Former England rugby captain Kevin Sinfield is set to embark upon his most gruelling challenge yet to raise vital funds for charity MNDA.
After he captured the support of the nation when he completed the mammoth task of running seven marathons in seven days back in December 2020, and raised well over £2.7 million in the process, the Oldham-born 41-year-old has announced that he will attempt to run a whopping 101 miles in 24-hours.
The challenge is called #TheExtraMile, and this time round, he hopes to raise £100,000 for those impacted by motor neurone disease.
Sinfield will attempt to run from the home ground of Leicester Tigers – the club which he has joined the coaching staff of – to Emerald Headingley Stadium in Leeds in 24 hours, and it’s all to raise funds for the MND Association and The Rob Burrow Centre for MND.
His fundraising and awareness efforts are inspired by Sinfield’s friend and former Leeds teammate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with MND in December 2019.
ADVERTISEMENT
🗺️ 101 miles ⏱️ 24 hours 💙 £100,000
Today, Kevin Sinfield announced his latest challenge in honour of @Rob7Burrow and families affected by motor neurone disease.#TheExtraMile Challenge.
Speaking to MNDA ahead of tackling the new challenge, Kevin said: “Undoubtedly, this will the toughest challenge I have ever attempted.
“But I know it will mean so much to so many people if we can reach our fundraising target.
ADVERTISEMENT
“In my short time at the Tigers, the people in Leicester have made me feel so welcome and it is wonderful that we have been able to come up with an event that starts in Leicester and finishes with us coming home to Emerald Headingley.”
Initially, Sinfield and his team had planned to run 100 miles, but the actual distance has worked out to be 101 miles – hence the run being named ‘The Extra Mile Challenge’.
Sinfield and his team will cover the route – which will be publicised in advance, so well wishers can come out to cheer them on – in 7km stages, each of which must be completed inside an hour with the next starting on the hour.
ADVERTISEMENT
The challenge will begin on Monday 22 November.
👏 On November 22/23, Kevin Sinfield will be aiming to raise £100,000 as he runs the 101 miles from @LeicesterTigers to @leedsrhinos in 24 just hours!
“The response from the public last year was breath taking and I know, from feedback we have received from the MND Association, every penny that was raised has been put to good use to help members of the MND community across England and Wales,” Kevin continued.
“The more money we can raise, the more people we can help and ultimately find a cure for this cruel disease.
“We have seen science and research do some incredible things over the last year and I know so much work is going on to find a breakthrough for MND.
“I am sure there will be tough times as we pound the streets during the day and night, in cold November temperatures, but knowing the good we can all achieve together will be a huge motivation for everyone involved.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Kevin appeared on BBC Breakfast yesterday to talk a little more about the challenge.
“Kevin, you give us inspiration, you give us hope that there may be a future”⁰ On #BBCBreakfast campaigner Cris Hoskin, who lost six family members to MND, has this emotional thank you for Kevin Sinfield as he announces a new charity challenge 💕 https://t.co/chPkhtmLbkpic.twitter.com/PvFVUZinwW
In addition to public donations, Sinfield is hoping to attract five key benefactors – whose logos will appear on his running vest – to donate £20,000 each.
This should then double the proceeds raised to £200,000.
Donations will be split equally between the Leeds Hospitals Charity appeal to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND supporting people living with the disease and their families, and the MND Association, which funds multi-disciplinary care across the country, as well as research into potential treatments.
Over £11,000 has already been raised, with donations rising every minute.
ADVERTISEMENT
You can find out more information, and make a donation to Kevin Sinfield’s ‘The Extra Mile Challenge’ here.
Featured Image – Twitter (@MNDA)
News
A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date
Danny Jones
Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.
My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…
We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.
Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.
As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.
If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.
We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.
Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.
The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.
What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”
All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.
The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.
Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.
This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?
Emily Sergeant -
21st October 2021 
