PICTURE GALLERY: From Sport Relief to pain relief
BROADCASTER Stephen Nolan was last night in need of some pain relief, fearing he had broken a bone in his foot while doing a six-mile charity run yesterday.
The 22-stone presenter was absent from the airwaves last night, missing his BBC Radio Five Live show, because of the injury and will also miss his Radio Ulster phone-in this morning.
But the heavyweight presenter, who frequently mocks his weight on-air, last night insisted that he will not visit a doctor for an assessment of pain which he described as "worse than toothache".
However, for someone estranged from exercise, Mr Nolan completed the six-mile course in a respectable one hour and 20 minutes.
He told the News Letter that less than an hour after completing the Sport Relief challenge he descended into agony: "I don't know if it's broken or not.
"I ran the first mile then I slowed down, doing little bursts of walking and running. The fifth mile, I felt like fainting. I ran the sixth as much as I could.
"But about 45 minutes later the trouble started when the adrenaline finished."
Trying to suppress a chuckle at his dilemma, he said: "I'm literally crawling around fantasy island (what the tabloids dub his luxury home).
I can't reach any food above knee height. I'm starving."
Asked if he had sought medical advice on his condition, the confident questioner said: "I'm not going to crawl on my hands and knees into a hospital accident and emergency room. I'm just not going to do it."
He said that Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff and DUP MP Gregory Campbell had "goaded" him because they had been "sprinting along" while he struggled to complete the course.
But despite the pain, Nolan said that he was proud of taking part in the Northern Ireland leg of the national Sport Relief charity run.
"It was fantastic to see something good about Northern Ireland and 29 million was raised which in the recession is quite something."
Hundreds of spectators lined the route through the city centre in the spring sunshine, watching as 2,000 runners took part in Belfast.
The fundraising runners tackled either one, three or six laps for the charity.
Comedian Patrick Kielty, who also took part, said: "It was a great day all round – and fantastic to increase the amount raised for Sport Relief by about 50 per cent at a time when most charities are down by about 20 per cent.
"I am still sore from the Sport Relief bike ride but I ran the mile today, mainly for the chance to see Stephen Nolan trying to run six. I wouldn't have missed that for the world."
The Belfast Mile was one of several events taking place at locations across the UK.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
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Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
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