Princess Anne gave a characteristically candid response after Sir Kevin Sinfield invited her to join his gruelling running challenge, declaring that she would much rather “stick to horses” than take up running for fun.
The Princess Royal met the former rugby league star in York as he completed the second day of his demanding 7 in 7: The Grand Finale fundraising challenge.
Sir Kevin is attempting seven ultra-marathons across seven consecutive days to raise money and awareness for motor neurone disease charities in memory of his late friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow.
Anne watched as Sir Kevin completed his final laps of the morning session at the University of York Athletics Track before joining him for a conversation in the pavilion.
Despite the physically exhausting nature of the challenge, the pair enjoyed a light-hearted exchange about the unusually pleasant weather surrounding that stage of his run.
Sir Kevin joked that he would actually have preferred more miserable conditions, explaining that viewers might be more inclined to donate if they saw him struggling through heavy rain.
He suggested that watching him running in sunshine could make the enormous challenge appear easier than it really was. “People see it on the telly and think it’s a fun run,” he said.
Anne immediately took issue with that description, offering a typically straightforward assessment of the idea that running could be considered enjoyable.
“Fun run is a contradiction in terms,” the Princess Royal replied. “I can run, but I don’t do it for fun – no, I’m past that stage.”
Sir Kevin then presented Anne with the obvious challenge by inviting her to join the runners, but the 76-year-old royal had no difficulty deciding where her sporting loyalties remained.
She responded that she would “stick to horses,” a fitting answer from a lifelong equestrian who became the first member of the British Royal Family to compete at the Olympic Games.
Anne represented Britain in eventing at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and has maintained a close connection to equestrian sport throughout her life, making her alternative to Sir Kevin’s running invitation particularly appropriate.
The Princess still played an important role in the challenge. She officially helped send Sir Kevin and his team on their way for the next stage by banging a drum seven times.
The engagement combined Anne’s trademark humour with support for a cause that has become closely associated with Sir Kevin since Burrow’s MND diagnosis and subsequent death.
While the Princess Royal made it abundantly clear that an ultra-marathon will not be appearing on her schedule, she was more than happy to give Sir Kevin’s extraordinary effort a royal send-off, provided she could keep both feet away from the running track.
