If you successfully completed the Virgin London Marathon on 25^th April, many congratulations.It takes tremendous effort and dedication to train for such a long run, as well as serious elbow grease getting stuck into the fundraising part of this wonderful challenge.

There was a ‘Dispatches’ Programme about the London Marathon broadcast on Channel 4 in April. The Institute of Fundraising and many of its member charities are keen to assure all those who took part in the event, or are considering running the marathon in the future, that it is a great opportunity to raise much needed funds for charities.

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the Virgin London Marathon.The amount raised for charities’ causes by runners in the marathon this year is set to top half a billion pounds. In fact, the Virgin London Marathon has officially been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest fundraising event in the world.

If it’s time to take up a new hobby now that summer time is approaching and the evenings are getting lighter, why not set your sights on running in the London Marathon in 2011? If that’s a little too ambitious, why not opt for CRUK’s 5km Race for Life, or a 10k, or even stretch your legs over a half marathon run?

See you at the finish line!