A competitor lives up to the event's name as she negotiates a bog

More than 200 walkers took to the Pennine moors to help mountain rescuers.

Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team will be an estimated £2,800 better off after runners and walkers stump up cash from the team’s annual challenge event.

The Grin ‘n’ Bear It crosses some of the Peak District’s most rugged and scenic parts on its 37 (23-mile) route. The event, now in its seventh year, also includes a shorter route of 7¼km (4½-mile), suitable for families and walkers who don’t have the stamina for the long-distance slog across the moors. An additional 23km (14-mile) route is run through woodland, moorland and quiet country paths.

Team secretary Phil Newing said “It is always a huge undertaking for us, taking up many, many hours of work.

A trio of walkers stays cheerful during the walk

“We receive no funding from Government, so all our kit has to be paid for by donations from members of the public, legacy and fundraising. Supporting the team in fundraising is just as important as being on the hill doing the mountain rescue stuff. This is the seventh year we have run our showpiece fundraising event and it just keeps getting better.”

Heavy rain before the event made the peat bogs, particularly on Outer Edge, an unwelcome hindrance to many of the 220 participants who have dubbed the area the Bogmonster. But weather on the day was fine helping competitors navigate the course.

A spokesperson for the team said: “The smelly mud didn’t dampen any spirits and all the entrants finished the course.”

Next year’s Grin ‘n’ Bear It will take place on Saturday, 1 October.

Woodhead MRT covers the hills and high moorland of the north-eastern Peak District and the South Pennines around Huddersfield and the Woodhead Pass. Its 40 members have also taken part in major flood rescues in South Yorkshire and the Kegworth air crash and Lockerbie disaster. Last winter, they supported ambulance crews during periods of heavy snowfall.