HUNDREDS of athletes reached their peak in a gruelling race taking in the sights of Kendal.

The third annual Planet Fear Kendal Mountain Festival 10km Trail Run took place on Saturday, November 22, and came to a record-breaking climax.

The course starts and finishes in Kendal town centre, runners then make their way up the famous Tour of Britain finish climb of Beast Banks before it heads off road to Scout Scar.

Competitors run across the escarpment, taking in the views of the Lyth Valley before crossing Underbarrow Road, across the golf course and descending back into Kendal.

Tom Addison, of Helm Hill running club, finished first in a time of 37 minutes 23 seconds - beating the previous record by nearly two minutes.

Andy Greenleaf of Serpentine Running Club and Kendal's Tom Tipping came second and third respectively.

In the ladies section, Annie Conway of Ambleside Athletics Club won with a time of 42 minutes 23 seconds, beating her own record set in 2012 by 20 seconds.

The event featured a special foreign guest as Ueli Steck, from Switzerland, took part.

Ueli, a world-famous mountain runner, was the Mountain Festival's most-watched speaker later that evening but got changed into his running gear straight after landing at Manchester Airport so he could compete.

He finished a creditable 29th in a time of 46 minutes and 45 seconds.

One of the festival directors, Steve Scott, said: "It was our biggest and best event to date. There were a lot of runners from outside the area and quite a lot of elite level runners who took it very seriously. There were also a lot of runners who just wanted to watch a few films, do a run and be entertained in the evening. A lot of people just did it for the challenge. We had more than 400 runners and we had 1,000 people in the middle of Kendal just to support them. Tom Addison won and it's fantastic to have a local winner.

"It was great to have Ueli Steck - he's a revelation to mountaineering. He goes up extreme places without a rope and runs up mountain faces. The first thing he wanted to do when he landed at the airport was run the fell race. He just put his gear on and did it which shows how fit he is."