KEVIN Sinfield is ready to run on to raise more money in the name of Rob Burrow – but the evening messages will be missed.
The rugby league legend, now England RU skills and kicking coach, begins his fifth physical challenge in aid of motor neurone disease charities on Sunday.
It is the first since his pal and former Leeds Rhinos team-mate passed away in June after living with the condition for four-and-a-half years.
Over seven days, visiting each of the home nations, he will run more than 50 kilometres each time – with them being split into seven-kilometre blocks, each completed within 60 minutes and one starting exactly an hour after the other.
And as he gets ready to start at Liverpool’s Santa Dash, while revealing his plan is to do two more challenges afterwards, he admitted: “To have Rob not around is pretty tough. I won’t be getting his text messages in the evening. I’ll miss his humour, I miss him every day.
“This was only put together because we were doing a little run for our little mate, trying to raise a little bit of money four years ago.
“It’s changed but I’ll never go away from why it was set up. It means a lot we represent him and his family in the right way. He’ll be with us in spirit, he’ll still make me smile. We intend to do him justice.
“For the last 11-and-a-half weeks I’ve pushed and pushed and when you push for a period of time, there’s a likelihood you’re going to break and I’m probably at the cusp of it now.
“It’s been heavy. It’s meant having a couple of hours sleep a night but it’s the choice I’ve made. I hope it’ll be worth every bit of anguish this last 11-and-a-half weeks has thrown at me.
“I think it’ll be the toughest. We’ve done seven-kilometre blocks before, but we’ve not done them day after day. That’s how it’s been planned, though.”
Sinfield’s challenges alone have raised almost £10million, much more has come in to honour Leeds legend Burrow.
On top of that is the awareness of MND and those who live with it, as well as care for them, and he admitted his eyes have been opened to a much bigger issue than he first thought.
Sinfield, who has juggled training with his RU work and a speaking tour, added: “Absolutely it has. More people are being diagnosed than there’s ever been – some of that is the awareness.
“People are going to the doctors earlier, which is fantastic, but that means there are more families having to go through what the Burrows went through and what millions have over decades.
“We’ve got to keep trying to help. Government funding is purely for research, who looks after the human side? Who looks after the things people really need, the care, support, love and respect?
“Even we find a cure tomorrow, there are people who’d be too far down the journey – it won’t be able to be reversed.
“We’ve got to make sure we keep looking after everybody.”
