Thousands of runners descended on a sunny Lammas Park this morning for the fourth annual Ealing Half Marathon .

The 13 mile endurance race got underway at 9am (followed 15 minutes later by the Ealing Mini Mile event for children) amid a carnival atmosphere at the park and with many more spectators and supporters lining the streets of Ealing to cheer everyone on.

This year the Africans came and conquered, with Christopher Cheruiyot from Kenya winning the race in 1h 5m 41 seconds, and fellow Kenyan Teresiah Omosa becoming the first woman to cross the line.

A beaming Christopher told getwestlondon he was "okay and not tired", adding he had finished second in last weekend's Bristol Half Marathon and was delighted to have gone one better on the streets of west London.

Tom beedell, 29, finished the race third and didn't mind admitting his legs had started to go by the end.

He said: "I have had a few high finishes in the past but today was still a surprise." His plan for rest of the day was just "to go and eat something".

Other runners included mum of three Alice Barham, who finished second in the women's category. She gave up running in 2008 to become a mum and had recently rediscovered the bug.

After the race she went off to run a few more miles to get prepared for marathon level.

36-year-old architect Nick Martin was running his third Ealing Half Marathon this morning. He said: "I enjoy running and I'm Ealing born and bred so this is right on the doorstep for me."

While Dave Glanville, 46, head of business technology at 1E, one of companies sponsoring the half marathon, was running his first race of any kind. He had his foot rebuilt from a motorcycle accident 12 years ago, and climbed three highest peaks in England in 24 hours on July 4 to prepare for today.

Dave said: "I couldn't run even 200m at Christmas time so this is a personal challenge for me."

Organisers said there were approximately 273 runners who were raising money for the event's chosen charity, Alzheimers Society, which stands to gain around £70k.

Emma Agyemang, 30 was running with friends to raise money for Small Steps charity for disabled children.

While Clare Everard, 53, a supply chain manager and former runner (before a knee injury stopped her competing) joined the Half Marathon's army of volunteers ensuring everything runs smoothly. "I can't run again but volunteering feels like the next best thing," she said.

Race director Kelvin Walker told getwestlondon that this year's race had been bigger than last year's, with "more runners, more volunteers and more spectators". He said the race had grown from just a couple of marquees to almost festival proportions in the last four years.

Mr Walker added: "The community spirit here draws people. It's becoming a real community event. The fact that its a closed road event is good. We have runners here from all over the world - America, Chile, Australia - which is pretty amazing. We try and make it enjoyable for everyone here of all ages and experience. It's an event for everyone."