Mote Park was awash with pink over the weekend as thousands of women and girls pulled on their trainers to take part in Race For Life to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

The Maidstone run is the biggest in the South East with 7,700 taking part in this year’s extended event.

For the first time, the county town hosted a Pretty Muddy run, where joggers not only had to complete a 5km circuit, but also had to cope with obstacles en route such as crawling under cargo nets, through tunnels and over A-frames.

The course on Saturday concluded with a mud pit and slide, ensuring the race lived up to its name.

Race organiser Helen Tibbett said: “It added a bit of excitement and a lot of fun – and there were thousands of people just came along to watch!”

The more conventional 5km and 10km jogs were on Sunday, after an inspirational talk from Khiera Hindle who told the entrants how cancer had affected her life: her father died from the disease, then her husband contracted bowel cancer - luckily he survived.

Miss Tibbet said: “We were expecting the heavens to open, but fortunately there was a little bubble of dry weather for the race.

“People love coming to Mote Park because it is such a beautiful venue.”

Last year’s race attracted 5,500 runners, but this year’s figure was up by 2,200, with 3,000 taking part in the Pretty Muddy event, 1,200 in the 10km and 3,500 in the 5km.

Once all the pledges are in, the organisers expect to have raised £544,000.