Monday 20 April 2020 20:19, UK
Former Southampton defender Francis Benali plans to run a marathon for charity in his own back garden.
Benali, who is a club ambassador at Southampton, will tackle a full 26.2-mile marathon on Sunday, April 26 - the original date of the official London Marathon - by running 717 laps of his own garden in support of Saints Foundation and NHS Charities Together.
He is no stranger to astonishing feats, having raised over £1m for Cancer Research UK during the 'IronFran' challenge last year which saw him complete five Ironman triathlons in seven days.
Benali said: "In the past I have taken on really difficult challenges, but I knew about them months and months in advance.
"For this one, because of the lockdown, I have had no time to prepare properly and my last run was only four-and-a-half miles.
"It's going to be a real shock to the system, but I am really excited to get running - even if it is just around my garden.
"It's going to be a really different experience to what I'm used to. I hope that people can get behind me and support two charities that are doing so much good at the moment."
Greg Baker, Head of Saints Foundation, hopes the people of Southampton and the wider community get behind Saints' representative, as well as take part in their own challenge, wherever possible.
He said: "Franny has always been one of our biggest supporters and gets involved with our activities as much as he can.
"We are really proud that he is raising funds for causes in our community, as well as NHS Charities Together, who are providing such brilliant support to our amazing NHS staff at this really difficult time."
