The great London Marathon blog list 2009

Fanfare please....

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honour that I present to you, the unwashed masses, the result of literally some effort to put together the most comprehensive list of London Marathon bloggers ever seen*.

E-marathoners are listed alphabetically by first name (I don't know why, that's just how it happened!) with info about them, their good causes, and other bits and bobs I saw fit to include.

Some have given the info themselves, in a bid to spread love and harmony around the universe.

Others, who couldn't be arsed to fill in a simple form, or simply didn't know about my work, will have had stuff made up by me using sophisticated algorythms that analyse the entire interweb and summarise it in a slightly sarcastic way.

I've whittled it down to these lucky 13 from just shy of that 50 I found, as most had been abandoned after only a few posts.

Lazy gits.

Hope their training hasn't been as lacklustre or Sunday's gonna be excruciating for them!

So, grab yourself a cuppa, make yourself comfy, and behold the fruits of my toil:

Alain Geenrits
Belgian based (and possibly born) Alain is running for Cancer Research UK (though, rightly pointing out it does work all over the world).

He also blogs about webby things which look very exciting and interesting, but as this is a list of e-marathoners, I am duty bound to ignore them.

Becca Boop
Running for Headway, a charity that cares for people with head injuries and their families. She's running as a way of thanking them for all they did when her dad had head injuries.

She loves being able to eat jelly babies for legitimate training reasons, but has struggled with 'flu and being startled by abusive boy racers screaming at her.

Given she's an IT engineer, it's no surprise her blog looks snazzy - though like most IT people I've worked with, there are issues. She lost all her posts but is gradually finding them again.

Becki
Becki's (or 'stinkeye' as she's affectionately known) love of animals sees her running her second marathon for Save The Rhino and to mark her 25th year and get fit.

This vego-phobic vegetarian (doesn't like veg!) has found the long runs boring and, to date, has lost five toenails, but is enjoying being able to eat as much as she wants.

Her top tip is setting her blog and JustGiving pages as her signature on my emails and forum profiles to generate interest.

Dan Worth
Fancies the marathon as an epic challenge, a chance to raise some money and to do something unique - though a video of him playing the mandolin on Youtube that has had over 170,000 views ticks that box already in my book.

He doesn't recommend running 14 miles in the rain, on an empty stomach, and hungover, but has completed both the Watford and Silverstone half marathons in good times.

He's been great at promoting fundraising ideas through Justgiving and believes the human body will do as much as you make it do - even run 14 miles with a hangover!

James Barnard aka Sir Jog a Lot
Sir J was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes three years ago and is running to improve his fitness and to raise money for the MS Society as his girlfriend's sister has MS.

This grade 8 level drummer realised the marathon would be hard when he ran 19 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes. His cousin plays first team football for Newcastle United and his uncle played with Pele.

He's wondering whether to follow the advice of another marathon runner that he should take 3 or 4 sheets of toilet paper on the run in case of an emergency...

James Watts
James is running for the Family Holiday Association and looks like he enjoys running as much as me.

He also has a penchant for La Minogue, which is something that should be encouraged.

Jim W
Dales-dwelling rocket scientist Jim is running for Breast Cancer Care. They helped his beautiful wife Dawn (and him) when she was being treated for breast cancer a couple of years ago.

His love of prog-rock has helped provide a soundtrack to his runs, and a theme for a very pink fundraising party (Dawn's treatment/cookery blog has better pics than Jim has put on his, including him looking lovely in his pink vest).

Leigh Church
Possibly this countries greatest scientific/chicken-keeping mind of the 21st century, Leigh is a ballot runner who's helping both The Birmingham Arthritis Appeal Trust (an area he's interested in for his research) and by being my substitute runner for HAY.

His training has coincided with the arrival of three special ladies into his life, but has also involved almost inventing duck slippers.

It was his idea to have sequins on my top, but when I ask him if he'll have any now he's running on by behalf, he neatly avoids the question...

Lisa
Not so much a blog this one, as a website chronicling Lisa's efforts to raise money for Get Kids Going and get fit at the same time. She's an active twitterer too!

Neil Richards
Neil decided to run the marathon as a bit of a spontaneous decision, and once he found out about Save the Rhino and their bond places, he went for it. He's never taken part in any sport or exercise before, unless you count golf - which I don't as lets be honest, its not a proper sport.

His low point was going for a long run and stopping after three miles, without really knowing why - despite having successfully negotiated the Silverstone half marathon the week before (with fellow rhino Becki Button).

Blogging and twittering have really helped his efforts - not necessarily to compare progress, but for encouragement, tips, interactivity, and motivation.

Nigel/Running from the Reaper
A relatively new one for me, Nigel podcasts regularly about his training (I refuse to get new ipod after last one blew my PC's motherboard and itself!) so is another technically superior blogger to me.

Not hard really.

And, by the looks of it, a technically superior athlete to me.

Again, not hard.

Sam Shepherd
A web hack from Bournemouth, Sam is a active twitterer, and is running the marathon for the second time.

She's struggled with finding trainers, and had bit of a crisis of confidence wobble not long ago, but she's back on the horse (wonderfully aided by shopping - no sexist remarks please!) and raring to replicate her sprint finish from the Bournemouth Bay half marathon.

Ulen Neale/madasaboxoffrogs
Is running for Volunteer Reading Help to realise an ambition to run the London Marathon, and raise money for a worthy cause.

His low point was a 14 mile training run in the freezing rain, cold wind, with painful twinges and then hail. He also ran Silverstone and managed to finish strongly with three 8 minute miles.

He penned the magnificent Everybody's Free (To wear Vaseline) - think Baz Luhrmann running the marathon.

His name - which is Swedish for Christmas (think Yule log) - is also his initials as his parents decided it'd help him spell it - an awesome idea!

Finding twitter and other bloggers has helped with fundraising, and are great ways for him to share experiences.

And that's your lot!

So, to the 3,000 odd of you who read my blog last month, go read something better!

I'm off for a lie down/work...

*May not be the most comprehensive ever seen, but since I can't find a better one, I'm claiming it as the one achievement in my life