HUNDREDS of thousands of pounds has been handed out to local charities to ensure their great work continues.
On Thursday night, £350,905 was awarded to dozens of groups at the 2016 Keswick to Barrow Awards, held at The Forum in Barrow.
Participants in the annual Keswick to Barrow and Coniston to Barrow walks smashed the total amount raised last year - £311,428 - by a significant margin.
It was a particularly special barrier to break in the 50th anniversary year of the K2B.
Veteran walker, Gordon Ingall, was the keynote speaker for the evening and he celebrated everyone who took part.
He said: "One of my reasons for doing it year after year is the broad spread of charities who do so much good. It's kept me going through the years."
The most important part of the night came when cheques were handed out to the dozens of charities represented at the awards.
The biggest donation of the evening, a sum of £22,500, went to St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston.
Val Stangoe, chief executive of St Mary's, said: "It's absolutely incredible of them, it's just so kind of them to give us this much."
Want to get involved in next year's K2B? Find out how you can here
Team Alice, representing Alice's Escapes, took home a cheque for £17,000.
Cathy Broomfield, one of the charity's trustees said: "We are really fortunate that we have a core of walkers who continue to walk for us year in year out."
Another well-deserving recipient was Jo's Appeal, which received £4,000.
The appeal was set in memory of popular Evening Mail journalist Jo Davies who died in August last year, five-and-a-half years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Jo's husband, Matt, spoke about what it meant to receive such a generous donation.
He said: "It was very humbling to receive such a fantastic amount of money on behalf of Jo's Appeal. All that blood, sweat and pain is really worthwhile when you consider that a staggering £350,000 has been raised for good causes."
"I know it would have made her very proud to see so many of her friends and colleagues wearing Go for Jo T-shirts and going through the pain barrier in her memory.
"Hopefully we'll get a good few people signing up for the K2B for Jo's Appeal again next year. The on-going fund is up to £54,000 now - far, far more than we could have hoped for - and we want to keep the momentum going, so there will be lots more challenges in the pipeline for 2017."
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Find out about the pop-up shop in Barrow opened for Jo's Appeal
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