Phil Selway runs the London Marathon in four and a half hours

Phil Selway ran the London Marathon for the Samaritans on Sunday 14 April and finished the 26.2 miles in four and a half hours. The websites of W.A.S.T.E., the band's mail-order and fan club, and of the Samaritans streamed his run live, and the charity's site reports he was calm and relaxed afterwards, and happy to have finished.

Everyone who sponsored him went into a draw for a drum kit from the OK Computer sessions, the five-piece cherry-red Premier XPK he played on “Exit Music” and “Paranoid Android”, with its stands, bass-drum pedal and Zildjian cymbals. Donors added their full names to an online visitors' book, from which the winner is to be picked.

Selway, who opened the Samaritans' new Oxford centre in February, sent his appeal out through W.A.S.T.E. at the end of March, calling his entry foolish and signing off “with blisters on my feet”. He asked for £4,500 and hoped for much more. Pledges had passed £9,600 by the evening of 31 March, and more than £11,000 by 2 April.

I'm hoping to run the London Marathon in four hours. In those four hours, The Samaritans will take around 2,200 calls from people who are in need of emotional support.

Phil Selway¹