The 13.1 mile half-marathon, which began in Newcastle and finished in South Shields, was started by former Prime Minister Tony Blair along with three gold medalists from Great Britain's Beijing Olympics team, Chris Hoy, Becky Adlington and Ellie Simmons.

Former St John Fisher pupil Declan Britton, 27, suffered a serious motorbike injury in March but was able to compete in the race, finishing in one hour and 51 minutes and raising a substantial sum of money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

"I chose to run for Macmillan to say thanks for the support they gave to my whole family when my granddad, Tom Britton, had cancer some years ago," he said.

"Because of Macmillan's help he was able to stay at home right to the end of his life and died with his family around him.

"For me, as an 11-year-old, being able to say a proper goodbye to my granddad meant a lot. I'm hoping to raise around £600 in sponsorship to support Macmillan's work."

The Coach and Horses pub on West Park entered a team of nine runners and they are hoping to raise about £2,000 for Martin House children hospice in Boston Spa.

"The pub does a lot of fundraising for Martin House and this is a continuation of that," said team member James Marriott.

"I would like to say a huge thank you to the whole team for doing both the Coach and Horses and Martin House proud."

Father and daughter Colin and Katie Philpott from Knaresbrough, also ran to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

They were part of Team Macmillan which had 100 runners in distinctive green vests taking part this year.

Colin, 51, said: "We loved every minute of it. The atmosphere was brilliant and the crowds along the course were so encouraging which really helped."

"We chose to run for Macmillan Cancer Support as they were fantastically helpful when my dad died a few years ago."

The Philpotts have raised about £1,400 and Colin, who completed the race in a respectable two hours and 22 minutes, is looking forward to his next half marathon.

"It was a fantastic event to be a part of and I definitely want to do it again next year."

Macmillan Cancer Support events manager Craig Fordham, said: "I was standing at the roadside about the five mile mark cheering along our runners and it was great to see them all going by."

A group of four female runners from Harrogate have raised nearly £2,000 for four different charities.