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Kevin Sinfield to meet David Lawrence in Bristol during latest MND fundraising challenge

20 November 2024

Rugby League and fundraising legend Kevin Sinfield CBE will stop in Bristol to meet Gloucestershire President David ‘Syd’ Lawrence during his latest fundraising challenge.

Former Leeds Rhino player, Sinfield, has raised more than £10 million to date for motor neurone disease (MND) charities in support of his close friend and teammate, Rob Burrow, who sadly died of the disease in June this year.

Sinfield, 44, has captured the hearts of the nation by taking on and completing a range of epic fundraising challenges in support of the MND community, such as the incredible 7-in-7 ultra-marathon challenge in December last year.

For his next challenge, ‘Running Home for Christmas’, which will begin on Sunday 1st December, Sinfield will once again run in memory of Rob Burrow and will be aiming to cover more than 50km per day, visiting seven regions across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. On the second day of the grueling challenge, Sinfield will stop off in both Gloucester and Bristol to link up with three inspirational local people, all of whom are battling MND.

Setting off from Gloucester at 7am on Monday 2nd December, Sinfield will be waved on his way by former Gloucester Rugby forward, Ed Slater, who was diagnosed with MND in 2022, before running almost 50km to the Memorial Ground in Bristol, where he will meet former Gloucestershire player Syd Lawrence, who was diagnosed with MND in June, and former Bristol Rovers striker Marcus Stewart, who has been battling MND since 2022.

Sinfield will arrive at the Bristol Rovers’ Memorial Ground at around 2:35pm and will spend around 20 minutes with Syd and Marcus, before setting his sights on Ashton Gate, where he will complete day two of the challenge.

Paying tribute to Sinfield and his incredible fundraising efforts, Syd Lawrence said: “It’s been amazing what Kevin has done with the fundraising and bringing so much attention to this awful disease.

“That Kevin continues to keep MND and the MND Association in the media spotlight is really important for all of us with this illness. Talking with Kevin has also been a great source of strength, I look forward to meeting Kevin when he comes to Bristol.”

Running an ultra-marathon for seven consecutive days, the ‘Running Home for Christmas’ challenge will end in Sinfield’s home area of Saddleworth on Sunday 8th December. The week-long challenge  will be broken down into 7km blocks in tribute to Rob Burrow, who wore the number during his glittering career alongside Sinfield at Leeds Rhinos. The team will aim to complete each 7km within one hour before the next block must start on the hour, meaning the only rest the team will get between each leg is the time spare after they have completed the block.

Commenting on the start of his new challenge, Sinfield said: “It is been wonderful to see the support that the people of Gloucester and Bristol have given to Ed, Syd and Marcus since their own diagnosis. We have seen over the last four challenges how much this country cares for the MND community and we must continue to give all those impacted by this disease the hope to carry on.”

Members of the public can sponsor Sinfield HERE or by texting Kevin10 to 70143 to donate £10.

For more details of the entire route for the 2024 challenge visit CLICK HERE

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