Charlie Bird is to take part in the Extra Mile with England Rugby legend Kevin Sinfield in Dublin on Tuesday 5th December and IMNDA is calling on the people of Ireland to support this fundraiser for MND.
Sinfield’s 7 in 7 in 7 ultra marathon challenge will raise funds for MND charities including the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Charlie Bird will also join England Rugby League legend Kevin Sinfield OBE for the final stage of an ultra-marathon in Dublin on Tuesday 5th December, as part of an epic challenge to raise awareness and funds to support those impacted by Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Covering a distance of almost 44KM, Sinfield will set off from Croke Park on his personal challenge at 12 noon with his route taking him through parts of Phibsborough, Ashtown, the Phoenix Park, Inchicore, Crumin, Rathgar, UCD and finishing at the Aviva Stadium at around 3.50pm. Charlie will join the marathon at UCD, at a stage called the Extra Mile, which sees invited guests join Sinfield for one mile towards the end of the marathon. Charlie will continue on to the end of the route with Sinfield, with the support of several Irish sporting stars.
A year ago, Sinfield and his team completed his third challenge when they ran from Edinburgh to Manchester, covering over 40 miles a day for seven days. This is the first time the England Rugby Union defensive coach will travel to Ireland for one of his ultra marathons.
Since 2020, Sinfield and his team have raised over £8 million (almost €9.2M) with three endurance events that have captured the public’s imagination having been inspired by Sinfield’s former Leeds Rhinos team mate Rob Burrow MBE.
Commenting on his latest challenge, Kevin Sinfield said, “I am very happy to hear Charlie will be joining me in Dublin for the Extra Mile through to the end of the race; it means a lot to get his support and I was so inspired by everything he has done for the MND community in Ireland with the Climb with Charlie campaign. I know that former Antrim GAA captain Anto Finnegan also did so much to raise awareness for the MND community and I am delighted that his family hope to join us at the start line at Croke Park.
“Physically this will be my toughest challenge as I have not been able to do the amount of training that I have done previously because of my commitments for the World Cup and we have set an ambitious time target to complete each ultra so people know that we will be pushing ourselves to the limit. I am looking forward to it and seeing all the support out on the streets once again. For the MND community, every second counts and we will be making the most of every step on this challenge to raise awareness, funds and support for that community. I would especially like to thank all the local authorities and councils who have given us their support, it means so much to everyone.” added Sinfield.
Charlie Bird, who recently received a special award from An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for Climb with Charlie added, “It is a privilege to join in the Extra Mile with Kevin and his team; it is such an incredible task he is undertaking and I wanted to extend the hand of friendship and support in any way I can. What Kevin has done for the MND community in the UK is astonishing, and I look forward to joining him on 5th December for what is sure to be a wonderful occasion.”
Lillian McGovern is the CEO of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. She said: “Both Charlie and Kevin’s unwavering commitment to raising awareness for MND is admirable and we are very thankful to be part of this incredible challenge. We look forward to joining Kevin and Charlie in Dublin on Tuesday 5th December to cheer them on. Any funds raised will help us improve our services and supports available to people living with MND in Ireland and their families.”
About the challenge
The 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge will see Sinfield and his team run an ultra marathon every day for seven days in seven cities around Great Britain and Ireland. Each run will be a marathon with an extra mile to signify the extra mile people can all go to help their friends in tough times. The aim is to complete each day's run in under four hours.
Kevin starts the challenge this Friday 1st December, three years to the day since Sinfield started his first 7 In 7 challenge in 2020. He will run his first marathon in Leeds and travels to Dublin for day 5 of the challenge.
Timings of the challenge in Dublin Tuesday 5th Dec https://www.therhinos.co.uk/article/19702/sinfields-7-in-7-in-7-challenge-set-for-huge-day-in-dublin
