With countless sporting events around being cancelled as the pandemic continues to disrupt the sport calendar, with case numbers on the increase, Britain is bucking the trend and most restrictions have been lifted.

The Big Half took place at a time when COVID-19 cases are slowly but steadily rising in Britain - 32,253 were reported today, plus 49 additional deaths - and many remain sceptical over the hosting of a mass-participation running event.

In order to address this, organisers implemented a series of measures they say made the event COVID-secure.

The dwell time for participants was reduced before and after the race to ensure they only arrived when required to minimise contact with others.

New start procedures were introduced which saw participants provided with very specific timings for arrival, staggered start times and runners loaded in specific pens pre-race.

A runner's code of conduct was distributed to inform competitors of the best practice to avoid unnecessary contact.

Touch points, such as medals and finisher bags, were as limited as possible.

Organisers also asked athletes to arrive ready to run also to reduce dwell time, while hand sanitiser was provided throughout the event.

Twenty-three-year-old Jake Smith continued a breakthrough year by winning the men’s race in 62min 6secs, while Charlotte Purdue sealed a record third win as she set a new women’s course record of 69:51.

Both victors are British.

In the wheelchair races, Polish-born Sam Kolak and Britain's three-time Paralympic medallist Shelly Woods won the men's and women's competitions, respectively.

Many used the event as a warm-up for the London Marathon which is due to take place in six weeks' time and is organised by the same company, London Marathon Events..

"I feel enormously happy after today’s Vitality Big Half," said Hugh Brasher, event director of London Marathon Events.

"It’s been a very long road that everyone has been down since we last held this event on 1 March 2020 - 23 days later the country went into the first lockdown and I don’t think anyone could have imagined the journey that we’d go on.

"To be welcoming 10,000 people to the streets of London to come together, feel connected and celebrate being together has been amazing.

"Being on the Finish Line and seeing people saying thank you for the race was lovely.

"It’s that feeling of togetherness that we’ve all really missed.

"This event is a hugely important step towards the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 3 October.

"We tried out various procedures today that we’ll use for the Marathon."