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On the 16th March 2008 some of Manchester's city roads had were closed down for a charity marathon. Many people put on their running shoes and joined in the race to raise funds.

The Marathon was in aid of sports relief and encourages people to take exercise while raising funds for the charity.

Five thousand runners waited for Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell to officially start the race.

Celebrities such as Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent and singer Richard Fleeseman took part in the Marathon.

It was Richard's second time of completing the race and he said: "I just wanted to do anything I could to support Sports relief, although I've never been less fit in my life.

"I've been touring for some time now but I still managed to get round without stopping and even managed to do roughly the same time that I did in 2006, namely six minutes and thirty seconds."

Brooke Vincent ran the race with her parents and sister and said the crowd rallying on the runners was encouraging and helped to spur her on to the finish line.

"When I got around half way round I was just shattered, but the run is in aid of such a good cause that I was determined to finish."

Around 250 marathons were taking place all over the country on the Sunday afternoon.

The north west of England has received nearly £3 million towards projects in the last six years from Sports Relief.

The Benchill Community Centre was granted funding to help children in the local area access affordable leisure and social activities.

Sports Relief was launched into 2002 and has raised well over £50 million, which is then distributed accordingly by Comic Relief. The money donated is used to help those who in need in England and some of the poorest countries in the world.