Welcome to the Mariothon 2!


Question Coin What is the Mariothon?

The Mariothon is an annual 72 hour fundraising event in support of Starlight Children’s Foundation. The first Mariothon took place in 2011 and saw Mario running through every level of 9 different games whilst raising just shy of £2,500 for Starlight. Over 4,000 people logged on to watch, chat and donate, and we were overwhelmed by everyones’ support – we just can’t wait to do it all again in 2012!

This year we’re going to go bigger and better! As well as the inevitable video games, we have loads of exciting plans including a “Red Tie Dinner”, the Mariothon Jukebox, Mario-themed Family Fortunes and Toad’s Used Yoshi Dealership – stay tuned for more details. We also have loads more ideas that we’re keeping up our sleeves for now; check back to the website regularly to see more plans as they’re announced.

Question Coin Who are Starlight?

Starlight Children’s Foundation is a charity that grants wishes to seriously and terminally ill children, as well as entertaining children in hospitals and hospices around the country. Find out more here, or visit Starlight Children’s Foundation’s official page.

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Question Coin When is the Mariothon taking place?

October 25th – 28th, 2012. Things will be kicking off at 15:00 GMT, and we’ll be online for each and every hour of the next seventy two. (Actually, it’s seventy three, because the clocks go back whilst we’re online!)

Mario Question Coin Who gets to take control of that pesky plumber this year?

As well as last year’s trio of Mariothon veterans (see the Profiles page for details), we’re bringing in some fresh new faces this year! However, we haven’t even told some of them about it yet, so we’ll keep quiet for now. Watch this space...

Question Coin What games are you playing for the Mariothon 2?

We wanted to give you guys a say in what you wanted to see played this year. Whilst we’re staying true to our Italian plumber namesake and keeping to the Mario games, nearly everything else is up to you. Of course, we couldn’t possibly miss out the original NES games, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii is just too much fun to avoid (especially on 4 player mode!) However, everything else is up for your vote.

From Super Mario World to Mario Galaxy 2, all the major titles are there – if you vote for it, we’ll play it! There’ll also be a healthy serving of Mario Kart, and with it comes the chance for viewers all over the world to pick up their controllers and teach us how to race – and obviously there will be a prize for the overall Mario Kart champion...

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Question Coin Where is the Mariothon based?

You can join in all the fun of the Mariothon, as well as donating to Starlight on our website, www.mariothon.org. From a more general perspective, we all have Canadian roots, and yet have ended up scattered around the UK. However, the Mariothon will be broadcast from Nottingham, UK.

Mario Question Coin Why the Mariothon? Why Starlight?

We want to raise money for a very deserving charity. None of us are athletic enough to run a physical marathon, so we’re doing it by proxy and making Mario do all the running! Considering that one of Starlight’s projects is to put a Wii in every children’s ward and hospice in the UK, it also seemed an appropriate charity for a Mariothon, and indeed the whole gaming community to support.

None of us are formally affiliated with Starlight, but The Mariothon is a recognised Starlight fundraising event. Also, we having nothing to do with collecting the money you donate – it all goes through VirginMoneyGiving and we never see a penny.

Question Coin How should I contact you?

Whether you are a generous sponsor/t-shirt manufacturer/video game store owner who wants to give us loads of free stuff for our competitions and give-aways, or are just a fan of what we do, we’d be hugely grateful to hear from you! You can get in touch with us at admin@mariothon.org or you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.