DURHAM City baker Terry Wall hopes to chalk up his fifth victory in the Newton Aycliffe 10K tomorrow.

The 36-year-old Morpeth Harrier warmed up for the event by winning the Raby Castle 10K at the end of last month - his first test over the distance for yearly a year - and he was only three seconds outside the course record.

Wall has rekindled his appetite for racing after more demanding work commitments. "I just went off the boil and seemed to lose interest," he explained. "But I was really pleased with the way things went at Raby Castle, even though I just missed out on the record, and I'm looking forward to racing at Newton Aycliffe again."

Sunderland Harrier Louise Noble will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after losing her North-East Blaydon crown to Chester-le-Street's Alyson Dixon last weekend. But she will not be lining up again against Aiveen Fox, who beat her at Raby Castle, as the Morpeth Harrier has a prior engagement.

Four of the North-East's leading young athletes will clash in today's Inter-Schools Championships at Gateshead International Stadium when hosts Northumberland take on Durham, Cleveland and Cumbria.

Laura Weightman set a Northumberland Schools inter-girls 1500m record (4 mins 30.9 secs) last weekend as Shildon's Kate Avery was also posting a record in the Durham Schools Championships of 4:37.8, beating Darlington Harrier Joanne Keenan's 1990 mark by three seconds.

The last time the two clashed was in the Northern Under-17 Championships at Leeds last month, when, in an exciting finish, Morpeth Harrier Weightman overtook her rival to win by a tenth of a second in 4:32.85.

Gateshead Harrier Richard Kilty, who shot to the top of the UK junior 100m rankings when he set a record 10.79 secs at the North-East championships last month, renews his rivalry with fellow Teessider and former training partner Yusuf Aliu in the senior boys' sprints.

Most of the athletes in action today will compete in the English Schools Championships at Birmingham on July 13/14.