Stroll up the hill from Headingley stadium, the place with which Kevin Sinfield became synonymous, and you cannot miss an enormous mural of the rugby league legend. Its place in the centre of the community epitomises the effect he had on the city of Leeds during his playing career and on Sunday it is fitting that thousands will run past that mural in the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon.
It was 1 December 2020, in the dark days of lockdown, when Sinfield first started running to raise money, not only to support his former Leeds Rhinos teammate, but everyone affected by motor neurone disease. Burrow had been diagnosed with the condition a year earlier.
Sinfield ran seven marathons in seven days, raising millions, and followed that up with two more herculean challenges: a 24-hour run from Leicester to Leeds and, most recently, a staggering seven ultra-marathons in seven days. “But once we’d done the first one, I always knew I wanted to help create something we could all share,” he says.
There were 7,777 places available in Sunday’s race, a homage to the No 7 shirt Burrow wore for the Rhinos. But the event sold out within weeks, with the public captivated by Burrow’s courage and Sinfield’s fundraising efforts. Now more than 12,000 will run, with 40% of them in their first marathon.
James Roby celebrated his club-record 532nd appearance for St Helens in style as the defending champions overturned Salford’s 12-0 lead to win 26-12. The Saints captain and hooker was instrumental in his side recovering from a poor start to run in five tries.
The Red Devils scored twice inside the opening quarter with tries from Brodie Croft and Ryan Brierley – both converted by Marc Sneyd – but the hosts’ class gradually told. They hit back before the break through James Bell, while second-half scores from Curtis Sironen, Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson and Joe Batchelor saw them home on Roby’s big day.
The 37-year-old, who will retire at the end of the season, surpassed Wales’s dual-code international Kel Coslett in the club’s history books.
Sinfield is not just running it, either: he is pushing Burrow all the way round in a custom-made wheelchair. That is 26.2 miles of unimaginable strength from both but, perhaps more important, it conveys the friendship between the pair.
“It’s the time together I’m looking forward to,” he says. “We had some really funny moments during the Leeds 10k when we did a trial run in anticipation for this and while it’s difficult for him to communicate, I know when he’s laughing, and you can see it. We’ll have some fun, I promise you that.
“We’ve made some slight adjustments to his chair, which I wouldn’t say make it aerodynamic, but hopefully more comfortable for him. Less so for me, but does that even matter? We had some fun last time and we’ll have even more this weekend. There’s no pressure over time, for once.
“I ran the London Marathon three weeks ago and everyone wants to know what your time was but this, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. The longer it takes, the more time I get to spend with him so I’m really looking forward to it.”
It is the selfless attitude, but perhaps nothing less than expected from a man who has made it his mission to shine a spotlight on those who are living with MND since Burrow’s diagnosis. He has already raised millions and the marathon will ensure more money can be spent on research and supporting those with the condition.
“The money is great but most importantly, it provides hope,” Sinfield says. “People have been left alone with MND in the past, ashamed to come out of their homes. Now, they can live their lives and have hope that there could be drugs that can slow this down, and one day there will be a cure.
“The money raised gives guys far smarter than me a chance to do their job. We now have a fighting chance at a cure because of the efforts of everyone.”
Sinfield is too modest to admit it is his efforts that have stirred such support among the wider world. But he does hope the size of this marathon makes those affected by MND impossible to ignore. The government has pledged £50m to fund research into the condition, £27m of which has been released. “Clearly that’s not enough though,” he says.
In the early days of his fundraising, Sinfield insisted he was just “a mate running for a mate”, which has become the unofficial slogan for the Leeds Marathon. “It’s all in Rob’s name too, which makes it really special,” he says.
“Did I think 12,000 people would run in a race like this? Probably not, but nothing surprises me with Rob and how inspirational he’s been. Sunday will be tough, it will hurt, but 12,000 people have given up their time to train for this and to put themselves through it. I can’t thank them enough. They’ll be part of something which is life-changing for so many people living with MND. It’s a powerful thing.”
Sinfield has been dubbed “Sir Kev” for years by Leeds supporters given his heroic exploits on the field. On Sunday, when he takes on a greater challenge all in the name of friendship, the wider world will once again understand why.
