Sunderland Harriers had a solid performance in the Northern 6-Stage Road Relay Championships at Manchester on Saturday.
They finished in the first 25 in the 6x6.5k relay at Sport City to qualify for the National final at Sutton Coldfield on Saturday, October 7.
But the Wearsiders have turned down their invite as a number of their squad are unavailable for Sutton Park.
Team manager Albert James said: “The team ran well, but there are three or four of them unavailable for the final. It would not be fair to rely on the youngsters to cover them as the competition is extremely strong.
“The last thing we want is for them to be blown away and become disheartened.’’
The Wearsiders took 21st place (2hr 8min 10sec) behind last year’s bronze medallists, Morpeth, in fourth (2.02.15), Tyne Bridge, in eighth (2.03.35) and Gateshead Harriers were the final club to qualify in 25th (2.10.30).
In-form Andy Powell got Sunderland off to a good start with the club’s fastest time (20min 15sec) in finishing 21st out of the 130 teams contesting the relay on the first leg.
Kevin Jeffress was next off and he recorded 20.34 to claim six spots to finish 15th (20.34) and lift the team to their highest position throughout the race.