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Olly Murs finishes fourth day of 'brutal' challenge

Kris Holland
News imagePA Olly Murs and his wife Amelia look at each other and embrace. There is a crowd around him, some of which are holding signs. Murs is wearing a black sports jacket and Amelia is wearing a brown fleece and has long blonde hair. PA
Murs had an emotional reunion with his wife Amelia on arriving into Stoke Bruerne

Olly Murs has completed the penultimate day of his "brutal" endurance challenge to raise money for charity.

The singer-songwriter and TV personality is running, cycling and rowing 249 miles (400km) between Manchester and London to raise money for children's charity Unicef.

On Thursday, which was Murs' 42nd birthday, he travelled from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, to St Albans, Hertfordshire.

The presenter, from Witham in Essex, said: "It's been brutal today. My quad is so sore... I can't believe this is how I'm celebrating my 42nd birthday – something I'll never forget!"

Murs, who rose to fame with hits including Troublemaker and Dance With Me Tonight, has so far raised more than £610,000 during his five-day Into The Unknown Challenge as part of Soccer Aid's 20th anniversary.

News imageUnicef Olly Murs with a clenched face and stubble, wearing a cornflower blue helmet. His top is visible and bears the logo of the challenge he is doing, called Into The Unknown Challenge. The brown curls of his short hair are just visible by his left ear. Blurred in the background are the spectators, holding their phones and smiling as Murs pedalled through the Hope ValleyUnicef
The singer is running, cycling and rowing between Manchester and London

Thursday's 50 mile (80km) route featured a row from Nether Heyford to Stoke Bruerne, a cycle through Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire before a run from Redbourn to St Albans, Hertfordshire.

He was joined by local runners on his final approach to St Albans Cathedral and said it had been a "huge boost"

He continued: "Nothing but respect for those guys. Thank you so much. I really needed that."

On Thursday afternoon, Murs was also joined by co-presenter and friend, Mark Wright, for a cycle stint and British sprinter, Adam Gemili, for a run.

As part of the challenge, Murs has not been told what to expect from his route until just before the start of each day.

He is due to finish the challenge at the London Stadium on Friday.

Murs will chronicle his journey in a documentary on ITV on 29 May.

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