Kevin Sinfield says former Leeds team-mate Rob Burrow will be with him in spirit when he embarks on his latest fundraising challenge in support of the motor neurone disease community.
Burrow lost his battle against motor neurone disease in June aged 41 and on Sunday Sinfield will start his fifth annual challenge, 'Running Home for Christmas' but it will be the first time he does it without his late friend.
Sinfield, 44, has helped raise more than £16m in aid of MND since Burrow was diagnosed in December 2019.
"Rob's been a part of the first four challenges. To have him not around this time is pretty tough," Sinfield said.
"I won't be getting his text messages on an evening. I'm not quite sure how I'll be emotionally. I'll probably find out when we're in the thick of it and it's pretty dark out there.
"It means a lot to me that we represent him and his family in the right way. He'll make me smile, I know that.
"I don't want this to be sad. We've lost a great man, but he'll want us to rip into this and have a smile on our face and do it justice, do him justice."
In tribute to the No 7 worn by Burrow, Sinfield's '7 in 7' challenges have raised close to £10m and the total fundraising inspired by Burrow has generated a further sum of around £6m.
He will run over 50km per day, split into 7km blocks that he must complete within the hour before starting the next block.
"They don't get any easier, they just don't," Sinfield said.
"The training has been brutal and that's the bit people don't see.
"I run all year but the last 11 and a half weeks have been really, really difficult and they need to be because I can't expect to turn up on the start line and just be able to run it.
"I hate running, I don't even like running and I'm asthmatic, so if you put all that together it's not a great combination."
Each day will also include an 'Extra Mile' event when Sinfield will join members of the MND community in completing four laps of a running track.
"I'm not expecting this to be a scrap. I've tweaked my training the last couple of weeks and you always have something you have to face along the week that you're not expecting and that's what experience shows me," Sinfield continued.
"Something will go wrong at some point and can we be good enough or tough enough to fight through it and ensure we get this done."
Sinfield hopes to do two more '7 in 7' challenges after this one "given this has all been built around the No 7".
He said: "My expectations are that it'll be the toughest one yet but I have no doubt the team will have to draw on every ounce of support we get and use that in the right way to fuel us.
"And right at the forefront of that will be the Burrow family and Rob."
