Two charities for 2002 London Marathon

Derartu Tulu tastes victory in the 2001 London Marathon

Children with Leukaemia and the Outward Bound Trust have been named as the official charities for the 2002 Flora London Marathon.

The Marathon normally chooses just one charity each year - up to £1m has been raised for each good cause in past years - but organisers have selected two for next year because of the standard of applications.

"We hope this special status will increase both awareness and funds raised for these very worthy causes," said Nick Bitel, chief executive of the Flora London Marathon.

The Outward Bound Trust is a national charity that helps young people benefit from self-discovery and development through outdoor challenge.

Children with Leukaemia is the only national charity dedicated exclusively to the research and treatment of the country's biggest child-killer disease.

More than £20m is expected to be raised for thousands of charities from the 30,000-plus runners who took part in last month's race.

The 2002 Flora London Marathon will take place on 14 April.