A group of friends from three countries, inspired by the spirit of rugby league legend Rob Burrow, are attempting to walk 100km in one day in a bid to raise £100k for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The team of 11 will depart from Leeds, Headingley Stadium at 11am on Friday 15 September and walk through day and night to finish the 100km challenge at the MKM Stadium in Hull.
They are inspired by the spirit of Rob Burrow and the fund raising heroics of Kevin Sinfield, and the bravery of the whole MND community.
One of the organisers in the team Simon Hallas who lives in Paris and who will be joined by his Warrington-based brother Jim, are a life-long Hull FC fans. Simon had the initial idea to do this challenge and quickly pulled together a team of family and friends.
Simon said: “As a huge rugby league fan it is heart breaking to see the impact of MND on a real legend of our game, a true warrior, Rob Burrow. Watching back the fund raising documentaries one night I decided I wanted to do something positive to help and it was not difficult to get the team engaged for this.”
Talking about the upcoming challenge, Simon said “We’ve got a great team, 9 based in the UK, my cousin Andy from Switzerland and myself from Paris. We are training brutally hard even though most of the team are training alone due to their geographical locations. It’s clear we will go to some very difficult places both physically and mentally, not least during the 10 hours of darkness through the night. Some of the team have experience of endurance events like marathon running and some have never done anything like it so it will be a real team effort to hopefully get everyone to the 100km finish point. We’ve all had great support from family and friends, it is a very time consuming process that requires a lot of personal commitment and sacrifice. Anyone who thinks this is “just a walk” really should go out and try and walk for 12 hours tomorrow then consider doing it again the next day.”
The team have had great support from the grassroots rugby family.
The MND Association focuses on funding research, improving access to care and campaigning for people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The money raised by the “100k in a day” team will help the charity continue its vital work.
MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease which affects the brain and spinal cord. It attacks the nerves that control movement and eventually leaves people unable to move, communicate or breathe. It kills a third of people within a year of diagnosis and half within two years. There is no cure.
To support the “100k in a day” team’s fundraising efforts please visit www.justgiving.com/team/100kminaday then select to donate to a team member.
