On Sunday 23 April，more than 30，000 people joined in the 2017 London Marathon，running 26.2 miles around the city center．
The London Marathon has taken place every year since 1981．At the first one，just 6，225 people completed the course，and since then it has grown into one of the most important sporting events in the world．Each winner receives $500，000 in prize money．
However, most marathon runners are not professional(专业的)．They run to raise money for charities or just as a personal experience．Many people do fun things to make themselves stand out，like wear silly clothes or do things instead of just running．
For example, Tom Harrison took three days just to reach the halfway point， as he wascrawlingon his hands and knees dressed as a gorilla(猩猩)，trying to raise money and attention for 'The Gorilla Organization '．
One exciting part from this year's race was the story of Jackie and her husband，who got married on the morning of the marathon．Then they both ran the race, with Jackie doing it in her wedding dress!They were running to raise money for cancer charities, as Jackie was diagnosed(诊断)with cancer three years ago．
Matthew Rees was another runner to inspire(激励)people, as he stopped just before the finish line to help another runner run the last 200m．They did not know each other before，but Matthew saw that David was too tired to finish the race and wanted to help him finish．
Every year there are lots of inspiring stories like this from the London Marathon, and it is a huge achievement even to run the 26.2 miles !
