Kevin Sinfield's incredible promise to Rob Burrow and the 'bonkers' way he kept it

Rugby league legend Rob Burrow tragically died aged 41 last June, but his remarkable legacy continues to shine a spotlight on motor neurone disease (MND) across the nation. The sporting hero fought the devastating condition for four-and-a-half years, dedicating that time to becoming a powerhouse in fundraising efforts for vital research.

His former teammate and closest mate Kevin Sinfield stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him throughout the entire journey, taking on countless gruelling endurance tests to support Burrow's cause. Back in November 2022, Sinfield tackled seven ultra marathons consecutively, with the incredible feat bringing in more than £1.4million.

One unforgettable image captured Sinfield carrying Burrow across the finish line of the inaugural 'Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon' after wheeling his pal through the complete 26.2-mile course. Yet Sinfield's motivation stretched beyond simply generating cash for MND research - he was determined to provide financial backing for Burrow during his time of greatest need.

Speaking on hosted by Betfair and The Overlap, Sinfield opened up about why securing funds became so crucial after Burrow's diagnosis.

"I don't really stop training," Sinfield explained. "Rob Burrow is my driving force. Rob got diagnosed and you want to help a mate who's got diagnosed. Knowing what rugby league lads earn and where Rob was; he had just started his coaching career, and I was back at Leeds Rhinos."

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"I thought the best way we could help him was to get our team back together and raise some money so that, whatever happened, he didn't have to worry about any financial issues or problems at home because of those who are diagnosed with MND, 50% die within two years and a third die within 12 months. None of us knew how long Rob had and he's got three kids under 10 years old."

Sinfield recounted a promise made to ensure financial security for his friend: "He got diagnosed and I made him a promise that, by the following Christmas, this was Christmas 2019 on December 19, we went up to meet Doddie Weir. I made him a promise on the journey back that he'd have an amount of money in his bank account on the following Christmas morning when he woke up. And then all of our team rallied around, everyone from all different sports rallied around a couple of events that set the fundraising going."

"The craziness hit in 2020 when Covid came. Lockdown happened, everything closed off, you could only go out of your house for an hour per day. Professional sport stopped and started again with no crowds."

Despite these obstacles, he was determined to fulfil his promise: "We got to September 2020, and I knew we were short of the money I promised him we'd raise. I thought, 'right, I'm going to have to do something, or at least if I fall short, I need him to see me put myself through it so that he knows his mates are around him'.

"That's when we came up with the original 7in7 idea, which by this stage, I'd run six marathons. Mainly for prostate cancer which is a charity that's particularly close to my heart.

"I'd never done a back-to-back marathon, and Rob was number seven, so I came up with the idea to run seven in seven. I didn't know whether I could do it.

"The BBC got behind us because there was nothing else going on and people felt sorry for us and had all this furlough money and couldn't spend it, couldn't go out to eat as we had to isolate again.

"I wanted people to take us seriously, so I Googled the average marathon time and less than 50% of people do it in less than four hours, so I decided to do them all in under four hours.

"We announced it on BBC Breakfast, and I had my head in my hands thinking 'right, how am I going to do this?' The target was to raise £77,777 because then I knew we'd hit the target by Christmas for Rob.

"We set out on the first day with £40,000 and finished with £100,000. I remember sitting in bed that first night thinking 'we've hit our target already, do we have to do the other six? !' We did the other six and raised £2.8million. The whole thing was just bonkers."

As a team, Sinfield and Burrow raised millions for MND research and charities, with Sinfield raising important funds for Burrow as his condition got worse. In 2022, Burrow was given the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, with Sinfield recognised for his hard work.