Saints legend Francis Benali’s son Luke admits that every day has been a “rollercoaster” as he helps his dad to run complete Benali’s Big Run.

Franny is now on day 18 of 21 in his quest to run to all 20 Premier League clubs in his 1,000-mile, three-week challenge that has seen him run 40 to 50 miles on consecutive days.

On the run he’s been joined by his family – Luke, wife Karen and daughter Kenzie – and friends as he tries to get to the finish line at St Mary’s on Saturday, when Saints take on Newcastle in the Premier League.

Luke, who joined his father on the equivalent of four marathons during the epic run, has spoke about the ups and downs of being on the road.

He is also talking about possibly following in his dad’s footsteps by doing his own charity runs.

“It’s been a real rollercoaster ride,” he said.

“Ninety per cent of the time it’s really good, but we’ve had a few moments where it’s been tough.

“When dad broke down (late last week) a bit it was really hard to watch. I’ve never seen a tear from him in my life, so to see him sobbing in mum’s arms like that was hard.

“There’s a lot of worrying because he’s been running down some pretty dangerous roads.

“It’s been good and it’s not until you look at the map you realise how incredible the challenge has been.

“The distance he’s travelled is unbelievable and it’s good that the finishing line is in sight now.”

Luke, a big Saints fan, has enjoyed spending time with his family and is also pondering a challenge of his own.

“We’re a really close family,” he said.

“It’s amazing to go to the stadiums with him and up in the North Yorkshire Moors. We’ve been to some breathtaking places.

“I’ve tried to run with him as much as I can and I’ve done some good 20-mile stints.

“As soon as he’s running on his own, I’ll get out and go with him. I’ve done four or five 20-milers.

“I might try my own challenge, but maybe not to the same extent.

“I have thought it could be good to run to every Saints game in a season.

“So if they’re playing Liverpool, run to Liverpool and when they’re playing at St Mary’s run to there from a location.

“It would be really good to do.”