Athletes Chris and Davina Smith are back in Bradford after their marathon efforts to raise money for the Lord Mayor's Appeal - in New Zealand.

The couple, who are keen runners, went to staggering lengths to raise money for the charity by running a marathon in Hamilton, New Zealand, on New Year's Day.

As revellers celebrated the stroke of midnight in Bradford, Chris and Davina had already crossed the finishing line of their 26-mile race and were celebrating with more than 3,000 other runners, who had also taken part in the contest.

Now the couple are back from their expedition and are hoping to bring in up to £1,000 for the Lord Mayor's Appeal to help build a £5.2 million Marie Curie Cancer Care centre on Leeds Road, Bradford.

And as well as raising the money, Chris had a double coup by being the second British man to complete the race in a time of two hours, 55 minutes, coming 28th overall.

Davina, 33, of Bolton Woods, said: "The run went really well - it was ideal conditions and we had a fabulous time.

"It was a fantastic atmosphere, with everyone cheering us on along the way.

"We finished up at Hamilton's main stadium and when it was 1pm there, we knew it was midnight in England so we asked the band to play Auld Lang Syne.

"Later on we phoned people at home to wish them a happy New Year. It was a great way to spend New Year's Day, and certainly one to remember."

The couple both wore their Eccleshill Road Runners vests for the race with Union Jacks tied round their waists and Davina finished the race in four hours and three minutes.

They have been fundraising for the event since July after hatching the idea, saying they both wanted to do something "a bit different" to celebrate the new millennium.

"We've already got about £500 in the account and we've got a lot more to come in," said Davina.

"We're hoping to reach round-about the £1,000 mark when all the money's in."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.