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Eddie Izzard – 43 Marathons in 51 Days
British comedian Eddie Izzard recently ran 43 marathons in 51 days. With no prior running experience, the 47-year-old had only 5 weeks to prepare for the challenge. When it was all said and done, Eddie covered over 1100 miles throughout the United Kingdom to raise money for the Sports Relief charity group.
Eddie ran day after day, despite poor weather, blisters on top of blisters, and even a few lost toenails. He ran at least 26 miles, six days a week. Regardless of how he felt each morning, he continued to get up, get outside, and hit the roads.
Part way through his journey, Eddie made the following statement,
“It’s been hell, 26 miles a day is a lot. Try that six times a week. At first the last six miles were pure agony. Then it changed to the first six miles. Then it was the middle chunk. But now it’s pretty much all the same. My feet are disintegrating, the small toes have lost their nails and they look like alien monsters but I’m told they will grow back. But I’ll make it; my body isn’t really determined but my brain is.”
Afterward, he went on to say,
“If an idiot like me can run 43 marathons, then just think what real athletes can do.”
I agree with his statement, but I believe his story is actually more relevant to the average person. We already know what top level athletes are capable of achieving. The real message to share is the potential that exists within all of us. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have room to improve, just as I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have the ability to improve.
Unfortunately, society often babies its adults. The message is usually one of caution. We are always warned about doing too much, but rarely is one warned about doing too little. What happened to setting high expectations? I’m not suggesting that we all run a marathon a day and throw caution to the wind, but that doesn’t mean the average Joe or Jane cannot get up and exert themselves. The body will adapt if you are consistent and diligent. It is pointless to constantly warn the masses about doing too much when the majority isn’t doing anything.
I’d rather pass on a message about human potential. There is much more than most realize. It doesn’t fall out of the sky however. You must get up and find it. The best way to get ahead is by getting started. If a 47-year-old man with no formal training can run 43 marathons in 51 days, I’m certain that we can all get up and do something. There is no reason to fear hard work. You’ll eventually learn to embrace it.
In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
“When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be.”
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I watched this on T.V. and have been waiting for it to pop up on here,i was really impressed.And people say they couldnt run even one marathon.it just shows that it’s true what people say about about not knowing your potential.I’d love to be able to raise £200,000 for charity.
It was amazing watching him do it.
Eddie’s da bomb but what nobody mentions is that he could also afford to keep a team of experts at his side the whole time. A hundred bucks says there will be many, many injuries down the line in people who don’t have that kind of advice and just go out and over-exert “because HE did” and hurt themselves. Sorry to play devil’s advocate but nobody is saying these very obvious things.
Experts can only do so much. I’ve run in 7 marathons. Once you are deep into the run, there isn’t anything anyone can do to help. You either run or you don’t. Experts are only there to help before and after. Perhaps some dietary advice and massage. It doesn’t account for as much as you might think. I say this as both an avid runner as well as a trainer.
Ross isn’t suggesting that everyone run a marathon a day. He already stated that. I enjoy these entries for the underlying meaning behind them.
More people are injured from lack of exercise and poor nutritional habits than they are exerting themselves in an intelligent manner.
ST
I agree, you always hear about overtraining every 5th post on most forums but you rarely hear anyone mention how you might need to do more to actually reach your goal.
I’m really glad to see this here. I saw this on TV and I have been massively inspired by it, not least because this year I am running the Great North Run for charity.
Thanks Eddie and thanks Ross for letting people outside the UK know about this.
Nice way to kick off the month.
That’s awesome. I’ve enjoyed Izzard’s comedy and had no idea he did this last year. I found you can still donate to the charity he ran for here – http://www.comicrelief.com/donate/eddie
I’m currently training for a grueling week long Krav test. When I feel scared about it (which is frequently) I often come here for inspiration. This was just amazing.
“[Izzard] spent all but 5 weeks to prepare for the challenge.”
The wording of this sentence is confusing. As written, it means he spent all of his time except for 5 weeks to prepare (e.g., “I spent all but five dollars of my life savings”). Did you mean to say he spent only 5 weeks preparing?
Yes, he spent 5 weeks preparing… that’s what happens when I write blogs in the middle of the night
Celebrating this kind of extreme heroism is exactly why people don’t get off the couch–the bar is so high Joe Sixpack (of beer) can’t compete. Instead he watches the spectacle safely on his screen, following every detail of sports or celebrities so that at least he can be a master of something.
Personally I prefer heroic moderation–challenging people to move and grow, but not to extremes. And yes, running injuries are as common as old sneakers.
