Olly Murs has sold millions of records, packed out arenas and survived the X Factor machine. But nothing quite prepared him for five days of running, cycling and rowing from Manchester to London, with a knee that's been operated on five times, and no idea what each morning would bring.
This week on The Runna Podcast, Olly joins Anya Culling and Coach Ben to reflect on his 'Steps Into the Unknown' challenge for Soccer Aid - raising £1 million for UNICEF in the process.
This is a conversation about what it actually takes to show up for something completely unknown, and what every runner can take from that.
The Knee That Wasn't Supposed to Handle This
Olly's relationship with his left knee goes back over a decade: ACL, meniscus tears, plates, screws, five operations.
Before signing up for the challenge, he went back to his surgeon for an MRI. The verdict was good. But the challenge itself threw up things nobody planned for: trail running, the Peak District on day one, uneven terrain that would test even a healthy knee.
In this episode, Olly explains the years of leg strength work that made the challenge physically possible, and what happened on Jacob's Ladder on the first day that brought everything into sharp focus.
Listen to hear how he managed it across five days.
"I Enjoyed How Horrible It Was"
This is the moment in the episode that stops you in your tracks. Olly describes being in a place of sustained physical suffering – pain in his knee, fatigue building daily, no finish line in sight – and realising he was actually enjoying it. Not in a comfortable way. In the way that only comes from fighting against something inside yourself and refusing to stop.
As Coach Ben puts it: that's your version of a runner's heart. It's one of the most honest descriptions of endurance mindset you'll hear from someone who isn't a professional athlete. And it translates directly to anyone pushing through the hard miles of a training block.
The Mindset Behind the Miles
Olly has never run a marathon. The longest he'd run before this challenge was a half marathon, one that left him unable to walk and put him off running for years.
What carried him through 400km wasn't running experience. It was something built much earlier: a competitive twin brother, a nan who made him reflect after every game, and an obsession with doing his absolute best regardless of the result.
More insights in this episode include :
Why his ADHD-level energy as a kid became his biggest asset as an adult
How training had to change once his knee stopped being invincible
What the X Factor taught him about handling pressure that has nothing to do with music
Why his wife Amelia's fitness mindset was the unexpected factor that made all of this possible
Five knee surgeries. Zero marathon experience. No idea what was coming each morning. If Olly Murs can cover 400km on a rebuilt knee with no running background, most barriers holding the rest of us back deserve a second look.
This episode is for beginners, returners, and anyone who's been putting something off.
Listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts, watch on YouTube → @therunnapodcast.
Watch Olly Murs: Into The Unknown on ITVX: https://www.itv.com/watch/olly-murs-steps-into-the-unknown-for-soccer-aid/10a7768a0001B/10a7768a0001