Penned by the Pandemic, a Man Runs a 26-Mile Birthday Marathon on His Patio

FILE- In this Aug. 20, 2016, file photo, United States’ Bernard Lagat celebrates finishing the men’s 5000-meter race during the athletics competition at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The American men chasing Geoffrey Kamworor at the New York City marathon on Sunday include Abdi Abdirahman and Bernard Lagat. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

While people are staying home, surely many are wondering how to get their exercise.

The gym’s closed.

Crossfit? Don’t even think about it.

What’s a quarantined soul to do?

James Campbell — celebrating his 32nd birthday during the world’s pandemic — decided to commemorate the occasion by running a marathon.

Alone.

In his back yard.

That presented quite a challenge, given that his yard’s less than 25 miles long.

In fact, it’s only about a 20-ft stretch.

So James did what was only sensible: He must’ve measured the distance, calculated a bit, and then hoofed it across his yard.

At least 7,000 times.

James Campbell, a former professional javelin thrower, spent his 32nd birthday on Wednesday doing 20-foot shuttles from one end of his small backyard to the other after promising to run a marathon if one of his Twitter messages received 10,000 retweets. https://t.co/7umuoDNWa8

— News 4 Buffalo (@news4buffalo) April 2, 2020

But not before he advertised online: The former professional javelin thrower announced his #6metregardenmarathon, aimed at raising money for Britain’s National Health Service to help battle COVID-19.

https://twitter.com/jcampbell0104/status/1244654961960652803

https://twitter.com/jcampbell0104/status/1244765911367782402

He livestreamed the run, which took just over 5 hours.

As reported by HuffPost, even British soccer star Geoff Hurst was watching.

Like a scene out of Home Improvement, neighbors stuck their heads over his wooden fence to cheer him on.

From HuffPost:

Campbell ran across a patch of grass, some stones and a small patio in 6-meter (20-foot) stretches. He calculated he would have to traverse his yard at least 7,000 times to reach 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles).

Astoundingly, James raised 18,000 pounds — the equivalent of $22,000.

Like they say, where there’s a will…

Some folks have a 24-Hour Fitness membership and never get off the couch.

James Campbell had nothing but a tiny piece of sod and ran a marathon.

The pandemic’s giving us quite a few gems to be filed under that saying about necessity and invention.

Hence, James has some stiff — or slick — competition.

This genius walks indefinitely…and never leaves his kitchen:

No more gym. Just this every morning #QuarantineLife #coronapocolypse #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/dpfczRCE0B

— Firas Maksad (@FirasMaksad) March 16, 2020