Hudspith has major target to repay parents

He then set himself the target of qualifying for one of this summer's major championships alongside younger brother Ian.

The 33-year-old accountant knows that if he is chosen for the marathon team in the Commonwealth Games or European Championships and Ian, two years his junior, wins 10,000m selection for either, it will delight his parents.

They suffered the disappointment of an aborted trip to Canada last year when Mark was forced to withdraw from the World Championships.

Mark dropped out because of a serious ankle injury - and his parents were left with a bill for £3,000 after cancelling their travel arrangements.

But now Mark and Ian are determined to give their parents the thrill of watching them in action in a major championships, either in Manchester or Munich.

Mark said: "It would be fantastic if we could both qualify for the Commonwealth Games or the European Championships - especially for our parents.

"It cost them £3,000 last year when I was forced to withdraw from the World Championships.

"But I'm sure they will be there watching if we are picked this summer - even if we are competing at different championships."

Mark has decided against running in this year's Flora London Marathon, which incorporates the Commonwealth Games and European Championships trial.

He is banking on last year's time of 2 hours 13 mins 14 secs being good enough to win him the nod from the selectors, who will bear in mind his previous times of 2:12:54 (1994) and 2:11:58 (1995).

Ian, who won automatic selection for next month's World Cross Country Championships in Dublin by finishing third in the Reebok Inter Counties Championships, is also hoping to be picked for the European Challenge 10,000m in Italy, where he could press home his claims for further honours.

Mark said: "I am really proud of my brother winning a place in the World Championships.

"He has been running really well all winter.

"Now I'm hoping that we can both win selection for one of the big championships this summer."

One of the Hudspiths' training partners, Tynedale Harrier Andrew Caine, has also got his sights set on a 10,000m place in the Scottish Commonwealth Games team.

Caine, who has won the North-East and Northern cross country championships this winter, opened up at the Team Valley with a blistering first leg run of 10 mins 13 secs, but had no-one to hand over to.

His time was only a second behind Mark Hudspith, running the anchor leg for Morpeth, who beat their B squad by 50 seconds.

Because no club is allowed to win more than one medal in the North-East Championships the silvers would have gone to Gateshead.

But their third-placed team were disqualified after their sixth leg runner missed his change-over and the wrong man went out.

Second place was awarded to Sunderland, who finished third, while sixth-placed Chester-le-Street took the bronze medals.

Sunderland Harriers won the veteran men's championship by 2 mins 19 secs from Durham City, whose anchorman, Rob Hand, ran the fastest leg in a record 10 mins 44 secs.

Jarrow and Hebburn, coached by the evergreen Jimmy Hedley, successfully defended their senior women's title, beating Chester-le-Street by 1 min 23 secs.

The Tynesiders' team of Angela Hunter, Denise Todd, Emma Grant and Claire Smallwood, briefly lost the lead on the second leg but quickly overhauled Chester-le-Street.

Smallwood recorded the second fastest leg of 11 mins 53 secs, three seconds behind Sunderland's Northern 800m champion Bev Blakeman, who ran in an incomplete team.

* Durham City GP Rob Hand won his first road race as an over-40 when he retained his title in yesterday's Chester-le-Street 10K - just 24 hours after breaking the veterans' record in the Royal Signals North-East Road relay Championships.

Hand ran away from his rivals to win by nearly two minutes in 31 mins 32 secs, 13 seconds faster than his time last year and he said afterwards: "I'm running better than ever."

Now the Durham City Harrier is preparing to run in April's Flora London Marathon - his first run over the classic distance since he was a medical student in 1983.

Sunderland Harrier Alyson Dixon held off a challenge from Chester-le-Street over-40 veteran Heather Robinson to win the women's 5K race in 18 mins 20 secs.

Royal Signals North East Road Relay Championships (Team Valley) results:

Senior Men (6 x 2.2m): 1 Morpeth A (K Harker 11.09, R Kay 10.52, M Brown 10.35, A Toward 10.38, C Sampson 10.54, M Hudspith 10.12) 64 mins 20 secs; 2 Morpeth B (A Shepherd 11.07, D Swinburne 10.46, C O'Connell 10.40, K Wilson 11.09, M Armsworth 11.16, B Harrison 11.11; 3 Sunderland A (M Hood 10.56, M Donkin 11.17, G Massingham 11.02, S Potts 11.17, A Lilliendale 11.26, T Field 10.50) 66.48; 4 Chester-le-Street A (G Thraves 11.49, M Tomlinson 10.51, C Lamb 11.27, I Bloomfield 11.26, G Dickinson11.54, S Winter 12.23) 69.50; 5 Elswick 70.48; 8 North Shields Poly A 71.48; 9 Gosforth 72.11; 10 North Shields Poly B 75.42.

Fastest times: 1 M Hudspith 10.12; 2 A Caine (Tynedale) 10.13; 3 I Hollingsworth (Wallsend) 10.24.

Championship placings: 1 Morpeth; 2 Sunderland; 3 Chester-le-Street.

Veteran Men (6 x 2.2m): 1 Sunderland A (R Rush 11.30, K Elliott 11.55, R Wills 11.56, D Robertson 11.21, J Watson 11.56, S Coxon 11.31) 70.09; 2 Durham City (R Brown 12.55, T Tait 12.27, S Everett 11.06, A Rowell 13.14, S Marshall 12.02, R Hand 10.44) 72.28; 3 Elswick (John Bell 11.33, M McNally 12.11, T hall 12.34, R Coulson 12.40, Jim Bell 11.57, D nicholson 12.31) 73.26; 4 Morpeth A 74.54; 5 Wallsend 75.23.

Fastest times: 1 R Hand 10.44; 2 L Atkinson 11.08; 3 T Power (Jarrow and Hebburn) 11.18. Senior Women (4 x 2.2m): 1 Jarrow and Hebburn (A Hunter 13.03, D Todd 13.08, E Grant 13.28, C Smallwood 11.53) 51.32; 2 Chester-le-Street (V Raw 13.21, H Robinson 12.49, D Wilson 13.42, C Brennan 13.03) 52.55; 3 Elswick A (S Milburn 13.20, E McFarlane 13.32, J Nutt 13.08, J Elliott 13.53) 53.53; 4 Elswick B 56.24; 5 Gateshead 56.42. Fastest times: 1 B Blakeman (Sunderland) 11.50; 2 C Smallwood 11.53; 3 A Dixon (Sund) 12.43.