The streets were alive with 13,000 runners and thousands of spectators coming together for the annual Oxford Half, which took place this morning.

The first female finisher was Harriet Freeman, with Mark Pearce the fastest male.

Long distance runner Mr Pearce, who is British champion in the 3000 metres steeplechase, finished in 01:05:18.

He said: "I’ve come from Birmingham today. I’m a 3,000 metre steeple chaser in the summer but this is part of my winter training.

Mark Pearce was the fastest male finishing in 01:05:18 (Image: NQ staff) "I’m a professional runner so I'm always training but 65.20 today was a new personal best in a half marathon. I’m hoping to do another one in a few weeks time."

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The event sold out in record time, with all places being secured by May, earlier than ever this year.

Charity places also saw huge demand, with all official charity partner places filled with runners fundraising for great causes.

Local charities partnered with the event, including SSNAP, Special Effect, Helen & Douglas House, Oxfordshire Mind, Restore, Sobell House, Oxford Food Hub, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Oxford Hospitals Charity and Yellow Submarine, some of which had teams of runners representing them along the route.

Starting at University Parks where the race village was set up with live entertainment, the 13.1 mile route headed out past the sites of Old Marston village, the River Cherwell, Oxford University’s Lady Margaret Hall, before finishing on Parks Road.

Thousands of spectators lined the route at University Parks (Image: NQ staff) This year’s half marathon also included a field of elite runners, leading the charge through the streets, including some that have competed on the international stage.

The Oxford Schools’ Challenge also took place on the same day, designed to encourage local children to get involved and active in the weeks leading up to the event, completing incremental runs up to a 12-mile target.

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Schoolchildren ran the final 1.1 miles together to complete their own half marathon, crossing the same finish line as the adult runners.

Schoolchildren ran together in the Oxford Schools Challenge (Image: Motiv Sports) Over £950,000 has already been raised by runners through the events’ official charity partners. National charities included Cancer Research UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, Macmillan Cancer Support and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.

Ian Allerton, operations director at Motiv Sports, said: “Today we saw once again why this is one of the most popular half marathons in the UK. The support was excellent, it is always great to see such an iconic city come together to celebrate our runners.

“Thanks as always to our volunteers, charities and every single person involved in raising money.

"Congratulations finally to our runners who are the heart of our events, it was a brilliant effort from everyone, and we can’t wait to do it again next year.”

First Three Finishers – Female

1st – Harriet Freeman – 01:14:35

2nd – Alex Eykelbosch – 01:15:11

3rd – Grace Baker – 01:17:57

Top Three Finishers – Male

1st – Mark Pearce – 01:05:18

2nd – Hugo Fry – 01:07:18

3rd – Chris Davies – 01:07:21

Top Three Finishers – Non-binary

1st – Rattee Hensirisakul - 01:49:32

2nd – Ben Seymour - 01:49:46

3rd – Robert McDougall - 02:00:32

The full results are available on the event website: https://www.oxfordhalf.com/