Results have been revealed for this year’s Oxford Half Marathon which has already raised more than £700,000 for charity.
The first female finisher of Sunday’s race was Steph McCall, with Matthew Kearney the first male and Tiaan Bosch the first wheelchair athlete.
It was pretty tight between the top two male finishers as Matthew Kearney beat second place runner Matt Jackson to the top spot by 10 seconds, finishing with a time of one hour, six minutes and 31 seconds.
READ MORE: Oxford Half Marathon photos: See if you can spot yourself
A record 13,000 runners turned up for the event which started on Broad Street and ended on Park Road.
Managing director of organisers LimeLight Sports, James Hogben, said: “This year we have been lucky enough to yet again see the huge positives that people can take from running and mass participation events.
“We saw elite runners and wheelchair racers combined with thousands of amateur runners and event schoolchildren all coming together for another brilliant event.”
Results for each race category are as follows:
Top three finishers – female
1st – Steph McCall - 1:15:34
2nd – Melissa Hawtin - 1:16:38
3rd – Katherine Wood - 1:16:58
Top three finishers – male
1st – Matthew Kearney - 1:06:31
2nd – Matt Jackson - 1:06:41
3rd – Andrew Davies - 1:07:34
Top three finishers – wheelchair
1st – Tiaan Bosch - 1:03:02
2nd – Gary Cooper - 1:06:24
3rd – Joanna Robertson - 1:16:03
Full results can be viewed here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/7115659837714044416.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail after the race, first placed woman Steph McCall said: “This was my first time doing the Oxford half, and I loved it.
“We had perfect conditions; it was really nice and sunny but not too hot.
"I wasn’t expecting to come first, so that felt great.”
The race was started this year by BBC Radio Oxford breakfast presenter Sophie Law and runners benefited from live entertainment at various points throughout the course.
More than 500 schoolchildren from 18 local schools also took part in their own half marathon as part of the Popular Schools Challenge.
Children completed the half marathon in half-mile or mile sections in the weeks before race day and finished with the final 1.1 miles on the day of the event.
Mr Hogben added: “Whilst the achievement of crossing the line is incredible for all taking part, sometimes even just turning up marks a huge success.
“In the build-up to this year’s event, we have learnt so much about the participants and their powerful stories which will support and inspire a lot of people, perhaps even to take part in future events.”
Schools interested in finding out more ahead of the 2024 event can email schools@limelightsports.com.
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