AUSTRALIAN former World Cross Country champion Benita Johnson is to join and compete for Chester-le-Street AC while working in the North-East this summer.

The 29-year-old star has taken a job with Brendan Foster’s sports company Nova International, helping to organise the Tesco Great Schools programme, and will live in Chester-le-Street.

“This is a very exciting time for me and I am really looking forward to living and working in the North-East,”

said Johnson, who was a spectator at yesterday’s Elswick Good Friday Relays at Leamington, Newcastle.

“I will definitely be joining Chester-le-Street – they have a very strong women’s club and I hope to meet some of the girls at training tomorrow.

“It will be good for my training and while I am not in any rush to get back into racing, I hope to run in some local road races in May or June.”

Johnson took the World Cross Country 8K title in 2004, the year she went on to win the Great North Run.

The Australian has established herself as one of the world’s top women distance runners, having also won the prestigious Berlin Half Marathon in 2007 in a time of 68 mins 28 secs, and is keen to start working with children in athletics.

“I have a huge passion to work with youngsters in athletics and I hope to gain a lot of experience working with Nova on the Tesco Great Schools Run programme – I would love to take the concept back to Australia.”

Johnson, who was runnerup in the 2005 Great Edinburgh Cross Country, said: “The people in the North-East are very friendly and I have always wanted to spend some time here.”

Johnson watched Morpeth Harriers score a double, winning the senior men’s and veteran men’s relays, the over- 40s in record time.

Shildon’s World Junior Cross Country international Kate Avery won the women’s 2.28-mile women’s race in a record 11 mins 52 secs, an improvement of 18 seconds.