SCORES of athletes donned running shoes and shorts to pound through the streets at the ever-popular Galtres fun runs.

Serious athletes were joined by fun runners of all ages and abilities in a quest to be first past the finishing post over three routes covering six, three and one-and-half miles.

Proceeds for Saturday's races, which attracted sponsorship from local businesses, were pledged to local Scout funds.

The races kicked off at 1pm from Easingwold Market Place with the promise of medals for all those to cross the finish line as well as trophies for individual and team winners.

The Galtres run has been a popular fixture for about two decades, traditionally taking place on a Sunday in May and featuring a half marathon.

After a gap from 1999 to 2001, it started up again with more of a focus on local fun runs.

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength, with the number of entrants over the three races doubling from 223 in 2001 to 442 last year when about £1,600 was raised.

Updated: 10:33 Monday, June 27, 2005