London's charity bonanza

London's charity bonanza

Fancy dress is part and parcel of the Marathon

People do the wackiest things in the name of charity and one event that regularly showpieces that fact is the London Marathon.

Whether it means dressing up in a rhino suit or becoming the back end of a pantomime horse, every year thousands of runners go to extraordinary lengths to raise money.

It is not surprising, then, that in the last two decades the Marathon has firmly established itself as the UK's leading annual fundraising event.

Runners at the 2002 race raised a record £31m, a massive increase of 25% on the total at the 2000 Marathon, when charity money was last measured.

"We are delighted at the incredible growth of the amount raised for charity by runners in the Flora London Marathon," said Race Director David Bedford.

"I believe the fundraising success is due to the unique appeal of the Marathon - for anyone to run over 26 miles is a massive achievement and one for which people are more than happy to sponsor friends and colleagues."

MARATHON MONEY FOR CHARITY

1996: £10m raised by 64% taking part

1998: £15.7m raised by 76% taking part

2000: £24m raised by 76% taking part

2002: £31m raised by 76% taking part

Funds raised at this year's race are again expected to exceed £30m and many fun runners are taking advantage of the internet to collect sponsorship.

One in 10 runners have chosen to raise money online through charity giving website Justgiving, an official partner of the Flora London Marathon.

More than 3,000 people have collected money on Justgiving 'mini-sites' to save themselves the hassle of collecting cash and cheques.

These runners, including many famous names from the worlds of sport, television and politics, have already raised hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman Alastair Campbell has raised more than £5,000 online as part of a massive fundraising campaign for the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Watson's marathon challenge

Former boxer Michael Watson, who was partially paralysed in a 1991 bout against Chris Eubank, is making the sporting comeback of all time.

He plans to walk the entire route of the marathon in six to seven days, after being unable to walk just over a year ago, and is also using the site to his cause.

Another charity set to benefit from this year's event is Shelter, the national charity that campaigns for the homeless and badly housed.

Shelter has been named as the official charity for the 2003 marathon and aims to raise over £1m from more than 1,000 runners participating.

Clearly, no matter who finishes the race first, the real winner on Sunday will be charity.