Press Report 24th September 2019
South of England 6 stage road relay champs
Crystal Palace
Sunday 22nd September
Ilford AC put out a team in these prestigious championships on Sunday for the first time since 2011
With a mix of youth and experience, and an age spread of 30 years, Ilford gave an excellent account of themselves
Paul Grange led the team out on a very competitive opening leg in 18:36 for 52nd Place
On leg 2 Oscar Peris on his debut at this event slipped to 56th place in 19:24
On leg 3 Ahmed Abdulle move us up 21 places with an excellent 17:03 to place the team in 35th Place
Leg 4 the youngest member of the team Mungo Prior held on to 35th Place in 19:11.
Leg 5 Alex Richards moved up 4 places with the team’s second fastest time in 18:20 for 31st place
On leg 6 anchor leg man Malcolm Muir although dropping one place put in his normal solid run in 19:31, with the team finishing in 32nd place from a field of 86 teams
Overall a very good performance by the men’s team, and it was agreed that we would be back next year with more teams.
Ingatestone 5
Sunday 22 September
There were 9 Ilford Ac runners in this long established race.
The race takes place on a challenging course starting from the Anglos-European school in Willow Green, taking in Fryerning and a challenging Beggar Hill before heading back to the finish at the back of the school.
Best for the team was Steve Philcox in 6th spot with 30 mins 40 secs which won him the M50 category title. Next home was Terry Knightley in 20th with 33 mins 19 secs, while Alan Pearl came home in 37 mins 05 secs for 51st. Club stalwart Andy Catton recorded 37 mins 50 secs in 66th followed closely by Tony Young, who put in a good performance for 66th place in a time of 38:46.
Julia Galea was best for the ladies in 103rd overall with 46 mins 22 secs and 1st place in the F55 grouping. Frieda Keane found the hill at 4 miles tough finishing 146th with 48 mins 20 secs and Carol Muir placed 161st in 50 mins 23 secs. Completing the squad was Julie Gillender in 181st and a time of 55 mins 49 secs.
Run a mile in my shoes
Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth
Thursday 19th September
Although club Captain Billy Green was away for a week, he still found an opportunity to race.
Billy attended the ‘Elvis Festival’ in Yarmouth, and one of the many activities on offer was the ‘Run a mile in my shoes’ race around the holiday park (a play on words on the Elvis song ‘Walk a mile in my shoes’)
Billy had a strong start and soon found himself out on his own, eventually winning his first ever race in a time of 7 mins 40 seconds – over 3 minutes in front of his closest rival!
