HUNDREDS of military personnel took part in a gruelling day-long challenge to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Nineteen teams of men and women, including some civilians, chased each other over 182 miles of North Yorkshire's terrain.

They ran, cycled, marched, swam and canoed across roads, forests, rivers and lakes as they took part in the annual Race the Sun event.

Their exhausting efforts raised more than £9,000 for various good causes, many of them in North Yorkshire, taking the total over the 16 years the event has run to more than £105,000.

The idea of the event was to start as the sun rose and finish before sunset, with the teams running in relays.

The route included a hill-run up the steep Sutton Bank, a mountain bike ride through Cropton Forest, up on to Levisham Moor, a forced march with heavy pack to Rievaulx Moor and a swim across the Great Lake at Castle Howard.

The day came to an end with a three-kilometre stretcher race, carrying a 40kg load around Imphal Barracks, York.

"This is a most testing and challenging race that appeals to soldiers from all over this country and abroad," said Lieutenant Colonel John Botterill, the commanding officer of 2 Signal Regiment, which hosted the event.

The trophy for the best major unit went to the Army Foundation College, at Harrogate. The best minor unit went to Exeter University Officer Training Corps.