More than 500 runners of all ages and abilities took on the challenge of the five-kilometre and 10-kilometre runs in near perfect conditions.

“The dark days of winter are just about over and it’s about people getting out in the open air for a bit,” race director Bill Pearce said.

It’s the seventh challenge that Pearce has directed.

“I just get a kick out of doing it,” he said.

“It’s a great community event.

“We’re not asking people to go out there and run race records, we’re asking people to challenge themselves and look at beating their time from last year.”

Plenty took up the challenge, with categories from under-12s to over-60s.

“There’s a camaraderie between distance runners and people have a lot of fun,” Pearce said.

“We’ve tried very hard to keep prices down and we think we’ve achieved that, which attracts people.

“It’s a tough course and a demanding one, but it’s beautiful, it’s just been graded this week and they were lovely conditions.

“We’ve had a good response from teams this year and that is what we were aiming for — we wanted families and corporates to join in.”

And one of the youngest runners must have been Joey Solari, who, at the age of 6, ran with family members Ella, 8, Rach, 10, and dad Mark on the five-kilometre course.

Ollie, 12, ran 10 kilometres.

“It’s fun, and I find it’s good to keep you a little more fit,” Joey said.

“And I like the food you get afterwards.”

There were plenty of tired bodies yesterday who deserved a good, hearty breakfast.

The Fed Hill Challenge is the major fund-raiser for the Wodonga Athletics Club.

We’ve had a good response from teams this year and that is what we were aiming for — we wanted families and corporates to join in. Bill Pearce