I would like to hear about anybodys history or ideas of training for a marathon besides just running.
What you feel may have worked for you. What other activities can make the rigors of training more fun.
I know biking and swimming will help. I'm looking for new ideas. Any suggestions would be helpful. What worked for you that was not the norm.

You could try rowing, I supplement a couple of sessions a week with it. It is great for recovery sessions and also interval training as well. I have only run in two marathons Berlin 2008 (3:42) and Edinburgh 2010 (3.13). I managed to improve my time by 29 minutes eventhough I did less running. I was able to do more training second time around as i did not get any niggles or small injuries along the way. A good place to get more free info on using rowing as an training alternative is http://concept2.co.uk/training/running