Run London Draw London
Co-creating a 26.2-mile illustrated marathon for Oxfam
Co-creating a 26.2-mile illustrated marathon for Oxfam
This year, illustrator Dan Woodger brought together his two passions - drawing and running - to raise over £5,000 for Oxfam.
In April, Dan ran The TCS London Marathon - his first ever marathon - and invited supporters to help contribute to the biggest illustration Dan has ever created.
Supporters could donate via the project fundraising page and, with a minimum donation of £5, suggest a character for the 26.2 mile route map to form what became over 400 unique characters - including a dragon, dogs, a bear riding a skateboard with a pigeon on it's head, a coffee bean, the banana in pyjamas, a guide dog from Guide Dogs charity, a stonemason holding a pick axe, Mr Bean, a runner dressed as a brain, a tortoise called Turbo Tortellini, and the doners themselves.
The campain got the attention of world record holder Paula Radcliffe and was even printed in The Observer on race day. It’s silly, personal, purposeful, and completely joyful, which is probably why it works.
Over the 12 weeks leading up to the marathon, Dan documented both his training progress and the growing illustration across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, offering supporters a behind-the-scenes look at the evolving artwork and marathon preparation.
The project highlighted Dan's personal relationship with running as both a creative and mental reset.
"Running has become the perfect antidote to sitting at a desk all day," said Dan. "It clears my head, reduces stress, and constantly inspires my work. When I got a place on the London Marathon, I wanted to create something joyful and collaborative that people could genuinely be part of, while raising money for a cause I really care about. I also want to inspire other creatives to try running as a source of inspiration, wellbeing and community connection."
All fundraising proceeds went directly to Oxfam, supporting its global work tackling poverty and inequality. In the end he raised over £5000.
Dan joined Creative Review to talk about the 3 month project, the 400+ characters he created, a popped knee at 30k, and why in an age of AI-generated everything, doing something slow and meaningful on purpose is its own kind of radical act.
Read it here.