As reported here back in April, Buster Martin famously ran this year's London Marathon at an apparently grand age of 101. This week, the controversy was reignited as William Hill refused to hand over £13,000 in alleged winnings, on the basis that they have still not seen a birth certificate to prove Buster's claim to be 101. Epping resident Buster, originally born in France, still hasn't been able to supply one. We now recognise......

The London Marathon’s got itself a new sugar daddy. After a highly public breakup back in December (“it’s not you, it’s us” was Flora’s graceless exit strategy), the London Marathon has been wandering adrift, at sea, not quite sure what the future would bring after the 2009 race. No worries – she’s a hot little lucrative number and we knew it wouldn’t be long before someone swooped in to occupy the vacant space by......

Over the last couple of years Londonist has been privileged to bring you tales from the life and times of Buster Martin, the centenarian Pimlico plumber who first came to fame after being ordered, under duress, to take a day off work on his 100th birthday. Now, having completed the London Marathon in just under ten hours - and collecting some £20,000 for the Rhys Daniels Trust in the process - Buster was expected......

If you go down to the Cutty Sark tomorrow you're sure of a big surprise. Or two. The 138 year-old tea clipper, one of the most recognisable landmarks on the London Marathon course over its previous twenty-six runnings, was engulfed by a fire last May, though thankfully a good part of the ship was already elsewhere undergoing renovation. The repairs required to her are obviously even more extensive in the aftermath and currently the......

Here at Londonist we love to indulge in all sorts of devilishly scrumptious treats. However, we know healthy, conscientious eating is the key to a happy life. Kate Percy is a marathon runner and a cook … and, as of the 10th of January, a blogger. With her Go Faster Food blog, Kate intends to share her progress in training for the Flora London Marathon 2008 and to talk about different foods and recipes......

Well damn. Just as we were preparing to submit our accumulated evidence that Paula Radcliffe deserves admission to the International Super Heroes Hall of Fame (wherever that may be), word comes today of a crack in the steely exterior of the marathon world record holder. The three-time London Marathon winner has been forced to withdraw from this year’s event due to an injury to a tendon in her toe (tendons! in the toe! yet......

Aren’t old people delightful? So feisty! Such spunk! When they’re not threatening your five-year-old with an iron bar, they might be off practising kung fu on would-be teen muggers (and quite rightly – punks) or dispensing advice to lad mag readers. This much is clear: retirement just isn’t what it used to be. Witness Buster Martin, the 101-year-old with an invincibility complex. And no wonder. After first gaining notoriety for refusing to take a......

It’s March already and the daffodils are blooming and we’re feeling all full of the joys of spring. So, of course, we’ll be settling in on the couch to watch some telly. But in a spring-like frame of mind, naturally. On TV, Londonist likes: Monday 3 March Withnail & I (Film4, 21:00-23:05) Enjoy the squalor of 1960s London in this classic film, which is one of our favourites featuring our fair city. Camden’s never......

She does not, to our knowledge, leap tall buildings in a single bound, have telepathic powers, or possess the ability to control the weather. But Paula Radcliffe, who, we learned today, will be competing again this year in the London Marathon en route to trying for the gold at the summer Olympics in Beijing, could make a claim to a few other superhero abilities. Superhuman strength? Check. She runs 26.2 miles in the time......

Pete Doherty wants to run the London marathon. We're sure many people will sneer at this idea, what with Pete's history of performance restricting drugs, his post-rehab bloatedness, and his jaunty hat, which will have to be held on with an elastic strap if he is to continue to look like a handsome East end libertine/bohemian counter cultural icon/twat* (*delete as appropriate). However, we welcome his decision to take up exercise. We're sure that he's......

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

Buttery spread brand Flora, sponsor of the London Marathon, has decided that its bread is better buttered elsewhere. After a 14-year association with the event, Flora has indicated that it will give up its sponsorship following the 2009 race. A delightful investment opportunity for those of you with £12 million lying around! Promoting itself as a heart-healthy butter alternative by placing its name on the hundreds of thousands of, presumably heart-healthy, runners doggedly completing......

We have to admit when we first saw this advertised we didn't have much of an idea what to expect. Henry VIII certainly knew how to cut it with the ladies, but we reckoned that a re-enactment of His Majesty's finest chat-up lines was unlikely, particularly in the middle of a river. It turns out that the Tudor Pull is run by the Thames Traditional Rowing Association and features crews of six oarsmen rowing......

Are you related to stabbed PC who died 67 years ago? Students design new police uniform - coloured stripes over shoulder, a bit like old Star Trek. Hatrick of headlines for the rozzers, as plant pot incident launches police chopper. ‘Ridiculous’ totem poles waste money say Tories (no, it's not a Day Today headline). Sl-mo London Marathon runner finally finishes. Bomb plotters go down for life. Image courtesy of Maggsinho via the Londonist flickr......

Like an energiser bunny, Greg Billingham from Cheshire just keeps on going. Only very, very slowly. He's just reached the half-way mark of the London Marathon. An achievement that leaves him in 36,000th place and over three days behind the leading pack. Running at one pace every five to six seconds, Steve hopes to complete the race next Sunday - one week late. He tells the BBC: "it has been the cheering and support......

