An England rugby coach has completed the Sheffield leg of his ultramarathon challenge in support of Motor Neurone Disease charities, smashing his target for donations.

At the time of writing, Kevin Sinfield has already raised over £790,000 in memory of his former teammate, Rob Burrow, as he tackles seven ultramarathons in seven days in seven locations around the UK and Ireland.

Sinfield has expressed throughout the challenge how the memory of his friend has spurred him on in the challenge and said that the work he does is all about “running for a mate.”

Rob Burrow, who wore the number seven shirt, was the inspiration behind the challenge and the target donation goal of £777,777.

Burrow tragically died of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) at the age of 41 last year.

On Thursday 4 December, Sinfield ran from location to location across Sheffield, stopping and talking to people, and thanking his supporters along the way.

As he arrived at the University of Sheffield, Sinfield said: “You should be proud of your city, it’s a lovely city that cares about the MND community.”

The former Leeds Rhino player chose the locations for this year’s annual challenge to ensure that people in the MND community feel seen and supported.

He said: “We have to make sure that everyone’s important, everyone’s loved, and everyone’s cared for.”

Members of the MND community came out in their hundreds, reflecting the support that the challenge has brought to the city.

Tom Davies, a former student at the University of Sheffield who has MND, was there to talk to Sinfield and to bang the drum seven times to send him off to his next location.

Around the city, people made the special journey to come out and show how much Sinfield’s efforts are appreciated.

Jenny Godson, who was cheering Sinfield on from the sidelines, said that she had come from Wakefield to see and support the team in their challenge.

She said: “We watch it every morning on Breakfast and so we wanted to come down and give our support.

“I think it’s absolutely fabulous that it continues to put this attention on fighting MND and it’s just wonderful to see so many people here supporting.”

Charity fundraisers holding banners and collecting donations were at every location to spread awareness.

Stacey Kirkpatrick, Relationship Fundraiser for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), said that she was drawn to this event through for both personal and professional reasons, following the loss of her Mum.

She said that it was encouraging to see so many people out in support of Sinfield and his fundraising, and mentioned how even the Fire Brigade were there to offer their support.

She said: “Everyone is behind him and everybody is out cheering.”

You can donate £10 to Sinfield’s challenge by texting KEVIN10 to 70143.