Ilford AC Press Report 27th April 2021  

Apr 272021
 

Five intrepid Ilford AC middle distance runners competed at a local open meeting over various distances. Conditions on the day were cold and windy, which in theory meant times would be slower, however the Ilford squad proved otherwise. First up Joseph Grange (13) ran in the 1500m A race against numerous local rivals.

Joseph finished in 6th place achieving a new PB of 4:33.90.

Joseph’s dad and club team mate won the 600m later in the day setting a M40 British best time for 2021 of 1:23:88. Windy  conditions did not stop Dylan Harrod from running a very fast U20s time of 1:31:26 placing 3rd..

Next up was two club teammates Jak Wright elder brother to Joseph and Bradley Deacon both trying their best in awfully blustery conditions to beat the 2 minuite barrier for 800m while having an even bigger battle during the race against each other.

Jak led from the gun and commanded the first of the two nail biting laps. Bradley took the lead during the back straight of the second lap. Jak tried to keep with Bradley but Bradley pou red on the pressure and created distance between the them. Jak however managed to get close enough to Bradley to attack on the finishing straight. We all thought Jak’s hopes of winning the race were over and that Bradley would be victorious but somehow while running neck and neck along the 100m finishing straight Jak managed to edge himself into the lead and just out lean Bradley on the line. The battle was over but both had narrowly missed out on their milestone of breaking 2 with times of 2:00:65 and 2:00:73 respectively.

Both running new PB’s along the way. Also running the 800 was Veteran Bradley Brown who recorded a time of 3.04.8

Elsewhere over at Lee Valley Rhys Edwards started his summer campaign with a trip (not literally) over 400m hurdles.

After an impromptu training session with coach Wayne Hick just two days previously, Rhys stated his aim was to run between 68-70 seconds. He was therefore very pleased to run an impressive 63.74, which places him in 10th position in the Under 20 UK rankings. A remarkable achievement in his debut at the discpline. The future looks very bright for Rhys.

Open meeting
Mayesbrook
25th April

Kicking off the early races was Fidunu Abidekun. In his first race as an U20 he clocked a windy but nonetheless impressive 10.80 in the 100m and has sights set on the long standing U20M club record of 10.6 from 1964! On the Women’s side Ellie Wright ran her first race since 2019 and ran her fastest time ever in the 200m (26.93). Krystle Balogun opened up her season with a solid 100m/200m double despite some tough lane draws. Elsewhere Efe Adjarho and Wanya Williams competed in 100m and 200m respectively and managed to shake off a long hiatus from competition. As meetings look set to continue thick and fast, the sprints squad hope to improve upon their form into the rest of the year with focus on SAL meetings and the delayed County Championships.

 

 

CHINGFORD LEAGUE RELAYS
Central Park Dagenham
Saturday 17 April

The Chingford League season which has been shortened by the Covid pandemic concluded with the 4 x 2 mile cross-country relay in Central Park and Eastbrook End Country Park Dagenham. It was an excellent initial season in the competition for Ilford AC with both the mens and ladies teams gaining promotion to division one as champions of the second tier.

Ilford entered 4 mens and 3 ladies teams into the race and all 4 mens teams finished second in their category to a strong Trent Park Runners line up.

The Ilford A, which was made up of 4 runners in the junior men (under-20 age category, was set off by Aaron Samuel in 10 mins 45 secs in second with Rhys Edwards dropped to 3rd on the second leg with 11 mins 09 sec. Bradley Deacon regained 2nd on his leg in 10 mins 54 secs with Jak Wright anchoring the team home in 10 mins 41 secs to finish 2nd in the overall race, but easily won the division 2 title for the season..

The B team was led off by Paul Grange in 10 mins 30 secs, the second fastest time of the day, with the team completed by Dan Holeyman (12.15) John Crawley (12.34) and Steve Philcox (12.17) to finish second B team on the day.

In the C team were Wayne Hick (13.49) Dennis Briggs (14.24)  Adam Coals (13.26) and Diarmuid Mac Donnell (13.08) who were the second placed C team.

The D team also finished second in their category were made up of Trevor Robinson (18.21)  Tony Young (14.35) Ed Skinner (17.18) and Rob Sargent (17.29)

Anna Crawley was on the first leg in 14 mins 30 secs coming home 6th. Jordan Hinds moved the team up to 5th on the next leg in 14 mins 14 secs. Bree Nordin was up next recording 14 mins 50 secs for 6th at the change over. Amy-Loise Bird had a storming run on the anchor finishing in 13 mins 40 secs moving the team upto 4th in the event and they finished top in the division 2 match for the season.

The B team of Gaye Young )15.48_ Mandy Reid (17.53) Mel Jones (15.43) and Pauline Tester (16.39) for 4th in their category. while the team of Sharon Honey (20.08) Frieda Keane (18.37) Nicola Hopkinson (17.42) and Pramila Munro (18.21) placed 1st C team on the day.

The organisers of the League have done a great job over the winter to stage the 4 league races with the Covid restrictions in force on the day of the event.

 

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