Sir Richard Branson globe-trots to London Marathon

The jet-setting Virgin boss only arrived in the UK at 9am yesterday after he was forced to charter a plane from Los Angeles because of the volcanic ash.

He said he did not want to use up a space on one of his own planes while other stranded passengers were still waiting.

But he filled up the space on his chartered flight with marathon runners desperate not to miss today's event.

Speaking at the ExCeL Centre in central London, where runners register for the race, Branson said: "I've certainly had the most interesting training sessions, from running in Bahrain to Johannesburg to a game reserve in Africa to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Bali and Vancouver at the Winter Olympics.

"It's been fascinating training but in between a lot of plane journeys. I've never run a marathon. I had never run more than two miles before I started training for this marathon. We're going to have a wonderful day out and raise lots of money for charity."

The 60-year-old, whose Virgin company has taken over sponsorship of the marathon this year, added: "I'm sure everybody running has an element of nervousness because you don't know whether your body is going to cope."

Branson's children, Holly and Sam, are spearheading a world-record attempt for the biggest number of people to finish a marathon tied together.

They will be joined by bungee cords with 32 other runners, including Princess Beatrice, for the 26.2-mile course.

Branson and his team, including singer Natalie Imbruglia, model Michelle Heaton and Hollyoaks actor Ricky Whittle, have challenged the human caterpillar to the fastest finish.

Branson, a keen tennis player and kite-surfing enthusiast, said it would be fun to race against his children, who are aiming for a time of under six hours.

The two teams have already raised half a million pounds for charity.