Sara Cox is halfway through a 135-mile ultra-walk for Children in Need, but the Radio 2 DJ’s real journey began decades earlier – in a tiny London bedsit where a boyfriend stole every penny and left her sobbing on the floor. Now 50, with three children and a farmhouse idyll, Cox’s four-day march from Manchester to London isn’t just fundraising; it’s redemption in motion.

Radio 2's Sara Cox gives 135 mile run update as she takes on gruelling Children in Need challenge

She started at 6 AM Wednesday, Pudsey strapped to her back, aiming for 35 miles daily across hills, motorways, and relentless rain. By mile 67, blisters bled through her socks. At mile 92, cramps buckled her knees. Yet every wince is laced with memory: “I was 19, fresh off the Bolton bus, £400 in my pocket – gone in one night,” she told The Times mid-stride. The thief? A charming musician who vanished with her savings, guitar, and trust. “I slept on night buses for a week. Thought I’d never smile again.”

Depression followed – “black dog days” she hid behind club promo gigs and early radio shifts. Salvation came in 1997: a blind date with Ben Cyzer, a gentle advertising exec who “didn’t flinch when I cried over toast.” Marriage in 2003, three kids (Lola, Isaac, Rafferty), and a Herefordshire farm where chickens outnumber neighbours. “I walked into storms then,” Cox says, “now I walk through them.”

The route mirrors her life: Day 1 – urban grit (Salford Quays to Peak District); Day 2 – isolation (moorland solitude, no signal); Day 3 – family (kids join for 5 miles, screaming “Mum’s a legend!”); Day 4 – home (finish at BBC Broadcasting House, greeted by 500 Pudsey-waving kids). £2.8 million raised so far – every pound for therapy, food banks, and safe houses.

BBC Radio 2 DJ Sara Cox on hanging up her dancing shoes and living a healthy life | Express.co.uk

Fans trail her with umbrellas and tears. A 12-year-old from a Children in Need project handed her a daisy at mile 110: “You walked for kids like me when you were broken. Thank you.” Cox bawled, then ran the next mile.

She’ll cross the line Sunday noon, 135.2 miles, voice hoarse from singing Walking on Sunshine to stay awake. “I lost everything once,” she’ll tell the crowd. “These kids start with nothing. Let’s give them a map.”

From robbed runaway to radiant mum-of-three, Sara Cox proves the longest walks aren’t measured in miles – but in second chances.