ON YOUR MARKS...

MARION MCMULLEN looks at some of the famous runners taking part in this year’s London Marathon

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More than half a million people applied to take part in this year’s London Marathon – a new world record – and 50,000 runners will tackle the 26.2 mile course on Sunday. Among them are many famous faces running for charity. 2

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan is turning marathon runner. The 46-year-old is a patron of Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and is running in support of the mental health charity. He says: “If you told me a couple years ago that I’d be running a marathon, I’d have told you there was no chance – but CALM’S work is so important that I’m going to break a lifelong promise to myself, invest in some nipple tape and run the London Marathon for them.” 3 Former Doctor Who and Emmy-winning actor Christopher Eccleston is running to raise awareness for The Big Issue magazine. He is now 60 and says: “The last one I ran was when I was 50. So, my plan is to run at 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100. And then I’ll retire!” 4

Eastenders actors Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick (below) are running the marathon for the second time, but this time as their BBC soap characters Honey and Jay for a special episode tied in to the death of Jay’s wife, Lola, who passed away of a brain tumour in a storyline last year.

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Award-winning Luther and His Dark Materials actress Ruth Wilson is running with her three brothers Toby, Matt and Sam and her nephew Theo for the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, which has supported her family following her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. He took part in the inaugural London Marathon in 1981 finishing in three hours

15 minutes.

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Ted Lasso star Phil Dunster will be making his London Marathon debut for Young Lives vs Cancer. His cousin’s son, Rory, was diagnosed with a brain tumour aged just four months old and the charity helped throughout Rory’s illness and when he passed away. Phil says they do not get any government funding: “So that’s why I’m taking on this absolutely epic (and rather mad) challenge.”

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The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) star Chloe Meadows is running to help raise funds for the charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis six years ago and is now raising awareness of the condition in the hope others will seek medical advice.

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Sky Sports F1 presenter and Flackstock co-founder Natalie Pinkham is running for London Marathon’s Official Charity of the Year, Samaritans, in memory of her late friend and TV presenter Caroline Flack. She says: “It’s going to be a tough challenge, but any time I have a low moment, I think of Flacky and dig a bit deeper.”

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Mcfly drummer Harry Judd (pictured) is putting on his running shoes for The Children’s Trust, Emmerdale’s Alexander Lincoln is raising money for Centrepoint and singer songwriter Tom Grennan is supporting Shelter. 10

A host of elite rugby stars will be running. Former rugby league players Jamie Peacock and Jamie Jones-buchanan have swapped scrums for runs as they prepare to participate in aid of the charity Sue Ryder Care, while former Wales rugby union legend Shane Williams (below) will run his fifth London Marathon for the Velindre

Cancer