Arise, Sir Kev: The league legend who lost his best mate to MND and then set out to eradicate it

It says a lot about Kevin Sinfield that soon after Prince William knighted him, the future king wondered why it had taken so long.“Frankly, he should have been Sir Kevin years ago,” Prince William told the BBC, adding that awarding the knighthood to Sinfield at Windsor Castle last month was “probably the easiest decision anyone has ever had to make”.The honour – and the genuine admiration of the Prince of Wales – was earned by Sinfield thanks to his extensive work raising funds and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease over the past seven years.Kevin Sinfield waving to the crowd before the Super League grand final in Warrington, having just completed a charity ultra-marathon.Getty ImagesThe former Great Britain rugby league captain has so far raised a remarkable $26 million through his tireless efforts – and that’s a very literal description.Sinfield, who is an assistant coach of the England rugby side who will meet Australia on Monday, has done the bulk of his fundraising by pounding the pavement in seven exhausting running challenges, including multiple completions of seven marathons in seven days.This year, Sinfield finished his seventh challenge by knocking off an ultra-marathon (50 kilometres) every day, for seven days.“I am worried about his knees,” Prince William told the BBC.Sinfield laughs when you follow up. Seriously, how are the knees?“No, they’re good,” he told this masthead in London this week. “Honestly, the knees are still fine.”The “seven” theme of Sinfield’s challenges is no coincidence. The number is at the heart of why the 46-year-old from Oldham began running.Kevin Sinfield speaks with Rob Burrow after completing his Extra Mile Challenge at Headingley Stadium in 2021.Getty ImagesSinfield’s best mate was his long-time Leeds and Great Britain league teammate Rob Burrow. The former halfback was diagnosed with MND in 2019 and died in 2024.“I played alongside Rob for 15 years, so we sat next to each other in the dressing room. As you probably know, in sport, dressing rooms accelerate friendships. So that 15 years, it’s probably 60 or 70 years in real life,” Sinfield explains.After Burrow’s diagnosis in December 2019, Sinfield promised his mate that by the following Christmas he’d raise a certain sum of money. But COVID lockdowns shut down the world and, with it, chances to hold big fundraising events.Kevin Sinfield running in one of many marathons.CameraSport via Getty Images“We got to September of 2020 and I’d made a promise, but we were going to fall short of that promise,” he said. “So I was like, I’ve got to try and do something.”Sinfield was then director of rugby at the Leeds Rhinos and he submitted a proposal to authorities to do a charity running challenge around Oldham and Leeds in November, using all the professional sports COVID protocols.“Remarkably, we got it signed off. And then we got a TV station: the biggest news breakfast show in the UK decided to follow us because there was nothing else going on at the time,” Sinfield said. “And it just went crazy. So that was the start.”Sinfield ran seven marathons in seven days, aiming to raise £77,777 (about $150,000). The public forked out more than £2 million.The next year he ran 101 kilometres in under 24 hours, and in following years upped the stakes to repeatedly run seven ultra-marathons in seven days. At each run, Sinfield also does a mile (1.6 kilometres) with MND families, meeting people and providing his support.In 2023, he pushed Burrow in a chair in the Leeds marathon, before carrying his mate across the line in highly emotional scenes.“I had no idea I’d end up where we’ve ended up,” Sinfield said. “It was never planned. Like I said, the first one was very fortunate in terms of timing because we create a lot of momentum. And on the back of that, it’s enabled us to carry that on. We’ve been able to raise awareness and funds but also change the way people understand MND across the UK and Ireland.“So, yeah, it’s been great to continue with Rob’s name. Sadly we lost him just over two years ago. But we continue fighting for his legacy. And now for so many other families as well, who’ve become friends because you meet people along the way. You’re drawn to these families because of how tough they are, how inspirational they are, and I’ve got so many friends in the MND community now.Kevin Sinfield when he played for Great Britain.Fairfax Photography“That’s been probably the biggest part of this. It’s been less about the running in the last couple of years, and more about spending time with families and connecting and pulling them all together, so that we try and crack this as one big unit.”Sinfield believes a cure for MND can be found, and money will hasten its discovery. But he is also motivated to provide better support facilities and systems for MND sufferers and their families.“I made a commitment [to Burrow] that I would support this community for the rest of my life. Now, that may look differently to what has been done the last seven years. Whilst I can still run, I’ll continue to try and run. But there are other ways of fundraising and raising awareness and pulling people together.“The families need to be looked after better than what we currently do. So it’s two-pronged, really: the care side, and trying to find a cure and give our researchers and medical professionals some more money to go after a cure.Retired South Sydney player Jai Arrow and former Wallaby Nathan Charles take part in a lap of honour before the NRL grand final.Getty Images“I’m very hopeful. There’s some very smart people working on MND research … and the better we are at collaborating and sharing means we’ll do it quicker. I just think MND has been underfunded for too long. With the right amount of funds we’ll find a cure.”Sinfield noted with sadness the recent MND diagnoses of NRL star Jai Arrow and former Wallaby Nathan Charles. He says he was also inspired by the fundraising work of the late AFL great Neale Daniher.It’s why Sinfield has decided to lace up again next year and do a charity challenge in Australia and New Zealand. The final plan is yet to be set in stone, but it is likely to be in May, with Sinfield running seven marathons in seven days in different cities, finishing at various sporting events.Kevin Sinfield in his role as an assistant coach with England’s rugby team.The RFU Collection via Getty Images“We’re going to try and build it around an Origin game and then factor in some union, some Aussie Rules, and try and incorporate the three sports, obviously with Jai and Nathan currently living with MND, and with Neale Daniher’s great work as well,” he said.“We want to show the MND community everywhere that everybody’s important and should be cared for and looked after and feel part of something. That’s part of why we’re coming to Australia and New Zealand. We want to collaborate.“The sooner we pull countries together on this, the better chance we’ve got of cracking it everywhere, not just in the UK and Ireland. We’ve got to rid the world of MND.”A humble northerner, Sinfield baulks when you ask if he has insisted his players address him as “Sir Kev”.“The great thing about rugby dressing rooms and league rooms is everyone is equal,” he says.“So, yeah, it’s not about me. I’m just Kev.”News, results and expert analysis from the week in sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.