Shrewsbury's First Marathon Run I [And a Marathon Write for My Tonight From Shrewsbury]: 7.00am

It's 7.00am, and I'm awake and limbering my writing muscles.  Two hours to the start of Shrewsbury's first marathon, and am I going to have the stamina to stay the course?  According to the Shropshire Star, thousands of people are going to be lining the streets, including the one just outside my own front door, to cheer on more people than joined up for the first year of the Edinburgh Marathon.  Is that possible? 2,750 people running past my front door in only two hours time on a sleepy Sunday morning with the town silent because no cars are allowed through?

The first of something is really exciting.  Nobody knows quite what to expect.   The town is told to prepare for a party atmosphere. There's going to be a brass band jollying things along in the Quarry, and music in the Square, hosted by Radio Shropshire.  The Hive Arts Centre is hosting a marathon party up at Belmont, and Shrewsbury School is organising some form of entertainment too.

Well, I've got to get round all of that - though maybe not at jogging pace. [I'm not running - my dedication to this site doesn't go that  far.] So, I'd better get up.  No more lying around in bed.   The first thing I want to know is why people run marathons, and in the case of this one in particular, who they're running for.  So I better get down to the Quarry with the My Tonight From Shrewsbury Semi-Live Outside Broadcast Team to find out.