Runners and supporters in their thousands spilled on to the city streets for the 34th Chester Half Marathon.

With 7,000 in the actual race this was a sell-out well in advance of Sunday (May 17) morning’s 9am start at Chester Racecourse.

Town crier David Mitchell heralded the beginning of the 13.2 mile course which finished just outside Chester Town Hall.

Weather was perfect for runners and the course record was broken by Vincent Boit from Kenya in 1:2:21 seconds, shaving two minutes and 25 seconds off the previous course record set 15 years ago. He was followed by last year’s race winner Mohammed Abu-Rezeq of Altrincham & District Athletic Club, who finished in 1:6:38.

The fastest female runner was Teresiah Omosa, also from Kenya, who crossed the finishing line in 1:15:37.

But it wasn’t just about time. Many were taking up the challenge to raise cash for charity, including the race’s chosen charity the Babygrow Appeal at the Countess of Chester hospital. O

thers ran for The Stroke Association, Ckatterbridge Cancer Care and the Throat Cancer foundation to name a few and organisers believe that more than £750,000 will have been raised for various local and national charities. .

Marriage proposal

It was a very special day for runner Rachel Mitchell, of Kingsway, who crossed the line just over two hours to find her boyfriend Daniel Williams on bended knee with a proposal of marriage.

Rachel, a brand manager, said yes and proudly sported a diamond ring with painted nails. Her mum Carol, who was in on the secret, had encouraged Rachel to make sure she was manicured for the day!

Youngsters Elliot Stretton, 8 and his sister Lara, 6 ran the one mile fun run with friend Yara Habebe, 7 before waiting for their mum Lisa and Yara’s dad Bannor to finish the race proper.

'Fantastic event'

Chris Hulse, from Chester-based race organisers Active Leisure Events, said: “It’s been a fantastic event, both in terms of the race itself and the amazing support the runners received from many thousands of supporters up and down the course.

“The Chester Half Marathon puts this city on display to people from all over the country and there was a wonderful atmosphere all over the route and across the city centre.

“We’re always pleased when everything goes as well as it did today. We put a lot of hard work in to organising this event with the support of our partners, sponsors and volunteers, so we owe them a huge thank you for helping us to make it a success.

“The number of participants this year shows how popular the race has become – we hope every runner had a great time and we hope to see them back for more next year or making the step up to the MBNA Chester Marathon or MBNA Metric Marathon this October!”

Early bird entries for the 2016 Chester Half Marathon opened on Monday, May 18.