Jamie Laing is following in the footsteps - and wheels - of many Radio 1 presenters before him who have undertaken gruelling challenges to raise as much money as they can for Comic Relief.

Last year saw Mollie King complete an epic cycling challenge, despite never having ridden a bike before. Mollie cycled 500km from London to Hull in just five days - raising over £1.3 million for Comic Relief.

In 2023, Arielle Free completed a 'Tour de Dance', cycling over 50 hours across five cities in five days on a 10-person bike - all while DJing at the same time.

Battling some pretty awful weather along the way, Arielle kept going on her musical cycling challenge across York, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool - raising all important funds for Comic Relief.

In every one of the challenges, it's been the incredible support and donations from the Radio 1 listeners that has motivated the presenters to continue and get over that finish line.

Go Jamie go!

Matt Edmondson
Radio 1 presenter

Speaking to Melvin Odoom & Charlie Hedges live on Radio 1 earlier, Matt Edmondson, who's going to be following Jamie every step of the way to Manchester, gave an insight into how Jamie might cope with this epic challenge.

"This is raising money for charity, it's a massive deal for Red Nose Day and Comic Relief. I think a lot of people might want to oversell how hard it was or how much they were suffering, and the thing with Jamie he's never going to do that. He's always going to say I'm fine until the point where he really isn't and that kind of exterior is going to have to crack a bit.

"Jamie's a really good friend of mine and I've been lucky enough to spend enough time with him where that pretence falls away a bit and you get to the depth of him and it's a beautiful thing. I think we're all going to get to experience that."

To donate any amount online to Comic Relief and to support Jamie’s challenge, click this link, external.

The above link takes you to an external donation page for Comic Relief. Its use is subject to their Terms of Use, external & Privacy Notice, external.

If you would like to donate via text:

To donate £5 text the word FIVE to 70011

To donate £10 text the word TEN to 70011

To donate £20 text the word TWENTY to 70011

(UK ONLY) Texts cost your donation amount +1 std rate message. 100% of your donation will go to Comic Relief. You must be 16+ and have the bill payer’s permission.

For full terms and information on the registered charity, go to bbc.co.uk/jamie.

Image source, BBC / Comic Relief

Jamie Laing
Radio 1's Ultra Marathon Man

"It's a little tough this one I'm not going to lie... this is a little bit of a toughie. I've got to the point I've never run more than. So we're basically at 25km and I've never ever run past that so this is the unknown. And my body's now reminding me why I've never run past it!

"We've been talking about Shackleton and Scott, the explorers, and if they can do it, I can do it!"

Matt Edmondson
Radio 1 presenter

"He's looking like a man who hasn't stopped running for a while. He looks lonely out there. All the infrastructure of a normal marathon isn't around him. You don't have the water stations, all the other runners, people in costumes, people standing by the sides cheering you on, giving you that energy. He's just a guy out on a run - that doesn't stop for five days.

"So he doesn't have the vibe of a marathon that keeps people going. So we have to be that vibe. He's got us on in his headphone. We as the Radio 1 family and our listeners are that marathon vibe. We've got to keep supporting him!"

Jamie Laing
Radio 1's Ultra Marathon Man

Legs are feeling alright. My knees are feeling a bit funky. I’m feeling ok, I think? I don’t really know what I’m feeling. I’ve got another 10km until I’ve never gone that far before in my life. After 25km it’s new territory.

We've been spying on Jamie's fitness watch - here are his stats from a morning running through London; from Broadcasting House through to Hyde Park and northwards via industrial estates.

While Jamie continues Day 1 of his Ultra Marathon through North London, here are a few photos from his Hyde Park visit earlier this morning where he was certainly seeing more than double!

Jamie's going to need all the support and encouragement he can get over his five ultra marathons.

To help him when the going gets tough, 8-year-old Ivy, daughter of Radio 1's Matt Edmondson, has made Jamie a bracelet that simply says 'Go'"!

As Matt explained when he popped the bracelet on Jamie's wrist, "Whenever your head says 'No' you look down at that and you hear 'Go' and you run and run and run!"

Jamie Laing
Radio 1's Ultra Marathon Man

As soon as you see a hill, it starts to go a bit pear-shaped. A lot of people are cheering from their cars, which is very sweet. But it’s my bottom. My bottom is hurting.

Nick the physio said I can have a massage whenever I want. That’s great, but I’ve bought my own oil. I’ve bought some candles too. My whole body is going: ‘What are you doing?’ But I’m feeling ok at the moment.

It feels a bit like when Frodo went into Mordor.

Anyone familiar with Jamie Laing will know he's basically a puppy, upbeat and bouncing with energy.

But this behind-the-scenes footage, captured just before he starts his challenge, shows a man who knows what he's about to take on.

Tom's on the fence about whether Jamie can complete this challenge, but Sharon's sending all the love.

Text or WhatsApp 03700 100 100 to get in touch - more info here.

What better way for Jamie to feel the love than running alongside 50 doppelgangers?

When our Ultra Marathon Man entered Hyde Park in London, he was joined by 50 lookalikes, all donning blonde wigs and Jamie Laing masks.

Quite the sight for anyone on their morning dog walk...

To donate any amount online to Comic Relief and to support Jamie’s challenge, click this link, external.

The above link takes you to an external donation page for Comic Relief. Its use is subject to their Terms of Use, external & Privacy Notice, external.

If you would like to donate via text:

To donate £5 text the word FIVE to 70011

To donate £10 text the word TEN to 70011

To donate £20 text the word TWENTY to 70011

(UK ONLY) Texts cost your donation amount +1 std rate message. 100% of your donation will go to Comic Relief. You must be 16+ and have the bill payer’s permission.

For full terms and information on the registered charity, go to bbc.co.uk/jamie.

Image source, BBC / Comic Relief

Before starting his challenge, Jamie sat down with Greg James to explain his reason for taking on the Ultra Marathon Man gauntlet.

He opened up about his own experience with anxiety, and said this challenge is about letting others experiencing their own mental health struggles to know they're not alone.

If you are affected by any of the topics raised by this video, please visit the BBC Action Line.

The less he thinks about how many miles he has to run, the better. Here are photos of Jamie's first steps for the Ultra Marathon Man challenge.

Charlie Hedges
Presenter, BBC Radio 1

I do genuinely believe he can do it. I’ll be honest, when the challenge was announced I thought there was no way. But there is something in him - there’s a fire.

The first ultra marathon sees him journeying through London and up towards St. Albans - he's due to finish in Harpenden this afternoon.

One fun thing: Before he's even begun, he's due to be met by 50 lookalikes in Hyde Park, all donning blonde Jamie Laing wigs. The start of a very surreal few days.

Image source, BBC / Comic Relief

All smiles for the first steps, he says: "The support from the listeners already is an amazing thing. An amazing emotion. I can’t let anyone down."