THE beauty of the Brecon Beacons inspired Franny Benali on the latest leg of his Big Run.

Saints legend Benali put Thursday’s emotional finish behind him as he crossed the Welsh border before enjoying the splendour of the national park.

“The scenery was absolutely stunning so I tried to get my head up and admire the views as much as I could,” he said. “They were very pleasant and definitely helped me.”

Benali covered another 43 miles in eight-and-a-half hours on day 13 and will tick off the 13th club of his 1,000 mile odyssey around the Premier League stadia when he reaches Swansea City tomorrow morning.

“I found yesterday quite tough, physically and emotionally, and had a little breakdown at the end when I saw the family,” he said. “I just wanted to stop running! I was completely drained, but this was a better day.

“It got better as it went on. I didn’t feel great in the morning after not eating the night before. I had no appetite and took down little or no breakfast.

“But I’ve certainly got an appetite now! I’m not sure how much weight I’ve lost but my running belt feels looser than when I started!

“My physio, Kelly, has been concerned that I’ve not been replacing the calories but my knee’s settled down.

“It’s not 100 per cent but thankfully it’s much better than it was so I’m delighted with that.

“I’m now 19 miles outside Swansea so I'm looking forward to reaching the Liberty Stadium and completing 14 of the 21 days.

“Being two thirds of the way through will be a nice milestone and in a strange way I’m enjoying it.

“Running so far west makes you feel a long way from home. But I’m very grateful for all the messages I’ve received, my family have been reading them out.

“I also had a nice phone call from Lawrie McMenemy and will soon be heading back towards Southampton.”

Franny is running in aid of Cancer Research UK and is scheduled to complete the challenge by arriving at St Mary’s a week on Saturday, during the half-time interval of Saints’ next game against Newcastle United – the club where his journey began on August 24.

You can leave your messages for Franny below. Follow his progress on Twitter @Benalisbigrun and at jellyfishlivewire.co.uk/benalis-big-run/map.

To donate, go to justgiving.com/BenalisBigRun or text BIGR55 followed by the amount you would like to donate (EG £1, £3, £5, £10) to 70070.

For example, if you want to donate £10 text BIGR55 £10 to 70070.