Sunderland Harrier Kevin Jeffress defends his North East Masters’ Cross Country title at Darlington on Sunday.
The Seaham athlete claimed his hat-trick of titles at Wallsend last year, and he could well make it a fourth win in a row at Darlington.
He showed he is in good form with his performance in the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships at Harewood House, Leeds, last Saturday.
He finished 60th and his form caught the eye of the North East selectors for the UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Loughborough on Saturday, March 10. He was named as a reserve for the senior team.
Jeffress said: “That’s great, I didn’t expect this. It was a great challenging course on Saturday, I had a conservative first lap and felt strong on the second loop and moved through the pack. I was really happy with my run.”
Jeffress and Ian Dixon, who could be his main rival, will lead the Sunderland squad in defence of the three-to-count team title. But it may depend on the strength of the Morpeth team on whether they have the race all their own way. Joining Jeffress and Dixon in the team is Tony Allinson.
In the Over-45 event, Sunderland again have another strong squad in Robert Walker, Tim Field and Paul Merrison.
Walker (47) is in superb form and is the clear favourite for the individual title. While at the age of 59, Merrison is the oldest of the trio. Also entered are Dean Phillips and Alan Knebel.
Sunderland’s oldest competitor will be Len Christopher (71), who will be on his own this time after being in the winning Sunderland team last year.
The Sunderland women are looking for their hat-trick of wins and they have a team that can certainly do that in Vicky Haswell, Alice Smith and Nicola Woodward. Smith has the capabilities of appearing in the individual awards.
The race headquarters is at Darlington Rugby Club, Blackwell Meadows, Grange Road, Darlington DL1 5NR. Parking, registration and changing are at the rugby club....