Thousands turn out for Potters 'Arf Marathon

Many of the runners were supporting charities

Thousands of people took to the streets for the 20th Potters 'Arf Marathon.

The 13.1-mile race started and finished in Hanley, with volunteers on-site from 04:00 BST setting it up.

The organisers said people were drawn to it from all over the country "because of its hilly course and the incredible support from the local community".

The Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Steve Watkins, said it was a "fantastic event" and a chance for "all communities to come together".

The race, which replaced the Potteries Marathon, had more than 2,500 people taking part in 2024 and the organisers said they expected even more this year.

Among those taking part was Simon Mullock from Birches Head.

He has run in all 19 so far and was hoping for a personal best this year, but was forced to walk the latest event after having surgery for prostate cancer in July.

He said he wanted to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK and planned to have "a few laughs along the way".

Chris Wilson was running his fourth Potters 'Arf to raise money for the stroke unit in Stoke.

He works at the Royal Stoke Hospital and said his wife's grandparents had received excellent care there and it was a way of "saying thank you".

He said he was looking to beat his personal best time of one hour and 38 minutes.

Jordan Thomas from Kidsgrove won the men's race in a time of just over one hour and 10 minutes.

He said it was the first time he had run the race, but he was a member of a local running club.

Asked how he would celebrate his win, Mr Thomas said: "I'm just going to chill for the rest of the afternoon, might even treat myself to a pizza or something."

Emma Taylor from Stoke-on-Trent won the women's race for the fourth year in a row.