For most of the world, the ability to complete just one marathon — a running race of 26.2 miles in length — is an amazing accomplishment. It takes weeks, if not months, to train for such a goal, and several more weeks to recover from the effort. Running a marathon is an epic undertaking.

That's what makes British comedian Eddie Izzard's latest stunt even more jaw-dropping. Izzard plans to run 27 consecutive marathons over the course of 27 days. He will be running across South Africa in an attempt to both raise money for the charity Sport Relief and honor the memory of Nelson Mandela.

Mandela, a South African politician, and philanthropist is probably best known for the 27 years he spent in prison for his efforts to end apartheid in the African country. The link between his prison term and Izzard's quest is no coincidence.

Izzard's journey will take him on a 730-mile tour of South Africa, beginning in Mbashe and running to Cape Town where he will catch a plane to Johannesburg and finish his runs in Pretoria.

Izzard hopes to raise funds for the Comic Relief's Sport Relief effort during his almost month-long journey. Similar to other aid-focused events, Sport Relief looks to sports and fitness to raise money to support education and health programs throughout the U.K. as well as poorer countries.

As of this writing, Izzard has just completed his fourth of 27 marathons. Follow his journey on Twitter using #MarathonMan.