POUNDING the pavements for fun, charity, or just to keep fit, thousands laced up their running shoes for this year’s Oxford Half Marathon.

Athletes had spent months in the run-up to the big day soldiering on, through blisters, injuries, training in wind and rain, just to make it over the finish line at the Kassam Stadium.

The Oxford Half Marathon has become one of the biggest sporting events in the county in a very short time.

And one thing that made it so very special this year was the presence of Oxford’s very own Sir Roger Bannister.

The sporting legend, who ran into the history book with the first four-minute mile at Iffley Road 60 years ago, sounded the horn to launch more than 6,000 runners onto the city’s streets.

As he says, to see so many in our county put themselves through the 13.1-mile course is heartening indeed. When so many complain about the population’s health, we should point them in the direction of our plucky runners.

Traffic issues may have reared their ugly head – when do they not in Oxford?

Thankfully organisesr have said they will continue to fine tune arrangements so the event can go from strength to strength.

But that should in no way detract from the incredible effort made by the runners and organisers – and all their supporters.