A large contingent of local athletes will make their way to Witton Park in Blackburn on Saturday for the annual Lancashire Cross-Country Championships.

The event has been held at the same venue for the past 20 years, so is very familiar to many.

But the debutants in the under-13 races and above will have their first taste of the famous Witton Park ‘saucer’, which is quite a long hill that curves to the left above a large grassy hollow and gets progressively steeper near the top.

The drop down the other side on agricultural land is usually muddy and likely to be especially so this year. Good footwear choice will be vital.

This is an event which has been strongly supported by Manx Harriers for the past 30 years, with athletes from Northern AC and Western AC also taking part regularly in more recent times.

With entries still available on the day it is not certain precisely who will be running, but there is expected to be a combined total of at least 30 runners from the three local clubs across all the age groups from under-11s up to seniors and veterans.

There is a team element to all the races and the advance entries show that Manx Harriers’ senior men, Northern AC’s u17 men and Western AC’s u11 girls all have enough for teams as things stand.

The Northern AC u17 team of Sam Perry, Lucas Stennett, Charlie Teare and Dom Dunwell were the u15 champions last year, with Sam and Lucas winning the individual silver and bronze medals respectively.

Although all are now in their first year in the older age group, their continued progress means they should do very well again this time.

Over the years the Manx athletes have enjoyed much success at this event with many medals won.

For the u13 races and above, this is also the selection trial race for the Lancashire team which will contest the Inter-Counties Championships at Loughborough in March.

It promises to be another exciting day in East Lancashire.