General – Page 10 – Ilford Athletic Club

Press Report 20th June 2023

Jun 202023

ESSEX 5000m CHAMPIONSHIP
Ilford
Friday 16 June

Last Friday Ilford AC, in its centenary year, hosted the Essex 5000m Championships at its home track of Cricklefields,
It was a successful event with 6 medals including two individual County Golds.

For both men and women three titles were contested, the open, and the two masters categories of V40 and V50.

The ladies all ran in one heat; Neringa Masilioniene was first home for the club and first overall in the FV40 category: her time of 18:06.1 is a club all-time best over the distance for a V40 and second best all time time over the distance in Ilford’s 100 year history.
Next up was Jordan Hinds, fourth in the open category, with 18:26.8, a 44-second improvement over the distance. Anna Crawley ran a very good 21:17.6 for fifth in the open group. Jo Reeves came home in 23:29.2, which placed her fifth in the V40 category.

The club swept the podium in the V50 category: Gaye Young won the race with 23:20.6; Hannah Sheikh was second in 23:54.4 and Pauline Tester earned a bronze medal with a time of 24:08.4.

The Ilford men ran in 3 separate heats and took home two silver medals with Fabrizio Stefanoni running a well judged race to take 2nd in the M50 age group in 17min 50.7secs and Malcolm Muir giving 100% to take second in the M40 age category in 17 mins 01.4 secs.
Tom Gardner ran the fastest time for the club on the day recording 15 mins 37.7 secs in a very competitive men’s seniors event for 10th place
In the M50 group Steve Philcox finished in 18 mins 13.0 secs for fourth and Richard Woolterton with 19min 05.4secs for fifth.

Overall an excellent evening of sport, and an event very well organized by the club to mark its Centenary year.

Brading 10k

Prior to Malcolm’s excellent Silver in the Essex 5000m Champs he had ran in the Brading 10k the previous weekend and recorded an excellent time of 36 mins 32 secs to take 2nd place in the M40 category

Lap of the Gap Marathon

Over the weekend Diarmuid MacDonnell ran the ‘Lap of the Gap’ Marathon in Wicklow Eire.

Starting in Glendalough and heading on through the Wicklow Mountains, the race has over 800m of elevation.
Diarmuid was pleased with his time of 3 hours 21 minutes which placed him 9th out of 140 finishers

Press Report 13th June 2023

Jun 132023

HAVERING 5
Raphael Park Romford
Tuesday 6 June

There was a large turn out of 35 runners from Ilford AC in the Havering 5 mile, the second race of this summer’s Elvis competition, held on a fast 2 lap course in Raphael Park Romford.

Ilford were led home by Malcolm Muir in his usual all action style in 7th place and second in the M40 age category with a time of 28 mins 38 secs. Backing him up in 14th with a new personal best of 29 mins 51 secs for 14th was Berekhet Berakhy and Steve Philcox in 19th with 30 mins 07 secs for 2nd in the M50 grouping. Dan Holeyman came home 23rd with 31 mins 22 secs, while Richard Woolterton finished 31st in 31 mins 47 secs. Diarmuid Mac Donnell completed the scoring 6 with 32 mins 14 secs in 34th.
In the match the Ilford team was 3rd, the same as in the first fixture.

Making her debut for the club and finishing in 72nd place and 3rd female with a time of 35 mins 11 secs was Gemma Ellender.

Next home for the club were 4 Ilford ladies all finishing as a group within 5 seconds of each other.

Bree Nordin was the first of the group finishing 91st place in 37 mins 06 sec followed by Hannah Sheikh 92nd 37:08, Carlie Qirem 93rd 37:10 and Joanne Reeves 94th 37:11. The group were 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th females overall with Bree picking up 2nd in the FV60 category and Hannah 1st FV50

Alison Sale came in 115th and 23rd female in 38 mins 51 secs to close the team.

Like the men, the Ilford Ladies repeated their place from the first match placing second.

Jenni Sheehan ran well in her return to competitive running in 41 mins 26 secs for 149th place.

