LEADING North-East women’s club Chester-le-Street, hit by illness and injury are not expected to be able to field a team in today’s North of England Cross Country Championships at Blackburn.

The Cestrians, who won the senior women’s team silver medals behind Hallamshire last year, had hoped to challenge the Yorkshire outfit at Witton Park, but have been left with only two runners, Maxine Czarnecka and Tracy Laws.

Leading runners including Freya Murray and Alison Dixon are out but Czarnecka and Laws have decided to travel to Lancashire to compete as individuals. Czarnecka will be looking to improve on her 14th placing at St Helens, while Laws 12th in the McCain Cross Challenge in Cardiff, will be keen to show her progress after finishing 33rd at Sherdley Park a year ago.

After six cancellations in the North-East because of bad weather many of the region’s athletes will be in action at Blackburn in the tenrace programme, which finishes with the big senior men’s 11.5K race.

■ The Durham Schools Championships, postponed last weekend, will now take place at Meadowfield next Saturday, with the Inter- Counties Schools Championships as scheduled on February 6 at the same venue.

■ Entries for the Northumberland Coastal Run, which takes place in July, open tomorrow on the Alnwick Harriers website.