This years London marathon will be held on the 25 of April. The London Marathon is one of the worlds most prestigious marathons. It has been held every year since 1981. The 26 mile route of the Marathon takes in many of the world famous sights of the capital such as Canary wharf, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

This year all eyes are on Paula Radcliffe to see whether she can win an incredible fourth marathon. Last year Radcliffe was forced to withdraw due to injury. however in addition to the elite runners the London marathon is also about the thousands of ordinary people putting their bodies through extraordinary punishment.

If you have never tried to run one a marathon might not seem as crazy as it is. The fattest and laziest amoung us can run a mile (towards or away from something if necessary). So, running a marathon is just doing that 26 times. Easy. This is when you need to remember that the man who, in ancient times, inspired the marathon by running 26  miles to deliver a message at the battle of Marathon died afterwards.

So why would anyone do it? Amazingly the competition to get a place on the London marathon is every bit as intense as the the competition in the race itself. For every runner that takes part in the agonising test of endurance there are many others at home who have been denied the opportunity that year.

Many of those running (some of them in astoundingly impractical costumes) are raising sponsorship money for charity. In fact the London marathon is a major money spinner for many charities. Recently it was reported that the total raised this year is on track to exceed half a BILLION pounds. And that a British billion folks. Not surprisingly this makes it the largest one day fund raising event in the world, and that is why this race shows the human race at its very best.