But the man behind the mask in the London Royal Parks Foundation inaugural half-marathon wasn't a charity fun runner. It was Kenyan middle distance ace John Muriithi who is also hoping for a gold medal at London 2012.

The 21-year-old from Nyahururu, part of a 10-strong Kenyan dream team training group including Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru, donned the fancy dress for sponsor Nokia's Woodlands Creatures team.A slightly bemused John was signed up for the event by his agent after winning the Reykjavik half-marathon in August.

He said: "I liked the cheering and the course and enjoyed being a rabbit." An event spokesman said: "There were some good runners out there but the bunny caught them all on the hop."

Sounds a bit like cheating to me!

John, of course, had to thank the team behind him.

The original was here