Vernon Kay sets off on his ULTRA Ultramarathon challenge

This morning at slightly past 8:10 am, Vernon Kay commenced his ULTRA Ultramarathon to raise funds for BBC Children in Need. He commenced his run from Victoria Park in Leicester.

Today, he is traveling to Derby and concluding his journey at the Bolton Wanderers Football Stadium in his hometown on Friday morning. There will be a live outdoor broadcast of Zoe Ball's Radio 2 Breakfast Show with an audience of 400 people.

Vernon was a guest on Zoe's show this morning just before the challenge started. He confessed to feeling anxious.

When speaking to Zoe, he confessed that he was absolutely terrified after reviewing some of the Ordnance Survey maps for the route. The elevation was incredibly steep and daunting to him. Although the first day consisted of a slight elevation, the upcoming days on Thursday and Friday were going to be a huge challenge. He admitted that he was caught off guard by how difficult those days were going to be.

Vernon said that he will stop every seven miles, which is how he has been practicing, and he won't take breaks for more than 25 minutes because that's when the body starts to rest.

According to him, it's necessary to take a break, have something to eat, and perhaps swap out his socks and sneakers before continuing.

Listeners can tune in to Radio 2 throughout the day to hear about Vernon's current progress. Additionally, he will be hosting his own weekday morning show live while he takes on the challenge.

You may also keep track of Vernon's advancement on the BBC Live webpage.