Comedian Eddie Izzard does 32 marathons and 31 comedy shows in 31 days

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Eddie Izzard has raised more than $500,000 for charity — and all she had to do was run a marathon while interviewing celebrities and then perform a live comedy show every day for a month.

Over the course of 31 days in January, Izzard ran the equivalent of 32 marathons, livestreamed from a treadmill at London's Riverside Studios, while simultaneously interviewing celebrity guests, including George Clooney and Judi Dench. She topped off each day with a virtual comedy show.

For each run, the background would display a different city to mimic a world tour, which she capped off with back-to-back marathons in the U.S. 

"I am, as we British say, knackered, but I am OK," the comedian told As It Happens host Carol Off two days after her whirlwind fundraiser.  "I mean, if you're going to raise money, you've got to do something kind of audacious."

The campaign benefits a variety of international charities, including Fareshare, Walking With the Wounded, Care International, United to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases and Covenant House New York City. 

Izzard called it #MakeHumanityGreatAgain, and sported a blue baseball cap with the slogan during her runs. 

"I can't remember how I came up with the slogan. But anyway, someone else used to have a slogan a bit similar to that. He was in a country near you, I think, in Canada," Izzard said.

"But anyway, that's all gone away — ish."

Losing a toenail 

Izzard, who admitted during one of her marathons that she actually doesn't like running, paid the price for her labour with some extremely sore hips, and a missing toenail. 

"Somewhere around the Republic of Cyprus, that's where the toenail started lifting up and saying it's going to go," she said. "It came off about 20 marathons later, somewhere around about Osaka, Japan."

She encouraged people to check out the photos of her nail-free "zombie toe" on her Twitter feed. 

"A new nail will come back, I have been assured," she said. 

'Promoted to she' 

Izzard has long been interested in progressive politics, and aspires to become a Labour MP. If a byelection opens, she says she'll seize the opportunity.

"This is the 21st century, the coming of age of humanity. I think we should be fighting for a fair chance in life for everyone," she said.

"We can't leave it to the extremists. Moderate people with a drive have a duty to go and get involved and … if you're not going to be a politician, at least be activists, or at least get out there and vote and and let your feelings be known, because otherwise we will be trampled by the violence and the threat of violence from the extreme right."

I have my boy-mode and girl-mode. I see it as a superhero thing, being trans.- Eddie Izzard, comedian 

She also says she feels it's her duty as a public transgender person to be a good role model for young girls and LGBTQ people.

The comedian and actor has been out as gender-fluid since 1985, but just recently announced that she's switching exclusively to she/her pronouns. 

"I'm still gender fluid," she said. "I have my boy-mode and girl-mode. I see it as a superhero thing, being trans. And I was based in boy mode for the first 50 years in my life. And I'm going to be based in girl mode for the second 50 years of my life."

The pronoun change, she says, caused a bit of a "storm" online.

"A lot of people picked up on it, which was wonderful, a lot of supportive people," she said. "And then some people hated it and they were very negative."

But overall, she says most media outlets and workplaces have adapted to the change with no fuss.

"I've been promoted to 'she,' and it is a great honour," she said. "And I will fight for women's rights. I will encourage girls and young women to go for their dreams…. That's my job to do, as part of being a trans woman."

Still, she says she yearns for the day when her gender and her pronouns are of little interest to anyone.

"Everyone just needs to relax on this thing. When LGBT hits boring, once we've got to boring, then we've made it, because that's what it should be," she said.

"Sex and sexuality shouldn't be the thing. It's what do you do for life? What do you add to the human condition?"

Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Lisa Bryn Rundle.