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Kevin Sinfield paid tribute to the late Doddie Weir as he passed the halfway mark in his latest ultra-marathon challenge in aid of research into Motor Neurone Disease in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Sinfield and his team sported Weir’s tartan on their running kit as they threaded around some of the city’s famous sporting venues before finishing at Scotstoun Stadium in the early afternoon.
It was the fourth of seven consecutive days of Sinfield’s ‘Running Home for Christmas’ campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in Saddleworth on Saturday.
Crowds continued to turn out to support the Leeds Rhinos rugby star, whose latest undertaking is his first since the death of his friend and former team-mate Rob Burrow in June, and which had surpassed £430,000 by the end of day four.
Prior to setting off on his latest route around Glasgow, Sinfield told the BBC: “We’re overwhelmed by the support and the people we’ve met. We’re in Doddie’s tartan today which is an honour.”
Former Scotland rugby union international Weir also raised a significant sum to combat the disease prior his death in 2022.
Sinfield’s group started at Ibrox, where they paid tribute to former Rangers player Fernando Ricksen, who died of the disease in 2013 at the age of just 43.
Meanwhile at Celtic Park there was a pause at the statue of Jimmy Johnstone, one of Celtic’s famous ‘Lisbon Lions’ who won the European Cup in 1967, and who like Burrow, wore the famous number seven shirt. Johnstone died of Motor Neurone Disease in 2006.
Sinfield told Celtic’s official Youtube channel: “We started at Rangers this morning, and I know you two are rivals, but for us, our battle is with MND so for everyone to come together to be a part of that battle has been wonderful.
“We’re fully aware of what a fantastic player (Johnstone) was, and hopefully today the Johnstone family will share in some of us trying to pull this community together.”
Thursday takes Sinfield to east Yorkshire with a route that will begin at Beverley racecourse and conclude at Craven Park, home of 2024 Betfred Super League runners-up Hull KR.
