Pictured above: Members of the Cookes team pushing a sofa round the Fun Run course

Thousands of runners took to the streets of Sutton Coldfield for the Great Midlands Fun Run.

For the second year in a row, the event, sponsored by Cookes Furniture, attracted a capacity of 6,000 entries. These participants walked, jogged, or ran the course - many in fancy dress, in aid of local charities and causes.

Crowds created a fantastic atmosphere on the day, with hundreds of people lining the 8.5-mile route, which started and finished on Lower Parade, via Sutton Park, for the ninth annual Great Midlands Fun Run, on June 5.

Since 2003, over £1 million has been distributed to local charities and voluntary groups. This year, each runner was challenged to go that little bit further, and raise a minimum of £20 in sponsorship, to help make 2011 another record-breaking year.

Also helping to make the day a success, was a 30-strong team from Cookes Furniture, who pushed a sofa around the course in an admirable time of 98 minutes.

The company's efforts didn't stop there, 'The Cookes Furniture Team Challenge', was set up to encourage businesses, clubs, charities, schools, societies and sports teams to get involved, and raise money for their own nominated causes.

Marketing Director at Cookes Furniture, Vanessa Hoe, said: "As a main sponsor of the Fun Run since 2003, Cookes has first-hand experience of the enormous effort made by many participants to raise money for charities, voluntary organisations and community interest groups.

"We wanted to encourage everyone who participated in 2011 to raise sponsor money, which after all, was the key objective of the Fun Run."

Vanessa added: "The team at the finish line was amazed at the huge effort given by everyone who completed the challenging 8.5 mile course, particularly entrants with disabilities and those for whom tackling the Fun Run was an enormous personal challenge.

"We heard so many emotional stories about why people were raising money for charities and voluntary organisations. It was quite a humbling experience."

Medals were handed out to deserving runners who crossed the finish line and every entrant was entered into a prize draw, with a chance to win £500 worth of Cookes Furniture vouchers.