The weekend opens with a forest sprint race in Waitarere Forest. The forest terrain will challenge the sprint sensations of 2012 - the Robertson siblings. Tim and Laura will be out to show they can put it together in the forest as well as on high speed urban courses. Snapping at their heels will be the other overall contenders for the Silva Superseries titles.
Tane, Tom and Toby, joined by Tim, are blocking out the top places in the mens competition. The year of the T has seen these 4 jump away with some consistently high placings. The neutral terrain around the Manawatu should mean that the final long distance and loops races are a real test.
Across in the womens competition Greta Knarston has signaled her return to the top, and she holds a solid lead in the womens Silva Superseries. Chasing her are Laura, Kate, Amber and Imogene. With all of these girls Europe bound in the coming months the racing will surely be tight.
Further down the fields there are some close battles for the minor placings. Tessa Ramsden has played the consistency card and sits poised to jump up the top 10 with some solid runs. Northerners duo, Nick Mead and Greg Flynn also lie as dark horses in the mens grade. Some break out runs by Nick this year have him as a contendor, while Greg is rediscovering the form of years past.
In the teams race the Northerners hold a commanding lead. Sending a strong contingent south paid dividends as they banked a big points haul. If the Bivouac Southerly Storm fire, they could catch the Central Scorchers in what would be a huge comeback.
Keep and eye on the blog for updates over the weekend. For up to date results check http://wn.orienteering.org.nz/events/north-island-championships/
or follow @tomreynoldsnz on twitter for tweets over the weekend.
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