GOOD luck to all our London Marathon 2017 runners who will take on the 26.2 mile course this morning.

This year is the 37th anniversary of the race and will kick off with the wheelchair race at 9am.

At 9.15am the elite women's group will set off, followed by the men's group and mass start at 10am.

Here's a round-up of all our locals taking part:

  • Steven Rolfe, 39, of Martens Meadow, Braintree, decided to set himself the challenge of running 10 marathons before he turned 40.

He will be running the London Marathon for Children With Cancer UK.

  • Equine vet Ben Portus, who works at Paton & Lee Veterinary Surgery in Witham, will be galloping the streets of London for the Marathon.

He is raising money for Brooke – Action for Working Horses and Donkeys.

For more than 50 years Kirsten’s mum has lived with bronchiectasis, caused by childhood illnesses which were untreated.

  • Jessy Dyer and her partner Ross Mclaren are fundraising in memory of Ross's mum, Jeanette, who died in 2015.

Jessy, 26, and Ross, 28, of Edinburgh Close in Witham, want to say thank you to Farleigh Hospice, as staff enabled her to stay at home.

The two marathons will be his seventh and eighth, while he is hoping to complete his tenth by the end of the year.

  • Graham Ogan, 60, is running the London Marathon for Sense, a national charity that supports people who are deafblind, have sensory impairments or complex needs.

Mr Ogan has completed runs in Edinburgh, New York, Dublin and Barbados.

  • Dave Holdich, 34, from Witham, is running for Macmillan Cancer Support, which cared for his mum Sue before her death in May 2013.

Mr Holdich, 34, is taking on the challenge as part of his Run for Mum campaign to raise awareness of cancer and the charities who support people with the disease. 

  • Samantha Leigh, 19, of Rayne Road, Braintree, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease three years ago.

She wants more people to be aware of the disease and its life-changing effects and has already raised more than £3,000 for Crohn's and Colitis UK.