THERE was not a dry eye in the city when we put rivalry aside to cheer on Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield in the final few moments of his seven marathons in as many days challenge late last year, which raised over £2.5 million for ex-teammate Rob Burrow in his battle with motor neurone disease (MND).

It inspired many of us to get off the sofa and join in with the fundraising to help beat such a terrible disease.

Joshua Halliley, 27, the son of assistant headteacher Andy Halliley who has worked at Beckfoot Thornton School for more than 25 years, was no exception and decided to take on a mammoth mission to start the year.

“You see people who have got Rob’s condition and think I would much rather be in a position where I can fundraise than being stuck in their position,” said Josh on day 56 of his 777km in 77 days followed by a marathon task.

The Dewsbury-born Morley resident has already raised an incredible £2,499 for the MND Association and hopes to reach his £7,777 target by the time March 18 comes.

He said: “I felt inspired and wanted to challenge myself for the new year. In lockdown there is not much else to do so I just wanted to come out of it a better person and be fulfilled by doing something.

“I wanted to do the marathon one but I knew it might be too much and Kevin had just done it so I didn’t want to copy him.

“I have been constantly doing it every day in all conditions. I have been going to the physio because my body is not used to running every day.

“Some days I feel brilliant and it is 46 minutes, and other days it is awful at 59 minutes. It is mentally draining, but at the end of it you feel amazing.

“I have got a nice route sorted where it just feels right. The first four kilometres are uphill and the last six are nice as it is either flat or downhill. Mentally, if I get that first bit done, I can just trot the rest of it.”

A former employee at Rhinos, Josh was determined to do his bit for Burrow. During his time at Headingley, the scrum half was always there to offer his hand.

“The players had to do appearances and sometimes you would have to go to the players to get stuff signed and it could be quite nerve wrecking because you don’t want to pester them in their free time.

“But Rob was awesome, and you knew he would always take it around all the boys. He would always talk to everybody on game day. He is a top bloke and I just wanted to do something for him.”

You can donate by following this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/josh-777-in-77