Neil Crisp won the M60 category award in 32 mins 52 secs and Nick West made his club debut finishing in a time of 36 mins 22 secs.

Also competing well in club colours outside of the scoring positions were:-

Men – Steve Crane ( 51 33.58) Dennis Briggs (74 35.28) Adam Coals ( 77 35.51) Dave Thomas (81 36.10) Steve Horsley (98 37.29) Joel Denning (105 37.49) Tony Young (121 39.22) Sean Costello (136 40.22) Batmanader Ramen (180 43.56) Sparra Everingham (242 52.09) Bradley Brown (260)

Ladies Mandy Reid (167 42.47) Dianne Crisp (192 44.55) Rachel Halpin (202 46.16) Beverley Thomas (220 48.09) Frieda Keane (228 49.47) Julia Galea ( 230 49.47) Launa Broadley (235 50.50) Carol Muir (244 53.34) Doris Gaga (248 56.15)

Southend Half
Sunday 11 June

A Dynamic Duo of Ilford AC members braved Hot sweltering conditions to race the Annual Southend Half-Marathon on Sunday !

In a West Ham field ‘(Massive’) of over 1,500 runners on a seafront course the two battled bravely against the elements with an out and back course adjacent to the seafront causing some runners to pass out in the oven-like conditions !

First home for the club was Terry Knightley in 86th Position for 93 Minutes and 29 Seconds and 2nd Male Veteran Over 60

Following him home was Adam Coals in 315th Place in 1 Hour 48 Minutes and 44 Seconds and 90th in the Male Veterans Over 40 category

All finishers received a wooden eco-friendly medal

Track

In a high quality British Milers Club Grand prix at Loughborough on Saturday night Essex Champion Farris Vakil ran in heat D of the 800m finishing 4th in a new personal best of 1 min 53.09 secs

Press Report 6th June 2023

Jun 062023

DAGENHAM ELVIS
Eastbrook End Country Park
Wednesday 24 May

Ilford AC fielded an impressive squad of 31, in a field of 270 runners in the opening match of this summer’s Elvis series and the team produced encouraging results.

Steve Horsley and Josh Adler made their debuts for the club and Dave and Beverley Thomas returned to the club after an absence of over 20 years.

The race was of a multi lap course of around 5 miles on the trials in Eastbrook End Country Park and Ilford’s Neringa Masilioniene was the clear winner of the lady’s section by almost 3 minutes in 30 mins 59 secs, finishing 12^th overall.

Backing her up in the ladies’ team were Anna Crawley 84^th, Alison Sale 111^th, Carlie Qirem who impressed after a while off in 119^th, Gaye Young 143^rd, Jenni Sheehan 152^nd, Mandy Reid 175^th, Dianne Crisp 192^nd, Sharon Honey 217^th, Beverley Thomas 231^st, Frieda Keane 236^th, Carol Muir 246^th and Doris Gaga 263^rd.

These performances placed the Ilford Ladies in 2^nd position in the league table after the opening fixture.

Malcolm Muir put in his usual energetic style to lead the Ilford men in 7^th place and 4^th in the M40 category in 29 mins 30secs. next home was the M50 age group winner Steve Philcox in 31mins 04 secs and Gary Coombes returned to action after 8 months out in 18^th spot.

Josh Adler was 22^nd while Danny Holeyman had a good run in 26th. Neil Crisp won the M60 age category with 31^st and completed the team which placed 3^rd on the day.

Backing up the men’s team were Joel Denning 46^th, John Crawley 49^th, Steve Chissell 57^th, Steve Crane 62^nd, Bradley Brown 87^th, Adam Coals 90^th, Andy Catton 118^th, Ramen125th, Sean Costello 135^th and Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham in 257th.

Hatfield Broad Oak 10km
Monday 29^th May

The 36th Hatfield Broad Oak 10km was held on a rural rolling figure of 8 course on closed roads around the picturesque village of Hatfield Broad Oak.

In a large field of nearly 1100 runners, Ilford AC had 7 runners representing the club.

