ORIENTEERING: Lakeland Orienteering Club's Martin McIver (M14) and Jon Lagoe (M50) gained maximum points at the first of the Cumbria Galoppen 2007 league races at Askham Fell, near Penrith, on Sunday.

McIver's success came on the light green course (3.9km) and Lagoe on blue (7.6km).

The extensive area of moorland usually provides fast, runnable conditions and competitors found it only slightly slippery underfoot with a strong, cool breeze under blue skies.

Even the broad tracts of energy-sapping wet tussocky grassland and heath between the low limestone hills did not slow the top competitors on the longer courses.

Controls were placed within the numerous natural sinkholes or alongside some of the many prehistoric remains on the common, but the course planner had a difficult job to reduce competitiors following each other in an area of such good visibility.

Other Lakeland Club members who featured among the top pointscorers were Katie Wright (W12), third and first lady on yellow; Steph Clayton (W14), third and first lady on orange; Mike Hobson (M60) and Sue Parkin (W50) second and third on green; and Nick Howlett (M40) on brown.

Rebecca McKenny (W16), who received the Ian Blakey award for the most improved junior in 2006, was only a few seconds down on Sue Parkin on the green course, while Michael McIver, another of the Lakeland's good juniors, was a few seconds down on Nick Howlett on the brown.