Today, the gaming marathon known as Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ, for short) has begun. It’s a week-long, streamed gaming marathon, done by speed runners, or gaming enthusiasts that play through their favorite games really fast.

That alone is a bit remarkable, but, on top of the awesome gameplay and glitch-displaying, the marathon collects donations for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a non-profit that supports research into early detection and prevention of the disease cancer.I can’t recall exactly how I found the marathon itself, but it was likely due to following a few speedrunners on the website Twitch.tv, when a runner mentioned they were attending, years ago. It’s not the first gaming marathon I’d found online, but the key entertainment factor is actually watching the skills on display, instead of just watching a bunch of people with average skill play through games.

Events like AGDQ have been going on for years, and generally do fly under the radar, despite raising decent amounts for the charities involved (gamers are generous!)for some, watching others play games is less interesting than playing them, so it’s reasonable that perhaps these marathons will remain not as widely know, but I think that’s OK. The stream, running through January 10, is available online here: twitch.tv/gamesdonequick

More information on AGDQ (and donation links) is posted on the website: gamesdonequick.com

We all have our semi-secret, less-known personal favorites — a great B-side, an early work by an artist that later became famous, an obscure (but delicious) family recipe. Share one of your unsung heroes with us — how did you discover it? Why has it stayed off everyone’s radar?

inspired via The Daily Post.