I sort of agree Harry, but I think the difference between Eddie Izzard and most of the other celebrity fundraisers is that most of us think we could do most of the challenges (ie walking Kilimanjaro, riding across the UK) but he has done something that most of us just wouldn't have the physical or mental ability to achieve and therefore captures our imaginations more.
At least that is what I think.
as the old french proverb says, 'you can travel a long distance after you're tired'
"All done for the TV? Well obviously."
Yes because the BBC are paying for the production of the programme, so they will want a few nice shots. Is that so bad?
As for SIS its hard to tell if it was bad advice or bad editing.
The toffee crisp was pointless the guy needs 6k+ calories a day carbs would be best, but calories are calories.
But eating a double portion of new spuds at 10pm is not advice its disaster management!
But i don't think the road safety was very good. they should have had a trailing vehicle, make the traffic over take, not squeeze past.
And having the ricshaw (sp) on one side of the carriage way whilst he ran on the other side was dangerous.
As a fellow jogger, I was really taken with the program. Eddie came across as an ok guy and whether he had backup or not and took 10hrs or so to cover the distances, he still had to put one foot in front of the other. Will look forward to next weeks installment.
As was said by others, this was entertaining, moving and inspiring. Well done Mr Izzard.
Why BBC3???
Inspirational, I have really enjoyed it.
I always liked his humour which is a bonus, but the way he stops & interacts with anyone he comes across is really good to watch.
I am stunned that having stopped to hand out icecreams, neck a beer etc he can get his legs going again
He does seem an all round thoroughly decent bloke. I also feel quite sad for him - after more than 40 years he is still clearly very broken up about losing his mum when he was a child.
I think what he did was amazing, plenty of others have the opportunity but lack the determination, intelligence or imagination to try.
(p.s. I don't think anyone gets over losing their Mum, you just learn to live with it.)
I agree there are thousands of non-celebrities who do such things every year and they deserve more credit than the celebrities because they don't have the backup / support / time (I'm not in any way denigrating the celeb achievements of course).
BUT
Would the "normal" people be able to raise as much cash as the celebs for a given activity / challenge? That's the point of them doing it in my eyes.
And yes, the fawning over their achievements winds me up also, but it's not all sycophantic.....(I'd like to believe!)
(p.s. I don't think anyone gets over losing their Mum, you just learn to live with it.)
Just watched the 2 episodes and yeah pretty impressed.
Like others have said I think I could do most of the celebrity challenges with out too much problem. However I dont think I could do the amount of running Eddie did.
I mean he hasnt just done a bit of running these are some serious distances. Also its the fact he's not doing anything especially cool or extreme he just runs.
Although you can see he obviously loves the lime light, the people he mets and places he goes are just as important to the story as he is.
And also considering how tough it looks he complains remarkably little, if at all, and he seems like a really nice chap. Compare this to say James Cracknell in On Thin Ice.
Also its the fact he's not doing anything especially cool or extreme he just runs.
We have watched the first episode and looking forward to watching the rest.
Going to download it now as I have wanted to watch this...
There is a catch up next Monday on BBC1 for those who don't have council tv.
It don't think his fitness, support or a bloke in front of him with ice cream has anything to do with it. He has the mental ability to dig in when it's utterly killing him. If he was that bloke in Take That who can't say no to a drink he would have given up. Good on him.
I watched the first episode last night, I was impressed and really enjoyed it and I am not really a fan of Eddie, but hats off to him...
Just downloaded the second episode, what day/time is it on tv pls?
Well impressed with Izzard. Sure some of the times are long but day after day after day... And it's only part physical. Soooo much of it is mental, particularly when he's on his own which must be a lot of the time.
In terms of Sport Relief achievements, if this is a 10 I'd give David Walliams' Channel swim a 6.5 and Chiles/Shearer's bike ride a 5 and the rest nowt.
And as for able bodied associates asking to be sponsored to run a mile....
Yes he's a celebrity.
Yes he's using his celebrity status to reach the masses to donate money for a good cause. Money is more likely to be donated recognising the person doing the challenge than someone they don't.
He didn't have to choose the challenge that he did - he could have said yeah im a celebrity I'll bake a few cupcakes and sell a few autographed photos for charity, but as a few forum members on Runnersworld said - who actually caught up with him whilst he was running and said it was very 'real' what he was doing and 'hat's off to him'! I know a few ultra runners where 26 miles is classed as a walk in the park 
furthest I've ran is a Half Marathon and after 6 years running it's still no easier for me, either way we all still remember our first time when starting out as a runner and how hard it is, so for Eddie to run a marathon a day with the running experience of 'running for the bus every now and then' I think he's absolutely inspirational!
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