Just a little plug for my website that's been going strong since July. www.gamemarathons.com is dedicated to video gaming marathons and serves as a directory for easy viewing whenever they are broadcast live. A marathon can range from anywhere between 20 and 72 hours of constant game playing and are usually pretty fun to watch and participate in.

So check it out if you enjoy watching sleep deprived individuals playing video games for charity

Eseentially those who do these marathons for charity work hard to make them run successfully and smoothly, and provide a weekend of entertainment to those who are interested. So people who appreciate that and are entertained usually donate directly to the chosen charity in the marathon's name. For example, a mario marathon in late June raised over $11,000 for Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity through direct donations from the viewers.

An alternative some marathons have done is the tried and true "sponsorship" scheme much like a normal athletic marathon, where, for example, people "pledge" beforehand to donate $1 for every hour played or something.