PAUL Thompson claimed one of the best results of his career when he finished second to defending champion Andy Schofield in Saturday's Tour of Pendle.

Races of two or three hours duration are the 32-year-old Clayton Harrier's forte and with stiff climbs aplenty the 17-miler is custom made for his strengths.

Thompson has always been a consistent performer with a fourth place in last year's Three Peaks to his credit, but recently he has boosted his fitness with a strict diet which has seen him lose nearly 20 pounds to leave him at just 9st 4lbs.

Mark Horrocks joined them on the opening climb, but once he had slipped back, the pair didn't see the rest of the field for the duration.

Schofield tracked Thompson and made his move late in the race.

"The last three climbs are all steep, but the final one is rough too. We had run them all but on the last we were down too a walking pace and he was just too strong," said Thompson.

Former Rossendale Harrier Schofield, who now represents Borrowdale came home in 2:23:10 with Thompson in 2:25:06 and Todmorden Harrier Jon Wright third in 2:29:03.

Horrocks, now running unattached after leaving Clayton, won veteran honours with fourth in 2:29:55 with Matt Nuttall maintaining his recent cross country form to take fifth for Blackburn Harriers in 2:30:36.

Clayton won the team title with four in the top ten with Thompson, sixth placed Garry Wilkinson, Andy Orr in eighth and Ian Greenwood tenth.

Peter Booth and John Nuttall won the M50 and M60 titles while race organiser Kieran Carr was second over 55.

Only a month ago Carr had been carried off the fell during the Langdale Horseshoe Race with head and rib injuries after a severe fall.

Vanessa Peacock extended her own record by winning for the fifth time after previous successes in 1996, 1998, 1999 and last year.

The over 50 veteran returned in 2:54:59 with only unattached runner Jackie Lee in serious contention. Clayton's trio of over-50s Peacock, Katy Thompson and Jean Rawlinson carried off the team prize.

Meanwhile, Paul Thompson's ambition is to win the Manx Mountain Marathon held over a 31-mile course at Easter.

He has run it seven times, was third this year, and has never been outside the top five and he is so much a regular there that an action picture of him is used on the poster advertising the event.