Chester-le-Street AC underlined their emergence as one of the top women's teams in the UK by winning the National Four Stage Road Relay Championships at Sutton Coldfield.

The Cestrians became the first North-East women's team to bring home a national title earlier this year when they won the English Cross Country Championships and went on to claim the North of England four and six-stage road relay crowns.

But they faced their stiffest challenge at Sutton Park when they lined up against the cream of English clubs.

Chester-le-Street made a modest start to the event when their former junior international, Ruth Brown, finished 16th. But new recruit Sarah Wilkinson, who finished fourth in the 1998 Commonwealth Games 5,000m in Kuala Lumpur, marked her debut with a superb run, moving up 14 places into second.

Another international, Morag McDonnell, hoisted Chester-le-Street into the lead on the third stage with the sixth fastest run of the day and left 38-year-old mother-of-four Dianne Heneghan to anchor the team to victory, 16 seconds ahead of Charnwood with Sale Harriers, Manchester, a further 33 seconds behind in third place.

Chester-le-Street's B team finished in 26th place, while Elswick Harriers were 30th.

In the men's six-stage championships, Morpeth Harriers were only four seconds outside a medal position after a storming anchor-leg run by former Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist Mark Hudspith, who moved up two places into fourth, just failing to catch third-placed Bedford and County after making up 29 seconds. The event was won by Belgrave Harriers, who beat Salford by 59 seconds.

* European Duathlon Championships over-40 silver medallist Tom Doughty warmed up for the World Triathlon Championships in New Zealand by leading defending champions Sunderland Harriers to victory in the opening DP Furniture North-East Harrier League at Meadowfield.

The former RAF runner, who moved back to his native Wearside this year, took full advantage of being placed in the slow pack to lead for most of the way, beating medium pack runner Martin Scaife, of Chester-le-Street, in the wind-swept 9.5K handicap event. Scaife recorded the fastest time, making up nearly 90 seconds on the winner.

Doughty will travel to New Zealand this week and could decide to compete in the Auckland Half Marathon in his build-up to the Triathlon Championships in early December.