THE Easter Athletics Festival continues today in tough conditions for the competitors in the Mountain Marathon and Half Mountain marathon.

Thick mist and rain covered most of the Island’s central mountain range as runners tackled one of the toughest annual hill racing events in Britain.

The festival kicked off in the south of the Island last night with a 10km run around the streets of Port Erin and Port St Mary, attracting a big entry of runners, including a big overseas entry, mostly from University teams, on the Isle of Man to enjoy the fun of the event as much as competing.

This afternoon attention switches to the west for the Peel Hill Race, starting and finishing at The Creek Inn. The forecast is for the weather to slowly improve during the day with rain and mist lifting towards the evening.

The forecast for tomorrow’s final event of the festival - on Douglas promenade - is much better with dry, sunny weather expected to round off the 49th staging of the Easter Athletics Festival which has special celebrations lined up for next year’s 50th anniversary.

Photos: Bill Dale www.isleofmanphotos.com