Mr Sinfield, who’s now defensive coach with the England rugby union workforce, set off on day 5 of the “7 in 7” problem on a freezing chilly day in Dublin.
The 7 in 7 occasion is the fourth and latest fundraiser being undertaken by Mr Sinfield and his workforce, who plan to run an ultra-marathon day by day for seven days in seven cities across the UK and Ireland.
This problem is impressed by his former Leeds Rhinos teammate, pal and fellow MND Association patron Rob Burrow.
Veteran broadcaster Mr Bird (74) joined Mr Sinfield for the ultimate mile of the ultra-marathon, at a stage referred to as the Extra Mile.
Former Ireland and Munster participant Keith Earls, together with different stars from the game corresponding to Ian Madigan, Gordon D’Arcy and Tommy Bowe additionally confirmed as much as lend their assist.
Mr Bird, who raised a report €4.1m for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) following his Croagh Patrick climb final 12 months, thanked Mr Sinfield for his efforts on the end line at present.
“I have been so looking forward to the day I get to meet this amazing man, Kevin Sinfield. You are an absolute inspiration,” he stated.
Kevin Sinfield, left, with Charlie Bird, Charlie’s wife Claire and dog Tiger in Croke Park. Photo: Sportsfile
“I have cried every day watching you on the BBC running marathon after marathon to create awareness and funds for MND, all in the name of your best friend, Rob Burrow.
“The money you have raised is fantastic. He’s a very lucky man to have such a good friend like you.
“I saw the picture of you carrying Rob over the finish lines of one of your marathons, what an iconic image.
“I want to thank the fans, the rugby players who have come out today to run and push me in my wheelchair.
“Thank you, Keith, Ian, and Gordon. I hope we can all have fun today, as we all know it is a difficult journey for all of us and our families.
“When we have dark days, it’s always good to know we can also have uplifting days, and today for me is one of those days for me and my beautiful wife Claire, who is always by my side — and of course Tiger, my little wingman.
“This is an uplifting day, thank you Kevin, for making this happen.”
Mr Sinfield said they’ve had “as nice a welcome in Dublin as they’ve had wherever”.
“Rugby’s pretty powerful. We all know that. But when you’ve been in teams your whole life you understand the connections you get — and you’re willing to go through brick walls for each other,” he stated.
“Our team moves onto Brighton tonight, but we’ll never forget Dublin.”
Ian Madigan stated he’s been following Mr Sinfield’s journey in supporting these affected by MND.
“The physical challenges he’s put himself through definitely draw attention from everywhere,” he stated.
“Whether it’s a rugby league team or a union team, you can see how powerful sport can be and how it can bring attention to an amazing charity and create awareness around motor neuron disease.
“Obviously, growing up in Ireland and seeing Charlie Bird on the TV, he’s someone that we’ve all looked up to — and to be able to help in some way was a small ask on my part.
“It’s a cold day in the lead-up to Christmas, and to have nearly 1,000 people here to cheer on Charlie and Kevin is just amazing.”
Kevin Sinfield with Charlie Bird before the ‘Extra Mile’ of Kevin’s fifth ultra marathon in Dublin toda. Photo: Sportsfile
Another former rugby star and Ireland AM presenter Tommy Bowe said he’s been following Mr Sinfield’s journey for a very long time as he’s identified him via “a close friend of his”.
“I’ve supported him for a long time but with this challenge, he reached out to me about it a number of months ago to say that he was coming to Dublin and asked would I be there to try and support him,” he stated.
“Just to see them running into the Aviva Stadium here is fantastic — it’s a special day, and you could see it by the emotion on Kevin’s face.
“I’m not surprised by the turnout, because I think that seeing somebody like Charlie Bird suffering from such a horrible illness has highlighted that there are a couple of hundred people in Ireland with the disease.
“It’s an illness you wouldn’t wish on the worst of enemies.”
He added that he’s been concerned in a number of occasions like this in years passed by and doesn’t assume he’s seen anyone who “challenged themselves as much as Kevin Sinfield, who is pushing himself to the absolute limit”.
Tommy Bowe stated rugby has a particular approach of bringing folks collectively on and off the pitch.
“Kevin is doing this for a teammate, for somebody who he has shared amazing memories on the rugby pitch, and it just shows the brotherhood that you make when you’re playing — whether it’s in that changing room or out on the field.
“What’s amazing about it is we support each other, we have each other’s backs on the rugby pitch, but what Kevin has shown us and what so many others have shown is that we have each other’s backs down the line when things don’t always go as we expect.”
Covering 44km, Mr Sinfield set off from Croke Park at midday and went via components of Phibsborough, Ashtown, the Phoenix Park, Inchicore, Crumin, Rathgar, UCD earlier than ending on the Aviva Stadium at 4pm.
Mr Sinfield now strikes to the penultimate stage in Brighton, adopted by his last route, which is able to conclude with him working up the Mall in London on Thursday.
To donate to Mr Sinfield’s problem, see here.
