In pictures: The London Marathon

About 35,000 runners set off from Blackheath at the start of the 2008 London Marathon.

Those still running in the afternoon were caught in the rain.

As ever there were plenty of people willing to run in costumes....

There were those who were heroic ...

Some who were a bit cheeky...

Others were plain horrific.

Some runners went for seasonal outfits...

But some were definitely out of season.

And they came in all shapes and sizes.

Many of the runners will have raised money for good causes.

Six Masai warriors from Tanzania ran in traditional outfits to raise money for their village.

This year's celebrity runners include actor Phil Daniels and singer Ronan Keating.

Martin Lel of Kenya crossed the line to win the men's race.

And Irina Mikitenko of Germany won the women's event.

Sandra Graf of Switzerland won the women's wheelchair event

And Britain's David Weir won the men's wheelchair race

Further back in the race, Michelle Frost hopes to break the record for the longest distance covered on 4ft (1.2m) stilts. Picture by Phil Hudson

And Buster Martin, aged 101, hopes to become the oldest person to ever complete the marathon.

While charity fundraiser Lloyd Scott dressed as a robot hopes to have a finishing time - of Friday!