31 marathons & 31 stand up gigs, in 31 countries, in 31 days … without ever leaving London.
Actor and comedian Eddie Izzard has set herself an extraordinary New Year’s resolution, to stage A Run for Hope that will usher in a new year and a new future, encouraging people all over Europe and around the world to unite together to ‘Make Humanity Great Again’.
Eddie firmly believes that 2021 must be: “A time to look forward, to work together, to be tolerant and to live and let live.”
In February 2020, Eddie ran 28 marathons in 28 days, travelling all over Europe to run each marathon in a different European capital city. Her incredible challenge raised over £140,000 for charity and highlighted Eddie’s campaign to unite people, countries and communities. The next day, on her day off, she ran an extra marathon to make it 29.
Now Eddie is pushing herself even further and even harder.
As well as running a full marathon every day across the month of January 2021, she will also perform a stand-up comedy gig every evening - Eddie Izzard: Still Standing. And the whole ‘Run for Hope’ challenge and stand-up will be streamed live online to a global audience around the world.
Every day she will travel the world without ever leaving London.
Eddie will run her 31 marathons on a treadmill at Riverside Studios, London. Once she completes each gruelling 42.2 km (26.2 mile) feat of endurance he will jump straight off the treadmill and run on stage to perform a nightly ‘Best–of’ series of stand-up comedy gigs.
Each marathon will be themed around a different European or world city. She will be asking supporters and fans to join her on her challenge by watching the event online, running with her live (and ‘virtually’) in cities across the continent, joining the audience for her daily comedy shows, and donating to raise funds for a range of incredible charities that are helping to ‘Make Humanity Great Again’. She will also be joined on her challenge by lots of surprise guests.
Eddie says: “There is too much talk of division in the world. Too much talk designed to pull us apart. In my life I try to look for the opposite - to look for what brings us together, which helps make us all stronger. Working together feeds the spirit that can restore the greatness to humanity. ‘Make Humanity Great Again’ stands for unity, the sharing of beliefs and the power of human beings uniting across the continents and around the world. As a campaign it seeks to promote a fair chance in life for all, particularly those who experience disadvantage and discrimination. It speaks to people who believe there is more goodwill than ill-will in the world, who believe in the positive qualities of humanity and in the Golden Rule - to treat other people the way you would like to be treated yourself.”
Eddie is no stranger to epic fundraising challenges. But this will be her biggest and most incredible yet:
- In 2009, Izzard ran 43 marathons in 51 days through England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland for charity and helped raise £1.8 million ($2.7 million) for Sport Relief, a charity that helps improve the lives of people in impoverished countries
- In 2016 Eddie ran 27 marathons in 27 days across South Africa as a tribute to Nelson Mandela and raised over £2.6 million ($3.3 million) for Sport Relief
- In February 2020 Eddie ran the first part of his 'Make Humanity Great Again' journey, an epic charity challenge running through 29 European capital cities over 29 non-stop gruelling days
Sports brands Mizuno, Zwift, Woodway and Club Doncaster bronze partner iPRO Hydrate are supporting Eddie's epic challenge as are Crowdfunder, who will accept donations globally
What is ‘Make Humanity Great Again'?
‘Make Humanity Great Again’ is a rallying cry for a campaign to create a better, fairer and kinder world for everyone. It’s not just a slogan on a hat, it’s a plea for greater tolerance, it’s a reaction against a certain kind of politics, it’s a clarion call for people everywhere to join together and fix things. Whether that’s through the actions of individuals, communities, corporations, countries or continents.
How can people get involved? What they do to help?
Everyone can help ‘Make Humanity Great Again’, whether it’s by running along on a treadmill and joining Eddie’s challenge online; by performing small individual acts of kindness; by joining together with neighbours to create stronger local communities, through engaging in politics and activism, or by donating money via Crowdfunder. Money raised will be allocated to charities making a real difference to disadvantaged and vulnerable people at this difficult time, including some of those who benefitted form the marathons in February.
To LIVE stream Eddie’s ‘Run For Hope’: https://www.eddieizzard.com/en
For virtual tickets to watch Eddie’s ‘Best-of’ nightly stand-up comedy shows live streamed anywhere in the world: https://riversidestudios.co.uk