Children as young as 3 took part in the Rotorua Running Festival at the weekend, cheered home by hundreds of onlookers.
Almost 100 children aged 12 and under tackled the 2km course at the event yesterday, which started and finished at Village Green.
Event organiser Rob Docherty said supporters and onlookers gave the children massive support as they ran across the finish line.
"The kids that took part today would have felt like they have done something special," he said.
The children were among 1007 people who took part in the event, in which runners were able to choose their course from options of a half marathon, 10km, 4km, and 2km run.