Comedian Eddie Izzard Runs 43 Marathons In 51 Days

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British comedian Edward John "Eddie" Izzard, 47, ran 1,050 miles, an equivalent of 43 full marathons, over a period of 7 weeks, in order to raise £200,000 ($308,000) for Sport Relief, a charity that helps the poor in the United Kingdom and abroad. Izzard is best known for his stand-up work as well as tendency to cross-dress.

The run started in London, and took Izzard through Cardiff, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds before coming to an end at London's national gallery. After crossing the finish line, Izzard stated that he felt dead. He was greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters. Three quarters of a million people followed Izzard's progress on Twitter.

During the course of the run, Izzard lost his toenails and got blisters all over his feet, and had to eat around 6,000 calories each day to have the energy to keep going.

Sport Relief is still accepting donations for Eddie Izzard on their Comic Relief site.

Izzard has long been active in politics, and has long campaigned for the further integration of the United Kingdom into the European Union. He harbours plans to run for Parliament in the future, but is so far concentrating on his career as a comedian, and will embark on a 44-date tour this month.