Eddie Izzard Announces Marathon Challenge

Comedian Eddie Izzard has announced that he will once again run a series of marathons, this time as a tribute to Nelson Mandela.

Planned for the summer, Izzard will attempt to run 27 marathons in 27 days representing the 27 years Mandela spent in prison.

Better known for comedy than athletic prowess, Izzard’s last foray into a series of marathons was in 2009, which raised over 200 thousand pounds for Sport Relief. Arriving at the finish line in London after 1,100 miles, Izzard said, “I’ve run the fastest marathon I’ve ever run, which is not incredibly fast time, but I have run 43 marathons now in 51 days, and so I don’t really care anymore. And I’m cold.”

He may not care about his running speed, but he does care about raising money for causes and intends to donate the proceeds this time to the Nelson Mandela Foundation and other South African charities. In honor of Nelson Mandela the man, Izzard will plan his route through sites linked to Mandela’s personal history, including his place of birth, trial, imprisonment, “everywhere that resonates with his life,” said Izzard.

But there’s another reason behind the effort. On tour in South Africa, Izzard said, “I was thinking about what I had done to demonstrate against apartheid and I realized that I did nothing.”