Sara Cox is soaked through crossing Children In Need finish line after raising £7,600,000

Sara Cox has crossed the finishing line after completing her epic 135-mile marathon for Children in Need.

Over the past five days, the BBC Radio 2 presenter, 50, has been undertaking the Great Northern Marathon Challenge, which has seen her trek from the Scottish border to Pudsey in Leeds.

The total distance is the equivalent of doing five marathons in five days.

When told earlier this week that she’d helped raise over £1,000,000 so far, she broke down in tears and thanked those who had supported her.

Now, she’s completed the marathon challenge, crossing the line around 3.30pm on Thursday. So far, she’s raised a staggering £7,600,000.

As Sara arrived, she was greeted by family, friends and a crowd – who cheered her as she finished up.

Soon after she then spoke to her BBC co-host Scott Mills. Appearing on stage alongside him just a few minutes after she finished her epic run, Sara joked what she’d just undertaken was a ‘really silly idea’.

‘That was such a ridiculous thing to do,’ she said.

She went on to thank her trainer Greg Whyte, who had now helped run 40 challenges for Children in Need.

Speaking about completing the challenge, she explained it was ‘the hardest thing I’ve ever done’.

‘I’ve never known pain like it,’ she said.

‘It was bitterly cold and wet and filthy, but so many people came out. The truck drivers honking their horns, the farmers stopping work to come and say hi, the kids on the side of the road and just so many homemade signs.’

‘It was incredible. And thanks to everyone who let me stop for a wee at their house!’

Asked ‘what hurts the most’, she explained: ‘Nothing hurts right now because I am so buzzing, but I’ve never had shapely calves in my life, but I do now! I am so swollen, and it looks like I’ve been hit with a bat all along my shins. It’s fluid and black and blue and hideous. It’s been the maddest and most painful and most wonderful thing I’ve ever done.’

Addressing those who had donated, she thanked everyone for their support.

At the start of the day, the tally was sitting at £3million, more than doubling by the afternoon.

Sara said that parts of the run were ‘miserable’ and ‘agonising’, saying that she was in ‘a lot of pain a lot of the time’.

‘But not now! I wish I could bottle this feeling now,’ she said.

This week Sara was also celebrated for speaking about breaking down barriers that ‘women of a certain age’ couldn’t undertake a physical challenge like the one she’d just ticked off.

‘It’s so patronising. When you turn 50 you know yourself better than you ever have and you are stronger than ever and are coping with a lot. Women in their 50s are the strongest, most awesome and badass people that I know,’ she said.

A presenter on BBC Radio 2, Sara has hosted the station’s drivetime show since January 2019. She previously presented BBC Radio 1’s breakfast show from 2000 until 2003, as well as TV shows including The Great Pottery Throw Down, Too Much TV and Back in Time for…

Ahead of the challenge, Sara explained that she was ‘honoured and horrified in equal measure when selected to undertake the marathon.

‘We’re talking 135 miles of hills, moors and blisters – but I am ready for the challenge, and I will absolutely be giving it everything I’ve got!’ she said.

‘I know the brilliant Radio 2 listeners will be with me every step of the way, and their encouragement and support will shove me up every incline and pull me through my toughest moments.

‘Just like with Vernon and Paddy, I know the brilliant Radio 2 listeners will be with me every step of the way, and their encouragement and support will shove me up every incline and pull me through my toughest moments. Pudsey ha’s been part of Children in Need for 40 years this year, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by helping raise much-needed funds for children who need it most.’

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