SPIDERMAN, Batman and Captain America were just a few of the Marvel-ous outfits on display at the Brighter Futures Superhero Run on Saturday.

The annual event, which was held at Coate Water this year, saw 350 people don their best superhero capes to tackle either a 3km or 5km distance all in aid of the radiotherapy appeal.

After huffing and puffing their way round the course, each would-be superhero received a medal at the finishing line with prizes handed out to the best dressed.

Debbie Stanton, 35 who lives in Swindon, was the first woman across the finishing line, dressed up as Captain America.

“I wanted to get involved because it is for a really good cause and the fact my three year old Sebbie is obsessed superheroes,” she said.

“This is the first time I’ve taken part and it is so lovely to see so many people turn up and go to such an effort with their costumes.”

Darren Hobbs, 36 dressed up as Robin to complete the race accompanied by his running friend Shane Faulker, 48 who dressed up as Batman.

“We heard about this race before and that is why we thought it would be great to get involved and support the cause,” he said. “It is important because my wife’s mum died last year of cancer and to know people in Swindon have to go all the way to Oxford or Bristol for treatment is ridiculous.

“If we can come along and raise some money or donate to getting a radiotherapy unit here then that can only be a good thing because it is not easy travelling a long way when you’re that ill.”

Twelve-year-old Harry Bunce was the first child across the line, beating the adults by over five minutes.

His mum, Cat, 35, who lives in Kingshill, said she was immensely proud of her son.

She added: “I’m so happy he completed it and so fast. I did the race last year for a number of reasons and since then, I’m now part of a Whatsapp group who go running together so we decided to do this in preparation of the Swindon Half later this year.”

The Brighter Futures appeal was launched in May 2015 in hope of raising £2.75m for a radiotherapy unit at Great Western Hospital.

Now, two years on and the team are edging closer to raising £1.6m – something which Brighter Futures fundraising manager Chloe Thomas hopes will be boosted by Saturday’s run.

“The entry fee for the race covered our costs and we asked people to raise £50 each so hopefully we can raise £10,000 from the event,” she said.

“By holding this superhero run, it will get us closer to raising £1.6m and the £2m that we wanted to reach by October. It is vital that people take part in our events because we rely on donations to help us reach our target.

“The outfits people have turned up in are fantastic and each and every year, everyone makes such an effort. We decided to cap the event at 350 people for safety reasons but the places filled up really quickly and we were really impressed by that. It is nice to see the Swindon community still getting behind Brighter Futures and joining us for the superhero run yet again.”