Vernon Kay determined to run 115 miles in four days despite injury worry

14 November 2023 , 19:38

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Vernon Kay (Image: DAILY MIRROR)

Vernon Kay said he is determined to finish his 115-mile run for Children in Need in four days – even with a dodgy left knee.

As he set off on his ultramarathon from Leicester, the Radio 2 DJ revealed his knee has been playing up during training. “My left knee’s a literal pain in the bum,” he said. “There’s a tendon that runs from your foot to your hip. It feels bruised when I’m running. That’s what I’m most worried about.”

But he said there is NO way he won’t finish, even if he walks. “It’s not going to stop me doing it, but I think it’s going to prevent me from jogging most of it.” One section he will walk is a climb over the Peak District. “There’s no way I’m running that because of my fear of twisting an ankle,” he laughed. “I’ve got me hiking boots, we’re going to power walk.” His feat will end in his hometown of Bolton.

Vernon on charity run (INSTAGRAM /)

Vernon and wife Tess (tessdaly / Instagram)

Vernon, 49, said he had even received advice from Olympian Mo Farah. “He said you don’t have to think you’re going to go out and really bound the roads. He said, just tap.” In the lead-up to the challenge, he has done 10 weeks’ intensive training.

“I was starting from scratch. I’ve just been running, doing my finest Forrest Gump impression,” he said. His wife, Strictly Come Dancing star Tess Daly, and their daughters, Amber and Phoebe, think he is crazy. “The kids are like, ‘Dad, you’re knocking on 50. You’re mad’,” he said.

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Last year DJ Scott Mills pulled in £1.3million by staying on a treadmill for 24 hours, and Tess helped raise £1m in a dance-a-thon Yesterday Vernon admitted: “I’m feeling really nervous. Now I’m thinking, have I trained enough? We’re about to find out!”

Nicola Methven