Southampton Marathon runners mark 10th anniversary

The Southampton Marathon is seen as a warm-up event for the London Marathon on 27 April

Thousands of runners have taken to the streets of Southampton for the city's 10th annual marathon.

The main race was started at 09:00 BST by former Southampton FC striker James Beattie.

The 26.2-mile (42km) route covered two laps through the city, passing landmarks including St Mary's Football Stadium. There were also half marathon, 10km and 5km courses.

Dan Gaffney was the first marathon runner across the line in a time of just over two hours and 35 minutes, while Jenny Badger won the women's race in two hours and 58 minutes.

Crowds cheered on the runners along the route

Over its 10 years, organisers said participants had run more than one million miles on the course and raised £5m for local and national charities.

It is also estimated to have generated more than £15m for the city.

Race director Chris Rees said: "Runners put their heart and soul into training in the cold winter months to raise huge amounts of money for really important charities."

Ahead of the race, Beattie said it was an "honour" to start the marathon.

"To see how many people have turned out - it's a great event and I'm pleased to be here.

"Every participant will have prepared for this moment, it'll be something really special."

This year's event also saw the addition of Music in the Marathon, with local musicians performing on eight stages set up along the marathon route.

As well as the full marathon, runners took part in half marathon, 10km and 5km races