Sir Kevin Sinfield was joined by his friend and former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate on the first day of his final challenge to raise awareness for Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Sinfield is aiming to complete seven ultramarathons in seven days in memory of his former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow CBE, who died from MND in June 2024.

The challenge will see him visit all 12 Super League clubs before arriving in Manchester for the Grand Final on 3 October.

Starting at Hull's Craven Park stadium earlier, Sinfield thanked supporters who had lined the East Yorkshire route on day one, while Southgate described the experience as "brilliant".

Since the first annual challenge in 2020, Sinfield has covered more than 1,000 miles, visited more than 70 cities and towns and raised more than £11m for the MND community.

This year's challenge, which sees him aiming to cover at least 45km (27.9 miles) each day, began at 08:30 BST at the home of Hull Kingston Rovers, before stopping at the MKM stadium, home of Hull FC, where he addressed the crowds.

"You come out to support us on a Sunday morning when we should all be at home having a brew and eating a bacon butty, so thank you for showing up, I really appreciate it," he said.

Southgate ran a section of the challenge ending at Market Weighton.

"It was a brilliant experience," he said.

"I might have done one more leg if I'd done a bit more training, but it was great.

"I've known Kevin a long time, admired him as a player, [I've] incredible respect for what he's done for Rob and for the whole MND community."

Craig Eskrett, an avid KR supporter and fundraiser who was diagnosed with MND in 2023, was among those at the start line who helped to get the challenge under way.

He also took part in an Extra Mile event with Sinfield and other members of the MND community. He completed four laps of the Costello Stadium in Hull.

Craig's wife, Ileshia, said it was an honour to take part.

"It was incredible," she said.

"And Craig has hired a chair, so I pushed him around, it was Rob's chair, so that was very special to push him around there."

MND is a life-shortening neurological condition that affects the nerves controlling movement. It causes progressive muscle weakness and currently there is no cure, but treatments can help manage symptoms.

Jo Coker, from the MND Association, said the events had been a "game changer" for the MND community.

"If you look at when Kevin started this, the awareness levels were really low," she said.

"It's night and day from where we were five years ago."

Day one came to an end in the village of Shiptonthorpe, ahead of the next stage, which will see him head into York, stopping at the University of York, York Knights' stadium, York Minster and the racecourse, before finishing at Bishopthorpe Palace.

"I'm ready for some recovery, an ice bath and some food," he said.

"I'm also pretty overwhelmed by the support we've had…people have come out and been wonderful again."

The funds raised by the challenge will go towards the work of the MND Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name5 Doddie Foundation, Darby Rimmer Foundation, MND Scotland and the Irish MND Association.