The coronavirus shelter in place mandate didn’t stop this runner from completing a marathon right at home!
Last week, Elisha Nochomovitz shared on Facebook that he completed a 26.2-mile marathon on the 23-foot stretch of balcony at his home in Balma, France. The runner, 32, worked at a restaurant before being placed on furlough amid coronavirus closures, according to CNN.
“My only pleasure is running, no matter what the time,” he told the outlet, adding that the at-home race — which included about 3,000 laps on his balcony — was dedicated to the medical teams helping in the pandemic.
In efforts to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the French government ordered all nonessential workers to stay at home earlier this month.
“The order was to stay at home, that’s what I did,” wrote Nochomovitz on Facebook. “Just to show you that we have no excuses, and please think of all these caregivers who are on the front line facing this virus 🙏🙏❤.”
Nochomovitz, who finished with a time of 6 hours and 48 minutes, continued: “Thank you all for your messages / support throughout the day. You helped me hold on. I worked my mind today.”
As of Thursday, there have been more than 25,600 confirmed cases in France, with 1,333 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. Worldwide, there are 487,648 confirmed cases and 22,030 deaths.
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According to Reuters, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the coronavirus lockdown could last weeks longer, with more restrictions to come. Citizens are only allowed one daily exercise outdoors, within about a half-mile of their home, the outlet reported.
“A lot of citizens want normalcy to return, but it’s not happening soon,” Philippe told reporters. “We feel the lockdown measures that we have taken, and which we will toughen yet again … could last several weeks.”
He added: “We do not want to put a national curfew in place. But we told prefects to get in touch with mayors who deem it necessary. And we will not hesitate, where necessary, to take tougher measures, meaning curfew measures.”
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.
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