Market and Claydon Business Park before arriving at Ipswich School at 14:15 GMT.

Here, Sinfield will be joined on a one-mile run by people living with MND, including James Shepherd-Trott, of Colchester, who has climbed Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, three times in the last three years to raise money for the MND Association.

Sinfield is due to finish at Portman Road, Ipswich, before 15:00 GMT.

People are encouraged to come out and support the challenge as it passes through towns and villages but are not allowed to join the run, for safety reasons.

Marcus Stewart, 53, is the focus of this first leg of Sinfield’s challenge and will greet him when he reaches Portman Road.

Stewart played for Ipswich in the early noughties and made a massive impact. He is still considered a legend of the club – a real fan favourite.

He helped secure the club’s promotion to the Premier League in 2000, and the following season became the top flight’s second-highest goalscorer, helping Ipswich finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

He was diagnosed with MND in 2022, while head of player development at another of his former clubs, Yeovil Town.

He later described the support he received as “overwhelming”, and has spoken candidly about how the disease has “slowly taken my independence away”.

Since then, he has spearheaded fundraising events with former Liverpool and Bradford City footballer Stephen Darby, who also has MND.

In 2024, they held the first March of the Day, a 178-mile (286km) walk route from Bradford’s Valley Parade ground to Liverpool’s Anfield, with hundreds of people walking the same distance – from Wembley to Portman Road – in March.

The challenges have raised more than £250,000 for the Darby Rimmer Foundation.

“We chose to finish at Ipswich Town in tribute to our good friend Marcus Stewart,” said Sinfield.

“I know how highly Marcus is thought of at Ipswich and it will be brilliant to see Marcus and his wife Lou at the finish line.”

As in previous years, Sinfield is aiming to raise £777,777 which will be split between the MND Association, the Leeds Hospital Charity, Irish MND Association, the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, MND Scotland and the Darby Rimmer Foundation.

“During the week of Kevin’s challenge alone, another 42 will hear the words, ‘You have MND’,” said Mike Rogers, a director of research innovation at the MND Association.

“Hearing those words is devastating – we don’t yet have effective treatments for most people living with MND – but with the money raised from Kevin’s challenges we are getting closer.

“Every single day of this extraordinary challenge counts and every mile matters.”

Money raised from the previous five challenges have helped the charity give out more financial support grants and start a network that allowed people with MND to take part in important clinical trials, it said.