Eddie Izzard again attempts 27 South African marathons in 27 days

Eddie Izzard has announced that he will make a second attempt to complete 27 marathons in 27 days across South Africa.

The comedian aims to run more than 700 miles in temperatures of up to 30C in the gruelling challenge

BBC Three will cover the trip from his first marathon on Tuesday February 23 to his last, planned for Petoria on Sunday March 20, at the same time as the Sport Relief Games will be taking place across the UK.

He preciously attempted the same feat in 2012, but had to pull out for health reasons, following his incredible 2009 feat of completing 43 marathons in 51 days across the UK, raising more than £1.8million.

Izzard has chosen 27 marathons to reflect the 27 years that Nelson Mandela spent in prison. Over his journey he plans to explore the history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela as well as visiting communities that have been helped by Comic Relief.

His route will start at Mandela’s in his birthplace, before journeying to the school and university that he attended, then on to Cape Town and Robben Island where he was imprisoned. If Eddie completes all 27 marathons, he will end at the Union Buildings in Pretoria where Nelson Mandela gave his inaugural speech as the first democratically elected President of South Africa in 1994.

Izzard says: “‘ was inspired to run 27 marathons in 27 days for Sport Relief after seeing the film Invictus.

‘The film featured a poem called Invictus - one of Nelson Mandela’s favourite poems during his 27 years in prison. He used it to give himself determination to keep himself going and keep his spirit alive. It’s a beautiful poem about being the master of your own fate and destiny.

‘Watching the film I suddenly realised - I have to run in South Africa. I should run 27 marathons in 27 days as a salute to the great man. It is also a salute to all who struggled and fought against Apartheid.

‘So I am delighted to be doing this for Sport Relief. But of course - 27 marathons in 27 days is nothing compared to what Nelson Mandela did by serving 27 years in prison. He was a great soul and leaves a fantastic legacy for the world.

‘I tried to do this four years ago and failed. This time, I will succeed. But if I fail, I will come back again and again and again until I do succeed. Because that’s what Nelson Mandela would have done.’

The will be a daily update on the new BBC Three online, including their social media channels.

Channel controller Damian Kavanagh said the new online-only channel was ‘uniquely placed’ to cover the challenge.

Comic Relief chief executive Kevin Cahill added: ‘Eddie is undoubtedly one of our Sport Relief legends, and we are absolutely thrilled that he is going to push himself to the physical limit once again.

’What he did for Sport Relief last time was truly astonishing and raised a staggering amount of money that has really helped to transform lives at home and across the world. We are beyond grateful for his continued support and will be with him every step of the way.’

Published: 15 Feb 2016