"Eddie, tell us next time you're running 27 marathons..."

BerryH

Runner's World South Africa's advice to Eddie Izzard :laugh:

"Eddie Izzard has dropped out of his attempt to run 27 marathons in 27 days.

Last week, the British Comedian embarked on an seemingly sudden attempt to run 27 marathon in 27 days, in honour of Nelson Mandela’s 27 years prison. There was little to no media coverage of the initiative, bar a few tweets from Izzard’s twitter account.

Runner’s World tried a number of different avenues to contact the comedian, in the hope that South African runners could join him on a few legs of his initiative and assist in raising awareness (and donations) for the cause. We had no success.

Today, Izzard posted the following status on his Facebook page:

"I set out to run 27 marathons in 27 days as a tribute to Nelson Mandela and his 27 years spent in prison. Having completed 4 marathons, unfortunately, I have had to put my attempt on hold due to unforeseen medical complications that have arisen due to a multitude of factors including severe terrain, humidity and altitude. But I wish to say that my attempt is not over and I will return to South Africa and run the 27 marathons and finish this story. I owe that to Nelson Mandela who has inspired the world to struggle and succeed no matter what obstacles are thrown at us."

Runner’s World editor, Mike Finch, had the following to say regarding Eddie’s statement:

Next time you in SA don’t ignore us. We know how tough it is in Africa and we’re experts in helping even runners like you achieve their goals. It’s not surprising you only lasted four marathons.

This isn’t England where you can skip merrily through shrub-lined country lanes as you pass pheasant hunters and old ladies in Morris Minors on your way to another marathon.

This is Africa man… The cradle of mankind. The birthplace of the the HTFU club where men never cry and woman do… A lot.

This is a country where our biggest race is two marathons and another five kays in one day! We don’t mess about here. We do marathons before breakfast for training so we can play 18 holes before lunch and then still drink a case of beers by sundown while watching other men beat each other up over a rugby ball without helmets, soft grassy fields and a glass of Pimms.

We know our *kitten* so give us a shout next time and we’ll make sure you don’t fail. Fail is not a word here in Africa – if you fail you die. Our man Mandela taught us that.

See you soon, Eddie."

http://www.runnersworld.co.za/news/eddie-izzard-drops-marathon-attempt/