Princess Anne was on hand to greet Sir Kevin Sinfield as the completed the first part of the second day of his challenge of running seven ultra marathons in seven days to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease charities
Princess Anne joked that she would “stick to horses” after Sir Kevin Sinfield invited her to join him on a leg of his ‘7 in 7: The Grand Finale’ week-long challenge.
The former rugby league star turned coach is running seven Ultra Marathons in seven days in his final endurance feat to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) charities. Today, the Princess Royal watched Sir Kevin after he arrived at the University of York Athletics Track and ran the final laps of the morning’s running block before joining him for a conversation in the pavilion.
Swapping notes on the bright sunshine, Sir Kevin admitted he would prefer it to be “bouncing down”. “People see it on the telly and think it’s a fun run,” he explained.
“Fun run is a contradiction in terms,” replied the Princess. “I can run, but I don’t do it for [fun], no I’m past that stage.” “Well you are welcome to join us,” Sir Kevin added.
“No thank you!” said Anne with a smile. “I will stick to horses.” Told the team had never had a horse accompany them, she looked thoughtful before replying: “That would be nice, perhaps a police horse or two.”
Anne, who is patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, also spent time meeting charity staff, carers, relatives and people joining Sir Kevin on the challenge, including former England rugby captain Lewis Moody, who was diagnosed with MND last year, and actor Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter film series.
“When do you eat?” the Princess asked. Sir Kevin, who had already confessed to fuelling up on “bacon butties” explained the team supplies him with sports drinks, then later he can eat whatever he wants. “You need to want to eat it,” said Anne.
“I don’t have trouble eating, but if you put a bowl of pasta in front of of me…” he said, holding up his hands. “Stick to the bacon butties,” Anne replied.
Sir Kevin is aiming to run at least 45km each day in 7km blocks. It is the seventh annual endurance event he has taken on to raise awareness and funds for MND in memory of his friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow, who died aged 41 in June 2024, four-and-a-half years after his diagnosis.
Since his first challenge in 2020, Sir Kevin has raised more than £11million for the cause and £500,000 has already been pledged for his current one. He has covered more than 1,000 miles across more than 70 towns and cities.
Sir Kevin set off from Hull KR’s Craven Park Stadium on Sunday and will visit all 12 English Betfred Super League Clubs before ending his seventh run on the pitch at Old Trafford, ahead of the Super League Grand Final, during which his son Jack will play for Wakefield against Warrington.
His efforts will raise money for six charities, including the MND Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name5 Doddie Foundation, Darby Rimmer Foundation, MND Scotland and the Irish MND Association. Yesterday, former England boss Southgate also joined Sir Kevin’s team during the run towards the finish.
Monday’s leg will continue to the LNER Community Stadium, the home of the York Knights, as well as York Minster and York racecourse, with the finish at Bishopthorpe Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of York.
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