BOBBING and weaving, they set off in their thousands as wave after wave of runners yesterday pounded out 10 gruelling kilometres through the streets of Leeds.
Some were there to set new personal bests but for most of those heading out on a warm day it was a chance simply to revel in the fun – and the pain – of running, as well as to follow the inspirational example of the late Jane Tomlinson and swell the coffers of a host of deserving causes.
Many started with smiles on their faces as they waved to cheering crowds which lined the route three deep in some places.
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Several spectators held up banners with messages of support to spur on family members while there was also huge support for runners kitted out in fancy dress including a pink panther, Superman, several nuns, a sprinkling of fairies and some mice.
Two men, thankfully at the back of the field, were determined to complete the race running backwards, while another was joined by his dog Millie.
The elite runners were quickly away, their sinewy style in sharp contrast to the majority who were happy to plod along laughing and smiling – at least to begin with – or chatting to their running partners.
Others, usually with more determined looks on their faces, were oblivious to the applause of the crowds as they plugged in earphones to listen to their favourite running music.
Many were wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the names of the charities for which they were raising money, their bright colours adding to the tremendous spectacle.
Some were also running in memory of loved ones whose pictures were printed on running outfits to underline the poignant reasons behind their exertions.
They were waved away by 10K patron Nell McAndrew, who was joined by 10-year-old Megan Smith, of Otley, who sadly recently lost her mother Sue to cancer, to signal the start of the run with a White Rose flag.
It was barely half an hour before the winner, Olympic marathon runner Dan Robinson, appeared hurtling along The Headrow in Leeds.
A trickle of runners – including Ms McAndrew, who sprinted to the finish line barely 40 minutes after she started the race – was followed by a deluge. The reddened faces of some reflected the pain they were in as they completed the course, which has a number of downhill sections followed, inevitably, by testing uphill stretches.
Many were grateful for the downhill gradient in the finishing straight.
A few hobbled or stumbled across the line, so exhausted were they by their tremendous efforts, but all were urged on by the crowds.
One group ran 10 abreast as it linked arms to cross the finishing line while others high-fived or hugged. Some seemed on the verge of tears, so overcome were they by their experience.
First-time participant mother-of-two Joanne Ryder, 37, of Gomersall, near Bradford, was cheered on by her entire family as she crossed the finishing line in 72 minutes. She was part of a team from Asda's head office in Leeds that aims to raise £5,000 for the Martin House hospice at Boston Spa.
She said she trained in the evenings and weekends for the run and was grateful for the water stations on the route as the hills took their toll. Another runner, Andrea Wood, 44, was joined by three other mothers from Birkenshaw First School, near Bradford, supported with home-made posters by their children, who appeared at points on the route, in a run for Macmillan Cancer Support.
"It was brilliant, " she said.
"There was a fantastic atmosphere. It was hard work but thoroughly well worth it."
Chris Davis, Tom Wilcox, Stuart Wilson and Rob Dimsdale from Wakefield said they attracted plenty of attention as they completed the run dressed as schoolgirls. Their purple miniskirts matched the colours of their chosen charity, the Yorkshire Cancer Centre, while they also ran for the Children's Heart Surgery Fund charity.
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