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Charity wins as 40,000 run marathon



Huge crowds braved the rain to cheer on the 40,000 runners competing in the London Marathon.

Celebrities, world-class athletes, marathon veterans and complete beginners alike pounded the streets of the capital watched by an estimated 500,000 supporters.

Light rain and cool breezes made for ideal running conditions along the gruelling 26.2-mile race, which was won by Kenyan Felix Limo in a time of 2 hours 6 minutes and 39 seconds.

The runners raised millions of pounds for charity, among them five-time Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave, who hopes to break the world record for a single marathon fundraiser of £1.25 million.

Sir Steve, 44, admitted his training had been inadequate, with his longest practice run just six miles, but still managed to finish in a time of 5 hours 29 minutes and 6 seconds.

Other fundraisers included Katie Austin, 25, and Gordon Fryer, 34, from Romsey, Hants, who ran the race in their wedding outfits and got married halfway around the course.

The first celebrity to finish was Olympic gold medal-winning rower James Cracknell, who completed the course in just over 3 hours - over an hour before his teammate Matthew Pinsent.

Cracknell said: "It was so inspiring to be here, I felt so lucky as when I got to the finish I could hear everyone calling my name. I'll see what my time was and I may come back next year."

The second celebrity across the finish line in the Mall was chef Gordon Ramsay, a London Marathon regular who has taken part six times before.

Other competitors included model Sophie Anderton, reality TV star Rebecca Loos and Big Brother's Jade Goody, who said she did only four practice sessions before the race because she "got bored" with training. A London Marathon spokeswoman said there was no record of Jade after she passed the 30km (18.5 mile) point at 4 hours and 37 minutes, and it was assumed she had not finished.

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You just knew that Jade wouldnt finish. She only entered to garner further publicity for herself.

We'll now be subject to endless 'My marathon hell' stories.