It’s not often someone is pleased to see the Stadium of Light (apologies, Sunderland fans), but Jill Scott certainly was on Friday, as the former England footballer became the latest celebrity to complete a gruelling bike-themed challenge for Sport Relief… by running and cycling 388 miles from Wembley Stadium in London to the home of her beloved Black Cats.
Scott’s five-day duathlon kicked off in Monday at Wembley – the scene of England and Scott’s historic Euro 2022 success – and saw her complete back-to-back 112-mile and 99-mile rides on her custom Mercian bike, before taking on a 38-mile ultra marathon run from Liverpool to Manchester on Wednesday.
She then rode another 111 miles on Thursday, finishing things off today with a 28-mile run to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, where she was greeted by hundreds of cheering locals.
“I’m so overwhelmed, the support has been fantastic,” the retired Manchester City midfielder told the BBC soon after crossing the finish line on Friday afternoon.
“And that’s what gets you over the line. My legs are numb, all the blisters have popped on my feet, my ribs are even hurting. I don’t know what that’s about. I’m in a lot of pain, but it was all for a great cause.”
Asked if she knew how tough it was going to be, Scott said: “No! Because I knew I couldn’t fully train for it, I wasn’t going to go for a 120-mile bike ride or a 38-mile run. But I got myself fit and mentally, I got my head down and got through it. It’s been an amazing five days.
“I’ve relied on a team my whole career and I couldn’t have got through this without the Sport Relief team. When I didn’t want to eat, they gave me gels and food, and kept me going.
“Sunderland is home, this is community, my family and friends, it means the world.”
Half the funds that Scot has raised will support local Sport for Change projects, and the other half will go towards supporting Comic Relief’s wider work.
Reflecting on the fundraising effort, the 39-year-old said: “I think everybody said it was going to be an epic challenge, but if you want people to donate and help make a difference, you’ve got to try and do something big.
“Sport Relief is just fantastic. Even me being able to say yes to this challenge is because I got to do sport when I was a child and I want every child to have the opportunity to be able to do sport,” Scott said.
“They support such great projects, youth work and community centres and I’ve seen that work first-hand and it really does change people’s lives.
“When I was younger, I relied on those places, and it enabled me to have a dream to become a footballer.”
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After four relentless days, 359 miles, more than 20 hours in the saddle, and over 5,000 metres of climbing, Scott faced one final challenge today: a 28.5-mile run from Bishop Auckland Football Club to the Stadium of Light.
“Today has been tough,” she said earlier this afternoon during her run. “In sport you’re taught that showing pain is a weakness, so I keep trying to hide it and smile through it. But this is completely different to any pain I’ve ever felt – and I retired four years ago, so I haven’t exactly been training since then.”
Ahead of her final run, she admitted that fatigue was beginning to take its toll.
“I’m quite tired now but, you know what, it’s the last bit,” she said. “I think there’ll be a bit of running and walking.
“I was thrilled when we were getting into the Northeast last night and started seeing Sunderland shirts. You can hear the accent and you know that you’re home.”
Scott’s dual challenge has also offered another high-profile outing for the recently revived Mercian Cycles. After supplying the tandem used by Radio 1 DJ Greg James during his Comic Relief challenge in March, the Derby-based steel bike specialist provided Scott with a Mark 1 Allroad bike for the ride.
The steel-framed all-road bike was well suited to the challenge, equipped with a wide-range Shimano GRX gravel groupset, practical luggage carrying capacity, and full mudguards.
You can continue to support Jill’s Sport Relief challenge here.
