Hundreds of runners tackled the gruelling Red Bull Quicksand race in Margate at the weekend.

Dubbed the world's hardest mile-long race, 650 athletes took to the brutal, leg-burning course on the Main Sands on Saturday.

It is the second time the race has been held in Thanet with huge 23ft sandcastles, towering sand rollers and plunging trenches and tougher obstacles testing the competitors.

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The two-lap half-mile course also featured loose sand tabletops with finalists taking on the course a total of three times after the initial heats, semi-finals and then the final.

Lloyd Kempson took the crown for the men's race crossing the line in 7.49 min - six seconds ahead of runner-up, Daniel Titcomb - describing it as the "hardest mile I've ever run".

Andrea Berquez, from Sevenoaks, claimed the title in the women's race in a time of 9.35 min some 19 seconds in front of second place, Jordon Foster.

Ms Berquez said: "I was lucky enough to win all my heats, but I think I could have been more strategic. I went out as quick as possible and then by the last round my legs were solid with lactic acid and it was a big effort and the woman in second wasn't far off me.

"I had to win in my mind, it’s good to have that competitive edge. I’ve never actually run on sand before, it was very challenging, especially one climb - I kept fluffing it up every time. It was tough."

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More than 10,000 tonnes of sand were used to transform the beach into the course with runners travelling from all over the country, from Leeds to Southampton, to race.

The event could return again in 2020 but a spokesman for Red Bull Quicksand said they could not comment "until all the agreements have been approved by the council".

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