There were “lots of happy faces” as hundreds of runners headed through the county town for the first Dorchester Marathon.

Participants and spectators were in good spirits as 1,700 runners made their way through the town and surrounding villages yesterday, raising funds for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, along with other local charities.

Runners wore yellow ribbons to pay tribute to the victims of the Manchester terror attack and a minute’s silence was held at the start of each race.

The 26-mile marathon and half marathon were organised by the Casterbridge Rotary Club and White Star Running and officially measured and certified by UK Athletics.

Organiser Catriona Fountain, who also took part in the marathon, said: “It went very well. For me, personally, I wanted to finish it, enjoy it and complete it in under six hours. I did it in five hours, 57 minutes so I’m pleased.

“The event itself went well. The feedback about the course and its scenery has been great. Everyone has really enjoyed it. We had some rain, which we welcomed at first, but then we wanted it to stop.”

Hannah Taylor-Button is originally from the area but is currently living in Bristol. She completed the half-marathon in two hours.

“It went really well, though it was a bit warm,” she said. “The only bad thing was some of the hills. I don’t think we were fully prepared for the hills. The last one was rather troublesome. That’s not what you want after 10 miles.”

Hannah said she was pleased to see such a good turnout for the first event.

“I was worried there wasn’t going to be a lot of people but there was,” she said.

“There was lots of cheering from the crowds and there were crowds in all of the little villages.”

Hannah says she would like to do the marathon again next year. She said: “It’s been a good day. It’s nice to do a marathon that’s a bit low-key like this because it’s very family-orientated and everyone knows each other.”

There were medals and t-shirts for all finishers, together with a post-race party, live entertainment, a bar and weekend camping at the race village.

Many road closures were in place as runners made their way from the Cokers Frome showground, through the town centre, surrounding villages and heading out towards Tolpuddle.

“The road closures have all been fine,” said Catriona. “We’re very pleased. Residents have been complimentary and there were so many people waving and cheering. It’s been brilliant. Thank you to all the residents.”