Martin and Hayden Dent are tied for the lead of the 2023-24 Runners Shop Twilight Series, as the series enters its Christmas hiatus. Martin and Hayden are both sitting on accumulated totals of 499 points, from a maximum of 500 after the first seven races of the series, a situation which relegates the rest of the field to the realm of ‘mathematical possibility’ for the series victory.
Martin is hunting for his second consecutive win, having triumphed in the 2022-23 series, his third victory in four seasons. Martin improved his chances at Mt Jerrabomberra today, by taking first place in the age graded handicap, with a massive margin of over 50 seconds per km, ahead of David Stocks in second place.
In contrast, Hayden will be ruing the missed opportunity of this week’s race, with a careless mispunch on the Moderate 2 course depriving him of any score, nevertheless, several minutes lost on the tricky 10th control would have very likely seen him record a handicap time outside of the top five.
Another close battle is shaping up for third place, with several of the ACT’s top junior orienteers in the mix. Owen Radajewski is currently the leading contender on 490 points, but siblings Katherine and Matty Maundrell are close behind, on 487 and 483 points respectively. Matty has improved rapidly over the last few races, but will have to continue that trend if he is to overhaul his sister in the standings. Oscar Brown rounds out the close top six pack on 477 points, but it is difficult to see a pathway for him to improve upon that position.
David Stocks is also a chance to feature in the top five, after a slow start to the series, Stocks now sits in tenth position, having risen swiftly through the field by sandbagging on the Moderate 2 course at the last two races as he recovers from illness. However, Stocks is in an uphill battle against the junior contenders, as his junior handicap will disappear once the series resumes in 2024.
The full results from today’s event are available here, Livelox GPS tracking is available here, and John Harding’s photos from the event are available here.
The top 10 on corrected time at Mt Jerrabomberra were:
| Name | Handicap | Corrected km rate |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Dent | 0.900 | 6 min 02.20 sec |
| David Stocks | 0.970 | 6 min 54.51 sec |
| Matty Maundrell | 0.790 | 7 min 01.60 sec |
| Owen Radajewski | 0.880 | 7 min 18.20 sec |
| Katherine Maundrell | 0.680 | 7 min 34.77 sec |
| Alison Inglis | 0.624 | 7 min 36.35 sec |
| Oscar Brown | 0.940 | 7 min 36.38 sec |
| Toby Lang | 0.970 | 7 min 41.64 sec |
| Eoin Rothery | 0.664 | 7 min 41.92 sec |
| Natalie Miller | 0.752 | 8 min 02.51 sec |
The top five placings after seven events are:
- 499 Martin Dent
- 499 Hayden Dent
- 490 Owen Radajewski
- 487 Katherine Maundrell
- 483 Matty Maundrell
The full standings are here.
The series is now suspended for a break over the Christmas period and resume with an event at Weston Park on 14 February 2024.