Coronavirus: ICU doctor runs full marathon in garden less than a month after contracting Covid-19

‘I did a 0.1 mile loop of my garden. I had to do 262 laps to get the distance,’ says Adam Revill

An ICU doctor who has recovered from Covid-19 has completed a full marathon in his back garden.

Adam Revill was diagnosed with coronavirus on 29 March, which left him bed-bound with a fever for several days.

But after making a full recovery, the 40-year-old decided to complete the long run to raise money for his local hospice in south Devon.

In order to make up the distance – a marathon is 26.2 miles long – Mr Revill had to run around his garden, which is 0.1 miles, 262 times.

“Mentally, it was really tough,” he said of the challenge, which he completed on Sunday.

“When you run a marathon you do a big loop and you see lots of different areas.”

Mr Revill added that it was tough athletically speaking, too.

“My garden is quite hilly – I only realised later I could have done a route with no hills. My climb was 2,600ft, that’s a 1.5 mile climb.”

Mr Revill, a keen runner, had already been training for the Manchester marathon, which was due to take place in October but has been cancelled because of the pandemic.

Speaking about his experience of having Covid-19, he said the illness “wasn’t too bad”.

“When I recovered, I decided to raise money for the hospice. My sister was supposed to be running the London Marathon and she decided to run the distance in her garden.

Mr Revill pictured in his running gear. (Sarah Revill / SWNS.COM)

“She asked me if I wanted to do it too. Initially I said no, because my fitness wasn’t good enough, but on Tuesday I thought I might as well try.”

So far, Mr Revill has raised £3,387 for the Rowecroft Hospice, which supports patients with life-limiting illnesses.

“The hospice get most of their money through fundraising and the local community, and because of lockdown they have lost most of their funding,” he said.

“People usually raise money for them through the London marathon, and I’ve run lots of marathons – it’s something I like to do.

“When you’re doing it in your garden the temptation to stop is much higher, because you can see your house the whole time.”