More than 2,500 people took part in the Stampede this year, running distances of 5.5 kilometres to an incredible 42.2km.

While it is fantastic to see the winners cross the finish line and those who have achieved a personal best, the most inspiring images were those who were cheered along by their friends or those who seemed too exhausted to continue but still managed to push through to that final metre.

There were many stories of achievement passed around on the day.

A young boy who ran almost the whole Cheetah Chase alongside his dad, two friends who had only been back in Australia for a few days but didn’t want to miss the event, marathon runners who were simply happy to have made it the whole way around the track.

Everyone who crossed the finish line was met with smiles, high-fives and even cheers as they made it to the end of the run. Right until the very last competitor.

Medals were proudly displayed around the necks of all those who took part for hours after their race. And rightly so.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t celebrate the winners. Tim Gowing ran 42.2 km in under three hours. That’s incredible! The second place-getter in the marathon also managed to complete it in under the three-hour mark.

It’s a great feat of athleticism to know that someone won the 5.5 kilometres, then turned around and won the 10. And that happened twice! The female 5.5 kilometre winner and the male winner were also the fastest in the 10 kilometre.

The Stampede is now in its fifth year and it’s great to see the number of people who put their hand up to compete, even those who have previously thought they would never be able to run.

It’s even better to know the event is in Dubbo and set against the beautiful backdrop of Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

A lot of time, effort and energy is put into the event every year to ensure it all goes smoothly.

The Stampede Committee and the large number of volunteers did an amazing job organising and running it.

As Stampede president Tim Ferraro said: “It takes three things to make the event a success: the sponsors, the Stampede committee and, of course, all of the people who went it in”.