Chester-le-Street will bid to become the first North-East women's team to win an English National Cross Country Championship at Parliament Hill Fields, London, today.

The Cestrians - first and second in last weekend's North-East Road Relay Championships - will be boosted by the return of their top runner, 36-year-old Great Britain international Dianne Heneghan.

They were without Heneghan when they took the silver medals in the North of England Championships, and their latest recruit, former England junior international Ruth Brown, had not been cleared to count for the club.

But the former Darlington Harrier is now eligible, and Chester have high hopes of striking gold.

Former North-East champion Morag McDonnell had the distinction of leading the region's women's team to bronze medal position in this month's Inter Counties Championships, finishing sixth, seven places ahead of team-mate Sonia Thomas, of Sale, the reigning North-East and Northern champion.

McDonnell, who was only a second behind fastest runner Heneghan in the record-breaking Chester-le-Street A squad at Team Valley last week, said: "We have a very strong team and we are hoping to be among the medals.

"We've been told that no North-East club has ever won the women's title and this will be an added incentive."

Morpeth Harriers, with leading runners Mark and Ian Hudspith back, could be back among the senior men's medals after snatching second place three years ago.

They finished runners up in the Northern Championships last month without the international brothers, and the reigning North-East cross country champions have underlined their strength in depth by finishing the first two teams in to recent relay events, at Durham and Team Valley.

Sunderland Harriers are also confident that their junior men's team will give a good account of themselves and make up for the disappointment of fading to third place in the Northern Championships.

The Wearsiders led at the halfway mark in Manchester, but one of their best runners, Patrick Martin, was forced to drop out. Martin, however, was one of three Sunderland Harriers, alongside Richard Kemp and Norman Younger, who helped the North-East win the junior men's gold medals in the Inter Counties Championships.

* Elswick Harriers have decided to switch their Good Friday Road Relays to a new, completely traffic-free course at Newburn Riverside Park, Bells Close, Lemington, Newcastle, after being told their road circuit at Fenham was becoming too dangerous because of increased traffic problems.

Race organiser Frank Watson said: "Since I started to organise the event in 1988 I would say traffic has increased by 50 per cent.

"The new course is flat, fast and totally traffic-free."

The relays will be sponsored by Taylor Woodrow and there will be a full programme of events for all age groups.