More than 10,000 take part in Oxford half marathon

Thousands lined the street as around 13,000 runners took part in today's Oxford Half Marathon.

The course wound through Central Oxford, past the ivory towers and magnificent spires, across the River Cherwell and through the pristine parks and countryside before looping around Old Marston Village.

Runners, each with their own inspirational story and reason for running, were running for charity partners including Cancer Research UK, and local charities Headway Oxfordshire, Helen & Douglas House, Oxfordshire Mind, Sobell House and SSNAP.

The maximum time allowed to complete the race is 3.5 hours.

Provisional results are that the Oxford Half was won by Andrew Heyes  in a time of 01:05:30 and Gary Cooper won the Wheelchair Half Marathon in a time of 01:01:52.

Among those taking part, Hamzah, Bashar and Fthawi, three young refugees from war-torn Yemen and Eritrea

Hamzah , 22, and his brother Bashar, 19, were forced to leave Yemen and ended up in nearby Sudan where it became so unsafe they couldn't leave the house.

Since arriving in the UK 14 months ago, they've followed their passion for sport and are using running to overcome trauma and integrate into society.

"Joining the Refugee Run Club has changed my life," said Hamzah. " Getting up each day became difficult with the trauma of my past and the uncertainty around my future, but training has given me a purpose.

"Seeing improvements each day has given me real motivation to continue to improve. My next goal after completing the oxford Half is to run a full marathon."