Francis Benali: Southampton stalwart runs garden marathon
- Published
The former Saints defender raised more than £13,000
Francis Benali has run a marathon in his garden to raise money for charities supporting the NHS.
The former Southampton defender covered the 26.2 miles on a treadmill - in place of the cancelled London Marathon - as part of the 2.6 Challenge.
Along the way, Benali was "joined" by ex-teammate Matt Le Tissier for a remote five-mile (8km) stint.
Benali's efforts raised more than £13,000 for NHS Charities Together and the Saints foundation.
Le Tissier tweeted he was taking a "hot bath" following his exertions, while his friend continued to run.
After completing the challenge in just under five hours, Benali said he was suffering "a few aches and pains".
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"The most I'd run in the build-up was 6.2 miles, so it was far from ideal preparations to run that sort of distance, but the weather was beautiful so it was just a case of getting through it.
"I'm overwhelmed - at these uncertain times, it's wonderful people dig deep and donate."
In 2019, he raised more than £1m for Cancer Research UK by completing five Ironman triathlons in a week.
Benali admitted he had been "close to flying off the treadmill" on a few occasions, including when his wife Karen accidentally pulled the emergency stop cord when swapping a water bottle.
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