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Eddie MOTHER****ING Izzard, that's who.
Now that's what I call an action transvestite.
Now that's what I call an action transvestite.
To the cheering of taxi drivers and the tooting of horns, the comedian and actor Eddie Izzard ran into London yesterday to complete his 43rd marathon in 52 days, a feat of jogging in which he had covered 1,100 miles.
Fighting blisters that have caused the nails on his smaller toes to fall off and his larger toes to swell into “alien monsters”, he sprinted up The Mall and into Trafalgar Square where he started 7½ weeks ago.
In finishing he proved what many thought was an impossible task: that a 47-year-old cross-dresser with no sporting inclination could complete an endeavour usually reserved for a small band of endurance athletes and masochists.
Fans of his comedy routines assembled at the finish and chanted his name as he stumbled over it. He then performed a good impression of a man about to collapse. Speaking between gasps, he said that he felt “dead”. He put his success down to the fact that he was “a relentless idiot”.
He had embarked on his 43 marathons in part as a celebration of the Olympics coming to London in 2012. It was also in aid of the charity Sports Relief, which has raised donations by sending likeable but comfortably built celebrities on demanding physical challenges. In 2006, the comedian David Walliams swam the Channel, this year it was the turn of Izzard, a cross-dressing comedian of dubious athletic abilities who has occasionally claimed be “a black-belt in sashimi”.
So far Izzard has raised more than £200,000.
After only six weeks’ training he started out on a journey that would take him to every corner of the British Isles. “The first three weeks were the hardest,” he said. The relentless pressure on his body led to sleepless nights and he would wake exhausted with “blisters on top of blisters”.
But the reception he received buoyed his spirits. “I do actually like people,” he said. “I find people interesting. People stop their cars and cheer, they gave me money and food.”
More than 500,000 people “followed” the comedian, in a different sense, on Twitter. Running into London he looked lean and muscular. “Everyone says my legs look very good but I thought they looked quite good beforehand,” he said.
Simon Blease, 51, a sports doctor and mountain runner who has been following his progress, was waiting on Tower Bridge. “I didn’t think he could do it,” he said. “Like a lot of people I thought he would have a good try but his body would break down. Someone with so little training, you expect the feet to break down or stress fractures in the legs. I find it extraordinary that he has done it.”
Izzard had hoped to break five hours in his final marathon but was a few minutes over. Asked what he had gained, he said: “I know now I can do that. Sport is one of those words that stopped being part of my life when I was about 14. Sporting prowess was not something I ever associated myself with.” He now plans to continue jogging. He hoped to inspire others into sport in the run up to the Olympics. “We didn’t celebrate getting the Olympics,” he said. “We had one day and then the bombs went off. I’ve shown that even an idiot like me can run 43 marathons”. His little toenails will apparently grow back, and the number of blisters has fallen to “about five”.
Although he plans to continue jogging, he said that he had “liked the stopping”. He then excused himself — to take an ice bath. “I’m going to have a party somewhere that is dry and then I’m going to sleep for a week,” he said.
Fighting blisters that have caused the nails on his smaller toes to fall off and his larger toes to swell into “alien monsters”, he sprinted up The Mall and into Trafalgar Square where he started 7½ weeks ago.
In finishing he proved what many thought was an impossible task: that a 47-year-old cross-dresser with no sporting inclination could complete an endeavour usually reserved for a small band of endurance athletes and masochists.
Fans of his comedy routines assembled at the finish and chanted his name as he stumbled over it. He then performed a good impression of a man about to collapse. Speaking between gasps, he said that he felt “dead”. He put his success down to the fact that he was “a relentless idiot”.
He had embarked on his 43 marathons in part as a celebration of the Olympics coming to London in 2012. It was also in aid of the charity Sports Relief, which has raised donations by sending likeable but comfortably built celebrities on demanding physical challenges. In 2006, the comedian David Walliams swam the Channel, this year it was the turn of Izzard, a cross-dressing comedian of dubious athletic abilities who has occasionally claimed be “a black-belt in sashimi”.
So far Izzard has raised more than £200,000.
After only six weeks’ training he started out on a journey that would take him to every corner of the British Isles. “The first three weeks were the hardest,” he said. The relentless pressure on his body led to sleepless nights and he would wake exhausted with “blisters on top of blisters”.
But the reception he received buoyed his spirits. “I do actually like people,” he said. “I find people interesting. People stop their cars and cheer, they gave me money and food.”
More than 500,000 people “followed” the comedian, in a different sense, on Twitter. Running into London he looked lean and muscular. “Everyone says my legs look very good but I thought they looked quite good beforehand,” he said.
Simon Blease, 51, a sports doctor and mountain runner who has been following his progress, was waiting on Tower Bridge. “I didn’t think he could do it,” he said. “Like a lot of people I thought he would have a good try but his body would break down. Someone with so little training, you expect the feet to break down or stress fractures in the legs. I find it extraordinary that he has done it.”
Izzard had hoped to break five hours in his final marathon but was a few minutes over. Asked what he had gained, he said: “I know now I can do that. Sport is one of those words that stopped being part of my life when I was about 14. Sporting prowess was not something I ever associated myself with.” He now plans to continue jogging. He hoped to inspire others into sport in the run up to the Olympics. “We didn’t celebrate getting the Olympics,” he said. “We had one day and then the bombs went off. I’ve shown that even an idiot like me can run 43 marathons”. His little toenails will apparently grow back, and the number of blisters has fallen to “about five”.
Although he plans to continue jogging, he said that he had “liked the stopping”. He then excused himself — to take an ice bath. “I’m going to have a party somewhere that is dry and then I’m going to sleep for a week,” he said.
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