Is this sort of thing commonly done, even by athletes?
Fricking wimp!
I don’t know that it would be proper to say “commonly,” but runs and races of that length are done by ultramarathoners. My cousin is an ultramarathoner/ultratriathlete - they’re definitely a different breed.
Pat Farmer is a friend of my husband, who does other things as well as run, but yes, it’s commonly done and is its own sport, as others have mentioned.
Plus, he’s just a cool guy.
43 Marathons in 7 weeks for the benefit of Sport Relief! He finished it today in Trafalgar square.
Here’s an article about him:
That article has video diaries he’s been doing all along, starting with the first one just 2 marathons in. It really underscores his achievement. He’s had a real gut on himself when he started after just 5 weeks of training. He looks miserable but he was determined to do this and he went and he did it! What an inspiration.
Here’s a direct link to the diaries - I hadn’t seen them before. Sound quality is so-so but Eddie is always a good show.
Also, for at least part of it, he had an ice cream truck following him around advertising his website and his goals for the charity. Just what every marathoner needs!
Man. Nothing but admiration from me towards him. That’s a hell of an accomplishment.
YAY EDDIE!!! Love ya. What a great thing to do for yourself AND charity. Mucho congrats on your accomplishment.
I would be dead. Day one.
Wow, that is no joke. I had no clue Eddie Izzard was athletic.
That’s the thing - he’s not particularly athletic. He’s 47 years old and when he started, he was probably carrying at least 30 extra pounds. The first video diary makes it clear that he wasn’t what anyone would consider ‘in shape’. He says he only trained for 5 weeks.
Guts and willpower - if only I had a tenth of that.
I’m doing a 10K charity run next weekend and have been having problems getting much beyond 6K in training. Mr Izzard’s astonishing achievement inspired me: if he can run a marathon 43 times in a row, I can surely run 10K - so I managed 7.5K for the first time last night and am confident I can do it now.
Whenever I hear his name, I always think about cats behind the couch, drilling for oil…
Well done, Eddie and bravo!
Truly amazing! Way to go!