NSW Stingers’ Rob Preston and Canberra Cockatoos’ Anna Danielsson took out today’s National League Round 11, at the Tasmanian Long Distance Championships on the sand dunes of Pittwater. Although they took individual honours, the best team on the day was the Victorian Nuggets, who moved into second place overall and whittled the Canberra Cockatoos’ lead to 21 points with four rounds remaining.

Preston was two minutes ahead in a closely contested mens’ race, with five minutes covering the top eight. The battle for second was especially close, with Ben Rattray finishing just two seconds ahead of Bruce Arthur, a season-best performances for both. The biggest surprise was the performance of Grant Bluett, who had to settle for sixth after two significant errors.

The pre-race womens’ favourite, Hanny Allston, was also unplaced (she was fifth after a late five-minute error). Danielle Winslow, on home ground, looked the winner for much of the day, but in the end she was squeezed out by Danielsson, who has moved to Australia this year. Her National League form has been patchy – she has only been in the top six twice, but both were wins. Tracy Bluett completed the placings.

In the junior division, the most impressive performance was that of Ainsley Cavanagh, who was six minutes clear in a field containing two other members of the national team (as well as both reserves). Zebedy Hallett was second and Heather Harding third. Timo Sild, son of Estonian WOC medallist Sixten, made an impressive Australian debut with a three-minute win. Nick Andrewartha also impressed in his first year in this division, and Louis Elson’s third place gave Tasmania two placegetters.

In the individual standings, Rob Preston has moved into third, which he maintain, although others still have a mathematical chance. Preston has an outside chance of displacing the injured Dave Shepherd from second spot, but Grant Bluett is too far ahead to be challenged. The only significant move amongst the women was that Hanny Allston has lost her last chance of overtaking Jo Allison; Tracy Bluett could still do so, but she would need to run very well for the rest of the week. Amongst the juniors, David Meyer remains in control. Simon Uppill missed an opportunity to close the gap when he mispunched, an event of similar rarity to a Swans AFL premiership, and the junior women’s division looks to be a race in two: Erin Post still leads Ainsley Cavanagh by 25 points, but Cavanagh is in excellent form and cannot be counted out.