The streets and parks of Chelmsford were a sea of lycra, trainers and running vests this weekend for the city’s annual Marathon and 5K.

Months of training paid off for the 875 runners who had registered for the 26.2 mile Marathon route.

They set off at 9am on Sunday from outside the Shire Hall and then ran down the High Street through to Springfield Park Road, returning through the City Centre, Bell Meadow and Central Park. On leaving the parks, the runners passed through Writtle College into the picturesque countryside of Roxwell and Willingale before returning to Central Park to cross the finishing line and collect their medals.

A further 265 had signed up to walk, jog or run 5 kilometres through the city’s beautiful green spaces, starting and finishing at the Event Hub in Central Park.

People travelled from as far as Cornwall, Aberdeenshire and Camarthenshire to take part. Paolo Cereda lives in Mexico City and ran the Chelmsford Marathon whilst taking a holiday in the UK.

The male winner of the 2017 Chelmsford Marathon was Peter Hogben from Canterbury Harriers in two hours 34 minutes and the female winner was Emma Prideaux from Billericay Striders in two hours 57 minutes.

The fastest male and female finishers of the 2017 Chelmsford 5K were Tyler Wiltshire in 17 minutes 14 seconds and Annabel Gummow in 18 minutes 49 seconds.

Both activities were organised by The J’s Hospice charity which supports young adults with life-limiting conditions across Essex.

Erika Patterson, Events Fundraiser for The J’s Hospice charity said: “Thank you to everyone here today who has trained so hard for the Marathon and 5K and to all of their friends and families who have sponsored them to raise money for The J’s Hospice.

“Thanks also to our wonderful sponsors and all of the volunteers who made this a brilliant day. When all of the sponsorship and donations have been collected, we hope to have raised £60,000 which is a fantastic amount that will help us to provide the services that our young adults and their families really rely on.“