Witnessing a non-athlete do what others didn’t think was possible will do everything BUT keep people stationary. I’ve already received loads of emails from UK readers who are glad this story finally made the blog. Many have been inspired by Izzard (both during and after his running campaign). In addition, I don’t think anyone will watch the documentary and assume they should try to run a marathon a day. That isn’t the point, and that isn’t too difficult to see.
What a dismal and pessimistic outlook to assume that this story wouldn’t inspire. Way to go Eddie!
@Ross – In case you don’t know, you can catch the entire series on the BBC. The footage is much better than what is available through Youtube.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m3z1f
The BBC player doesn’t play in the US. Is it accessible elsewhere?
i loved eddies attitude and he had nutritionists and advice but for long periods of time he run it against there advice ” trying to beat past days times , eating crap food but also stopping to chat to everyday folk” there should be no negative comments on this thread for this fantastic story EDDIE YOU ARE THE MAN WHO DONE MORE THAN TALKING THE TALK !!
I think this is an inspirational effort. Regardless of the epxerts on board, running back to back marathons requires a mental toughness matured through life experience. I have a good friend running 52 marathons around the world in 52 weeks at the moment. He sure could use some support. His website is http://www.runlikecrazy.com.au
Great effort on raising so much coin.
Anyone who thinks that an expert staff diminishes Izzard’s accomplishments have never run a marathon and have not watched the full documentary. Eddie constantly went AGAINST the advice of the people around him. Also, all the nutritional advice in the world doesn’t mean anything when you are out on your own running for 5+ hours a day. If you’ve run a marathon, you know that feeling where you are battling yourself. It’s a long time to be out there fighting through each step. To wake up and do this day after day is incredible. Inspirational is an understatement. This is EXACTLY the kind of story that will get people up and moving. Eddie is big time here in the UK. He is hilarious and a great personality.
@Southern Trainer – If you can’t view the video files from your location, try accessing them through one of these proxy sites
http://www.xroxy.com/proxy-country-GB.htm
Does the i-player work in the states? Its on there eddie izzard marathon man. It was filmed in 3 1 hour episodes some of the most inspiring tv i have ever seen especially as he ran the last 1 in 5 hrs his quickest time! I’m sure it will also be available on dvd amazon maybe would be money well spent!
[...] [hat tip: Ross Enamait] [...]
[...] Eddie Izzard ran 43 marathons in 51 days. That is so impressive. What’s more impressive though is that it shows us what our bodies can [...]
[...] RossTraining.com Blog : Eddie Izzard – 43 Marathons in 51 Days. [...]
I watched this the other week, it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. As Eddie said, to get through it all he planned to do was not stop running. Simple!
Amazing! I remember hearing about this last year when he first started but then forgot about it until I saw this post.
For anyone looking to watch it, just search YouTube. “Eddie Izzard marathon” worked for me.
I am 45 year old housewife training to do an endurance race to the North Pole in April 2012. Eddie has positevly inspired me that I can do it. As I have said in my own blogs I am an ordinary person doing something extraordinary to enrich the lives less able than I. I am doing this for 5 charities and my suffering will ease with training and recovery. For others it is part of their daily life. Eddie is quite humbling when you think about what he has done and what you have encapsulated above. thankyou
I missed the shows on the telly but watched them on iPlayer. Incredible stuff. Real jaw dropping stuff throughout the shows, time after time after time.
While putting the clip on here and giving a great review spreads the message as people have said it doesn’t really do justice to the whole thing. 43 marathons in 51 days, that is beyond words. And when you have an idea what Eddie Izzard is like in real world terms, it’s even more incredible. The bloke is not an obvious athlete, and thats putting it mildly.
To say his efforts are anything other than inspiring is beyond words but in a completely different way.
I just completed London Marathon. During my training I had to take 3 weeks off with a chest infection which was quite a chunk out of my schedule. I thought about chucking in the towel but during that time I watched the documentary. Inspiring doesn’t do it! Safe to say that I ran London and beat my pb by 14 minutes. Eddie is a superman!!
I watched all the programmes on Eddie’s marathons and think he is a great inspiration to all of us.It shows us that if we get up of our asses and put our minds to it, anything is possible. Well done Eddie!
Well Eddie has inspired me to continue ,I am entered for the Brighton Marathon but due to illness and injury I am behind on my training ,and with 5 weeks to go was getting worried but now I am deterimined to push my training a bit more ,thankfully I have done some running before but this has made me determined I will finish this race and race some much needed funds for our soldiers
A lot of people are actually reaching their full potential and working hard and striving to be a better person. People hold down jobs, bring up children and care for elderly parents etc all at the same time. Having 51 days away from ones commitments to complete an exciting challenge is something many only dream about when they too are running their own daily marathons of different sorts. Not so glamourous but should still be appreciated.