THE SUN shone and the crowd cheered as rugby and fundraising legend Kevin Sinfield arrived at Highfield Garden World in Whitminster  this morning on the second day of his current charity ultramarathon challenge.

The rugby legend and his team enjoyed a few minutes’ rest and a cooked breakfast in the garden centre restaurant before Kevin addressed the crowd, did some media interviews and then set off on the next stage of this gruelling challenge to run 40 miles from Gloucester to Bristol.

As he enters Bristol, Sinfield will stop at the Memorial Ground to meet with former Gloucestershire cricketer and current President, David 'Syd' Lawrence, who was diagnosed with MND this year.

Sinfield is running in memory of his friend and rugby team mate Rob Burrow, who passed away from motor neurone disease (MND) in June this year.

This is Sinfield’s fifth annual challenge for the MND community, having already raised nearly £10 million.

But he is also inspired by three men linked to this area including former Gloucester Rugby forward Ed Slater who was diagnosed with MND in 2022 and who set Sinfield off from Kingsholm, Gloucester at 7am this morning.

This year’s challenge has the tagline of ‘Running home for Christmas’ as the seventh day will end in Sinfield’s home area of Saddleworth.

To follow Kevin Sinfield across the rest of the challenge, or to donate to the cause see 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge 2024