JAMIE LAING: THE UNEXPECTED COST OF RUNNING 5 ULTRAMARATHONS

In March 2025, I embarked on probably the hardest challenge of my life, running from London to Manchester, completing five ultramarathons in five days with Radio 1 for Comic Relief.

I don’t think anyone anticipated how big the challenge would become - nor did I fully appreciate the scale of what I was undertaking, but needless to say it was a life changing experience and raised £2.26million for an incredible cause.

I wanted to bring you - our wonderful Great Company listeners - a bonus episode of the show, to dive back into that week and give you insight into my reasons for running and the toll it took on me mentally.

To be totally honest, I’ve not quite felt fully back to normal since completing the challenge, but I wanted to be open with you all and say that wherever you are, and whatever you’re going through, you really are not alone - people are truly amazing and when we support each other, the world is a much brighter place that it can seem. It’s ok to admit when you’re not OK - in fact, it’s more than OK, it’s incredibly strong.

So, after a few weeks to reflect, here’s my open and honest account of that wild week in March, when we ran from London to Manchester.

Jamie x

You can also follow us on Instagram and Tiktok @greatcompanypodcast and if you've got thoughts, questions and comments, you can email us at greatcompany@jampotproductions.co.uk

--

THE CREDITS

Exec Producer: Jemima Rathbone

Assistant Producer: Gurlina Heer

Video: Jake Ji & Ryley Kirby

Social Media: Laura Coughlan

Great Company is an original podcast from JamPot

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.