Elvis marathon around Martlesham Heath raises £1,500
A man who chose to run 26 miles around a village green dressed as Elvis after missing out on a London Marathon spot has raised £1,500 for charity.
Simon Goldsmith, 41, ran 17 laps of Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich, Suffolk, on Sunday.
"It was certainly repetitive, I was verging on dizziness by the end," he said.
The money raised will go to the local St Elizabeth Hospice where both his parents spent their final weeks.
Mr Goldsmith, who grew up in Martlesham and now lives in neighbouring Little Bealings, does a "low budget" Elvis impersonation under the name Harry Isaac Presley.
In 2010, he raised money by holding a three-day Elvis singing marathon at a pub in Ufford.
'Gruelling and repetitive'
He was the only person to run the full 26.2 miles (42.1km), which he billed as the "world's dullest marathon", but as the day went on he was joined by a number of well-wishers who did laps with him.
He completed the course, which finished with a lap around the local shopping centre, in 4 hours and 54 minutes.
"I didn't do as much training as I should have done and I found myself in some dark places, particularly around the halfway mark," said Mr Goldsmith.
"You passed the pub on each lap and you could smell the food and see the beer and that was tough, but there were plenty of people about and that cheered me up."
Following the fundraising success, he said he planned to do a similar event next year.