Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox set off this morning from Kielder Forest on the station’s longest-ever BBC Children in Need challenge.
Her Great Northern Marathon Challenge will see her cover 135 miles on foot over five days, carrying Pudsey Bear from Northumberland to Pudsey in Leeds.
Locals gathered early to cheer Sara on as she began the journey, with Morpeth Pipe Band’s Stuart Todd playing the bagpipes and Andrea Foote from Morpeth Riding for the Disabled sounding the start horn. Even a group of alpacas turned up to see her off.
Speaking live on BBC Breakfast from the start line, Sara said she felt “more relaxed than I have been for weeks” but admitted her “toes are already soggy” from heavy drizzle.
The Radio 2 Teatime Show host will travel through Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, walking and jogging without any vehicles or assistance. The challenge symbolically takes Pudsey from the border to the heart of his namesake town, all in aid of BBC Children in Need.
Sara told Scott Mills on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show: “There are loads of people here. There are kids with flags. Everyone has got their Pudsey ears on. People have got signs. It’s absolutely gorgeous actually. Pudsey is here obviously. And a man with bagpipes!”
Listeners can follow her route on the live tracker at bbc.co.uk/sara and hear regular updates across Radio 2, BBC Sounds, and the station’s social channels throughout the week.
A BBC television crew is accompanying Sara for a behind-the-scenes documentary, Sara Cox: Every Step of the Way for Children in Need, which airs on BBC One on 19 November at 8pm.