Princess Anne has joked that she would "stick to horses" when invited to join Sir Kevin Sinfield on a leg of his 7 in 7: The Grand Finale week-long challenge.
The former rugby league star turned coach is running seven Ultra Marathons in seven days in his final endurance feat to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease charities.
Anne watched Sir Kevin after he arrived at the University of York Athletics Track and ran the final laps of the morning's running block before joining him for a conversation in the pavilion.
Swapping notes on the bright sunshine, Sir Kevin admitted he would prefer it to be "bouncing down".
"People see it on the telly and think it's a fun run," he explained.
"Fun run is a contradiction in terms," replied the Princess. "I can run, but I don't do it for [fun], no I'm past that stage."
"Well you are welcome to join us," Sir Kevin added.
"No thank you!" said Anne with a smile. "I will stick to horses."
Told the team had never had a horse accompany them, she looked thoughtful before replying: "That would be nice, perhaps a police horse or two."
© Getty ImagesAnne, who is patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, also spent time meeting charity staff, carers, relatives and people joining Sir Kevin on the challenge, including former England rugby captain Lewis Moody, who was diagnosed with MND last year, and actor Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter film series.
"When do you eat?" the Princess asked. Sir Kevin, who had already confessed to fuelling up on "bacon butties" explained the team supplies him with sports drinks, then later he can eat whatever he wants.
"You need to want to eat it," said Anne.
"I don't have trouble eating, but if you put a bowl of pasta in front of of me…" he said, holding up his hands.
"Stick to the bacon butties," Anne replied.
© Getty ImagesLooking around at Sir Kevin's team as they gathered for a short rest ahead of the next leg of the ultra marathon, Anne told them: "It's not much of a break!"
"This research is so important. We've never had funding to do that. When I first joined, there was no research."
The Princess, who has been patron of the MND Association since 2008, wanted to know how Sir Kevin was fitting his fundraising efforts around his "day job" as skills and kicking coach for England Rugby.
"You can find time if you want to find time," he replied. They also joked about the lack of hills on his route.
"Your knees will appreciate it," the Princess told Sir Kevin, adding: "Thank you. A lot of people have been doing this for a long time but people like you have made such a difference."
Anne then signalled the start of the next leg of the run by banging a drum seven times. Seven was Rob Burrow's number on the pitch.
Sir Kevin's "indomitable spirit"
Earlier, the Princess chatted to Lewis Moody about her daughter Zara and son-in-law Mike Tindall and Lewis explained how he was a last-minute addition to the event as he had planned to watch his son play football in Spain: "I wasn't supposed to be here today, I messaged Kev last night to say."
But when his plans changed, he drove up from Bradford-upon-Avon to join his friend on the track.
He said of Sir Kevin: "He's always been a warm soul and had a real kindness to him."
© PA Images via Getty ImagesSpeaking afterwards, Lewis said he and the Princess were "talking about Tinds and Zara for a little bit. She was really knowledgeable, we were just chatting Kev, talking about the space itself and the energy that has been brought to it by the individual that Kev is.
"Princess Anne is an incredible spirit in her own right and I think kindred spirit recognised kindred spirit and I think she sees that in Kev. To have her energy and presence here today is just a fantastic thing for this community. To be able to have someone of her stature... to recognise the work they are doing, because it is tough at times."
The former British and Irish Lions star heaped praise on Sir Kevin as he touched on his own experience since his diagnosis.
"Kevin Sinfield is a remarkable human being," he said. "And when you find yourself in this MND space it's not really one you ever want to be in, but you realise the warmth, the kindness, the love, the generosity that exists in it. Me and my family arrived in it about a year ago and we arrived in a much more hopeful and positive place than the likes of Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow and those guys will have done, because of the incredible work of Kev and his team and because of Rob and Doddie and all the energy they brought to this space.
© PA Images via Getty Images"I wasn't due to be here, so my son's off playing football and has a game tomorrow that I thought he might be playing in, but I found out this morning that he wasn't, so I got in the car and made sure that I got here because if this is going to be Kev's last big challenge - which I don't believe for a second - I had to be here to thank him for all that he had done.
"Emotions run always under the surface with this..." he said, taking a pause, before adding: "I'm incredibly grateful."
He said of Sir Kevin: "He's doing bloody well. He's an indomitable spirit isn't he? I think he's a bit annoyed it's so warm and pleasant. He's got that warrior energy about him, he always wants it to be a bit harder, a bit steeper, a bit wetter, so he's doing remarkably well and it's a real pleasure to see him and the team today."
"He's been doing it for six years now and it is a community that you enter, but Kev has brought a lot of energy to this space but he's also connected a lot of entities that were operating probably more siloed than before Kev came into this space. Now you see all the other charities that benefit from this event.
"I'm grateful to be here as someone living with MND but I'm also just proud to be here participating and supporting Kev really. that's the reason I'm here supporting him and saying thank you for all the energy he's put it into this space.
"He's just such a great human. You just want to champion people like that, when you arrive in a horrible place with a horrible diagnosis, when you've got people with the energy of Kev, you just see it filter into the groups and the individuals and the communities around him and I benefit from that as an individual. My family benefit from that and we all benefit from that. To be here is an easy thing to do today."
© Getty ImagesAnne also met MND patients and their families who were joining Sir Kevin for the four laps of the track. They included Cheryl Harford, whose daughter Inara Quayle, ten, was diagnosed with MND last September.
Noticing Inara was having to stare into the sun to speak to her, the Princess quickly moved around to the other side of her wheelchair, saying "that's better".
Speaking afterwards, Cheryl described Sir Kevin's efforts as "Outstanding". She added: "The community is incredible - the support we have had from the MND Association since Inara's diagnosis - financial support and peer support.. Just being able to talk to people going through this situation who can give us advice and have a laugh and a biscuit and a cup of tea is amazing."
Fundraising challenges through the years
He is aiming to run at least 45km each day in 7km blocks. This is the seventh annual endurance event he has taken on to raise awareness and funds for MND in memory of his friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow, who died aged 41 in June 2024, four and a half years after his diagnosis.
Since his first challenge in 2020, Sir Kevin has raised more than £11million for the cause and £500,000 has already been pledged for his current one.
He has covered more than 1,000 miles across more than 70 towns and cities.
© GettyHe set off from Hull KR's Craven Park Stadium on Sunday and will visit all 12 English Betfred Super League Clubs before ending his seventh run on the pitch at Old Trafford, ahead of the Super League Grand Final, during which his son Jack will play for Wakefield against Warrington
Sir Kevin's efforts will raise money for six charities, including the MND Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name5 Doddie Foundation, Darby Rimmer Foundation, MND Scotland and the Irish MND Association.
MND is a rapidly progressing neurological disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. More than 5,000 people in the UK are living with it at any one time and the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with MND is around 1 in 300.
The MND Association is the biggest charitable funder of MND research in the UK, focusing on improving access to care and providing support to those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
