Kevin Sinfield was accompanied by former world champion athlete Steve Cram on day two of his Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge in aid of motor neurone disease.
Cram, who held world records in the 1500 metes and the mile in the 1980s, teamed up with Sinfield during the closing stages of his second leg from Melrose in the Scottish Borders to Otterburn Castle in Northumberland.
Sinfield, who set out on his latest fundraising challenge from Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Sunday, is bidding to run around 40 miles for seven consecutive days to raise £777,777 for five MND charities.
Former Leeds Rhinos captain Sinfield’s close friend and ex-team-mate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with MND in late 2019.
Sinfield, 42, has also been inspired by former Scotland rugby player Doddie Weir and ex-Bradford City skipper Stephen Darby, who also live with the disease.
Shortly after he had completed day one on Sunday, Sinfield’s Ultra 7 in 7 had raised £246,181.85, according to his ‘Give as you Live’ donation website, and by 5.30pm on Monday that had risen to £297,139.55.
On Tuesday (day three), Sinfield will head out from Otterburn Castle and run over 41 miles to Durham County Cricket Club in Chester-le-Street.
He is scheduled to finish his Ultra 7 in 7 at Old Trafford on Saturday at half-time during the men’s Rugby League World Cup final between Australia and Samoa.
His latest fundraising challenge will mainly benefit the MND Association and Leeds Hospitals Charity’s appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds.
There will also be donations to MND Scotland, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation and the 4ED campaign, in support of former Gloucester and Leicester rugby player Ed Slater, who was recently diagnosed with the disease.
In late 2020, Sinfield raised £2.7million for MND charities after running seven marathons in seven days and a further sum in excess of £1m was generated in November 2021 after he completed a run of 101 miles in 24 hours.
