Residents of St Ives could have been forgiven for thinking their eyes had deceived them last Saturday.

The Hunts Post: Claire Webster and Mark Wishart won the Hunts AC Christmas Cracker race in St Ives.Claire Webster and Mark Wishart won the Hunts AC Christmas Cracker race in St Ives. (Image: Archant)

But, no, there actually were more than 20 athletes dressed as Father Christmas dashing around the town’s streets.

They were taking part in the annual Christmas Cracker race staged by Hunts AC, and which attracted a record entry.

The event involves pairs running in opposite directions around a five-mile course.

When the partnered runners meet up - usually around the three-mile point for the faster runner and the two-mile point for the slower team-mate - they join together and follow the route of the slower partner back to the finish line.

And the duo to reach that destination first were Claire Webster and Mark Wishart, pictured above, as they took the spoils.