Sarah Cox is a warrior. Children in Need 5 Marathons in 5 days. What is the most challenging thing you have achieved?

[TemperatureRising]

What a hero, her strength and resilience is amazing. Saw her yesterday, Gethin Jones running alongside her, she was so exhausted she could hardly speak. How she is keeping young, I don't know!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/live/cy7exkn0zjet

I think a long hike, doing my Duke of Edinburgh Award is the most physically exhausted I've ever bee, carrying a huge rucksack up hills and getting lost!

Oh I know it won’t be easy! But people are going on like it’s a completely insane thing to do and that she won’t just be tired and sore, she’ll be risking permanently disabling herself!

It doesn’t have to wreck your body. Dh is an ultra runner, he ran from Conwy to Cardiff in 5 or 6 days last year, most of it off road and through mountains. Average of 63km a day. He’s done the cape wrath ultra which is 400km in 8 days with 37,000 ft ascent.

he does crazy 3 day races where they don’t stop, runs all day, all night, all day, all the next night until the end.

He’s in his 60s. Touch wood he doesn’t get injured. He’s certainly never anything like the state Sara seems to be in. Guess doing this after ten weeks training isn’t to be recommended regardless of base fitness. Certainly an achievement, just hope she hasn’t damaged herself.

I used to run and permanently knackered my left leg through ramping up the training too quickly.

Me too! I really like Elaine. That infectious gurgling laugh would either cheer everyone up along the way or drive them nuts. Great watching / listening either way 🙂

It’s possible, I’ve permanently disabled myself and my orthopedic surgeon said it was due to running, he said the injury I had he sees in middle aged people, women are at higher risk who ramp their training up too quickly.

I’d decided to run 5k a day for a month from previously running 7k once a week. So nothing like the distance she’s doing. Towards the end of the month i decided to do a bit more than 5k some days. But never more than 10k.

Took me 5 years to be able to walk properly again and even now I’m not right.

You really don't think raising £3 million for charity is 'productive'?

Oh god ! Love the showtunes but wtf is going onnwith those Am Dram people? Just promote your show in you home counties accent. No one does Les Mis and comes on doing a fake French accent. Its all ' im in Carousel! Yipidee doo dah!'

I think the issue is the fast build up. I’m sure your DH spent years building up to ultras.

I ran for many years. But I am
also internally rotated through the hips like Sara. This puts extra pressure through certain areas like hips and knees. It means you are more prone to injury. Marathons were off the cards for me. I had very long build ups for things like half marathons.

Despite being careful I still got a stress fracture in my femur.

Being fit isn’t the same as being running fit. You really have to take your time to get all your tendons and muscles used to running and that load.

To run 5 marathons in 5 days off 12 weeks training is quite risky in my eyes. If you watch the video from last night she is in so much pain she says it’s worse than childbirth.

This isn’t a criticism of her. I think she’s showing huge strength and resilience. I just feel for her and think it’s a bad idea all round!

Also is she running most of this on road? She is at huge risk of a stress fracture if so. Can’t remember if some of it is off road?

@Delatron totally agree, ten weeks isn’t enough training for something like this. If she’d built it up better she wouldn’t be struggling like she is now and wouldn’t be risking her health.

She has said she has knocked knees and arthritis in her right knee both of which increase the chances of injury and also meant her training wasn’t as good

the problem for me is the BBC keep promoting these types of challenges and almost make it a badge of honour as to how little training they actually get the participants to do. Which for me is wrong not only does it increase injury but it takes away from the proper amount of training you should do

I mean I am no Spencer Matthew fan but he does at least train the way you should for these challenges

I dont get why hospices and childrens charities are not properly.funded in the first place.

Me neither, I think the same about the Help for Hero’s charity too. Our veteran military personnel who have to turn to charity for support, after the service they have given.

But, look how many people voted for the Conservative government, who ran down our public services. How many people (and posters on here) who do not want the current government to increase taxes.

No charity support ( CiN trashed on here by some and must be one of the major funding sources, especially for small charities) and no tax rises either.
We can't have it all ways.

Completely agree - it’s definitely sending the wrong message about the level of training needed for these events.

Not Sara’s fault - that firmly lies with the BBC.

She’s on the radio now and says she’s ‘never been in so much pain’ and ‘ give me childbirth any day’. Sounds broken!

I cannot stand the Elaine Paige show. She is so fake and massively cringey.

Can’t listen to it though I do like musicals.

Sara Cox nearly at the end of her amazing achievement. I stand by my admiration for her.

She's raised nearly £8 million! Absolutely incredible. That said, I do ultra runs and it took me literally years to get to the point where I could run back to back marathons. An important point, already mentioned too, is that most ultras are trail based not run on roads, I think it's shocking how little duty of care either they have awarded her or she's considered for herself. She really could be permanently injured. Still incredible to see her finish just now though! Bravo

@TemperatureRising the problem isnt Sara Cox the problem is she has been forced (and interviews make it very clear isn’t her choice and is part of her contractual obligations) by the BBC into a dangerous challenge in order to raise money. Without proper training or duty of care about the longer term implications for her given her knee issues.

it is potentially negligent and reckless behaviour from the BBC who are already v much in the spot light

Was that the Dragon's Back? That is seriously impressive. He is obviously very fit!

Yes. He really is. He’s hoping to do the Mont blanc ultra next year. It’s not unusual for him to do a 50 mile run at a weekend for fun, runs nearly every day, does half marathons or more in the evening after work.

I think that it is highly unlikely that is a contractual obligation that she has been forced into by the BBC! Thats a ridiculous (and possibly illegal) conclusion to draw. Ive been listening and at no point does it seem she's been forced into it at all. She is not a young naive new staff member. She will have an agent and has been in the business long enough to refuse something she doesn't want to do. I can believe she seriously underestimated how challenging it was going to be.

"most ultras are trail based not run on roads, I think it's shocking how little duty of care either they have awarded her or she's considered for herself".
Yes. Trail is more forgiving. 150 odd miles of concrete isn't.

Achieves nothing…

As it turns out, nearly £2 million per day raised for 5 days.

Benefitting vulnerable children young adults and their families.

Well done Sara and all those who donated.

One day CIN might regret the pushing of a celebrity into something extreme nonsense

So over £10 million raised so far. … and some on here think Sara has achieved nothing.

Her strength and resilience is amazing.

The BBC programme is on now, showing the achievements of Sara and her expert team, balanced with the difference donations to CiN to vulnerable children and their families.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002mfp7/bbc-children-in-need-2025-sara-cox-every-step-of-the-way-for-children-in-need