BUMBLE bees, fairies, firemen and gorillas were joined by runners in tutus, wigs and onesies for the Belfast Marathon yesterday.
More than 18,000 people took part in the annual event which includes the full 26.2 mile race, a five-person relay, fun run and walk and wheelchair race, and many of those who competed were raising money for charity.
Friends and family were out in force along the route and some runners had wisely printed their names on their t-shirts, ensuring they got shouts of encouragement the whole way around the route as they ran through wind and rain.
The main charity for the 2014 marathon was children's cancer organisation Clic Sargent.
More than 3,000 runners and walkers fundraised for its 'Homes for Home' appeal and the charity last night said their efforts "will help us to build a second home from home".
The Homes from Home appeal is a £3.7 million project which will see free accommodation for teenagers and young people built within walking distance of the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital.
A home for families of younger children has already opened and Clic Sargent needs £1m to make the second property a reality.
It set up a marquee in Ormeau Park yesterday and its fundraisers poured in after crossing the finish line for some TLC.
Among other charities being supported on the day was deter-MND, which was set up on behalf of former Antrim Gaelic football captain Anto Finnegan after he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and which raises funds for the Motor Neurone Dis-ease Association for research and patient care.
Derry-born journalist Jennifer Maloney (39) lost her father to the disease on April 18 and she and her husband completed the marathon walk yesterday.
"My husband and I had been planning to do the eight-mile marathon walk for months. It never occurred to me to cancel - I wanted to walk in his memory," she said.
"We teamed up with Anto Finnegan and his 100-strong squad at deterMND and it made me so proud that between £12,000 and £14,000 looks set to be raised."
Olympic boxer Paddy Barnes also ran a leg of the relay for deterMND with his mobile phone in his hand as he and his fiancee anxiously awaited the arrival of their first baby.
Kenyan athlete Freddy Sittuk took victory in the men's race with a time of 2:18.30 after coming third last year.
Ethiopian Bayrush Shiferaw won the women's race in 2:41.20, while in the wheelchair event Kildare man Patrick Monahan won with a personal best of 2:06.21.