British man runs marathon in backyard during lockdown

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British man runs marathon in backyard during lockdown

Associated Press | Wednesday, April 1, 2020 11:51 a.m.

James Campbell runs a charity marathon to raise funds for the NHS, in his garden, in Cheltenham, England, Wednesday April 1.

CHELTENHAM, England — Being stuck at home didn’t stop a British man from running an outdoor marathon.

James Campbell, a former professional javelin thrower, spent his 32nd birthday on Wednesday doing 20-foot shuttles from one end of his small backyard to the other after promising to run a marathon if one of his Twitter messages received 10,000 retweets.

By the time Campbell completed the marathon in just over five hours, he had raised more than 18,000 pounds ($22,000) for Britain’s National Health Service to help battle the coronavirus pandemic.

The effort — labeled the #6metregardenmarathon — was livestreamed, with former England soccer great Geoff Hurst among the viewers.

Watch @jcampbell0104's #6MetreGardenMarathon challenge ?https://t.co/dNTIuay3sI

— Vinco (@VincoSport) April 1, 2020

Neighbors poked their heads over the backyard fence to give Campbell encouragement.

Campbell ran across a patch of grass, some stones and a small patio in 20-foot stretches. He calculated he would have to traverse his yard at least 7,000 times to reach 26.2 miles.

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