Rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield has completed the first of seven gruelling ultra-marathons to raise money for motor neurone disease research.
But before setting off at 7am he admitted facing another marathon challenge – getting vital Government money to fight the debilitating illness.
A year ago, Boris Johnson pledged £50million but since then there have been two more Prime Ministers, a financial disaster and seemingly zero given.
Kevin said: “It’s slow, really slow. I’m told it’s not too far away but to have an amount of money promised then put a load of red tape and bureaucracy in its place, I don’t understand it.
“It baffles me how we’ve got people dying and really struggling yet it’s OK to put red tape in place. That’s why we’ve got to carry on doing what we’re doing.”
The former Leeds Rhinos player was a teammate of Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with MND in 2019, and has raised more than £5million in his name. Yesterday he ran 43 miles from Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to Melrose stadium in the Scottish borders.
The 42-year-old was seen off at dawn by a band of supporters, including former Scotland rugby union international Doddie Weir who also has MND.
Kevin is aiming to finish his challenge on Saturday at the Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford. He will also run through Newcastle, Middlesbrough, York, Leeds and Bradford this week.
He is aiming to run more than 300 miles to raise £777,777 in honour of Rob, 40, who wore the number seven shirt. His Ultra 7 in 7 challenge has already topped £230,000.
The money will be shared between charities like the MND Association and an appeal to build a Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds. In 2020 Kevin ran seven marathons in seven days and last year he ran 101 miles in 24 hours.
