The Darlington 10k is an annual event that is straight onto the calendars of locals every year. Hundreds of runners flock to the town to take part in the prestigious race. Tom Burgess watched the race for the first time this year to see what it was all about.

It was a dreary morning with light drizzle coming down but as I made my way into town I could see that it was not putting any runners off.

Crowds of people were flocking in at 8am yesterday (Sunday, August 4) for the family fun run which set off at 9am.

(Image: Northern Echo)

Within the next hour there were cheers of encouragement from spectators willing on the younger runners while the adults arrived for race registration. 

The market square was absolutely packed at 10am as anticipation built for the race to begin.

There was such a community feel to how the event was organised, everyone was smiling and excited for it to begin.

I moved to the start of the race to get a good view. The fences on either side of the road were packed with spectators all ready to cheer on their friends and family. 

Within seconds of the starting horn blaring the front runners had shot past me with astonishing speed.

(Image: Northern Echo)

Soon there was wave after wave of runners going past and everyone was cheering their support. 

The groups were staggered a minute apart to ensure there was not too much bunching up and overcrowding on the course.

After all the runners had set off I walked with the other spectators to cheer on the runners at the halfway point. 

(Image: Northern Echo)

I couldn't believe how quickly the lead runners were going, it felt like just a few minutes had passed when they flew past again. 

A grab of a water bottle, a quick pour over the head and then they were gone again. 

The crowd were fantastic, cheering on all of the runners. After the main pack of runners had gone past again I headed back to the finish line.

(Image: Northern Echo)

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I was just in time. In an unbelievably quick 30 minutes the first runner had finished.

The commentator at the finish line kept spirits high as runners came in over the next hour. 

There was constant clapping and cheering as couples ran over the line together and people gave their all crossing the finish line.

This was the first time I had attended the Darlo 10k and I was hugely impressed by the friendly and relaxed atmosphere - a true community event.