National hero Vernon Kay says it's "unbelievable" after sharing an update on his fundraising total following his epic 115-mile ultramarathon success across the UK last week. Vernon had fans, friends and supporters in tears as he crossed the line in his hometown of Bolton on Friday after the gruelling challenge.

On Monday, the Boltonian star received an update on exactly how much money the challenge has now raised for BBC Children in Need. Donations have continued to flood in over the weekend.

On Friday night the total had hit £5million. But today Vernon has been told that has gone up to a staggering £5.84million.

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Vernon said: "It's just unbelievable. Who would have thought when we started, we'd have ended with £5.8m," after being told the news live on BBC Radio 2 from presenter Gary Davies.

Vernon started his 115-mile trek from Victoria Park in Leicester to the finish line at Bolton Wanderers' stadium over four days. Radio 2 listeners were given regular updates as his emotional Ultra ultramarathon challenge unfolded.

And on Monday, Vernon was able to update Radio 2 listeners on how he's feeling now after the "physically and mentally draining" challenge.

He said: "I'm exhausted, I'm shattered, I'm full of a cold, I've got a real chesty cough I think it's cos we were running constantly and I was changing my clothes every seven or eight miles. But now I'm taking lots of vitamins and ginger."

Vernon Kay completes his Ultra Ultra Marathon Challenge for BBC Children in Need on BBC Radio 2 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton

DJ Gary Davies is covering for Vernon on his mid-morning show this week on Radio 2, and joked that maybe all the hugs from supporters were behind the cold. But Vernon insisted that was not the case.

He said: "The hugs were like a Mario Kart booster, they gave me an extra five per cent of energy every time."

Vernon added he is still struggling to process what he's done. He said: "I'm still not processing it yet, when I get through the other side of the tunnel we'll start to celebrate everything we've achieved, not just me running but Radio 2 and everyone who supported."

In terms of his aches and pains, he said he's been struggling with his knees and achilles pain after tackling Kinder Scout. He calls his third day across the Peak District his toughest day.

He said: "On Friday I started a load of pain in my achilles due to the hike over Kinder Scout.

"My head is like really foggy, I'm finding it hard to clearly process thoughts, I'm doing everything really slowly. I'm just physically and mentally draining.

"It was a lot harder, the Kinder Scout day was the day that broke me physically and mentally."

Kinder Scout broke Vernon

After Friday night's finish, he admitted he spent Saturday mostly "in bed" but is having to keep up the walking to ensure his legs don't seize up.

Asked by Gary what will the one thing he will take away from the challenge, he got emotional yet again.

He said: "The one thing I would say is the human spirit that was elevated everywhere we ran. We sometimes get trapped in this rabbit hole of social media when it's all negative.

"So just to see the positive energy created, and people smiling, people opening up with really raw human stories, lots of people crying and hugging that's the one thing that will stay with me forever."

When asked if he'll do it again, he quipped: "It's not my turn!" But added that he'd be up for doing a DJ relay next time around where everyone could take part.

You can still donate to Vernon's fundraising at the BBC's Children in Need pages here.