THE NORTH-EAST cross country season gets under way this afternoon as Sunderland Harriers host their popular meeting at Farringdon.

The Wearside club has dominated the senior men's relay event, losing only four times since the meeting moved off-road in 1983, but fell victims to a young Gosforth team which provided a major surprise last year.

But other clubs - including Morpeth Harriers - are expected to turn out in force and Sunderland will be hard pressed to regain the trophy they won in 2003.

Club captain Mark Hood has named a strong squad and he will use the event to pick his four-man line-up for next weekend's North of England Six-Stage Road Relay Championships at Blackpool.

Leading contenders for the trip to the seaside will be Hood, Patrick and Jack Martin, Steve Potts, Mark Donkin, Gavin Massingham, Brian Bewick and Graham Lancaster.

Hood, the former North-East 10K road race champion, won this month's multi-terrain event at Hetton and was the fastest runner in Durham City Harriers' summer cross country relays last month.

Sunderland, led by double British Masters cross country champion and ten-times North-East senior men's gold medallist Brian Rushworth, will be strong favourites to retain their veterans' crown on the testing course of two-mile circuits.

Sunderland have a stronger women's team available, including the rapidly-improving Louise Noble, recent winner at Hetton and Billingham and second North-East runner home in last weekend's Great North Run, and will be challenging defending champions Chester-le-Street for the crown.

The same course will be used for all events except the under-11s, who will use a different circuit of just under one mile.

The order of events will be:1pm under-11 boys and girls; under-13 girls; under-13 boys; senior and veteran men's relay (1.30pm); under-15 girls; under-15 boys; senior and under-17 women; under-17 men. Changing is at Farringdon School and late entries will be accepted.

* Britain's Jon Brown has withdrawn from the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships after a disappointing run in last week's BUPA Great North Run.

Brown, who is based in Canada, planned using the event in Edmonton on October 1 as final preparation for November's New York marathon.

But after finishing eighth on Tyneside on Sunday he has changed his preparation schedule.

''Last weekend took more out of me than I expected and physically I feel run down after a difficult week in the UK,'' said Brown, twice fourth in the Olympic marathon.

''In light of my upcoming marathon I feel I need more time to recover and prepare without further interruption for my primary event.''

The British women's team of Mara Yamauchi, Hayley Haining, Debbie Mason and Susan Partridge will still compete in Edmonton.

* Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi of Japan enters new territory when bidding to win the Real Berlin Marathon tomorrow.

Noguchi will contest a marathon at a venue outside her homeland for the first time other than in a global championship race.

The Athens gold medallist will be aiming to keep the title in Japanese hands for a sixth successive year.

Noguchi, who adapted to the conditions in Greece much better than pre-race favourite Paula Radcliffe, admitted she wants to smash her rival's world record.