Eddie Izzard Runs Around Britain

Transvestite stand-up comic, Eddie Izzard, 47 ran 1,100 miles around Britain. This is an especially unlikely challenge for someone who has never run more than 5 miles. It is, as you can imagine, quite the feather in his cap. He had been entertaining the thought for 10 years

It was a charity run for Sport Relief, a fundraising organization that raises and donates money to impoverished people in the UK and abroad. “I wanted to try to run around the whole of the UK. London to Cardiff to Belfast to Edinburgh and back to London, running through as many parts of the UK that lie in between our 4 capitals,” he said, of his “Eddie Iz Running challenge.” He carried flags and ice cream through the capitals. Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland. The ice cream truck followed him along, giving free ice creams, in hopes for donations.

He Twittered and blogged throughout the whole adventure to keep the public informed and supportive.

Izzard admitted his charity run from London to Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh, in aid of Sports Relief, had become “science fiction” and he was beyond exhaustion. Asked about preparation, Izzard said: “Well, I was told I was supposed to do five months of training, but I don’t like training so I did five weeks of training.”

After the run, by he announced the possibility of running for parliament in either Westminster or Brussels, because he liked to make long announcements.

When asked why he had decided to take on the Eddie Iz Running adventure, Izzard, said, “I think running is very primal. We used to hunt in this way.”

All kidding aside, his reasons for running are purely noble, which he did share on his blog,

The thinking behind his mission was;

WE ARE DIFFERENT
WE ARE THE SAME
WE ARE UNITED KINGDOM
WE ARE AFRICA
WE ARE HUMANITY

The 47-year-old finished his 1,100 mile (1,770 kilometer) odyssey across Britain, telling journalists: “I feel dead.” He is determined not to give up on the running and would like to do at least a couple of long runs every week.

Izzard, sustained a few minor injuries, including one to his hamstring during training, as well as shin problems. When asked how he managed to keep going, with the strenuous schedule of thirty-one miles for 6 days a week, he said that it was all about mind over matter. He compared it to the Second World War, where people had to do extraordinary things. He said, “If you imagine that you are going to do something that is rather extreme you just go ahead and do it.”

c. 2009