British comedian finishes first of 27 marathons in Mandela’s name for Sport Relief

24 February 2016 - 13:43 By TMG Digital

Comedian Eddie Izzard has begun his quest to run 27 marathons in 27 days in South Africa‚ to honour Nelson Mandela’s 27 years in prison‚ in aid of raising funds for the Sport Relief charity. “Our marathon man crosses the Mbashe River and passes through Mvezo‚ Nelson Mandela's childhood stomping ground‚” the organisation tweeted yesterday. Almost at the halfway point of Marathon 2 & the heat is really taking its toll #MarathonManhttps://t.co/MSWbRDyC3khttps://t.co/tyk8o0iLsZ— Sport Relief (@sportrelief) February 24, 2016asyncHe did manage to complete the run and has already begun the second marathon in as many days‚ with Sport Relief and BBC broadcasting scenic footage of the #MarathonMan in the rural Eastern Cape‚ including a horseback rider on the road.The heat is taking its toll‚ as Izzard is already looking fatigued on the tweets being posted by the charity.Izzard tried to do the same challenge in South Africa in 2012‚ but pulled out before being able to achieve it. The route he is running includes where Madiba grew up‚ on Robben Island where he was jailed and ending at the Union Buildings in Pretoria where Mandela was inaugurated as the country’s first democratically elected president.He was previously quoted as saying he decided he wanted to run in South Africa as a way of belatedly honouring all those who struggled against apartheid. “I was thinking about what I had done to demonstrate against apartheid and I realised I didn’t eat the fruit from South Africa‚ that’s all I did.”Izzard has done back-to-back marathons across England and Wales to raise money for Sport Relief...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.