NORTH-WEST raider David Hunter upset the odds by beating pre-race favourite Carl Thackery as he made a winning half marathon debut in yesterday's Morpeth-Newcastle road race.

Former World Half Marathon Championships bronze medallist Thackery was expected to become the first veteran to win England's oldest road race, but his younger rival showed the 40-year-old Yorkshireman a clean pair of heels from the halfway mark.

Hunter, 24, won by a runaway 3 minutes and was left kicking himself for not breaking the course record with a more ambitious start.

"It was very slow over the first two miles and that probably cost me the record," said the Altrincham runner.

"I ran side by side with Carl for the next four or five miles then made my effort.

"I'm really pleased to have won - the Morpeth-Newcastle race has a long history and carries a lot of prestige."

Hunter's elder brother Andrew, winner of last month's Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships, was runner-up to Morpeth Harrier Mark Hudspith when the race was last held on its traditional New Year's Day slot.

"I ran in the same race and finished seventh or eighth and it's nice to have come back to win - and it's an extra bonus to have gone one better than my brother," said Hunter, whose time of 67 mins 48 secs was 24 seconds outside Dominic Bannister's course record.

"My road racing seems to have picked up nicely and this event was part of my build-up to this year's Flora London Marathon."

Another athlete with marathon ambitions won the women's race - Dartford's Andrea Green, who finished tenth in the 900-strong field in a time of 75 mins 36 secs.

The 34-year-old Great Britain international, who has a string of half marathon successes to her credit, is hoping to step up to the classic distance with a view to winning selection for next year's Olympic Games in Athens.

Green, a mother-of-two, said: "I have my sights set on this year's World Half Marathon Championships in Portugal, then I'll try to get the Olympic qualifying time. I think the marathon is the only realistic chance I have of getting to Athens."

Jarrow and Hebburn's Claire Smallwood stayed with Green for the first mile then had to let her go.

"She was just too good," said the 25-year-old Tynesider. "It was my first half marathon and I didn't want to blow up by going off too hard.

"But I was pleased with second. I felt comfortable despite a bit of cramp and I think I will do this year's Great North Run."

Smallwood finished six minutes behind Green in 81 mins 44 secs and felt a little disappointed not to have broken 80 minutes on her debut over 13.1 miles.

* Former Flora London Marathon champion Eamonn Martin is adamant full size British teams should be sent to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

Martin, the British 10,000 metres record holder for a decade until 1998, is shocked UK Athletics is considering a reduction in the composition of the British squad for Lausanne in March.

Lottery funding is based on success at international level and Martin insisted: ''We're giving up on the world scene and we're saying we can take on the Europeans.

''We can also get many more brownie points and keep the money flowing by taking the edge off the World Cross and not putting so much emphasis on it.

''In my opinion if you're good enough and aim for the worlds, you'll mop up the Europeans anyway. Just trying to be the best in Europe is selling ourselves short.''

UKA's endurance director Zara Hyde Peters' proposal not to contest some of the six races at the Swiss venue left some potential team members reeling when hearing the news at Saturday's Belfast International Cross Country.

''I'll be gutted if they don't send a women's team,'' said Hayley Yelling, who produced the best performance of her career when finishing an unexpected runner-up over 5,000 metres to Ethiopia's reigning World Cross short course silver medallist Werknesh Kidane.