They battled blustery wind, spitting rain, challenging hills and some very inconsiderate motorists.

Despite all of that, thousands of people emerged smiling in Dockyard at the finish of Saturday's End-to-End, which is on course to raise more than $250,000 for charity.

More than 2,500 participants made their way along a variety of routes, with the main one being the 24.1 mile (40k) length of the Island.

Modes of transport ranged from the conventional to the whacky, with walkers and cyclists joined by horse-riders, rowers, swimmers and even a rollerblader.

Some cyclists even did it twice — starting off in Dockyard then turning around in St. George's and pedalling all the way back.

Adaptive Sport participants from WindReach Recreational Village attracted particular support from onlookers as they rolled their way from the Boaz Island Esso Station to the finish line.

Meanwhile, eight rowers who couldn't take part due to the weather on Saturday have pledged to try again next week.

Traffic Police and a 75-strong band of volunteer marshals were on hand to make sure the inevitable traffic snarl-ups caused by thousands of walkers and riders competing with impatient motorists on narrow roads were eased as much as possible.According organiser Stephen Davidson there were no casualties apart from the foot-sore and saddle-sore, and the weather failed to put a dampener on people's spirits."Every year we hold our breath for good weather. We've had years where it rained very heavily and people still came out in a good mood and had fun."Yesterday, we think people were a little relieved it was overcast. It made for a nicer walk," he said."It seems like everything came together very well and despite the blustery weather Dockyard was full of people in a good mood."The weary participants were greeted with music, medals and free candy as they streamed over the finish line.Bars and restaurants did a roaring trade as they refuelled and celebrated, and free ferries laid on to transport them home were packed out all afternoon.The End-to-End has raised more than $2.5 million for good causes over the past 21 years. The 2008 event will benefit six local charities the Adult Education School, the Bermuda National Trust, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, the Family Centre, Greenrock and the WindReach Explorers Summer Camp. Mr. Davidson said:"The last I heard on Friday afternoon, we had already passed $180,000 although it can take up to a month for all the pledges to come in."Last year, the total ended up at a record-breaking $250,000, and he predicted:"Our belief is that at the end of this year we'll actually top last year."The End-to-End was also greener than in years gone by. Past events have seen around 60,000 disposable water bottles handed out to participants en route.This year, organisers enlisted the help of the Parks Department, charities Greenrock and Keep Bermuda Beautiful, and sponsors Catlin, Platinum, the Bank of Bermuda, M3 Wireless and Pure Water, to find an alternative. When signing waiver forms and picking up goodie bags and T-shirts at M3 Wireless, each participant received a refillable water bottle to top up at refreshment stops along the way.According to Mr. Davidson, the move meant noticeably less litter had to be collected afterwards by the clean-up team.