First home with a very impressive time of 39:24 was Danny Holeyman in 18^th place.
Diarmuid MacDonnell was next home in 117^th place in a time of 41:03, followed by Adam Coals in 167th place in a time of 45:02.

Next followed our quartet of ladies who all put in very impressive performances on a warm day.

First home was Joanne Reeves in a time of 47:11 for 233^rd followed by Alison Sale in 375^th place in 50:12, Mandy Reid 591^st in 56:01 and Frieda Keane in 751^st in 1:00:17.

Gemma Ellender. who trains with the club’s endurance group, had an excellent race running a personal best of 43 mins 57 secs has she came home 137^th and 12^th lady.

Orion Forest 5
Saturday 3^rd June

The Forest 5 is a series of 3 races in Epping Forest, held on the first Saturday in June, July and August, the 3^rd of which incorporates the ‘Elvis’ race hosted by Orion Harriers.
The race was held on a warm sunny Saturday morning over a 1 lap 5-mile course which was dry and featured a few climbs.

Ilford AC had 7 runners representing the club including 4 of whom, Danny Holeyman, Alison Sale, Mandy Reid, and Frieda Keane, were competing in their 3^rd race in 10 days.

Danny Holeyman led the team home in 8^th place in 33 mins 19 secs and claimed 3^rd place in the M40 category, followed closely by Seb Parris in 14^th place in a time of 34:20.

Next home was Terry Knightley with his usual battling performance for 20^th place in 35:12 which placed him 2^nd in the M60 category.
Next home for the team was Raymond Dzikowski, returning to the club after a while, who finished in 31^st place in a time of 36:40. This was good enough to place Raymond 3^rd in his new age category as he was racing on his 60^th birthday.

Next came the trio of ever reliable Ilford ladies, all running well in the summer heat, Alison Sale 53^rd 41:07, Mandy Reid 61^st 43:30 and Frieda Keane 99^th 51:21

Press Report 31st May 2023

May 312023

Southern Counties VAC League

The first match in the Vets season was held at Lee Valley on Monday

The men’s team finished 3rd and the ladies team of three athletes did well to finish 5th.

The first track event was the 2000m walk where Neringa Aidietyte debuted as a Vet and comfortably won the V35 age group in 10.04.94. Lesley Morris backed this up with another win in the V50 age group in 14.29.59. Stuart Bennett also won the V50 age group in 12.09.98. Unfortunately Steve Crane was disqualified.

In the 100m, Sam Malekout returned to Vets competition and placed 3rd in 12.65 running as a V35. Henry Ricketts placed 5th in V50 with a time of 13.68. James Lambden placed 3rd in V60 timed at 14.8 and Dave Butler placed 4th in 18.74 as V70.

The age groups in the 400m were V35, V40 and V50. Sam Malekout ran really well to hold on for the win in the first age group in 57.61. Berekhet Berakhy debuted in the next age group placing 4th in 64.23. Henry Ricketts placed 8th in the final age group in 70.33.

Neringa was persuaded to run the 400m as a warm up for the middle distance event and won the V35 category in 73.77.

In the 1500m Neringa and Gaye van der Vyver competed as V35 and V50. Neringa topped off her fine evening with another victory in 5.23.79. Gaye battled to 4th place in 6.32.16.

The men had several athletes competing over 1500m but missed a trick in not fielding a V35 – a similar situation over the V40 100m. Danny Holeyman (V40) was pipped at the line to finish 6th in a time of 5.15.17. Berekhet as a non-scoring athlete finished in a time of 4.56.17. Fabrizio Stefanoni won V50 crossing the line in 4.52.67. Neil Crisp competed as V60 placing 3rd in 5.40.34. Dave Butler was a comfortable V70 age group winner in 5.45.55. Richard Woolterton and Andy Catton, both running as non-scoring athletes finished in 5.28.62 and 6.39.33 respectively.

In the field events Akwasi Nkrumah – another debutant – placed 4th with 7m in the V35 shot. Henry Ricketts placed 3rd in the V50 shot with 8m 20. Peter Whiting placed 3rd in the V60 hammer with 18m 99.

