UK man runs marathon in back garden

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 26.2 mile 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.

"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