Press Report 7th March 2023  

British Masters Indoor Championships
(18-19th February) (Sheffield)

Krystle Balogun put on a strong showing in winning a Bronze medal in a closely contested W35 200m final at the recent British Masters Indoor Championship that took place in Sheffield. Despite an interrupted start to her season due to nagging injuries, she showed her championship prowess in setting a new indoor personal best of 26.49 seconds to win her fourth national medal at Masters level in the last year.

Essex and Eastern Indoor Championships
(4-5th March) Lee Valley

The Essex and Eastern Indoor Championships took place last weekend, with some outstanding performances and results from Ilfords athletes, including 7 medals.
Krystle Balogun continued with the fine form she has been showing of late with a Gold medal for the 60m V35 final in 8:39 and a Silver medal in the Senior 200m final in 26.83.
Paul Grange doubled in the senior men’s races winning the 1500m in 4:23.19 and finishing a strong second, although gaining an Essex Gold in a season’s best time in the 800m in 1:56.45 to add to his medal tally.
Dylan Harrod ran in the U20’s 800m with hopes of a medal finish after a good winter’s training. He ran well to claim the silver medal in a good indoor time of 2.04.97
Oliver Blainey, gained a Bronze medal in the U20 400m final in 52:43.
Joseph Grange gained further indoor experience for future year’s competition finishing with a Bronze Essex medal in the U17 1500m final in 4:21.93

Although finishing outside the medal positions there were still very impressive performances from Malachi Harley 5th 60m Snr final 7.33, Aleena Lawrence 8.39 in the U20 60m heats and Wayna Williams 24.97 in the 200m senior heats

ESSEX 20 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Carver Barracks Saffron Walden
Sunday 5 March

The Essex 20 mile road running championships were held on a cold morning on the disused airfield at Carver Barracks near Saffron Walden. The race consisted of 5 4 mile laps and the squad from Ilford Ac, who are all preparing for a spring marathon, produced good results, with three individual medals, 3 personal best performances and included 4 runners acing the distance for the first time.

Paul Holloway took home the Essex title in the M55 age category with a time of 2 hrs 6 mins 48 secs in 25th place. Gaye Young improved her best time for the distance by over 8 minutes to take 2nd in the F50 group and win the silver medal in 2 hrs 55 mins exactly in 30th in the female championship. Gaye will be taking part in the Manchester marathon in April.
There was a bronze for Terry Knightley in the M60 age group with 2 hrs 24 mins 09 secs.

Sam Rahman is looking in good shape to break his target of 2 hrs 56 mins in the Boston Marathon later this Spring, as he improved his personal best in the 20 mile distance to 2hrs 05 mins 02 secs for 20th overall and just missed out on a medal, placing 4th in the M40 category.
Also setting a new best time for 20 miles was Dennis Briggs, who is also taking part in the Manchester marathon, with 2 hrs 31 mins 05 secs for 88th spot in the Essex Championship.

The Ilford runners running the distance for the first time are all taking part in the London Marathon . Richard Woolterton recorded 2hrs 19mins 08 secs, Sean Costello 3 hrs 08 mins 54 secs, Mandy Reid 3 hrs 12 mins 01 secs and Batmanaden Ramen 3 hrs 21 mins 59 secs

Trafford 10k
5th March

The Trafford 10K. One of the UK’s most popular and quickest 10K’s for club runners, with elites traveling from all over Europe to run this super-fast course.
The one lap course is perfect for fast times ran on scenic country roads starting and finishing in Partington near to Manchester.
This year’s race saw Brother and Sister team Malcolm and Carol Muir heading North for the race with Malcolm finishing in 38:17 for 455th position and Carol coming home in 1:04.43 for 1200th position

London Half Marathon
Olympic Park
5th March

Dara O’Cuireain, who has recently started training with Ilford AC, showed great potential for his future as a member of the club recording 1 hr 27 min 23 seconds, finishing in 88th place in a large field, just 37 seconds behind in 1 hr 28 minutes was Craig Livermore