British man in coronavirus lockdown runs 873 laps of back garden for charity

A British man has kept up his marathon training while in home isolation, by running more than 800 laps of his back garden.

James Page crossing a toilet roll finishing line after running a marathon in his back garden in London Source: Press Association

A Kent man who was planning to take part in the London marathon has kept up his training by running around and around his garden.

James Page, 36, from Sidcup, has completed the 42km run as a fundraiser for Children With Cancer UK.

Running around his garden and switching direction every 20 minutes or so to protect his knees, Page completed 873 laps in just under five hours.

James Page switches direction every 20 minutes or so to protect his knees Source: Press Association

"It wasn't as hard as I thought," he said. "I actually quite enjoyed it in a weird way".

Page said the laps were around 50 metres each, with a toilet paper finish line, created by his son, the source of some wry comment online.

"I put it on Facebook and all anyone seemed to be bothered about was 'oh, you're wasting toilet roll!'" said Page.

But perhaps the biggest impression the runner left was on his lawn.

"I've trodden down all the grass, from out the window you can see a perfect trek of the loop I was running," he said

Australians must stay at least 1.5 metres away from other people. Indoors, there must be a density of no more than one person per four square metres of floor space.

If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor (don’t visit) or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.

If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.

SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus