Paolo Di Canio accidentally runs half marathon

Swindon Town manager Paolo Di Canio ended up running a half marathon by accident on Saturday afternoon.

The Italian boss agreed to act as the official starter for the race in Swindon after seeing his side draw 3-3 with Hereford.

The 43-year-old then decided to take part in a two-mile fun run that was taking place at the same time.

However, after taking a wrong turn en route, Di Canio ended up completing the full 13.1 mile course.

"I couldn't stop, there was a challenge," said the manager."There were three options, I thought I should start with the fun [run] marathon but unfortunately we changed direction, kept going and followed the first group.

"Unfortunately I ended up doing a full half marathon plus 800 metres.

"At the end I was very happy because I finished without stopping, even for one second. I wasn't ready but I never stopped running."

Di Canio completed the course in one hour and 49 minutes, just 36 minutes behind the eventual winner Dave Roper.