A UK fitness instructor and sports massage therapist has decided to attempt to complete a marathon in his six-metre back garden.
James Campbell from Cheltenham is aiming to make history by running the 26.2-mile marathon distance from his small back garden on his birthday (April 1).
The 32-year-old is hoping to raise roughly £10,000 for the NHS while streaming his marathon attempt live on YouTube, where he is hoping that thousands will tune in to support his heroic efforts.
When asked what inspired him to take up this challenge, Campbell said: “I was tidying some stuff and thought what is the most stupid idea I can come up with in isolation? I took one look at my garden and thought that I’ll run a marathon in that.”
Campbell, who has previously played for current League Two club Cheltenham Town, has admitted that the furthest he has ever run is 15km.
The fitness instructor, however, posted on Twitter two days ago that if he gets 10,000 retweets he would run a marathon in his back garden.
The tweet subsequently received over 22,000 retweets, including over 5,000 in just 20 minutes. Following this outcome, Campbell said: “I have given myself less than two days notice so that actual answer is; I haven’t prepared at all – it was a completely spontaneous decision.
“With everything going on at the moment and the strain on the NHS, I hope they can benefit in some way from whatever is raised through charities.”
Thousands have already wished him good luck, including Chelsea and Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi, in his six-metre garden marathon challenge that is currently taking place!
If you want to help raise money for the NHS staff and those caring for Covid-19 patients, go and click on the link to Campbell’s JustGiving page.