Freed Chilean miner sings Elvis on Letterman show

Good to see the Chilean miner Edison Pena is feeling a lot more chipper than he was two weeks ago. He appeared on last night's Late Show with David Letterman where he performed a short but lively rendition of Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds - the only words of English he was able to speak without a translator.

Pena is in New York to run in Sunday's marathon. He was invited by the organisers when it emerged that he had run three to six to miles every day while he and the rest of the gang of 33 miners were trapped underground for 69 days awaiting rescue.

'The Runner' - as he became known through the media - explained through his translator how he would jog up and down a 1,000 yard tunnel in stifling heat, wearing steel-toe boots cut down to the ankle. "I was going to beat destiny," he said. "I was saying to that mine, 'I'm going to outrun you.'"

Pena is also an Elvis fan - he tried to cheer up his follow miners by singing  the classics - and has received an invitation to visit Graceland during his American trip.

Friends of the 34-year-old were happy to see that he was able to make the journey to New York at all. A fortnight ago, as The First Post reported, he broke down in tears at a celebration held in Chile to honour the trapped men.

At the time, psychiatrists monitoring the miners' mental health said they were fearful they had been released from hospital too early.

But Pena appears to be up and running again and says he fully intends to take part in the New York Marathon on Sunday. He's just not sure if he'll be able to complete the course. ·