Thousands brave the cold for 10k race

The race started on Wellington Street before heading out to Kirkstall Abbey

More than 12,000 runners and wheelchair racers took to the streets of Leeds earlier despite temperatures of 4C.

The Abbey Dash, a 10km race that starts on Wellington Street before heading out to Kirkstall Abbey and then returning back to the city centre, is known for being fast and flat.

The run was managed by charity Age UK for 40 years but was taken over by Run For All this year for the first time and became an England Athletics 10K Championship event.

Starting the race, Lord Mayor Dan Cohen said it was a "historic and incredibly popular run".

He said: "I'm delighted we're going to have a record turn out here today. It's amazing people are raising money for charities and we've got the England Athletics 10K Championship here today."

Claire Atherton from Leeds was among those taking part. She was running to raise money for the Albie Sugden Foundation, a charity set up in memory of her nephew who died two years ago.

She said: "I'm running today in memory of Albie. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2022 and he had to go through brain surgery, followed by chemotherapy, and it was really intensive, he had long hospital stays and it was cruel.

"The Albie Sugden Foundation was started by my sister Jane and her husband Luke. There are two aims: to support children through treatment, it's cruel and hard, and they provide support for families in hospital by buying toys, equipment and experiences.

"And they also have a partnership with a brain tumour charity and they pledge to donate £20,000 a year for life-saving treatments for paediatric brain tumours."

Charndeep Singh, Anoop Singh and Gugz Bhogal ran for charity Take Heart

Charndeep Singh, 47, Anoop Singh 16, and Gugz Bhogal, 33, all from Chapel Allerton were running for Take Heart, a charity that supports cardiac patients at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

Charndeep said: "My mum passed away in February so to honour our mum we thought we would raise awareness for Take Heart, heart health and cardiovascular issues, and hopefully help a really good cause."

Focusing on running a fast time were Derek, Conrad and Stuart from Knaresborough Striders.

Derek said: "It's a really nice run. It's flat and it's fast. There's lot of people do it. It's really good fun and it's a good day."

New runner, Emma from Baildon, came along to support her husband who was beginning his training for the London Marathon in April.

She said: "I'm a very new runner, definitely not an expert at doing this but it's something that I really enjoy doing.

"I did the Great North Run this year. My husband is doing the London Marathon so I'm here to support him today to get him on the road."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.