• Press Report 29th September 2008

    Some glorious weather greeted over 100 runners in the inaugural running of the Valentines Park Charity 5k on Sunday morning. The race had an international field representing many generations of athletes and was started by the mayor of Redbridge Cllr Lorraine Sladden.
    Billericay's Crispian Bloomfield set a blistering pace from the start as he motored around the traffic free paths of the park at times even threatening to catch the lead bike over the two lap course. Behind Havering Mayesbrook's star woman international runner Faye Fullerton was having her own batlle with some of the faster men, notably Ilfords own Malcolm Muir and Chelmsford's Ken Hoye. It was Muir's strength that finally prevailed for the runner up spot as Fullerton, who later admitted she might have gone off a little too fast, started to tire and allowed Hoye to pip her for 3rd spot. Fullerton's time of 16.38 ranks amongst the top 20 times in the country this yea over the 5k distance. Her clubmate Harriet Scott was 2nd lady home also in a very respectable time of 17.42 with 14 year Jay Andrews from Orion Harriers taking 3rd with an excellent 19.10 clocking.
     
    On a brilliantly successful day for the host club which boasted 33 Ilford competing athletes, race organiser Martin Clarke was delighted with the way things went saying afterwards:- "I've had some very positive comments from all concerned and we will definitely try and promote this event again next year - Its a very picturesque course, as well as being pretty flat and ideal for fast times."
     
    The veterans posted some very quick times as well, notably John Barker's (Thrift Green Trotters) 16.40 which prevented Ilford AC from having a clean sweep of the veteran prizes. In the over 50s Andy Catton hit some good form with 18.47 with John Batchelor in the V60 category just behind in 19.04. Bree Nordin as a vet 45 runner was too good for runners 10 years her junior making her 20.21 the best FV35 time of the day and leaving Nicola Hopkinson the Over 45 spoils with 21.44. Pam Jones at 72 continues to amaze recording 24.12 to win the Female Vet 55 category.
     
    Other Ilford runners cashing on the excellent conditions to hit fast times were Darren Bottril (8th in 17.12), Robin  Mcnelis (9th in 17.24)  Iain Macdonald (10th inn 17.27). Neil Crisp was unlucky not to go sub 18 with 18.05 and Peter Clinch returning to competition after a long lay-off mustered 18.18.
     
    Dave Sharpe and Mike Hinton both racewalked the course in 29.20 and 29.42 respectively.
     
    The race was run in conjunction with a charity walk which set off an hour later organised by the Cardinal Heenan Centre's Joe Brown. His brother Olly Browne , a "centurion" walker who has wlked 100 miles in 100 hours non-stop , joined about 50 other walkers with the whole even raising money for 10 charities. 
     
    Other Ilford times were Liam Leddy (19.02), Rohan Alexander (19.24), Keith Ennis (19.33), Gary Floate (19.52),Abdi Berleen (19.58), Henry Ricketts (20.50), Stephen Cheal (21.18), John Mackenzie (21.33), Dianne Crisp (22.15), Ray Rawlison (22.38), Chris Evans (23.03), Pete Whiting (23.17), Gerry Trill (23.27), Vinesh Komar (23.38), David Rowley (23.48), Sukhbinder Jandu (24.26), Mital Kotecha (25.25), Paul Cheal (27.08), Carol Muir (27.15), Gerry Pells (27.44).
     
     
    Three of the Ilford contingent had already warmed up by racing the same distance the previous FRiday in the Serpentine 5K at Hyde Park where a field of 228 toed the line in sunny but rather breezy conditions. Pam Jones (94.7%) and John Batchelor  (90.1%) were top lady and top man respectively on the age-graded calculations with Batchelor placing 25th overall in 18:58 and Pam again in consistent form with 24:37.  Nicola Hopkinson beat her time of the previous month, her 21:50, taking six seconds off her August mark and placing 12th out of the 56 ladies of all ages competing.
     
    Absentees from the weekends proceedings in the park were two other strong Ilford superveterans, Steve Parker and Peter Spelman. Parker ran the Waterfront Marathon in Toronto  recording 3hrs 21.19s gun time for 6th place in the 50-54 category. Spelman was competing over the same distance in Berlin and just missed out on a personal best finishing in 3 hours 25 minutes 24 seconds from memory just 7 seconds slower than his time in New York in 2006. Spelman reported that according to his Garmin he ran 43km rather than the 42.1 marathon distance. This was due to over 40,000 runners competing and many slower runners starting in front of him necessitating loads of overtaking in the early stages and hence the extra distance!  Conditions were good,no wind perhaps a little on the warm side.