Going into the sixth of the seven Stag Trophy races on 1st March, there were still a very large number of people who could technically get into the podium positions. Coming out the other side of the March race, we were down to six!

Recent Wednesday night runs have not been very well attended and for some reason the same applied in this month’s Stag. Having had 35 running back in October we were down to just 15 yesterday. This did include most of the leading contenders but was a little disappointing nonetheless. With the light evening of April fast approaching, hopefully the numbers will return for the final race of the season.

The reduced numbers did not make the race any less fiercely contested though, with eight people getting under their handicap time and three earning PB’s despite a chilly and breezy night in Leighton.

After running basically the same time for four of her previous five Stags, Amy Killick finally found the right formula for a significant improvement in March and ducked under 17 minutes for the first time to overtake Leanne in the final straight for her first win of the season. Leanne herself also earned a PB by over 30 seconds to finish second.

The other PB of the night was from Abi May who took over a minute off her time from February but this was – slightly surprisingly – only good enough for fifth place behind both Stuart Dimmock and James Bell. the other two leading contenders going into the evening were the Inchley sisters-in-law. Both of them managed a season’s best times with Nikki picking up 20 points and Amy 14.

The results of all these maneuverings is that with one race to go Amy Killick already has 102 points and if she finishes first or second in April she cannot be caught. In any case the only people who can still beat her are Stuart Dimmock and Nikki Inchley, with Nikki in a slightly stronger position. In terms of other contenders, if Warren Rose or Amy Inchley had fantastic final races and the others didn’t improve they could sneak into the top three. Technically Abi May could also finish joint third but this is fairly unlikely in all honesty.

So, the 5th April is the key date for you all. We have had 58 different members taking part in the Stag this year so please try to make it along as it makes it much more interesting if there are lots of people affecting the points.

All of the results and standings can be found on the Stag Trophy pages of the website.