An outstanding achievement that doesn't deserve some of the comments being made here. Well done Mike
IMHO;
Running on a treadmill is totally different to road running. This is mainly because with the treadmill the belt is driven, so really all you are doing is keeping up with the belts pace and not driving the belt or propelling your body forward as you would on the road. Also on a treadmill, it is easier to get into the rhythm of your chosen pace, maybe a minute or two. On the road however this can take, for some, 2-5 miles.
On the road you are constantly adjusting to a never level surface, uphill/downhill when it decides not you, and the other factors such as dealing with the weather, traffic, kerbs, carrying fluids/gels,... so maintaining a rhythm, unless on a closed course is a hard thing to achieve. A luxury you can achieve every time on a treadmill without the slightest threat of having to run long distances with wet feet.
Having watched the whole 3 episodes of Eddie Izzards Marathon Man feat on Wednesday afternoon, I cannot see how anyone can say that running on a treadmill is harder let alone comparable to running on the road.
The 'running on a treadmill is harder' statement is the same one that keeps these expensive gyms going. Little or no air conditioning, no fans, water that is in fountains 'along the corridor' and lots of MTV, along with this apparently re-circulating CO2, gives members the impression that if they sweat more they are doing well. After all, when they get home they've lost maybe a kilo or two. Quelle suprise, that's called dehydration... which is bad.
Easily remedied though as you would for an endurance event with organised facilities such as fans, air con and fluids/gels to hand. But the punter at the gym might then start wondering why they don't feel as if they've worked hard enough and decide not to renew their membership!
I totally agree with barnstormer when he says;
'Well done that man I say, and if you feel his effort was a bit naff, by 'simply' running a marathon every day for 100 days (for someone elses benefit), I am left wondering what it says about your own personality!'
As it must be seen as the achievement that it is, and seen in it's own light.
Just to remind you,
Eddie, a comedian, had only 5 weeks training and no significant prior history of running, he completed seven weeks of back-to-back marathon runs (with Sundays off) and he ran 43 marathons in 51 days, having run at least 27 miles each day, 6 days a week for 7 weeks straight, covering more than 1,100 miles across the UK.
Mike, former Army physical training instructor ran 100 marathons on consecutive days he completed the gruelling challenge after notching up more than 2,600 miles on treadmills at various locations around England since mid-June.