5 footballers who have run marathons
Can footballers actually cover the not-so-easy distance of 42.195 km? Well, data shows that they cover an average distance of 10 km per match, break into almost 40 explosive sprints and can easily hit running speeds of over 30 km/hr!
In fact, Arjen Robben recorded the fastest speed on the football field at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio when he made a darting run for the goal at a stunning speed of 37 km/hr in the match where the Netherlands drubbed Spain 5-1. Meanwhile, many others like Gareth Bale, Antonio Valencia, Hector Bellerin and Sadio Mane regularly clock 34-35 kms/hr in league matches these days.
Given these statistics, running a marathon does not seem like an uphill task for most footballers. Sportskeeda thus looks at 5 famous footballers who have run marathons in the years gone by...
#1 Michael Owen
The English international with a record 89 caps and millions of fans spread across the five clubs of Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Stoke City ran his first ever long distance race at the London Marathon in 2014. He finished the race with an impressive timing of 3 hours, 45 minutes and 43 seconds – beating off competition from other celebrities hitting the tarmac alongside him apart from Olympian Mo Farah.
His effort apparently raised over £75,000 for his three chosen charities namely Prostate Cancer UK and local charities (Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and the scientists of University of Manchester).