Princess Anne: There is no such thing as a fun run

Hannah FurnessMon, September 28, 2026 at 2:51 PM UTC

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The Princess Royal suggested to Sir Kevin Sinfield that he should keep up eating bacon sandwiches - PA Wire/Dominic Lipinski

The Princess Royal has suggested there is no such thing as a “fun run”, calling it a “contradiction in terms”.

The Princess replied that she would “stick to horses” when invited to join Sir Kevin Sinfield, an England rugby coach, on a leg of his 7 in 7: The Grand Finale week-long challenge.

“I can run,” she said, “but I don’t do it for fun.”

She visited Sir Kevin midway through his challenge, running seven ultra-marathons in seven days to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) charities in memory of his friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow.

The Princess watched Sir Kevin running his final laps of the morning at University of York Athletics track before joining him for a conversation in the pavilion.

Swapping notes in the sunshine, Sir Kevin admitted he would prefer it to be “bouncing down” with rain, saying that it would help with fundraising if people thought he was having a hard time.

“People see it on the telly and think it’s a fun run,” he said.

“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 the Princess. “I will stick to horses.”

Told that the team had never had a horse accompany them, she looked thoughtful before replying: “That would be nice, perhaps a police horse or two.”

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Princess Royal, pictured with Tanya Curry of the the Motor Neurone Disease Association (right), bangs a drum to start a stage of the ‘7 in 7’ race - Getty Images/Dominic Lipinski

Princess Anne, 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 Lewis Moody, the former England rugby captain, who was diagnosed with MND last year, and Matthew Lewis, an actor 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 that during races the team supplied him with sports drinks, then later he could eat whatever he wants.

“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.

Princess Anne spent time taking with charity staff and others present for the start of the race - Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images

Sir Kevin 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 Rob Burrow, who died aged 41 in June 2024, four and a half years after his diagnosis.

The Princess Royal met Burrow in 2022, when she conducted his MBE investiture for services to rugby league and the Motor Neurone Disease community.

Since his first challenge in 2020, Sir Kevin has raised more than £11m 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.

In the current challenge, Sir Kevin set off from Hull Kingston Rovers’ Craven Park stadium on Sunday. He will visit all 12 English Super League Clubs before ending his seventh run on the pitch at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester.

Sir Kevin’s efforts will raise money for six charities, including the MND Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, Darby Rimmer MND 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.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”