Closing the evening the men’s 4 x 100m of Akwasi, Henry, Fabrizio and Sam placed 3rd in 54.45 with Sam running well to hold off London Heathside

Eastern Young Athletes League (EYAL)

Ilford AC sent a team of 20 young athletes to the second EYAL match of the year in St Albans. Each event had two selected runners scoring points for the team along with races with non-scorers hoping to gain experience.

Three runners competed for in the under 13 girls age group two Neriah Anderson and Nora Nzurike were making their club debuts. Neriah came 3rd in the 100m and 4th in the 200m and 3rd in the Long Jump. She was backed up by B string runner Nayla Mills Ugoh who performed well coming 4th in the 100m in a new personal best, 4th in the 200m and 2nd in the long jump. Finally Nora, whose future may be in slightly longer distances came 5th in the 100m, 2nd in the 200m and also competed in the shot put.

In the under 15 girls we had regulars Kenina Nkurumah and Stacey Amaniampong. Stacey was 6th in the 100m and 5th in the 200m in a new personal best showing the value of her regular attendance over the winter training. She also had a great shot put, throwing 7.26m for second place. Kenina came 5th in the 100m in a new PB and then continued this form in the field jumping 4.14 in the long jump and competing in the Javelin, 6th in the 200m and 4th in the long jump only 2cm from 3rd place.

Finally for the girls was Anika Sharma in the under 17s who achieved new PBs in the 300m and 800m and also competed in the long jump.

The club had only one athlete in the Under 13 boys but he covered two difficult events. On his debut for the club and debut on the track Barney Perkins ran 2.38 for the 800m to finish 3rd and then a few hours later came 4th in the 1500m. Great endurance and great promise for the future.

The under 15 boys were well represented. In the sprints Danthika Hennadigecame 3rd in the 100m and 2nd in the 200m. Jaydan Roberts Edwards showed his speed finishing 4rd in the 100m, 5th in the 200m in a new PB and also jumped 4.66m for a new long jump PB. They were well supported but strong performances from Damien Amaniampong who ran a 100m PB to win the non-scorer race and Jaskirat Singh who on debut came 2nd on the 100m and competed well in the shot put

Jayden Mcdermott and Luke Thake continue to show their range over a number of events. Both ran big PBs in the 800m and performed well in the 300m and shot put.

Sam Horsley had his debut 1500 and moved to 7th on the all-time list for the club with a fantastic time of 4.26.7 to finish in 2nd place. He was well supported by Aron Berhe and Ryder Islam who also ran PBs for the distance. Sam and Aron also competed in the Javelin with Aron throwing a best of 22.81m

In the under 17s Ian Johnson ran 11.3secs in the 100m and 23.4 in the 200m to win and break his personal best in both events. Like Sam this puts Ian in the top 30 all-time club times for his age group.

James Thake gained further experience over the shorter distances after a busy weekend coming 3rd in the 400m.

Aaron Hick had a really strong race in the 1500m coming second in new personal best after staying with the lead group all the way and showing his customary strong finish. Samuel Crane came 3rd in the B string for this event

Another great day for all the club! Thanks to the coaches, parents and volunteers who help the youngsters to show their best.

Press Report 23rd May 2023

May 222023

Southern League
20 May 2023
Braintree

Ilford produced a great performance in their opening Southern League Match at Braintree at the weekend, having an all day battle with Harlow, and narrowly missing out on their first league victory in nearly 20 years. Ilford’s team had a mixture of young athletes making their debut, experienced veterans and athletes running from injury.

Star performer of the day was Jordan Hinds. She started off the day, with a comfortable front running win in the 800m, followed an hour later with winning the 400m, less than 1/10th of a second outside pb. Not finished for the day, she ran a perfect tactical 1500m, not only winning, but reducing her pb by 5 seconds with a time of 4.53.1. She also reluctantly threw the discus which gained 3 more points.

