DESPITE the dreary and wet weather, an estimated 13,000 people tackled the Yorkshire Marathon and Yorkshire 10 mile race on Sunday (October 20).

The 26.2 mile route sees runners take in the sights of York, before heading into the countryside, in a loop of the city that both started and ended at the University of York.

Launched in 2013, the fundraising marathon sees athletes raise money for a charity of their choice or one of the event’s partner charities: St Leonard’s Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support, Age UK York, Yorkshire Cancer Research, The Island, the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, amongst many others.

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Marathon runners were also joined by a host of famous faces, including comedians Rob Deering and Paul Tonkinson, and a competitive group of elite athletes competing for a total cash prize pot of £10,000.

The marathon started at exactly 9.30am on Sunday, with runners for the Yorkshire 10 Mile following behind at 10:15am, bringing runners past York Minster and the ancient city walls, before travelling north east out of the city towards East Yorkshire.

Participants travelled through Stockton on the Forest, Grange Wood, Upper Helmsley, Stamford Bridge, Gate Helmsley, Turkers Wood, Murton, Osbaldwick, before turning back towards Heslington – not without crowds of cheering supporters each step of the way.

The marathon was followed around 40 minutes later by the ten-mile race, which left around 10:15am and saw the first runners cross the line around one hour later.

Race leader Matthew Cooper completed the ten-mile race in 52:33 and female winner Katy Wood finishing in 00:56:23. They were followed closely by Alex Ford and Stuart Spencer for the male medal table and Molly Smith and Naomi Drakeford for the girls.

As for the Marathon itself, the big winner was George Ravenhall who finished the 26.2 mile race in 02:24:41 – followed behind by George Mallett, who took 02:26:07, and David Queenan exactly thirty seconds later.

The female Marathon winners were Heather Townsend, who stormed into victory with a time of 02:39:11. In the silver spot, Alice Bourne crossed the finish line in 02:48:32 and was followed by Chloe Malcolm in 02:52:27.

Other notable guests included Zippy from Rainbow, who running the 10 mile race once again to raise money for MNDA, and University of York Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffrey taking on the 10 mile race.

There was also many people running for causes close to their heart, including Ben and Jack Neal – who have raised almost £30,000 (of their £26,2000 target) to help care for their mother after Strep A caused her to face almost certain amputation of both hands and feet and possibly her tongue. They also plan to donate to ICU York, who supported them in caring for her.

Another fundraiser was Michael Hill who hoped to raise funds to help Kirkham Henry Performing Arts Centre (KHPAC) save their building.