THE historic Elstead Marathon continues to go from strength to strength, with the number of participants nearly doubling in size over the past five years.

This year’s event, the 105th edition, took place on Friday, June 30, and saw a total of 546 people enter - 340 participants in the ‘long’ 5.4 mile race and 206 in the ‘short’ three mile.

The marathon consists of participants running cross-country and making their way to the finish line in a traditional manner of trailing through the River Wey.

The 105th races were again kicked off by Elstead’s 1948 Olympic torchbearer Austin Playfoot who said his “best time was 27 minutes, 32 seconds in 1975”.

After the thrill of the race there were cake sales and barbecues to be enjoyed on the green, where residents could take a backseat and watch the tug of war, which “after much dispute” was won by The Golden Fleece pub.

Chris Peck was crowned the overall winner for the long men’s race with a time of 30 minutes and 50 seconds, while Nicky McKenzie was the first lady to cross the finish line with a time of 38 minutes.