THE sun shone brightly on the runners taking part in yesterday’s Redcar Half-Marathon, which attracted a record breaking number of entrants.

The 27th Tees Valley Leisure Redcar Half-Marathon has been heralded a success, with 1,688 competitors, and 1,391 completing the 13-mile course, which includes stretches along the seafronts of Marske and Redcar.

Thousands of spectators lined the route in the blazing sunshine to cheer on the runners, aged between 17 and 74.

Last year’s winner, Kenyan athlete Zak Kihara cut nearly two seconds off his previous record time by crossing the line first in one hour, five minutes and ten seconds.

Joyce Kandie won the women’s race in one hour, 13 minutes and 23 seconds.

The event, with a £5,000 prize fund, was launched by the wheelchair participants, led by Great Britain’s best known Paralympic athlete, Dame Tanni Grey- Thompson.

Event organiser Paddy Corcoran, the managing director of Tees Valley Leisure, said: “The Redcar Half-Marathon has established itself as one of the UK’s premier sporting events and is a fantastic showcase for Redcar and Cleveland.

We are really pleased that Redcar and the North-East have supported this event by giving us the greatest field event ever, with a new course record.”

A team of four reporters from The Northern Echo ran to raise money for ovarian cancer charity Ovacome in memory of colleague Jill Neill, who died last year.

Will Roberts, who covers Teesdale for the newspaper, said: “It was beautiful weather with a nice sea breeze.

“There was a lot of cheering and waving, and it was nice to be so well supported.”

Donations to Ovacome can be made online at justgiving.com/team-echo

See The Northern Echo on Wednesday for a souvenir eight-page pull-out featuring dozens of pictures of the half-marathon entrants.

You can view and buy copies of pictures taken by The Northern Echo’s photographers online at northernecho.co.uk/ photosales