MORE than 30,000 runners have been pounding the pavement in this morning’s Melbourne Marathon.
A picturesque sunrise greeted the runners who flooded the city’s streets before the main 42km event got under way at 7am.
Professional athletes, celebrities, fitness fanatics and charity fundraisers were among those competing in the maratho, half-marathon, 10km and 5km runs.
Kenyan Dominic Ondoro defended his 2013 men’s Melbourne Marathon title with a hard-fought win ahead of Eritrea’s Tewelde Estifanos Hidru.
He finished in a time of 2:11:30, just outside the race record he set last year of 2:10:47.
Melbourne’s own Nikki Chapple won the women’s marathon in a personal best time of 2:31:05.
Ten “Spartan legends” were competing in their 37th consecutive Melbourne Marathon, which is now Australia’s biggest marathon, taking competitors past some of the city’s most famous locations before finishing outside the MCG.
Runners were expected to gulp down more than 50,000 litres of water as the day warms towards a top of 27C.
Event director Greg Hooton said this year’s event had a strong focus on “community spirit” and runners supporting each other.
Several roads are closed until about 1pm, including Batman Ave, Brunton Ave and St Kilda Rd, while public transport services are also affected.
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