Southampton legend Francis Benali completes 1,000 mile run to every Premier League ground

The 45-year-old finished the amazing achievement in front of the St. Mary's fans at half-time in the clash against Newcastle.

Having started off at St. James Park, the former full-back has run to every single Premier League ground in aid of Cancer Research UK. Benali spoke about the achievement before the leg of his journey on Saturday.

Congratulations to Francis Benali on completing his 1000 mile run to every premier league ground. #SaintsFCpic.twitter.com/JquB7fpqnS — ️John Cole (@Saint_Spitfire) September 13, 2014

“I’m sure it will be emotional,” said Benali. “When you run for 45 miles a day, it’s the surprise visits from friends or family, the supporters who turn up in the middle of nowhere and ask if they can run with you for a couple of miles and the goodwill that keeps you going. “It was a huge lift when Ben came bounding up to me at the end of a hard day. My son Luke, who is 21, and 19-year-old daughter Kenzie have been with me along with my wife, Karen, but Ben was like the missing member of the family. “On the long section going down to Swansea and back, there were a few tears. I had a lot of pain in my knee, I was struggling mentally and the sheer scale of the challenge was taking its toll. “After 46 miles, I just broke down in front of my wife and kids. When your feet are sore and your legs are tired, a bit of physio can revive you to an extent, but the emotional burden is huge. “The days when you arrive at a stadium and tick off one more of the 20 grounds, you get a real buzz. But on some days, when there was a lot of mileage between one ground and the next, it was such a long way you felt like you were going to topple off the edge of the world. “Some days I have been too tired to eat. And dragging ­yourself out of bed at 4.30am is hard when you would love to hit the snooze button. In the last three weeks, I’ve spent longer on the road than I have in my bed.”