Sam Thompson says how new Soccer Aid challenge has given him 'nightmares'
EXCLUSIVE: Sam Thompson opens up for the first time about his incredible 260mile endurance challenge for UNICEF - saying the feat will dwarf his achivements in the jungle
Sam Thompson has opened up about his incredible endurance challenge - saying he has been having sleepness nights as he is such a novice runner.
The much-loved star is undertaking five back-to-back endurance days of running and cycling in less than two weeks. He is set to transport the Soccer Aid for UNICEF match ball from last year's stadium - Stamford Bridge in London - 260 miles to the home of this year's match at Old Trafford in Manchester.
It will see him take on five marathons and over 160 miles by bike. Speaking about how he was feeling, Sam said: 'I am so nervous…I've had nightmares about it,' he says. And he said even being out of his comfort zone in the jungle was nothing compared to this endeavour.
He said: 'This is by far gonna be the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. The jungle was great. But I've never been a runner. Before I started training for this, I had never even run further, I think, it was 8K. And even then I remember getting back, my legs were dead and I was like, 'oh, my God, this sucks. Why would anyone do this?'
'And then I stupidly watched the marathon this time around. Shouldn't have done that because the amount of people who are literally on the floor. How is this even a thing? Like, Joel Dommet is a seasoned pro and he passed out.' Asked if he would rather do jungle trials instead, he says; 'Oh, my God, the amount of camel's penises I would eat, I can't even tell you.'
Sam says juggling training with his TV work, podcast with Pete Wicks and radio show with Bauer was proving hard going. 'There's so much going on. It is incredibly hard to go and train, I would have loved to have trained maybe a little bit more. But such is life, you know, and you can't always just do it. So it's gonna be one hell of a shock to me. It's 260 miles, which is a lot,' he says.
He also spoken to Jamie Laing who recently ran five ultramarathons in five days for Comic Relief. 'Jamie and I are really great friends, he was like, 'I can only just walk now…it's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done,'' he says. 'We're not athletes. We're your average Joe's when it comes to physical activity, I think. And we are just two guys who've never run before.'
Donate to Sam's Match Ball Mission for Soccer Aid for UNICEF now, by visiting socceraid.org.uk/challenge This year, thanks to the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, every donation you make to Soccer Aid for UNICEF will be doubled – up to £5 million.
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Scottish Sun
12 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Sam Thompson reveals Soccer Aid appearance is hanging by a thread – and horrifying after-effects of 260 mile bike ride
SAM Thompson has revealed his Soccer Aid appearance is hanging in the balance as he continues to recover from his gruelling charity run. The I'm A Celeb king, 34, raised more than £1.5m for Unicef by running and biking 260 miles from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, to Old Trafford, Manchester, where the game will be played at the weekend. 4 Sam Thompson's body is in bits after he ran and biked 260 miles Credit: Splash 4 He's in good spirits even though he might not be able to play at the weekend Credit: Instagram Sam carried the matchday ball in a backpack for the duration of the journey and was joined by famous pals at various points as they tried to motivate him through the pain barrier. Speaking on Hits Radio today, Sam revealed his battered body is still suffering. He said: "I am so tired but elated. I'm so glad we got it done... "Never again [am I getting on a bike] I think I'm prone to saddle issues! After day one I still to this point can't feel bits of my privates. I'm being deadly serious! "The bike is a wild thing, Tracey who was with me going up these hills when we were skirting round the edge of Wales, that was mad and you're just going so slowly and you feel like your bike is going to topple over! I did think to myself this is the first time I've ridden a bike in so long..." Detailing how adapting for one leg issue has aggravated others, Sam continued: "Because I was running in a different way my shin was really inflamed so I couldn't even run on my tiptoes so I was running side to side. "I describe it as plugging holes, so like the calf tears so that's one hole you've got to plug so then I run on my tiptoes with my leg straight. "OK well that then messes up my ankle ligaments because everything is running through your ankle; then your ankle ligament explodes so then you can't do that... you're trying to play chess against yourself, whilst trying not to panic because I can't move my leg and it's still pretty bad." Though it's up in the air if he'll be fit in time to step onto the pitch at the weekend, Sam is still going to be a presence at training sessions in the build up under the care of Gary the physio. He said: "I'm just going to go lie on his bed every single day and get a rub down...!" Sam Thompson breaks down in tears as he's comforted by sister Louise and family after completing 260-mile endurance challenge on This Morning Sam cuddled his sister Louise after finishing the challenge but his girlfriend Samie Elishi wasn't in attendance. He also received a phone call from Orlando Bloom in the This Morning studio who congratulated him on the superhuman effort. Chris Hughes, Ryan Libbey and Josh Patterson were all on hand at various points of the challenge to offer support. This Sunday's game will see huge celebs battle it out in an England XI v World XI. The teams are being managed by Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney, respectively. 4 Sam dropped to his knees after completing the challenge Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
Sam Thompson reveals Soccer Aid appearance is hanging by a thread – and horrifying after-effects of 260 mile bike ride
