Johnny Appleton (left) and friend cross the finish line together

HE had already cycled 1,061 miles – which probably felt twice as far on his fixed-wheel bike – but on Sunday, Johnny Appleton completed the final 26 miles (on foot) of his Herculean mission.

The charity fundraiser, who volunteered for Childline for more than 10 years, launched his money-making mission on March 4 when he set off to cycle to all 12 Childline centres across the country on a single-speed bike.

But after 19 days on his bike, Bikey McBikeFace, he returned home triumphant. However, there was always meant to be one final push: the London Marathon.

And on Sunday, the Canonbury masseur did it.

“The run was tough,” he said, describing how early on he’d been running alongside comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who was “looking great”, but that halfway through his “body was slowly giving up bit by bit”. He managed to get to the finish line, even befriending a stranger in the final leg.

“At about 400m to the finish line this great human was saying he was pushing for the finish,” Mr Appleton said.

“He came up behind me and no one was going with him, so I said ‘Let’s go!’ We pumped our arms and ran our hearts out. At about 100m to go he said ‘I can’t’. I told him, ‘You can. We got this,’ and as we finished we embraced and all the pain disappeared. Well, at least for a second.”

For Mr Appleton, the whole fundraising journey left him “in awe of all the support and kindness of friends and strangers”. Would he consider doing it all again? “The cycle, yes, the marathon, no!” he laughed.

So far he has raised more than £7,000 for Childline. If you’d like to contribute, visit: www.justgiving.com/page/tourdechildine