NORTHERN Women's Road Relay champions Chester-le- Street switch surfaces as they try to improve on last year's silver- medal winning performance in this afternoon's National Cross Country Relay Championships at Mansfield.

But the Cestrians will be without two of their top runners, Great Britain internationals Dianne Heneghan and Morag Mc- Donnell, and only former British Universities 10,000m track champion Alyson Dixon remains from last year's trio.

She is joined by stalwart Kathryn Waugh, who has played an important role in the club's impressive run of successes since winning the 2003 National Cross Country title, and the reigning Scottish and North- East cross country champion, Freya Murray.

Chester-le-Street coach Lindsay Dunn said: "This competition is possibly the hardest test of the lot because the standard is so much higher. Our athletes are mainly distance runners and each leg of the relay is only two miles.

"We finished an excellent second last year and I think we will be up among the top half dozen this time."

Sunderland, 11th last year, carry the region's hopes in the men's four-stage event as Morpeth, just outside the medals in 2006, will send a weakened team.

Redcar-based Stephen Hepples, who helped Newham and Essex Beagles take the bronze medals in the recent National Cross Country Championships, will be trying to help the London club retain their title at Berry Hill Park.

* Two senior athletes, Gary Dunn (Thirsk and Sowerby) and Claire Robson (Teesdale) will be trying the maintain their unbeaten records in the third North Yorkshire and South Durham Harrier League meeting at Flatts Lane Country Park, Normanby, tomorrow. There will be a non-scoring 1K event for under-11s at 12.40.

* Entries have closed for the popular Blackhill Bounders Fruitbowl 7 multi-terrain event at Gibside Estate tomorrow, with nearly 500 taking part.

* Athletics chiefs have promised to avoid a clash with the London 2012 Olympics after announcing the European Championships are to take place every even year.

The event is currently run every four years but European Athletics director general Christian Milz confirmed it would move to every two years.

Milz claimed it would end a month before the London Olympics, saying: "The event will finish well before the athletics programme begins in the Olympic Games and will, ideally, coincide with the US Olympic trials.

"Ideally, it will also not clash with the UEFA 2012 Championships in Poland and Ukraine."