Eddie Izzard on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh
I'm knackered. Very, very tired. The legs are like lead. The feet have a lot of blisters, and it's a case of constantly re-blistering them as the new skin comes through and breaks again.
You're running around 30 miles a day for this, frankly insane, Sport Relief challenge – where is the energy coming from?
It's the porridge I put into me in the morning and the potatoes I put into me at night. The rest of it is a wing and a prayer.
Is it tough to get up in the mornings?
My mornings are pretty regimented. Up at 6.30am and into a hot bath as quickly as possible, then stuff my face, have a massage and put cream all over my body, bandage my feet, and out by 9am. Then once I'm off I try and do 15 miles before I stop. At the start I always think, "Actually, I'm gonna get into this..." but after half a mile I think it's bloody awful.
What happens at the end of a day's running?
Quick shower, an icy bath, and put compression socks on my calves. Then eat as much as I can and head to bed around 10pm to relax and watch some TV. I take sleeping tablets too because I can't sleep. They say if you overtrain you can't sleep well, so I'm taking Nytol now and it's got a lot better.
Do you have a background in running?
I've run about before but I never did any organised marathons. At school I played football and liked athletics before I was 13 – but after 13 everything sort of went downhill. Some people can eat cake and still be as skinny as a rake, I'm not like that. Recently I've got back into running and found it all quite fun. I got more and more into the idea of human beings being designed for hunting, for running, that it was something we should embrace. So I decided I'd do an adventure, a big long thing, and Sport Relief asked me if I'd do something and I said yes: a big, long, crazy adventure!
What do you think about all day?
There have been some interesting people running with me; an ex-marine came along today so we talked about his background and what he's been through. We did 22 miles, talking about things, and the distance disappeared. Otherwise I just take in the surroundings, huge vistas looking out over the landscape of England or Scotland or wherever I am.
What has been your favourite view so far?
Running along the top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. You can see so far. And the Brecon Beacons in Wales, or the hills that surround Belfast and come down into Londonderry. Very picturesque. In England the rolling fields... Today, coming into Nottingham, the sunset was beautiful. I've been waiting for good weather, five weeks of rain had followed us around, so it was great to have a beautiful sunset.
Why do you run holding a flag?
The holding of the flags was... I put up some words on my website, the idea that we're all different, we're all the same, we are the United Kingdom, we are Africa, we are humanity. I've studied belonging quite closely. Flags are fun, and for years they've been used. So it's nice to run with them, and it's also quite helpful because I can wave them at cars so they don't run into me. It also marks me out from being some runner just running around in a hat.
What about the ice-cream van that follows you everywhere?
The ice-cream van idea came to me in a flash. I just thought it would be fun to do, giving out 99 flakes as we go around the country. And it plays Chariots of Fire. Now I've got to go and have an ice bath.
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