Rugby star Kevin Sinfield concluded the second day of his fifth mammoth ‘7 in 7’ running challenge at Ashton Gate on Monday afternoon (December 2) having run from Gloucester to Bristol.
Sinfield, 44, will be running a total of over 230 miles (370km) across the UK over the course of seven days to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) in memory of his late teammate and friend Rob Burrow, who died of the disease earlier this year.
The England rugby coach stopped at the homes of both football clubs Bristol Rovers and Bristol City where he was greeted by Bristol sports stars Marcus Stewart and David ‘Syd’ Lawrence, who both have MND, as well as other patients.
Stewart, who played football for both Rovers and City amongst a number of other teams, was diagnosed with the disease in 2022 while former Gloucestershire cricket captain Lawrence was diagnosed earlier this year.
Speaking to Bristol Live at the end of his second day, Sinfield said: “I got introduced to Marcus, I didn’t actually know he had a home in the village where I live, and I found out about his diagnosis. He appeared at one of our locations at one of the challenges and that started the friendship.
“He’s a lovely guy and he’s got a great family and I see them a fair bit in the village now. Obviously, he’s got some great links in Bristol. What a player he was.”
MND is an incurable and rare, progressive condition which affects the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord.
The former Leeds Rhinos player has already raised over £10million doing these challenges with this year starting in Liverpool on Sunday with the first day finishing in Wrexham before starting day two in Gloucester on Monday before running all the way down to Bristol.
Over the final five days, Sinfield will visit Belfast, Glasgow, Beverley, Hull, Northampton and Leicester before running from Old Trafford to his home of Saddleworth on the final day on Saturday (December 7).
On his stop at the Memorial Stadium, home of Bristol Rovers, the 44-year-old admitted that there had been time for his team to indulge in some local fish and chips but admitted to Bristol Live at Ashton Gate that there is very little time to see the cities he visits.
“None of them,” Sinfield laughed. “I think the best way to see a city is to run around them so we get to do a little bit of that. We ran through Gloucester this morning with a big stretch where we were in the wild for a little bit and then great to come to Bristol.”
Stewart has also been a major player in the fight to raise awareness about the disease and raise money towards finding a cure, having raised over £60,000 back in July after his ‘Stewart’s Sports Tour’ when a group of 300 other walkers undertook a journey of almost 18 miles (29km).
Ahead of meeting his friend at the Memorial Stadium, the football ground he used to call home, the former striker said: “Yeah it’s crazy. Obviously, he’s gone to Gloucester. It’s the longest run of his seven days and he’s come to Bristol. It feels strange because normally you associate Kev and Rob and the MND support with, the M62 belt they call it, Lancashire, Yorkshire. There’s a lot of support up there so for him to come down here shows support for us I suppose.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s football or cricket or rugby or golf, he’s showing support for us so the least I could do was come to every place while he’s here. I’m cold but they’ve just ran for the last seven hours so I’ll take being cold over that.
“We’re all doing our bit,” he added. “Kev obviously has a massive profile with rugby league and rugby union, being part of the England set up. I have a profile with football. Syd Lawrence has a profile with cricket as well. So the more sports we get involved, the more funds are raised and more awareness is raised as well between the sports.
“I hope we beat it. That’s the end goal and with this amount of sports on board, we’ve got a chance.”