The Great British public - with the emphasis firmly on the great - may look on bemused as we run out of zeros to calculate our bankers' greed and MPs' expense claims but yet again they rose magnificently to the occasion at yesterday's Flora London Marathon.  The Great British Public are givers, not takers, a concept others should acquaint themselves with.

The runners, all 35,000 of them yesterday, including nine octogenarians, continue to dig deep and give generously of themselves - blood, sweat and tears; body and soul.  Time and energy they haven't really got, but what the hell, the urgent need to perpetuate the memory of somebody they love or a cause they believe in overrides that.  And their supporters likewise - with cash and encouragement and support. 

When the final sponsor's payment comes in from yesterday's race the total raised for charity since the inaugural London Marathon in 1981 will be in the region of £450 million, a staggering sum even now when figures make less sense than they used to. 

And the magic underpinning this phenomenal annual effort, as every marathon runners confirms, is that by giving you are rewarded tenfold. 

EXCERPT:

"You meet fantastic people marathon running and hear all sorts of inspiring stories", said former England rugby international Simon Halliday, who was making his debut.  "It's totally inspiring and training for this has been great therapy as well as a physical challenge." 

Halliday took the plunge this year after discovering that despite a horribly mangled left ankle - the legacy of his rugby career - he could run again if he used MBT Masai warrior trainers. "I had the ankle fused and can't really move it but the rocking motion of the trainers does it for me.  "I look strange, but frankly, who cares?  The main impetus came after I witnessed the son of a friend die suddenly from heart failure.  I became involved with CRY - Cardiac Risk in the Young - and we need money for a scanner that can save lives.  Not running suddenly wasn't an option."