It's now getting towards the business end of the Metro Series with interesting contests in many of the categories. Remember there are still three events to go so it's not too late to improve your score with your best six to count.
On the Long course, Ricky Thackray is now leading Sten Claessens by a single point, with Cameron Duncan some way behind in 3rd place. Polly Weston is the leading woman, in 4th place overall, with a comfortable lead over Natasha Sparg. Recent weeks have seen a surge in women runners on the Long course, with newcomers Rebecca Getty and Sarah Anderson, and Nicki Rehn making a flying visit.
On the Medium course, Oliver Martin has a perfect score and has won the Junior Men category. Veteran Men is still close, but Nick Dale should maintain his lead, as only exceptional orienteering to score three wins in the last three races by either Ron Marcus or Andrew Martin could see them catch Nick. The 'older' veterans (although still running against the 45+ runners) sees a blanket spread over Ian Fletcher, Richard Matthews and Ken Brownlie - just four points separating them. In Veteran Women, Carol Brownlie now has a handy lead over Jennifer Binns and Jenny Major. Jo Anna Maynard has three good results, including a 100-pointer, but needs to complete all three remaining events to win Junior Women.
The Short course Sub-Junior categories are once again being led by twins Shaun and Sarah Richards who, would you believe it, are level on points. Sarah should maintain her lead in the Girls class over Lily McFarlane, but Lily's brother Riley (no, not a twin!) is well-placed to overhaul Shaun if he maintains last week's form. Either Liam Dufty or Sean Cooper need to complete one more event to take third place in the Boys. Ruben Claessens is leading the novice junior category and should not be challenged. Bryan Hardy has won Super-Vet Men, with only Gary Aitken able to complete enough events to take second place. In Super-Vet Women Jan Fletcher has a handy, but not insurmountable lead over Lois West and Toni Frank, with Penny Dufty also poised to challenge for a place.
Latest Category Scores: Short Medium Long
Overall scores can be viewed on Eventor - just open any of the Metro Series events and click on the link to Metro Series 2015-16. On the Medium Course, Nathan Seal is not eligible for a category, but is highly placed just behind the leaders. Ken Maxfield and Ori Gudes are 1st and 2nd overall on the Short Course, with Michelle Martin in 4th place, but none of these is eligible for the Super-Vets category.