The ever-popular Guiseley Gallop was a big hit with Pacers, with no fewer than 13 members of the club turning out. This is testimony to the quality of the race, though it is by no means easy. The star performers were the youthful William Morris and the experienced Diane Craven. William finished in an splendid 90^th place in 45 minutes, while Diane was among the early finishers in the veterans 40 category, in a time of 49 minutes. This confirmed her excellent placing of second in the Woodland Series.

The next pair home, three minutes further back, were the Matt Tupling and Angela Crawford, with Chris Hill and John Tate hot on their heels. Angela did just enough to give her fourth place overall in the Woodland Series. In her first race for the club Diane Streets produced a very creditable 57 minutes, just pipping Peter Phillips to the post. Lynne Morris glided in around the 58 minute mark, while Paul Forkins matched Nancy Mellow stride for stride to finish just under the hour.

Taking a more leisurely approach were Steve Horne, who struggle to find adequate water supplies en route, and Candy Gable, who produced her trademark neat and tidy performance.

Peter Phillips was just taking things easy, in preparation for the London Marathon. Though unable to match the feat of Tracey Morris, his time of four hours and 12 minutes did reflect the value of good solid training. Rob Meegan found the atrocious conditions on the day scarcely any more to his liking, and his three hours and 45 minutes shows room for improvement.

Conditions were completely different for the Leeds Half Marathon. With blistering heat even before the start it was always going to prove a difficult race. Steve Horne was sweating heavily even before the race started, though the steady climb up to the ring road challenged many. Fluid intake was critical, with Jonathan Smith first Pacer home, slightly down on his time of previous years, but still able to claim 107^th place in one hour 29 minutes. There was a long wait to the next finisher, Rob Meegan, in one hour 45 minutes.

As Leeds began to sizzle so did many of the runners. Russell Olliver and Chris Hill were off their best around the one hour 56 minutes mark, though Steve Campbell cruised through in an effortless and elegant one hour and 58 minutes. A minor scrap developed further down the field. Youngster Thomas Nitsche flogged around to finish in two hours and 13 minutes, ahead of a battle between Steve Horne and Candy Gable. Matching each other for much of the course, Candy engaged a low gear for the duration to notch up a finish in a calm and steady two and a quarter hours. Meanwhile, Steve put on a late spurt, thrashing and crashing his way to finish just 45 seconds ahead of Candy. By the end Steve was just a pale shadow of his former self, such were the effects of heat and sun on the day.

Taking an altogether more bucolic and sylvan approach were runners in the Harewood 10K on the same day. Though experiencing the same heat as the half marathoners, there was no baking tarmac to contend with. Will Morris took full advantage to record an impressive 39 minutes and 20 seconds. Angela Crawford also finished well, in 44 minutes, with John Tate not far behind. Enjoying the fine scenery rather more were Peter Phillips and Lynne Morris.

This year's Chevin Chase has been confirmed for Sunday 26 December. Last year's race raised £500 for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal.

Airecentre Pacers continues to welcome new members, with regular runs for all abilities at 7.15 on Wednesdays and 9.30 on Sundays from Aireborough Leisure Centre

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