Radio 2 In The Park - Chelmsford ❤️
I’ve been working on this for months. It was a mammoth effort - working with unbelievably talented production teams, presenters, management, DJ’s, live events teams, press, artists, creative geniuses, and Mr Blobby. From @jowhiley ’s brilliant show from the Hot Box on Thursday to @djsaracox leading the crowd to a massive singalong to Like A Prayer on Sunday - we really did it all. Also, that Kid Creole & The Coconuts set was ridiculous. And Bryan Adams rules. And @jessiej is mind-blowingly talented.
Always such a relief to see these big moments come together.
To everyone I have worked with/alongside on this project: a massive thank you. It has been an insane amount of work, but I’m very happy/grateful to have played a part in making it happen.
Chelmsford Forever ❤️
Summer ‘25 in 🇺🇸
Family, boardwalks, old pals, new pals, karaoke, hibachi, engagements (❤️), aquariums, grilled chicken, swimming, running, dolphins, sharks (!), root beer, reading a book, pizza, lobster rolls, chipmunks, lots of coffee, art classes, sleepovers, coors light, mini golf, Zelda, tattoos, hotels and a whole lot more ❤️❤️❤️
FORTY.
what a birthday weekend. I am feeling very loved! I can’t believe I got to sing, dance, bingo and party with some of my favourite people in the world at the @themildmayclub . To everyone who has celebrated with me this weekend: thank you for making it so special. I’ll never forget it!
To all my family: you are the best (can’t wait to celebrate with my 🇺🇸 fam in a few weeks).
To all my friends: thanks for making me feel so special. And to those of you who I didn’t see this weekend, I love you dearly.
To the Mildmay choir, band & @ldyer.music - I cannot thank you enough for your relentless energy and incredible voices. Every party needs The Mildmay Choir! Book us!
To Sunday and @msaimeephillips - I love you ❤️
📷: @karenstanleyphoto
Congratulations @scissorsisters ✂️
What a way to finish the tour! Dublin! Amazing crowd + Aimee on stage for the finale (Slide 7/8)
It’s been so amazing seeing this tour come together. Everyone worked so damn hard - and ended up making one of the best, feel good, inclusive, celebratory shows I’ve ever seen. It looked and sounded incredible.
Super lucky that I got see it in Nottingham, Birmingham, London and Dublin - all places that are special to me - and I loved my little glimpse of how it all comes together every night.
Congratulations to all the teams who made this show so special - @jakeshears@babydaddy@delmarquis@bridgetbarkan@msambermartin@randy_drums_etc@karmecaruso . You all rule.
And extra special congratulations to the most creative, hard working, most filthy/gorgeous creative director & fluffer I know - @msaimeephillips
You all fucking did it! And it was MARVELLOUS!
See ya at Glastonbury ❤️
I did it.
I completed the original 6 world major marathons and got my 6 star medal - aged 39years and 284 days.
And what a way to finish with @bostonmarathon . Definitely the hardest race I’ve ever done - those hills sap it right out of ya, and then crowds fill you right back up. It’s bonkers 🤣
Loads to process. It’s been a real adventure and I’ve had SO much love and support along the way. My heart is full and my legs are tired ❤️
Since my last grid post, the majority of conversations I’ve had, have started with “have you got a place in Boston yet?”. It has been THE thing people have wanted to talk to me about over the last few months.
Well - and I can’t believe I’m writing this - I have a place in @bostonmarathon 2025 (!!!)
I am SO pumped about this, and it means so so much.
There is a whole story about how this has come about - but it started with a tonne of people reaching out to me after my last post trying to help. THANK YOU.
For now I just want to say an extra special thanks to the legends at @newbalance@newbalancerunning , and the legends at @teambaa for getting it over the line and for giving me this opportunity.
Now I just need to get my body over the line on 21st April 2025 - so I can complete this journey.
Best start training 🏃♂️🦄 🥇
Ok. I’ll level with you. I’ve hit a roadblock - so I’m turning to the internet to help.
Way back in the heady pre-pandemic days of 2019, I set out to complete the @wmmajors 6 Major Marathons before I reach the age of 40 in 2025. When you complete the 6 races, you get the beautiful 6 star medal.
The pandemic slowed me down, but sure enough I have managed to do @nycmarathon , @londonmarathon , @chimarathon , @berlinmarathon , and @tokyomarathonfoundation marathons over the last few years - with only the elusive @bostonmarathon still to go.
