ATHLETES of all abilities climbed, sprinted and tunnelled their way to the finishing line on Saturday.

Around 1,200 brave souls lined up at the starting line to take part in the epic Tweed Valley Tunnel Run.

With a choice of either the 20km, 10km or 4km course there was a challenge awaiting each of them.

After tackling the off-road routes through fields and forest, runners funnelled into a final 600 metre stretch of the Neidpath railway tunnel that had been illuminated especially for the run.

The event also offered families a chance to walk through the Victorian railway tunnel, once used in WWII to protect the queen’s train from bombing.

First home in the 20km event was Andrew Dancer with a time of 1:25:50, Clark Scott came in second and Johnny Lawson took third.

The women’s winner was Mary McCutcheon with a time of 1:38:04 with Amy Alcorn coming in second and Jenny Gries in third place.

Winner of the 10km race was Dave Walker with a time of 41:46, with Nick Boyd in second and Dean Whiteford in third.

The first woman back was Nicola Hood in a time of 43:56, followed by Stephanie Barnes in second and Rhona Mowat in third.

The 4km event was dominated by younger runners with Ben Allan fighting off opposition in a time of 15:44 and Kate Harvie in a time of 20:08.

Aidan Page came in second and Billy Birks in third. Second in the women’s was Elena Lee and Heather Hall came in third.