More than 20,000 take part in Manchester Marathon

Thousands of people gathered under the Manchester sun for the city's famous marathon as it returned to its usual spring setting.

The Therme Manchester Marathon 2022 got underway at 9am on Sunday 4 April.

More than 20,000 people took to the start line throughout the morning, kicking off with four elite wheelchair racers.

• Nick Rusling, CEO of marathon's organisers Human Race

60 elite runners were competing for personal bests, with some hoping for a chance to qualify to represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this year.

This year's marathon was an official selection event for the games, giving the best runners a shot at competing for their country if they could finish in two hours 14 minutes - the men's qualifying time - or two hours 34 minutes for women.

Competitors ran from Chester Road in Trafford into the city centre, before running down the A56 to Timperley and Altrincham, then winding their way back through Chorlton-cum-Hardy towards the centre of Trafford and the finish line.

Hundreds of people even turned out in fancy dress to complete the course.