British comedian Eddie Izzard has completed his fifth marathon in as many days in Malta.
It forms part of his personal challenge to run 28 marathons in 28 days in 28 different countries.
The popular stand-up comedian has been uploading videos of parts of his run on his Twitter account followed by 4.4 million users.
On Wednesday, he began his marathon in the dark at 4am in Valletta, wearing pink lipstick and a blue cap with the words ‘Make Humanity Great Again’ – an ironic play on the slogan used by US President Donald Trump in his 2016 election campaign.
“This is my first time in Malta and in Valletta,” Izzard told his followers as he held a European and Maltese flag. “I had a bit more sleep last night. Yesterday (Tuesday) was the toughest one, although I think I’ve said the last two were tough. Actually, the first ten you do are a bit rubbish.”
A few hours later – now in daylight – a very breathless Izzard sent an update from the heart of busy Valletta on how he was doing saying: “I’m running through the streets of Malta, in Valletta. I said the others were tough, but I seem to remember from the last time that it gets easier in a few marathons time.”
Unfortunately for the comedian, the Malta-leg of his marathon coincided with one of the coldest and windiest days of the winter, thanks to Force Five winds coming from the Arctic.
“I am knackered and it’s very blowy today, very blowy. But I’m still going on. And that’s good,” he told those following online from around the world.
At 5pm he uploaded his final video, after successfully completing his fifth marathon to more than 47,000 people watching his progress over the 13-hour period.
“So that’s the fifth marathon finished, in Malta. And as you can see in the bushes behind me, its kind of blowy, so I understand that weather can be blowy, but it kind of throws you a bit. And I think I have run out of adjectives.”
Izzard launched his physical challenge on January 31 in London to mark Brexit “as a salute to humanity at a time of great division.” The Labour supporter had campaigned on behalf of Remainers since the idea of Brexit began.
This is not the first time Izzard – who will turn 58 on Friday – has taken on a challenge like this. In 2009 he completed 43 marathons in 51 days for the UK charity event Sports Relief.
He says funds raised as part of the #MakeHumanityGreatAgain campaign will support cultural exchange projects and education programmes across Europe, as well as Unicef’s work with child refugees.