Rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield CBE will kick off his latest fundraising challenge at the Liverpool Santa Dash on Sunday.
The 20th edition of the UK’s biggest festive 5k has now sold out, and Sinfield will be running alongside 8,200 Scouse Santas.
This will begin the first leg of Sinfield’s seven-day ‘Running Home For Christmas’ challenge to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) charities.
The 44-year-old has already raised nearly £10million for MND charities through his fundraising efforts in memory of good friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow, who passed away from MND in June.
Sinfield said: “This year’s event will be particularly poignant having lost Rob in June, but our commitment to Rob’s memory is to continue to support the MND community.
“We are looking forward to meeting more people than ever from the MND community throughout the week, giving them the opportunity to continue to bang the drum for MND.”
He will run 230 miles throughout next week across seven regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
One of the charities Sinfield is supporting is the Darby Rimmer Foundation, set up by former Liverpool FC player Stephen Darby who was diagnosed with MND in 2018.
Liverpool FC Women’s record-breaking player Gemma Bonner has joined Sinfield for stages of his last three challenges. She is also a big supporter of the Darby Rimmer Foundation.
The iconic BTR Liverpool Santa Dash has partnered with Claire House Children’s Hospice in Bebington this year, and the fundraising total has already reached £23,000.
The event is also supported by St Johns Shopping Centre, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, and Arriva North West.
In addition to the 5k run, the day will also include a 1k Mini Dash for children, starting from Castle Street at 11am.
Santas will cross the finish line at Liverpool Town Hall, where there will be stilt-walking festive characters and ‘snow’.
The festive fun run will kickstart Christmas in Liverpool at 9.30am from Pier Head on Sunday 1 December.
