Saucony English National XC Championships Parliament hills Fields Saturday 24th February A small contingent of Ilford youngsters made their way to the “Home” of Cross Country last Saturday to take on the best young Cross country runners in the country. The course was a little drier than in previous years and the sun was out, but it was bitterly cold and the famed Parliament ‘hills’ always provide a challenge. In fields of over 500 runners Jak Wright battled well for a 170th place 17:43, followed shortly after by Bradley Deacon for 224th and 18:13 on the 4.5k course for the U15boys age category. Jordan Hinds continues to improve and was pleased with her 235th place in 24:59 in the U17 Women …Read More

As part of their preparation for the final cross country race of the season Ilford Young athletes competed in the Valentines Park Run on Saturday morning. Aaron Samuel whose last two races have been effected by a bad cold showed that he was right back to form, by leading all the way and finishing in first place, a full minute ahead of the second place runner in a time of 17.28. Aaron’s time was a course record for his age category at the Valentines Park run. Next home in 4th place was Jak Wright, who ran his best parkrun time and broke 19 minutes for the first time with 18.47. Bradley Deacon had a great run in 5th place, knocking 52 seconds off his …Read More

ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE Gloucester Park Basildon Saturday 10 February After a few days of rain it was a very muddy course that greeted the runners for the final Essex League fixture of the season at Basildon on Saturday. This was a real cross country test, with repeated ascents and descents in the mud. First up on the day, before the seniors races, was Matthew Hick in the Under 13 race. Matthew has hit a bit of form in the last few weeks and his confidence was high and this showed on the day with a fantastic 8th place in a time of 12:35 for the 3.3k course