Sara Cox Raises Almost £12m for Children in Need With 135-Mile Run
BBC Radio 2 host Sara Cox's 135-mile Children In Need challenge has raised almost £12m, up from more than £9m at the finish line. Owain Wyn Evans is now following her lead with a 400-mile cycle from Glasgow to Cardiff.
Sara Cox's Great Northern Marathon Challenge for BBC Children In Need has raised almost £12m, up from more than £9m when she crossed the finish line, as the 2026 appeal aired on BBC One on Friday, November 13, from 7pm.
The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host, 51, covered 135 miles on foot. That is five marathons in five days.
Her route ran through four counties: Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. She ran, jogged and walked across moorland, steep ridges and the rolling hills of northern England. Towns, villages and Radio 2 listeners backed her along the way.
Cox finished exhausted and emotional. She called the effort the "maddest, most painful, wonderful thing I've ever, ever done".
Prince William's message
On the final day, as she headed for the finish in Pudsey, Cox received a surprise video message from Prince William, the Prince of Wales. He urged her to keep going.
"Sara, massive congratulations for what you are doing. You are so nearly there, just a little bit further," he said. He added that the people of Pudsey would welcome her with "huge open arms, big hugs... and hopefully, lots of your favourite crumpets".
"You've done fantastically well, and the nation is so proud of you," the prince said. Cox replied: "Wow, thanks William, big thank you!"
Other well-known names also backed her, including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Rod Stewart and Paula Radcliffe. Plenty of dogs lined the route too, which suited a well-known dog lover.
What Cox said afterward
Cox told Radio 2 listeners the challenge was "the hardest thing I've ever done". "I've never known pain like it," she said. "But then, I've never had eye contact with so many amazing women who have just powered me on."
She described the conditions on the road: driving rain and bitter cold. Truck drivers honked their horns and farmers stopped work to say hello. She also thanked the people who let her stop for a wee at their houses. "It was a few people," she said.
This year's challenge
This year, fellow Radio 2 early morning host Owain Wyn Evans took on the mega challenge. He cycled 400 miles through the four nations of the UK, from Glasgow to the finish line in his homeland, Cardiff.
Children In Need 2026 was on BBC One on Friday, November 13, from 7pm.
