I had another great Sunday morning in beautiful Bradgate Country Park, taking photos of this excellent race . . the countryside is breathtaking but of course not many of the runners take the time to enjoy the views . . that's my job!

Before the event the number collection worked well, but this being the 26th time this event has been held, they've had plenty of time to get it working smoothly . . and of course there was lots of cake . .

Having watched the start of the race, and the first ½ a circuit of the playing fields, I got out onto the course and got some photos of the runners setting off on their journey . .

 . . and then trudged along behind them on my way to the Park to get my next set of photos . . this group of runners queuing to cross a style didn't seem too impressed when I pointed out that they could have walked . .

 . . and having found a great spot to take my photos from it wasn't much more than an hour after the start when the first runners came past . .

 . . I'd deliberately chosen a spot where the runners had to cross a stream . . and whilst not everyone crossed it in a particularly dignified manner . . and there was some indecision as to which was the best path to follow . . everyone crossed over safely despite being so tired after over 12 miles of hard running . .

 . . and after an hour or so of constant photographing and supporting I figured it was time to follow the runners back to the finish . . taking photos of the final few as they caught and passed me . .

 . . and it was great to be back in time to witness the togetherness of a couple of the final few runners . . encouraging one another over the final stretch towards the finish . . which was dismantled shortly afterwards . . when it was time of a cup of tea and some flapjack before setting off for home . .