A man dressed as a beer bottle, a dog lover and an accountant are among those gearing up for the Virgin London Marathon this weekend

They will have their feet firmly on the capital’s ground, unlike astronaut Tim Peake, who will be running the marathon harnessed to a treadmill in space.

Charlie Long, pictured below, is preparing a sight to motivate his fellow runners in the London Marathon on Sunday, with his plans to run the 26.2 mile long course dressed in a novelty beer suit.

Mr Long saw a man running in a bottle suit last year, and found out that the world record for the fastest time run by a mascot was three hours 30 minutes, which “seemed do-able”.

Since then it has lowered to three hours 16 minutes 58 seconds, but he is still keen to give it a go. He said: “I love beer and work in the industry, so it seemed to make sense.”

Since starting his training in March, he has done a half marathon, an 18 mile run, and a 21 mile – 14 and a half miles of the 21 done in the suit itself.

“I’m reasonably happy with how I’m running and how it went in the suit. It’s not very aerodynamic though, so I’m praying for nice weather.”

Mr Long is running the marathon to raise money for the Wimbledon Guild, a local charity that supports vulnerable people in the community. The Guild has close ties with the Wimbledon Brewery, where he works, making it an easy choice for him.

Although nervous, he is looking forward to completing the race, where he’ll be celebrating with a nice cold beer – although he’ll definitely be wanting to get out of his own bottle.

To support Charlie’s efforts, go to www.justgiving.com/CharlielongWimbledon

Merton Civic Award winner Steph Nimmo will run her fourth marathon this weekend, her first since losing husband Andy to cancer in December.

Mrs Nimmo has four children - two of which have severe autism and one who is wheelchair bound, severely disabled and with a life-limiting condition.

She is now their sole carer and is running to raise money for Shooting Star Chase Children's Hospice, which supported her family through the last rollercoaster of a year.

Mrs Nimmo, above, who lives in Wimbledon, said: "The reality we face is that while our family of six is now five, at some point we will become four as Daisy's complexities mean that her life is shortened too.

"I'm running the marathon for Shooting Star Chase because they've done so much for us, particularly recently, and I know they'll be there for us again when that time comes to say goodbye to Daisy.

"It will be incredibly poignant for me as it will be the first time I will cross the finish line of a marathon and Andy will not be there to cheer me. Every step will be run in his memory and for our children as they adjust to life without their beloved daddy."
 

The Nimmo family, with Andy on the left

Sponsor her at https://www.justgiving.com/Stephanie-Nimmo

Read Mrs Nimmo's blog at www.wasthisintheplan.co.uk

Christine Blackford, 38, of Cedar Gardens, Sutton, is neck-deep in preparations for the London Marathon, juggling family illness, her job, and organising a fundraising event alongside her training.

Saturday, April 16: Four-legged friends and owners take the lead to raise £2,600 for Blue Cross Pet Charity

Gareth Harmer, Izabela Banasik and their dog Ringo the Whippet.

Despite the heavy demands, Miss Blackford, pictured below, ran the Silverstone Half Marathon in March and made a new personal best for a half marathon at 1.52, boosting her confidence for the gruelling 26.2 mile marathon on Sunday, April 24.

Fundraising for the Blue Cross out of her love for animals, Miss Blackford was challenged by the charity to raise £1,500, and so, as part of her fundraising efforts, organised ‘Walking for Dogs’ with the dog-friendly pub she works at, the Hand in Hand in Wimbledon.

A London Marathon veteran with two previous marathons under her belt, Miss Blackford hasn’t always had a smooth ride to completing the famous event.

After running in high school, she took out the trainers again in 2010 to lose weight.

Whilst taking part in the 2011 marathon, she ran into issues with a knee injury: “My knees went out after the first 16 miles. I crossed the finish line in tears.”

Not to be put off, she is back for the third time now, and is “both nervous and excited” for the day.

After the marathon, she is looking forward to the post-race reception offered by the Blue Cross for the volunteer participants, where she’ll be treated to a shower and massage, before heading back to her supportive workplace for celebratory champagne.