SAM Thompson has revealed his Soccer Aid appearance is hanging in the balance as he continues to recover from his gruelling charity run. The I'm A Celeb king, 34, raised more than £1.5m for Unicef by running and biking 260 miles from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, to Old Trafford, Manchester, where the game will be played at the weekend. 4 Sam carried the matchday ball in a backpack for the duration of the journey and was joined by famous pals at various points as they tried to motivate him through the pain barrier. Speaking on Hits Radio today, Sam revealed his battered body is still suffering. He said: "I am so tired but elated. I'm so glad we got it done... "Never again [am I getting on a bike] I think I'm prone to saddle issues! After day one I still to this point can't feel bits of my privates. I'm being deadly serious! "The bike is a wild thing, Tracey who was with me going up these hills when we were skirting round the edge of Wales, that was mad and you're just going so slowly and you feel like your bike is going to topple over! I did think to myself this is the first time I've ridden a bike in so long..." Detailing how adapting for one leg issue has aggravated others, Sam continued: "Because I was running in a different way my shin was really inflamed so I couldn't even run on my tiptoes so I was running side to side. "I describe it as plugging holes, so like the calf tears so that's one hole you've got to plug so then I run on my tiptoes with my leg straight. "OK well that then messes up my ankle ligaments because everything is running through your ankle; then your ankle ligament explodes so then you can't do that... you're trying to play chess against yourself, whilst trying not to panic because I can't move my leg and it's still pretty bad." Though it's up in the air if he'll be fit in time to step onto the pitch at the weekend, Sam is still going to be a presence at training sessions in the build up under the care of Gary the physio. He said: "I'm just going to go lie on his bed every single day and get a rub down...!" Sam Thompson breaks down in tears as he's comforted by sister Louise and family after completing 260-mile endurance challenge on This Morning Sam cuddled his sister Louise after finishing the challenge but his girlfriend Samie Elishi wasn't in attendance. He also received a phone call from Orlando Bloom in the This Morning studio who congratulated him on the superhuman effort. Chris Hughes, Ryan Libbey and Josh Patterson were all on hand at various points of the challenge to offer support. This Sunday's game will see huge celebs battle it out in an England XI v World XI. The teams are being managed by Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney, respectively. 4
Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
Sam Thompson admits he was 'sweating' over awkward Louis Tomlinson question
Sam Thompson has revealed the awkward questioning about Louis Tomlinson that left him 'sweating'. On the Staying Relevant podcast with Pete Wicks, Sam chatted about his recently completed mammoth Soccer Aid challenge that saw him take on a 260-mile endurance challenge and is set to play in a celebrity football match. While chatting about the upcoming event, Sam spoke about the fact that he will be playing with Louis Tomlinson, who is currently dating his recent ex-partner, Zara McDermott. Sam said he was previously questioned about Louis in a pre-match interview, and was 'panicking' while responding. Sam told Pete of the incident: 'At the end of the interview, he goes, 'Look mate, I've got to ask the question that everyone wants to know this is sort of the big question really, the elephant in the room, What's it going to be like with you and Louis? Obviously he's doing Soccer Aid too.' 'Mate, you should have seen the room, everybody, it was a silent then everyone goes 'Woah, Woah Woah, end the call! End the call!' and I have just gone 'No, no guys, I've got this, I've got this.' I held my hands up to say just relax.' He revealed that despite encouraging his team that he was ready to handle the question from the journalist, he actually had no idea what he was going to say in response. 'They look at me and they're all panicking and I just think and all of the PR are like 'f**king hell if he says anything wrong here. And then in my head panicked and went 'I don't have this. I don't even know what I'm going to say.' Thankfully, he spoke from the heart and emphasised the most important part about the charity. 'I think I did alright and I meant everything I said as well, that it's not about me or Louis or who anyone is dating, it's f**king Unicef and charity and everyone is going to be there for the exact same reason. And if he has anything about him which I've heard he does, he's going to sit there and say the exact same thing.' Pete applauded him for handling the potentially uncomfortable situation with grace and jokingly asked him if he burst into tears after the call. 'The panic I felt though afterwards, I said it and I went well that's what I think, I don't know if it's the right thing or not, and then I came off and I wasn't far off that [crying] and I didn't realise I was sweating so hard I had sweat patches under my arms. 'You know when you're sweating buckets? And I turned around to our PR and was like 'was that ok?'' When interviewed by the The Mirror and asked this question in May, Sam said: 'I've never met Louis, but the moment I see him, I'll be like, 'mate, how amazing is this what we're doing, and hopefully we can make as much money as possible. And I imagine – from what I hear is a really lovely bloke – I imagine the reply will be exactly the same.' More Trending 'It's a charity football game and everyone will have a smile on their face….everybody is doing it for a cause that is far beyond relationships and who's hooking up with who and all that kind of stuff. Football brings everyone together.' He also told MailOnline that charity was at the forefront of the event: 'I feel absolutely fine. It's going to be a beautiful, special day and we are both playing together for such a great cause, and all of us taking part in this are in it for the same reason. 'It's such an amazing day and such a special charity – there's going to be smiles all around, I can promise you that. 'The charity is the most important thing, our fun is secondary to that. And when you see the big donations on the screen, that is the coolest thing in the world, and that's the best thing about it. I can't wait.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Billie Eilish's brother Finneas tear-gassed at protest in Los Angeles MORE: Justin Bieber sparks concern over post about 'being sick of transactional relationships' MORE: The Twilight Zone actress Pippa Scott dies aged 90