Sam Malekout made a welcome return to the team and had his usual haul of points which included, winning the A string Javelin, second placed in both the Shot and discus and 4th in the pole vault. Akwasi Nkrumah despite an injury was another who took on multiple events, with 2nd places in both the 400m hurdles and flat 400m, and then winning the B string pole vault. Pete Whiting came out of his winter hibernation to gain valuable events in the field with 2nd places in both the B string Javelin and discus, and then 3rd place in the B sting hammer. Making up the throwing side of the men’s team was Nat senior who won the A string shot and Wes Clarke who was 3rd in the A string hammer.

On the women’s side the sprinters were very impressive; Ellie Wright continues her great start to the season, by winning the A string 100m, and the B string 200m. With the 100m time being won in a legal Pb of 12.5 seconds. Krystle Balogun continues to rack up the Southern League points for Ilford and this time she won the A string 200m, the non scoring 100m and took 2nd in the A string shot putt. Ayshah Lawrence joined Krystle in the shot and in her first attempt at the discipline, took 2nd in the B string. Prior to this Ayshah, came 3rd in the A string 100m and came second in the non scoring 200m. Anna crawley made up the women’s team and ran really well in taking 4th in the 3000m and a great 2nd in the B string 1500m, before trying her hand at discus and taking 3rd in the A string.

Ilford also scored valuable points in the men’s sprints. Jordon Duncan took 3rd place in the A string 100m, and 2nd in the A string 200m. Malachi Harley ran his best time for 2 years in winning the B string 100m in 11.6. Wanya Williams was impressive in winning the B string 200m, and ran a pb of 11.4 in the non scoring 100m. These three along with Oliver Blainey were dominate in winning the men’s 4x 100m. Young Jeremiah Brown ran 2 non scoring events running a pb of 11.7 in the 100m. Earlier in the day, he had competed in the High jump for the first time and cleared an impressive 1m 55. Oliver Blainey easily won the A string 400m in a time of 53.6 seconds.

Youngsters James Thake and Aaron Hick both made their league debuts, James ran a very controlled race to win the A string 800m in 2.07.7, before with a bit of persuading from the team manager he took part in the Long jump and 3rd in the A string. Aaron completed the same double and was second in the B string 800m and 3rd in the B string long jump.

The Edwards brothers Rhys and Ronan also doubled up, their first event being the 1500m, where Ronan won the Edwards brothers champs and took second place in the A string, with Rhys taking 4th in the B string. Rhys got his revenge in the triple jump where he won the A string in 11m 38, not to be out done Ronan won the B string with 9m 38.

The long middle distance events were contested by some of Ilford’s older middle distance runners. Tom Gardner ran a very clever tactical race in the 300om, always near the front of the field; he was just out kicked in the final straight, but gained valuable points in 2nd place. Fabrizio Stefanoni ran well to finish 3rd in the B string 3000m.

Malcolm Muir a survivor from the last time, Ilford came 2nd in a southern League match, had a great run in an eventful steeplechase, leading from the front, his aggressive running made up for his unusual technique. He ran away from the field for a great win. Earlier in the day, he had placed second in the B string 400m hurdles.

The final vent of the day was the men’s 4x 400m and Ilford’s team of James, Jordon, Ronan and Oliver were impressive winners by over 30 seconds.

Hackney Half Marathon
21st May

The Hackney Half Marathon is one of London’s newest, and largest halves with a record 19,800 athletes congregating on Hackney marshes for the early start.

The route skirts parks and the major roads through Hackney, which are all closed to traffic, before winding its way back to Hackney Marshes.

Despite the early start the heat was intense as the race got going and there were quite a few runners who did not complete the distance

Fortunately Ilford’s sole competitor was made of much sterner stuff, and coming on the back of his recent Manchester Marathon, Dennis Briggs had a very impressive run to complete the course in 1:36:53 which placed him 67th in his age category

Asics Golden run
Sao Paulo

Ilford Veteran Tony Young is currently spending a few weeks in Brazil and whilst out there decided to take in the ‘Asics Golden run’ festival in Sao Paulo.
A range of distances were on offer in the yearly running event and Tony Young took on the 10k distance. In a field of over 2,500 runners Tony, proudly wearing his Ilford AC vest, finished in a time of 49m 20s which placed him 322nd and 6th in his age grading.