Veterans ready for XC championships (From The Northern Echo)

Veterans ready for XC championships

10:00am Saturday 21st January 2012 in Athletics News By Frank Johnson

THE 28TH DURHAM Cathedral Cross Country Relays, including the North-East Open Veterans' Championships, will be held at the Racecourse tomorrow.

Teams of three will battle it out over a 3,000m circuit along the banks of the River Wear in an event which traditionally attracts some of the region's leading middle-distance runners.

Previous winners include Sunderland, Morpeth and New Marske, with the Teessiders providing the youngest-ever victors with a team of juniors in 2008, regaining their title last year after losing out to Sunderland in 2009.

New Marske will be chasing a hat-trick of victories tomorrow and their main rivals are expected to be Morpeth following news that Sunderland will be without their three-times North-East cross country champion Mark Hood, who sustained a painful knee injury when he ran into a car door in a freak accident while out training.

Sunderland, however, will be fielding six veterans' teams covering all age groups and their strongest trio will include ten-times North-East cross country champion Brian Rushworth.

The meeting starts at 10.15am with the veteran men's race, followed by the senior women (10.55) and senior men (11.35).