Over one hundred locals accompanied by their mix and match of canine friends enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning on Saturday (20th April) for the Paws n Claws 'Paws on the Run' fun run along the beach and 'Bark in the Park' at Market Park from 8am to 1pm.

'Paws on the Run' was made up of two events. There was the 7km run (or walk) for the more serious athletes and the 2km run (or walk), which on the gorgeous morning, mostly turned into a glorious stroll along Four Mile Beach and up Macrossan Street. 

Both races finished at Market Park, where lots of stalls had been set up for dog related products and services to be showcased.

The winner of the 7km run was local Michael Stevens with his faithful hound 'Indy' by his side and it looked like 'Indy' could have gone on all day.

Back at the Park, the children were enjoying having their faces painted and by the time the girls at the face painting tent had finished it was difficult to tell the puppies from the kids!  Great fun was had by all and with the unique wit and wisdom of Kstar and his cohort Andrew Patterson who MC'd the whole fun fair, the runners were welcomed home, fed and watered and let loose among the stalls to shop 'til they dropped.

The whole idea of the day was to raise as much money for Paws n Claws as could be achieved and that certainly seemed to be the single minded focus for the crowds who came along.

Well done to the organisers and well done to the mass of sponsors who generously gave so many prizes for the raffle and competitions throughout the morning.

It was good to see the competitors all home safely albeit slightly de-hydrated from the heat of the azure blue skies but they soon got stuck into the bowls of cool water spread around the park to re-hydrate and the dogs were OK too!