Sam Thompson says how new Soccer Aid challenge has given him 'nightmares'

Daily Mirror

13-05-2025

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.
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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.
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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.