About 1,500 runners ran either 10km or 15 miles courses to generate money for Marie Curie Cancer Care at Kelmarsh Hall.

A poignant silence was observed at the start of the event to remember loved ones who had died from cancer and many runners used their experiences to motivate themselves.

Gary Short, aged 27, from Semilong, Northampton, said he was there as support for his 50-year-old friend, also from Northampton, who had lost two brothers to cancer earlier in the year.

He said: "He's not done anything like this before and I don't think he's had any real training but he felt he had to do it.

"He thought about his brothers every step of the way."

Great Daffodil Run results - click here

Many of the entrants ran with the name of a loved one who had been affected by the illness pinned to their back.

Sandra Osborne, the charity's fund-raising director for the UK, who lives in Northampton, said the event was an emotional day for many runners.

She said: "We see a lot of tears at the end and it's not because of blisters. It's very emotional.

"Lots of people running for Marie Curie have lost members of their family.

"It makes it very special for someone if they are thinking of someone who was close to them. I'm sure that would have got a few people through the difficult bits of the course."

The runners raised thousands of pounds for Marie Curie in what is the charity's biggest annual participation event anywhere in the country.

Aside from the casual sponsored entrants, club runners also enjoyed yesterday's good conditions.

And course records were set in both the men's 10k and 15-mile events.

In the women's 10km run, Jane Preen, from Milton Keynes, smashed the previous women's record, finishing in an impressive 38 mins 14 seconds, which was good enough for third overall.

A spokeswoman for the event said that everyone had played their part, from the every-day entrants and regular runners to the volunteers.

She said: "It's gone brilliantly with a great atmosphere.

"Everyone who attended made it a great day; from the spectators to the runners taking part with our dilly bopper flowers on their heads.

"The money people have raised will pay for nursing and care for terminally-ill people at home.

"We think we had about 1,500 people running, which is one person for every person our nurse cares for every week across the country."