Eddie Izzard Marathon Man (Picture: Sport Relief/Seamus Ryan)

Eddie Izzard has just started his Sport Relief challenge of running a whopping 27 marathons in just 27 days in South Africa.

Dubbed ‘Marathon Man’, Eddie will attempt to run over 700 miles in temperatures of up to 30°C marathons across South Africa to raise money for Sport Relief 2016.

And he’s not giving himself a single day off.

Just started running in South Africa. Trying to run 27 marathons in 27 days for @sportrelief pic.twitter.com/m6RoybA72t — Eddie Izzard (@eddieizzard) February 23, 2016

Eddie, 54, explained he is running the marathons to honour the 27 years that Nelson Mandela spent in prison.


His route will see him start in Mandela’s birthplace, as well as running past notable places including his school, university and then on to Cape Town, as well as Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned.



Kicking off today, Eddie’s mammoth journey will end on March 20 at the Union Building in Pretoria where Mandela gave his first speech as the first democratically elected President of South Africa in 1994.

But while honouring Mandela, it will also be a race close to Eddie’s heart as this is the second time he has attempted the challenge.

Back in 2012 he attempted the 27 marathons but was forced to pull out for health reasons.

And in 2009 he raised £1.8million for Sport Relief when he ran 43 marathons in 51 days across the UK.

For those that want to keep up-to-date with Eddie’s progress, they can do so via BBC Three’s new digital and social channels which launched last week.

BBC3 coverage Each day, bbc.co.uk/bbcthree will follow Eddie’s progress on his gruelling journey, with a personal diary, and up to the minute reports on his adventure

Live updates via BBC Three’s social channels

Virtual map of Eddie’s progress



Sport Relief takes place from Friday March 18 to Sunday March 20. Find out more at www.sportrelief.comwww.sportrelief.com

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