I had been hoping to get a place with @sports_tours_international . I’ve run a few races with them and it looked like Boston 2025 was in the pipeline too, but alas I got told today that I would not be allocated a place with them.
I am not - and never will be - quick enough to qualify to run Boston, so @sports_tours_international were my best shot, so the rejection email hit hard today.
Of course, in the grand scheme of life I realise this is not terrible news! There are more important things than a 39 year old man trying to complete an arbitrary self-imposed goal. But it’s important to me. Infact, it’s REALLY important to me. Maybe one day I’ll tell you why.
I am determined that - somehow - I’ll be lining up with the rest of ‘em in Boston next April, ready to run for my 6 Star Medal with my 39 year old legs being put to good use.
I will raise money for a charity place, I will save up money to pay to go with a sports operator. Or I will travel to Boston myself and knock on the door of the CEO of the @teambaa if I need to (in a non-threatening, pleading way). I have to get a place in next year’s Marathon.
So my question… can anyone - ANYONE AT ALL - help me try and get a place in @bostonmarathon 2025?
Thank you 🏃♂️
God that was fun. I looked after 22 hours of live broadcasting on Radio 1 & 1Xtra over the last few days at Glastonbury. 22 hours! That’s nearly a whole day!
I LOVE working at the best festival in the world. It’s like having a front row seat peeking into the best weekend of everyone’s lives.
It’s like being spy - sent in to observe what’s happening, and then letting everyone else at home know about it. It’s the best and I love it.
Big up to the teams who made those 22 hours so brilliant - DJ’s, engineers, producers, assistant producers, bands, bosses. Love y’all.
This guy.
I can’t believe @sawyerchris is leaving Radio 1. Chris and myself have literally grown up together - meeting when we were teenagers at uni. We then walked through the doors of Radio 1 together in 2007.
Thanks to a crafty bit of detective work, the audio of our one and only Radio 1 show has been dug out the archives for all to hear. Whilst excruciating on so many levels (lol), it is also a beautiful thing to hear again - a little time capsule of a precious time. We were both right at the start of our careers. Everything lay ahead.
The journey over the last 17 years has been incredible. Chris has been at the centre of so many of Radio 1’s most creative moments. Everything from Pass The Pasty to Hide and Seek…and even a sheep race (sheep DASH). I’ve never met a more creative person. And he’s also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. When my dad died back in December 2010, Chris called me up on Christmas Day to cheer me up and tell me about some hysterical antics that were happening in his household.
I can’t believe I got to work with my pal for so long, basically having fun for a living. What a ride.
❤️
The trip of a lifetime! 2 glorious weeks in The Land Of The Rising Sun 🇯🇵
I have absolutely ADORED every second of this trip. Everywhere you look in Japan, there is something to be in awe of - the food! The buildings! The people! The konbini! The cities! The marathon! The shopping! The culture! It all felt so special and I’m so happy I got to experience it with the best crew - @msaimeephillips@tangfasticman & Sunday ❤️with a bonus EDITION™️ of @nicholasgrimshaw and @meshhenry on the last day too!
So, currently sitting at the airport with Sunday, and we’re sad to be leaving. Back to normal life we go, but this trip will stay with us forever. I love you Japan! ❤️🇯🇵
また近いうちにお会いしましょう
3hrs 57mins 43 seconds! So happy!
That was a beautiful day in a beautiful city. A race like no other - under deep blue skies on the cleanest roads I’ve ever seen, with the most polite spectators I’ve experienced.
Always emotional to run a marathon, but I feel so lucky that I got to come to this amazing country and run this race.
Thanks as always to my global support squad - so many of you stayed up through the night to keep an eye on my progress, and I’m truly grateful.
And of course, love to my IRL support squad cheering me on at 33km and 41km! ❤️ @msaimeephillips@tangfasticman & Sunday ❤️.
So, that’s 5/6 of the @wmmajors complete now. Just @bostonmarathon to go… maybe next year @sports_tours_international ?
2019 - New York ✔️
2021 - London ✔️
2022 - Chicago ✔️
2023 - Berlin ✔️
2024 - Tokyo ✔️
2025 - Boston?
For now, I’m off to have a whiskey highball at the local convenience store.
Love ❤️
