THE thousands of runners who pounded the city's historic pavements in the sunshine earlier this month for the Town and Gown race have successfully raised £135,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK.

The event, which saw entrants line up by University Parks was watched by hundreds of people who loudly cheered on the 4,000 runners as they made their way through the city.

The money surpassed the £120,000 target and will go towards supporting the 70,000 people living with muscle-wasting conditions in the UK.

Muscle-wasting conditions are very rare, affecting just over one in every 1,000 people and Muscular Dystrophy UK works to provide vital information, advice and resources for the people living with these conditions, their families and the professionals who work with them.

Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Sal Lalji said: "Our fundraising target has reached £135,000 and is still climbing – we are really grateful to the people of Oxford as well as our runners and their families for their support.

"We were thrilled to see so many supporters and runners turn out last weekend. In particular, those who ran in costume for our Go Orange fancy dress competition.

"We were overwhelmed by the lengths people went to, and it really added to the atmosphere of the day.

"We saw so many fantastic characters run past and we are delighted to announce Karen Newport from Staines-upon-Thames as the competition winner.

"Karen ran as 'Mr Tickle', which certainly put a smile on all our faces."

In second place was John Chelsom, who was dressed up as a Minion from the film Despicable Me and he received a lot of laughs as he made his way through the city.

In third place were a group of Mexicans, who certainly spiced up the event with their attire as they ran in the beautiful sunshine.

The first runner to cross the finish line in University Parks was Physics student, Luuk Metselaar, who is studying at the University of Oxford.

The 23-year-old from the Netherlands finished in a speedy 31.35 minutes.

He said: "I thought there might have been a chance that I would win so I am very pleased.

"It's good to encourage people to get outside and to get into running and good for the charity too."

The first woman across the line, Ellie Monks, 32, was thrilled with her time of 36:36 and said her job as a medical researcher at Southampton University meant she knew how important Muscular Dystrophy UK's work really is.

She said: "I've done a marathon before and lots of other races so I'm pleased with how today went and I think I'll celebrate with an ice-cream.

"This event is a brilliant way of raising money for more research into the condition."