PARALYMPIC athlete Mark Brown is beginning the final phase of his preparations for Athens, and he is looking to local clubs and athletes to help send him on his way in the best possible shape.

The 42-year-old, who represents both Blackburn Harriers and Clayton le Moors Harriers, will be running the 5,000 metres on Monday September 27 at the Paralympic Games, which take part immediately after the Olympics.

With his race starting at 7pm and BBC2 carrying live broadcasts at that time each evening, we might even see it as it happens.

Arm amputee Mark has decided against going to the holding camp in Cyprus prior to the Games, and instead will be acclimatising in Gibraltar, a policy that reaped a dividend last year when he became European Champion over the same distance.

Last week, he won the Lancashire Sports Repairs Cliviger Six, narrowly beating Tom Cornthwaite who was previously undefeated in eight Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix Races - so he knows he is very strong.

To win a medal, Brown feels he will have to run a personal best time in the region of 15:15 to 15:20 - and so far he has clocked 15:28 at a meeting staged by Belgrave Harriers at Battersea Park a month ago.

The final piece in the jigsaw is to add some more speed, and there are local meetings at Hyndburn and Pendle over the next two weekends that could prove to be ideal.

Hyndburn Athletic Club have responded immediately to the call by adding an invitation 3,000m event to this Sunday's meet at Wilson's and have lined up several of the club's brighter prospects including Sean Williams, Adam Hurley and Nathan Riding to provide a challenge.

They have also offered free entry into the race for any elite athlete willing to challenge Brown. The race is expected to be at about 3.45pm.

It is hoped that Pendle Athletic Club will be able to offer similar support as Mark leaves the country the day after their meeting. These fixtures will be his last appearances in this country as a UK Athletics funded athlete as he will retire from elite competition immediately after the Games.

Mark has asked this column to pass on his thanks to everyone who has helped him.

Brown had originally hoped to be competing in the Marathon, but the event was not available to athletes with his disability and after watching Paula Radcliffe's race he admitted: "Maybe I've more chance in the 5,000 metres."

He revealed that he had suffered similar problems to Radcliffe in the 1996 Paralympic Marathon in Atlanta - although he still won the bronze medal.

He has backed her to make a successful return and says that she is psychologically strong. As for his own chances he makes only one promise: "I'll try my best."

Sister act is perfect send-off for Stint

LANCASHIRE'S athletes turned in a storming performance at the Northern Inter Counties Meeting at Cudworth to end Brian Craig's stint as team manager and selector on a high note.

Competing against nine other counties, the women finished second to Yorkshire by 298 points to 227, as the men took third behind the North East and Yorkshire.

The counties under 17 women and under 15 boys were the pick of the squads with both finishing as runners-up, the boys being defeated by a mere three points.

Burnley sisters Danielle and Alexis Walker were both under 17 winners on a blustery but warm day with Danielle stepping down a distance to win the 1500m by a comfortable nine seconds and Alexis winning a tight contest in the javelin.

Blackburn Harriers provided two winners on the track with AAAs medallist Curtis Pearce winning the under 15s 1500m and senior Ben Fish an easy winner of the 3,000m. Seventeen year old Matt Wood was third in the senior 800m after staying with victor Sam Ellis until the last 100m.

Yorkshire's Ellis had won the Olympic Trial beating Ricky Soos but missed out on Athens after failing to make the qualifying time.

Northern Inter Counties (top five finishers): Women: Under 15: Alison Leonard - Chorley Harriers (800m 2nd 2:20.67) Eleanor Markendale - Pendle (long jump 2nd 5.14m) Under 17: Emma Graham Blackburn Harriers (3000m 2nd 10:59.57); Danielle Walker - Burnley (1500m 1st 4:52.37); Abigail Ewart - Burnley (hammer 2nd 33.37m); Sara Parkinson - Chorley Harriers (long jump 4th 4.97m); Alexis Walker - Burnley (javelin 1st 31.54m); Amy Weaver - Pendle ( shot 4th 10.27m)

Men: Under 15: Peter Matthews - Blackburn Harriers (400m 3rd 56.74); Curtis Pearce - Blackburn Harriers (1500m 1st 4:17.36); Under 17: Paul Bradshaw - Blackburn Harriers (800m 2nd 1:58.52); Luke Simpson - Pendle (200m 3rd 23.33, 100m 5th 11.48); Paul Whittle - Blackburn Harriers (100m hurdles 3rd 14.37); Senior: Danny Eckersley - Burnley (400m hurdles 2nd 58.00, triple jump 5th 12.05m) Matt Wood - Blackburn Harriers (800m 3rd 1:56.26) Ben Fish - Blackburn Harriers (3000m 1st 8:36.71)

Rachael is still in the frame

RACHAEL Thompson has won the penultimate round of the English Junior Fell Championship at Sedbergh Hills to tie for the lead in the under 18 women's class with Sarah Tunstall of Border Harriers.

Blackburn schoolgirl Thompson has bounced back from the disappointment of retirement from the World Trophy Trials a week earlier to set up a grandstand finish in the Championship.

Both women have one win, two seconds and a third to their credit from the five races so far.

World Champion Karrie Hawitt has run three races and won them all but is presently injured and must be a major doubt for the final race.

With the best four results to count, Hawitt will take the title if she can secure a top five finish, but otherwise Thompson will be the champion if she wins or is second ahead of Tunstall.

Rossendale Harriers have been avid supporters of the series this summer and Adam Godwin is their best hope of winning a medal. Fourth at Sedburgh raises his position to third in the under 20 list, and as he has only run three times all his points will count in the final race at the Three Shires on September 18.

There could be more medals for Dale in the under 14s where five athletes are in contention for second place behind four time race winner James Mountain from Skipton.

The Blackburn-based Preston Harrier Richard Shuttleworth edged into second place after taking second at Sedbergh a point clear of Rossendale's Phil Bolton. Grant Cunliffe of Burnley is another three points back and is a single point ahead of Sam Tosh of Rossendale while Sedbergh winner Ted Yates of Keswick moves to within a point of Tosh.

Paul Wadsworth is sixth under 16 boy for Rossendale, while Rachel Searson of Blackburn Harriers and Katie Ireland of Rossendale lie fifth and eighth respectively.

Hyndburn in seventh heaven

WITH the Mid Lancs Track and Field League all done and dusted, there was a chance for the athletes to go for individual, rather than team glory.

Anyone who had competed twice or more for their club over the summer was entitled to run in the finale at Wigan where gold, silver and bronze medals were at stake.

Hyndburn plundered seven golds with under 17 Will Holden claiming victories in the long jump and triple jump with distances of 5.98m and 12.58m. In the same age group, Sean Williams won the 3,000m while for the girls there were wins for under 17s Caroline Smithson and Sophie Hart and under 15s Leigh Lennon and Imogen Walters.

In-form Luke Simpson was a double winner for Pendle as he took the under 17s 100m and 200m in 11.8 and 23.4 seconds while Ben Rusius ended the season on a high with first in the senior 800m and under 13 Lauren Moorhead won the under 13s shot. Thrower Abigail Ewart was Burnley's star with winning distances of 35.61m and 7.92m in the hammer and shot and another under 17 throws specialist Alexis Walker won the javelin.

Blackburn's Rachel Searson won the under 15s 3,000m and Chorley's Katie Dwyer finished first in the under 15s discus.