THOUSANDS COMPETE IN HALF MARATHON

Thousands of runners have taken part in Reading's annual half marathon.

The elite men's race was won by Ben Cole and Kate Estlea-Morris won the women's race in the 42nd edition of the event.

Road closures put in place along the route from 06:00 BST have now been lifted.

The 13.1 mile (21km) race route included the centre of Reading, the university campus and finished at the Madejski Stadium.

More than 10,000 runners took part in the event and Mr Cole described the atmosphere in the stadium as "beyond belief".

The 38-year-old said: "I feel over the moon, it's probably the biggest race I've ever won in my career. I felt I ran a really strong race, I loved it start to finish.

"I can't think of any other races that finish in a stadium like this, so to come over the line first in this atmosphere is beyond belief really."

Ms Estlea-Morris said of her win: "I'm so proud, it was amazing crossing the tape, I've never done that before.

"The crowds were so good, honestly they kept me going, I loved it, it was perfect. I'm just so happy with how I did, it was really exciting."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.

2024-04-14T15:47:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd