VALE Royal Athletics Club’s runners face a tough task to top last year’s record-breaking medals haul at this weekend’s Cheshire County AA Cross Country Championships.

The Knights Grange-based outfit claimed 16 first place finishes – individual and team – on home ground when hosting the annual event.

To repeat the trick at Reaseheath, it plans to send one of its biggest ever contingents with more than 125 members on the entry list.

Megan Huxley, now 18, is among them as she bids to claim a sixth successive individual title since entering the competition for the first time in 2008.

She defends the under 20s women’s title but faces competition from clubmate Amelia Pettitt, victor in the under 17s women’s category last time around.

Great Britain international Stevie Stockton has entered in the senior women’s class and, if she competes, will look to add a seventh gold to her collection since finishing first in the under 15s girls’ race in 2003.

Kate Spilsbury, in seventh, was the highest placed finisher for Vale Royal in the category last time.

Elliot Bowker and Jessica Parsons, inaugural recipients of an award in memory of former club member Brian Hall in 2012 after winning in the under 15s boys’ and girls’ age groups respectively, are set to race against older opponents.

Vale Royal scooped nine individual wins at Knights Grange, from under 13s boys through to over 60s women, in a total medals haul of 35.

The U11s boys and girls run first at Reaseheath College, near Nantwich, from 11.30am on Saturday.

Races continue through to the senior men bringing down the curtain over 10.7km from 2.15pm.

Spectators can watch for free.

Cheshire County AA Cross Country Championship
Reaseheath College, Nantwich
Timetable for Saturday

1130 U11s boys and girls   2km
1145 U13s boys and girls  2.8km
1200 U15s girls   3.5km
1225 U15s boys and U17s ladies 5.3km
1245 U17s men and U20s ladies  5.8km
1320 U20s men and senior ladies 7.5km
1415 Senior men   10.7km