Sunderland Harriers’ will be bidding to emulate their performances of last year in the North East Masters’ Cross Country Championships at Wallsend on Saturday.
Last year, the event saw record fields with the Wearsiders having their best ever turnout and being rewarded with a bagful of medals.
Kevin Jeffress goes for his hat-trick of over-35 titles when he leads his squad in defence of the team title.
The Seaham athlete beat Crook’s Carl Chapman and Matthew Hornsby (Durham) to lift the crown in 2016.
Backing Jeffress in the three-to-count team race was Ian Dixon (5th) and Paul Blakey (11th), but both these athletes are likely to be missing on Saturday.
Jeffress missed out on the Northern Championship at Knowsley on Saturday in order to save himself for this race.
A bronze medal was also won by clubmate Tim Field in the over-50 race, but the team that finished second will be missing over-55 winner Paul Merrison who is on the injured list.