The £6.8m fundraising target to build a new specialist motor neurone disease (MND) centre in Leeds in honour ofthe rugby league player Rob Burrow has been reached.
The money was raised by the colossal efforts of his fans and close friend Kevin Sinfield over three years after the former Leeds Rhinos player received an MND diagnosis.
Plans were announced in 2021 to create a flagship unit for the care of MND patients and construction started in June this year, just days after Burrow’s death at the age of 41.
On Friday, Sinfield completed a gruelling seven ultramarathons in seven days across seven UK regions, defying a serious muscle injury, to raise more than £1m.
Addressing a crowd of supporters in Saddleworth at the conclusion of his fifth annual fundraising challenge, Sinfield admitted: “I’ve looked forward to this moment since we started.
“I’ve run up and down this hill a few times, and this is where it all started. To finish back here on challenge five is special for us all.
“We’ve got a wonderful team and they’ve kept us going all week. We’re really passionate about the MND community and Rob Burrow.”
The centre in Seacroft will be run by Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust, where MND patients, families, clinicians and fundraisers were invited to sign the timber frame of the construction on Tuesday. Speaking at the site, Rob Burrow’s father, Geoff, told ITV: “Who would have believed in three years that the kindness of so many people throughout the country would have raised this in Rob’s name?
“A lot of people didn’t believe it would happen. It has happened.”
His mother, Irene, added: “We cannot believe it. We are so proud and I’m sure Rob is here today looking down.”
Paul Watkins, the director of fundraising at Leeds Hospitals Charity, said: “The Burrow family has inspired people across the country and created an incredible community who have supported this appeal, right from the beginning.
“To have some of those supporters here with us today, leaving their own mark on the frame, is just wonderful.”
The centre is due to open in the summer.
