Today, thousands of runners take to the streets of the capital for the 33rd Virgin London Marathon. Among those are many Islington and Hackney residents, and reporter Laura Lea found out some of their inspiring stories.

Nick Mead

The memory of his niece, who died two years ago aged 11, will be spurring on runner Nick Mead as he takes part in the London Marathon.

The 37-year-old of Southgate Road, Islington, has been training five times a week for what will be his first marathon.

He is running in memory of his niece, Elle, who died in 2010 after suffering a brain injury sustained at an accident at school.

He said: “Elle was a funny, happy and cheeky 11-year-old that had her whole life in front of her. Elle’s loss has devastated our family and we know things will never be the same. “Whilst Elle was in intensive care I promised her that whatever happened I would not let her be forgotten and I’ve kept my word.”

Nick is fund-raising for Headway, a brain injury charity that supports sufferers and families. He has already exceeded his £1,500 target and now hopes to get to £3,000.

Donate to Nick here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=NickMead

Alison Pooley

Most people find the 26 miles hard to run in trainers, but one woman will be running the London Marathon barefoot for the second time this weekend.

Alison Pooley, 44, lives on a houseboat on the River Lea and has been in Hackney for 20 years, runs almost every day around Hackney Marshes and Springfield Park, often with her four dogs in tow.

She said there are many benefits to barefoot running: “It reduces risk of injury and is a better way of running. It allows your foot to behave as a foot and it’s more fun.”

Alison is running in support of Help the Hospices, after she experienced their brilliant care last year when her sister died. She said: “They are such an amazing service. I want to make sure people can access these services.”

Alison has raised £3,000 but is aiming to reach £4,000. She has been fundraising with her 21-year-old daughter, Lauren, who is also running the marathon.

Support Alison and Lauren here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=AlisonandLauren

Sarah Cobb

As a coach at a women’s football club, Sarah Cobb is taking to the streets on Sunday to raise funds to help keep the community facility going.

Sarah Cobb, 23, is running her first ever marathon for local women’s football club, Hackney Laces, which . Sarah coaches and helps to run the community club which meets weekly to offer a place for girls to come and play football – and is. The community club is solely reliant on donations.

Sarah said: “This is the only way we get money to cover all the costs of running the club including equipment and pitches.”

The money raised will also go some way toward helping 20 of the girls go on tour to Barcelona next month.

After securing a place, Sarah has been running three times a week, every week.

Sarah said: “The training has gone really well. I’ve enjoyed it and I feel ready.”

But this week she’s taking it easy with a few short runs.

Her team mates at Hackney Laces will all be there on the day to support her. She said: “I’ve got people all along the route, which will really help.”

You can support Sarah at www.hackneylaces.co.uk

Nick Mead

Nick Mead, 37 of Southgate Road, has been training five times a week for what will be his first marathon.

Nick is running in memory of his niece, Elle, who died two years ago after suffering a brain injury after an accident at school. He said: “Whilst Elle was in ICU I promised her that whatever happened I would not let her be forgotten.”

Nick is fund-raising for Headway, a brain injury charity that supports sufferers and families. He has already exceeded his £1500 target and now hopes to get to £3000.

Donate to Nick here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=NickMead

Alison Pooley

Alison Pooley, 44, l lives on a houseboat on the River Lea and has been in Hackney for 20 years. She will be running the marathon barefoot for the second time this weekend.

There are many benefits to barefoot running. Alison said: “It reduces risk of injury and is a better way of running. It allows your foot to behave as a foot and it’s more fun.”

You may have spotted Alison, who runs almost every day around Hackney marshes and Springfield Park, often with her four dogs in tow.

Alison is running in support of Help the Hospices, after she experienced their brilliant care last year when her sister died. She said: “They are such an amazing service. I want to make sure people can access these services.”

Alison has raised £3000 but is aiming to reach £4000. She has been fund-raising with her 21-year-old daughter, Lauren, who is also running the marathon. They’ll be running together on the day, to keep each other going.

Support Alison and Lauren here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=AlisonandLauren

Chris Borrow

Having gone down a storm dressed as a giant baby last year, Chris Borrow will be pulling on the outfit again on Sunday for the second year in a row.

Chris Borrow, 30, of Blackstock Road, Highbury, Highbury will be running the London Mmarathon for Parkinson’s UK – and only found out six week’s ago that he had a place.for the second time this year. Having only been awarded a place six weeks ago, Chris is confident he’ll make it.

He will be donning his baby costume again, and is confident he’ll go the distance despite the limited training time he’s had.

But added to the struggle is the fact Chris will be wearing a giant baby costume, following its popularity last year. He said: “Last year was really warm, but this year I’m less concerned about being too hot.”

Chris is aiming to raise £2,000 for Parkinson’s UK, after which is a cause close to his heart has a personal meaning to him after his grandmother died of the disease three3 years ago and his grandfather currently suffers with the condition.

He said: “Running for a charity makes it so worthwhile. Parkinson’s UK make a big difference in what they do in research and working towards a cure.”

Chris’s family and friends will be along the route to support him.

Support Chris here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=BabyBorrow&faId=309462&isTeam=false

Matthew De Boise

Matt De Boise will be running his fourth London Marathon this weekend for a cause very close to his heart.

The , 32-year-old, of Harberton Rroad, Archway, knows all too well the importance of charity Mind following his sister’s death from suicide in 1995.

He will be running his fourth London marathon in support of Mind.

He said: “It’s very close to home. My sister took her own life in 1995 after suffering from depression. We didn’t see it coming or know what to look for.”

So far Matt has raised more than £1,600 for the charity that funds research into mental health, but he hopes to collect between £2,000 and £3,000.

Matt has been training since January despite the wintery weather. He said: “I’ve just had to go out in the cold and wet.”

Matt’s personal best time was three3 hours 55 minutes and he’ll be trying to get as close as possible to this. Helping him along the way will be a friend’s daughter and her classmates who’ve been working hard making a big banner.

You can help Matt reach his target here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=MatthewDeBoise-1

Claire Bradshaw

Claire Bradshaw will be running the London Marathon in memory of her grandfather this weekend.

TheClaire Bradshaw, 27-year-old, of Tollington Way, Holloway, ran the marathon four years ago and will be running this Sunday in support of Parkinson’s UK and in memory of her grandfather who died of the disease.

She said: “Parkinson’s UK did great work in supporting my grand dad and my family. They do a lot of work to help carers and the people suffering.”

Claire has been training around Finsbury Park 3 or 4 times a week since December and is on course for completing the run in less than four and a half hours. She has already raised more than £1800 and hopes to reach £2000 before Sunday.

Donate to Claire and Parkinson’s UK here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=ClaireBradshaw&faId=286589&isTeam=false