Sponsor her at www.justgiving.com/christine-gizmo

Keith Luck, 55, of Wool Road, Wimbledon, is hoping for some good fortune in the London Marathon, raising money for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Benevolent Fund.

Following the training and guidance of the London Marathon organisers, Mr Luck, above, ran his penultimate long run before the big day at 11 seconds faster per kilometre than his record and is looking forward to the fast-approaching marathon.

To keep up his fitness, Mr has run with the Wimbledon Parkrunners every week for the last four years.

CIMA is a global organisation of professional accountants from around the world, with over 100,000 members. Its Benevolent Fund aims to help members who fall upon hard times, particularly in areas with less access to social support, such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Money is often used to help with medical fees or childcare.

Mr Luck, the Immediate Late President of CIMA, said “People often laugh when you talk about accountants being in financial trouble, but many members live in countries where the safety nets we have in the UK are simply not there to catch people as they fall.”

He started out with a goal of £1,000 but quickly exceeded this, and is now close to his updated target of £2,000.

The marathon is the largest single fundraising event for CIMA, and so this amount would be greatly significant for the fund.

Dave Busby, 29, above, of Durnsford Road, Wimbledon, is continuing the family tradition of running the London Marathon for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, in memory of his aunt Cheryl.

Since her death, caused by cystic fibrosis, a family member has run the marathon every year, and Mr Busby felt like this was his year to take on the mantle, despite never having run a marathon before.

His path to the marathon has not been the usual – he spent time training on holiday in India, in 38 degree heat.

He said: “It wasn’t ideal training in the heat, with cows in the streets and dogs chasing me.”

Unsurprisingly with such unusual training, Mr Busby is pleased that it’s nearly over, and is looking forward to celebrating with his family at the finish line.

He hopes to raise £2,000 for the CF Trust, who helped his aunt enjoy “a rich, happy, and relatively long life for a CF sufferer.

“Sadly a cure didn’t come soon enough. Thankfully, we are now within touching distance and I wanted to do my bit to help.”

To help Mr Busby achieve his goal and support his fundraising efforts, visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/davebco.

Two Lidl UK employees, based in Wimbledon, are set to run the Virgin Money London Marathon to raise money to support children, young people and their families affected by cancer.

Administrator Christopher Cooper, 25 from Putney, and head of business systems Matthew Bateman, 42 from Ewell, are raising money for CLIC Sargent.

Lidl employees and shoppers have already raised over £700,000 for their ongoing charity partner CLIC Sargent which has helped their nurses and social workers provide over 28,000 hours of specialist care to children and young people living with cancer.

Christopher and Matthew are hoping to add a further £3,500 to the total.

Sponsor Matthew at justgiving.com/Matthew-Bateman-CLIC.

To sponsor Chris, visit the website.

Holly Campbell ran half of the Marathon Des Alpes-Maritimes​ to raise money for the Lyra Maharaj Memorial Fund at Cardiac Risk in the Young in 2014

Holly Campbell, of Charminster Avenue, Merton Park, will also be running the marathon this weekend to raise money for the UCL Cancer Institute Research Trust, which helps to fund research into more effective treatment for childhood cancer. 

She was inspired to run by Finn Gower, a four-year-old pupil at Poplar Primary School in Merton Park. Finn was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Christmas Eve 2014, when he was just three-years-old. 

Finn has two years left of his treatment, at which point it is estimated he will have had over 1,250 doses of chemo, 200 blood tests and 21 lumbar punctures under general anaesthetic.

He currently undergoes daily chemotherapy sessions, and has previously had blood and plaetelet transfusions.

To donate towards UCL's research into childhood cancer, visit Mrs Campbells fundraising page at justgiving.com/runningforfinnandclair

Are you running the marathon? Send photos of yourself at the finish line to us.

Email Becky.middleton@london.newsquest.co.uk with the subject line 'Marathon 2016'. Include a high resolution photo, caption, contact details and how much money you raised, plus a link to a fundraising page online.