The creation of the race was inspired by the award-winning film 'Chariots of Fire' that was set in Cambridgepixabay.com

Staff and fellows from Fitzwilliam and King's College were among the hundreds of runners who turned out for the 25th Chariots of Fire race on Sunday.

The race, which is one of Cambridgeshire’s largest annual charity events, saw teams of six run a 1.7-mile course in a relay format through some of Cambridge's historic sites, including the city centre as well as King's and Trinity colleges. The event is inspired by the famous story from Chariots of Fire, the award-winning film which tells the heroic story of Cambridge runner, Harold Abrahams and his bid to win a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics, and includes the iconic race scene around Trinity College's Great Court. 

Among the 380 teams which took part were teams from Cambridge colleges – King's, Fitzwilliam, Darwin, Queens', St. John's and Trinity – as well as a six-strong team from the University Library. The King's College A team finished in eighth place overall with a time of 1 hour and 48 seconds, beating all other Cambridge affiliated teams to secure their fourth victory in the College Cup. 

There were two teams from Fitzwilliam College taking part: the Fitz Fliers and the Fitz Triers were running the race for the third time. The Fliers secured 33rd place overall with a time of 1 hour, 5 minutes and 24 seconds – superb individual performances around the course saw them secure second place in the inter-college competition behind King’s. Meanwhile, the Triers placed 254th overall with a total time of 1 hour, 31 minutes and 27 seconds.

As well being pleased by their running performances, the two Fitzwilliam teams were thrilled with their fundraising efforts: combined, they raised over £650 for the race’s chosen charity, Papworth Hospital Charity, to beat last year’s total of £608. 

The College Bursar, Andrew Powell, expressed his delight to the College's website. “It was a brilliant performance and another great day,” he said. “Congratulations to all – just another five minutes to catch King’s and be top college (a challenge for next year!).”

This year's race was organised to raise money for Papworth Hospital charityAdrian Cable

Since the first Chariots of Fire run took place in 1992 – thanks to the organisational skills of Bill Matthews, who served as the race's director for many years – the event has raised over £1 million for local and regional charities. Charles Hewitson, Partner at Hewitsons LLP law firm and the current Race Director, told Cambridge News: “When the race started 25 years ago, I would never have imagined that we would surpass the £1 million fundraising total! Each year it’s a pleasure to witness the benefits provided by Chariots of Fire to the selected charity, and the continued level of support extended by the Cambridge community, University Colleges and our event suppliers being vital in making this level of fundraising a reality.”

This year’s race, organised by Hewitsons Charitable Trust and supported by The News, saw 380 teams take part to raise money for Papworth Hospital Charity that helps fund the hospital’s transplant programme, which is not currently supported by NHS funding. 

The overall race winners were a team from Varsity Hotel, who completed the course in 48 minutes and 43 seconds and managed to beat rivals from the Glassworks Health Club A, who finished in 52 minutes and 47 seconds.

One notable team consisted entirely of transplant patients whose operations had been carried out at Papworth Hospital, and one member Thomas Shing told the race's official website that his life had “been transformed thanks to the Papworth Hospital team who established DCD heart transplantation, without which, I would not be here today.”

This year's race was officially opened by Team GB Olympic diver Rebecca Gallantree, who spoke to The News. “It's amazing," she said. "There's so many runners here it's great to see so many people all here to support such an incredible charity.” Indeed, since the race's inception, an estimated 6,245 teams (37,470 runners) have now taken part in the race, and Hewitson is keen to see this level of popularity and participation continued: “Our goal is to continue this excellent fundraising event, attract more runners and continue to facilitate genuine lasting legacies for each official recipient charity.”