Northern champions Leeds had a winning margin of 1 minute 21 seconds over Midlands champions Notts AC with Southern winners Belgrave third.

Leeds were given a great start by Leeds University medical student Adam Grice (26:22) who finished second on the opening long stage behind Andi Jones (Salford).

Martin Roscoe (14:48) dropped two places and Martin Hilton (27:48) slipped to fifth but the team were handily placed as Birchfield, running their strongest runners in the first half, led the field.

Joe Townsend, a junior returning to action after a troublesome knee injury has seen him sidelined for much of the winter, had a superb run on stage four taking Leeds to third place with a time of 14:58, and this position was held by Simon Deakin (26:42) and Mike Burrett (15:11).

Northern cross country champion Dave Webb (26:01) set about the leaders and finished in the lead with a good cushion over Notts AC.

James Wilkinson (15:01), James Walsh (26:44), and Martin Gostling (14:47), another returning after injury, kept the Leeds colours to the front with Newham and Essex Beagles looking the biggest threat at this stage.

Alan Buckley (26:45) and anchor man Darran Bilton went well clear on the final two stages with Newham fading badly as Notts and Belgrave came through for silver and bronze.

Leeds, were almost two minutes faster than last year with four newcomers compared with last year's squad. The Leeds second team finished 23rd in a field of 60 and were first B team.

Aldershot won a close race against Northern champions Chester le Street in the women's six stage relay. A below strength Hallamshire team did well to finish tenth.

Foreign athletes found it tough going in the Three Peaks race at Horton in Ribblesdale on Saturday. Only third-placed Mitja Kosovelj (Slovenia) made any real impression in the race which incorporated the World Mountain Running Championship.

Victory went to Jethro Lennox from the Scottish club Shettlestone who finished 37 seconds clear of Thomas Owens (Mercia FRC). Lennox took the lead on the descent from Whernside and never looked in danger although Owens was closing fast at the finish. Three times winner Rob Jebb finished fourth this time (2:59:13) whilst Pudsey and Bramley's Rob Hope was just one place behind, improving steadily throughout.

There was a fine effort from Carl Gray (Calder Valley Fell Runners) who moved through relentlessly from 27th at the top of Pen-y-ghent to seventh at the finish. Course record holder Andy Peace (Bingley) ran well for 10th and last year's runner up John Heneghan (Pudsey and Bramley) finished 12th in the field of 754.

Conditions were heavy and times were well down on the record in the men's race but there was a superb record breaking run in the women's section where the foreign athletes did well. Anna Pichrtova (Czech Republic) opened up a six minute gap over Scotland's Angela Mudge to come home in 3:14:43, taking some two minutes off the long standing course record held by Sarah Rowell (Pudsey and Bramley). Bingley's Sharon Taylor ran well to take fifth place (3:34:15) and Helen Fines (Calder Valley Fell Runners) finished eighth.

Hannah Evenden (Leeds City) won the shot for the North of England in a junior international match in Malta at the weekend.

Evenden threw an impressive 12.15 for an easy victory and also took runner up spot in the discus with a fine effort of 41.39.

Castleford athlete Ashleigh Beckett, who competes for Trafford, won the javelin with a throw of 33.82