And they're off - a record 415 athletes battled against strong winds to take part in the tenth Benfleet 15 run on Sunday.

The event was won by Sam Kigo for the second year running. Sam shaved a few seconds off his winning time in 1999 despite the blustery conditions.

Picture: MIKE BELLENIE

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.