Run faster Mr Hale!

One of the marathoners over the finish line at the recent Medibank Melbourne Marathon Festival was primary school PE teacher Nathan Hale.

Spurred on through the 42.2km event's toughest stages by pre-recorded motivational messages from his students playing on his iPod, Nathan crossed the line in an inspiring 3 hours 26 minutes.

Deciding never to run another marathon at the 25km mark of the previous year's event, the ongoing importance of keeping fit and healthy changed his mind and Nathan trained hard for the 2013 event, sharing the journey to the big day with his students.

Continuing to raise money to support the event's premier charity, Cerebral Palsy Education Centre, was another key motivator for Nathan's participation in the event.

With listening to music a big part of his training and race plan, Nathan couldn't think of better people to hear from when he most needed it than his own students' messages of encouragement.

"Think of unicorns in heaven!"

"Don't be lazy!"

"Run Forrest Run"

Hear from Nathan and his students in the lead up to the event and watch Nathan's inspiring race day performance.