Coronavirus: Self-isolating London man runs half marathon on balcony
Quarantine could not stop one London man from achieving his goal of running a half marathon while supporting a good cause.
Sunday 29 March 2020 17:25, UK
Time spent self-isolating can be quite repetitive, but Sam Hustler has taken this monotony to new heights.
The 27-year-old is running a half marathon for charity on his four-metre-long east London balcony.
That's roughly 5,500 lengths each way.
Mr Hustler had planned to join 14,000 other runners for the London Landmarks Half Marathon on 29 March before the coronavirus pandemic forced it to be postponed.
But he was glad he would still be able to compete in his first half marathon when the event organisers got creative and replaced the race with a "virtual" local landmarks run instead, where participants run around their local area and snap photos of their local sights.
Less than a week before the race, his girlfriend started showing symptoms of COVID-19 which meant he would have to self-isolate for two weeks.
Refusing to accept defeat, he devised a plan C.
"I saw a video of an Italian man doing a full marathon on his balcony and I thought, 'that's something I can do'," Mr Hustler told Sky News while running on his balcony.
"I went outside on to my balcony and did a couple of kilometres and thought I could do it. It's just over four metres in length."
The Woodford man had run just under four miles in an hour when he spoke to Sky News, and had quite quickly realised the challenges of running in a confined and uncomfortable space.
"I'm feeling incredibly bored," he said.
"My ankles are in quite a bit of pain already. But I'll keep going - it's just a little niggle. I'm changing directions and the way I'm running back and forth."
He credited his podcast list, music collection and encouragement from his girlfriend Chloe, who cheered him on from inside his flat, for keeping him going.
And there was a special cause that motivated him to reach his goal of running the 13 miles in three hours.
"I'm running for the Haven House Children's Hospice, which is a local charity that I've known for a long time and is opposite my cricket club," he said.
"What they do is quite outstanding. I've raised about £500 for them; more than half in the past few days."
Although Mr Hustler missed out on running past some of London's famous landmarks, he said the sights from his third-floor balcony could be worse, adding he could "just about see Canary Wharf".
Sky News checked up on Mr Hustler later in the day and learned he had completed it in three hours, 45 mins."
"I'm massively proud as in the past few hours I've managed to raise some more so it's totaled about £900."
"Although I can't feel anything below my shins at the moment."
Asked whether he would tackle a full marathon on the balcony next, he said he'll "try a half one on the road first".
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Mr Hustler is not the only long-distance runner improvising during lockdown.
Southampton man Gareth Allen reportedly ran 1,066 laps in his garden on Saturday to make up the distance of a marathon.
A video of the achievement posted online attracted 300,000 views and many comments praising his creativity and perseverance.