Remember those brave/crazy Flora London Marathon runners we talked to last week (click on their names below to read their interviews)...? Well, they did it! So, how was it? Incredible. Exhausting, exhilarating. The crowds were inspirational and somehow spurred me on to a 3 hrs 47 mins finish, which I still can't quite believe & was beyond my wildest Paula Rad-Sloss dreams. On the final turn into the mall, I overtook Sally Gunnell. The......

And so the big day arrives with a bang! I'm up early and cycling through quiet city streets already dappled with sunlight, cameras slung around my shoulders. I switch to public transport to make my way over to the Red Start in Greenwich Park and due to various DLR difficulties don't make it there until a while after the mass start. I wander leisurely past the Royal Observatory enjoying the view and the buzzing......

What's your name and which part of London do you live in? Ruth Sloss, South Ealing. How long have you been running for? About 4 years. Is this your first Marathon? Yes (gulp!). What inspired you to enter the Marathon? I started running thinking I couldn't get as far as the bus stop. Then once I got past it, I entered a 10K, then an 8 mile, then a half marathon, where I was......

London's very own sex museum/experience has opened Greg Dyke considered throwing his hat into the London Mayor election ring but decided against it. Probably because nobody likes him. Those upstarts in Croydon Council have decided against applying for city status. Quite right too. The Arsenal vice chariman has left the club. Surprise, surprise - tube delays are getting worse. Image courtesy of juniorbonnerphotography via the Londonist flickr group.......

What's your name and which part of London do you live in? Paul Kneeshaw - I live at Canvey Island in Essex. How long have you been running for? Around 2½ years. Is this your first Marathon? No, I have done the Great North Run twice, and last year's London Marathon. What inspired you to enter the Marathon? Running for The Prostate Cancer Charity - to raise money to fight the disease that claimed......

What's your name and which part of London do you live in? My name's Tim Jude and I live in Acton, West London. How long have you been running for? I started running 3 years ago when a friend persuaded me to take part in a 5k race (which at the time felt like an impossibility). For many years previously I'd tried out running on various occasions, only to give up after the first......

What's your name and which part of London do you live in? Stephanie Hay. I'm from Romford (London Borough of Havering!). How long have you been running for? I started running in December when I found out I had got a place in the Marathon. Before that I was just a regular gym goer. Is this your first Marathon? Yeah, this is my very first Marathon, and even my first long-distance run. What inspired......

What's your name and which part of London do you live in? My name is Stephen Mainstone, I'm 29 and I live in East Dulwich. How long have you been running for? I have been running (seriously) since September last year so 8 months. Is this your first Marathon? If not, what others have you run? Yes, this is my first marathon. What inspired you to enter the Marathon? Last year I went along......

Welcome to the first in our short series of interviews with people running the Flora London Marathon this Sunday. If you've ever wondered what makes them do it, read on! More to come throughout the day. What's your name and which part of London do you live in? Katharine 'Kat' Bowers, SE19. How long have you been running for? Since July last year when I signed up to the Nike 10k RunLondon event. Is......

With the Flora London Marathon just 5 days away we thought it was high time we peered over the edge of the sofa (no hurty feet here!) and had a little look at what's going on this week in preparation for the big event: 26.2 miles of running around London, silly costumes optional. Tomorrow marks the start of the Flora London Marathon Expo. Held over four days at the ExCel Centre, the show is......

Over the next few weeks we’ll be trying out new formats for Monday Miscellanea. Let us know what you think… This Week In London’s History Monday – 16th April 1889: Hollywood great Charlie Chaplin is born in Walworth, South London. Tuesday – 17th April 1984: WPC Yvonne Fletcher is shot dead at a protest outside the Libyan embassy on St. James’s Square. Also, on this day in 1999, “London nailbomber” David Copeland kicks-off his......

Life on Mars sequel to be set in London in 1981. Gene Hunt returns. Oxford St reopens after electrical explosion. Welsh chap to run 262 miles to start of London Marathon. Ken wants knife detectors in schools. And a mural depicting murdered teen Billy Cox is at the centre of a row in Clapham. Image courtesy of mirrorgirl via the Londonist flickr group.......

Edgware Road shisha cafe's and the ban on smoking. Something's gotta give. Boxing postman and the campaign against binge drinking. We love local news. London Marathon and a solution to its litter problem. Lorry drivers and the campaign to kill fewer cyclists. And UK immigration crack down on dangerous Doggs. Image courtesy of buckaroo kid via the Londonist flickr group.......

Sulphur hexafluoride floods the Tube at St John's Wood!!! Oh, it's harmless. Images of children living in squalid conditions give commuters something else to think about. You could travel overground, like Shilpa Shetty who will enter the London Marathon. While the Tour de France will be greeted with flower power. And John Inman has now been laid to rest. Image courtesy of Lewis Foad via the Londonist flickr group.......

Not only is Sunday St George's Day and Shakespeare's birthday, it is also the London Marathon. It would be nice to cheer on the many, many maniacs who will be putting themselves through 26 miles of hell in the name of charity and masochism (seriously, guys - the day after is going to hurt), but we lesser sporting mortals who will be lingering on the sidelines need to find a place to carry out......