THE majestic Raby Castle and its beautiful deer park was the setting for an annual athletics event at the weekend.

Hundreds of runners took part in the annual Raby Castle Races 2018, hosted by Teesdale Athletics Club on Sunday.

After tackling a hilly opening stretch and passing through woodland, runners were rewarded with a view of the lake and castle on the home straight.

Donna Hawcroft, secretary of Teesdale Athletic Club, said: "It was a good day, the weather was nice and a little overcast which was a blessing for the runners.

"There were some great times and the atmosphere was nice, we had music going at the finish area and it was as good for families and new runners as the experienced ones.

"A highlight for me was my five Couch to 5k runners finishing in fantastic times on a very tough course as their first 5k. I was very proud of them all."

The event featured runs of various lengths– 210 people took part in the main 10k, 120 did the 5k and shorter routes, especially for youngsters, of 3k and 1.2k were completed by 56 and 67 runners each.

The 10k was won by James Wilkinson, 33, of Middlesbrough & Cleveland Harriers. Chris Auld, of Crook and District Sports AC, and Colin Taylor, of Darlington H & AC, finished in second and third spot.

Joshua Wraith, 14, of Durham City Harriers & AC, won the 5k fun run. He was closely followed over the finish line by Dillon Ruvell, of Sunderland Harriers & AC, and Katie Francis, of Birtley AC.

Ms Hawcroft added: "We clashed with some other big events and couldn't confirm the date until quite late so the numbers were down a bit.

"We have sold out and had 500 runners in the past so we had actually increased our numbers to 600 this time, so it was disappointing to have fewer participants but everyone enjoyed it and we're already looking forward to the next one and try to improve things each year."

She thanked all runners and support volunteers who made the event possible.