Liverpool legend John Arne Riise completed a remarkable running challenge over the weekend.

Riise, 44, is written into Anfield folklore after a memorable seven-year stint at the club between 2001 and 2008.

During his time with the Reds, the former left back played 348 times, winning seven trophies.

This included Liverpool’s iconic Champions League triumph in 2005 when they came from 3-0 down in the final to eventually beat AC Milan on penalties, although Riise did miss his spot kick in the shoot-out.

And, over the weekend, Riise – who also counts the likes of Roma, Monaco and Fulham among his former clubs – took part in perhaps his toughest challenge yet.

Back in his homeland, Riise was involved in a monumental charity running event at Toppform Fitness in the Norwegian town of Moss. 

The challenge, which was aiming to raise money for a mental health charity, saw runners compete in a 24-hour indoor treadmill run.

Several individuals were involved, although most were just running for particular segments, but Riise remarkably endured the whole 24 hours across Friday and Saturday. 

Large crowds were present for the event, which saw the 44-year-old complete 172km over his marathon stint.

More than 250,000 Norwegian Krone (£17,850) was raised for the charity and Riise was exhausted but delighted at what he had achieved.

‘It’s the toughest and most intense thing I’ve ever been through, physically and mentally,’ he said.

‘(The money raised) makes it worth it, even though it was incredibly tough at times.’

And when pressed on his plans to celebrate, Riise added: ‘I’m going home, shower, put my feet on the couch, order the biggest kebab ever with hot sauce, Pepsi Max, candy, and then I’m not going to move for two days.’

Later, taking to Instagram, he shared a clip of him completing the final part of the 24-hour run and posted a message to his fans.

‘This is the moment I finished 24 hours on the treadmill yesterday,’ he said. ‘Proud of my achievement and especially where I was physically and mentally 4 months ago.

‘Did this for a great cause, mental health! I ended up with 172km, in a run I didn’t think I could do.

‘Thanks for all the support and everyone that participated and ran during this very hard 24 hours.’

Riise looked in fantastic shape in pictures and videos from the event and it follows a major transformation in his body over recent times.

Last year, Riise was one of six contestants in a Norwegian reality TV show titled ’16 Weeks of Hell’.

This was a series where celebrities were pushed to their physical breaking point and underwent a strict diet to turn their fitness around. 

Speaking before the programme was aired, Riise – who was known for his impressive and strong physique during his playing days – expressed his reasoning for taking part.

‘I want to become a machine again,’ he told Norwegian outlet Dagbladet. ‘It’s been a while since I stopped playing football, so it will be exciting to see how much of a machine I can become.

‘I want to get back to my everyday routines with both training and diet, push my limits, eat right and feel good when I look in the mirror.’

He has similar shared updates on his body transformation on social media, with one post accompanied by the caption: ‘Before and after. Hard work and dedication with the diet changed everything for me. Let’s go 2025.’

He similarly posted in the run-up to 16 Weeks of Hell being aired, explaining how much his body had changed.

‘Picture on the left is 15 weeks ago… The other one is few days ago,’ Riise explained.

‘My journey on 16 weeks of hell has really paid off and I’m extremely happy with the effort I have put in to make my daily life better.

‘One week left before the TV show is done but my new lifestyle will continue. I have loads of missions ahead.’