Tens of thousands of fundraisers battled stifling heat to reach the finish line in Sunday's Great North Run. Novice runner Paul Ketley, 27, The Northern Echo's sales development manager, who was among those who took part, tells his story.

"We decided to do the Great North Run to raise money for charity PPUK (Parent Project UK), which is searching for a cure or treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic muscle wasting disease.

I was running with my friend Steve Kennedy, 35, whose son, Alex, has the disease, another friend John Sutherland, 27, and my girlfriend Becky Brown, 21.

When we arrived at South Shields at 8.30am it was nippy. We got to Newcastle at about 9.30am and had to jump up and down to keep warm.

We waited for about an hour or so at the starting line and it gradually became more congested.

You couldn't move and we felt like sardines, with people climbing over the fences to get closer to the starting line. Then the sun broke through.

We waited another ten to 15 minutes before setting off but there wasn't space to warm up - something I started to regret after a few miles.

It felt like mid-summer and after two miles we were sweating buckets, and I turned to Becky and said: "We're not even halfway there yet!"

I don't normally sweat that much but everybody was feeling the heat.

After eight miles we started to see people lying down at the side of the roads. Those that weren't, were bright red from the heat and the sun, and dripping with sweat.

Some people looked really ill, lying sprawled on the ground, with others standing over and fanning them. One man was completely white, and people were crouched around him.

There was a constant sound of sirens from ambulances and this continued after I had finished.

After seven miles, a lot of the runners had started to walk, and by the ninth mile I began to walk too, something I didn't want to do, but the heat and seeing the casualties made me realise I should forget my pride and take it easy.

The crowds were brilliant, shouting and clapping at everyone as they passed. The atmosphere was great.

If it wasn't for the cheering spectators during the last mile I might not have made it, and when I passed through the finish line (albeit dragged by my girlfriend) I was in agony. I could barely walk.

Halfway in, I was swearing I would never do it again, but as soon as I finished I wanted to do it again next year.

We all felt a great sense of achievement and have raised more than £1,400 for PPUK.

Later, when I heard four people had died, I was saddened.

Competitors, especially first-time runners, should be given more information and advice to prepare."