Press Report 11th March 2025  

CHINGFORD LEAGUE RELAYS
Wanstead Flats
Sat 8th March

SENIORS
The final cross-country fixture of the winter was held at Wanstead Flats on a bright spring morning. The race is over 4 legs of a 3000m course around the edge of the Flats.
Ilford AC entered 4 senior men’s teams and one ladies quartet

The Ilford Men’s A team were led off by Josh Adler who recorded 11 mins 38 secs for his leg before passing on to Sam Crane 11 mins 29 secs with James Thake 12 mins 10 secs on the third leg and Fabrizio Stefanoni anchored the team in 12 mins 30 secs giving them a total time of 47 mins 47 secs and 8th place overall which placed them 3rd in the division 2 match.
This result confirmed that the Ilford team had won the 2nd division of the league and will be promoted to the top tier next season.

Seb Parris led off the B team in 12 mins 38 secs with Sam Joseph 12.22), Donogh Hurley 12.37 and Minel Vigo completing the B team who placed 10th overall in 49 mins 36 secs

The third Ilford team was made up of young athletes with Ryder Islam 12.05,  Luke Thake 13.03  Barney Perkins 13.21  and Fabio Reina 12.08 finishing in an excellent 14th place.

Ilford also had a team made up of masters athletes, the quartet of  Neil Crisp 13.45  Steve Crane 14.31,  Steve Chissell 14.01 and Jim Tilbrook 16.22 came home 38th in the field

Steve Chissell was placed second in the M60 age category for the entire league season and won the silver award.

The Ilford ladies team of Alison Sale 16.08, Dianne Crisp 18.53, Frieda Keane 19.09 and Pauline Tester 17.44 finished 23rd in the ladies event which gave them 8th place in the division 1 match.
Over the season they also finished 8th in the league and next winter will compete in division 2.

JUNIORS
16 of Ilford Junior athletes took part in the Chingford league relays held on a bright sunny morning at Wanstead Flats
Teams of 4 athletes ran 2km or 3.2km legs depending on their age category.

U11/13 girls were led off by Sophie Lawes who ran a great time of 9.48m handing over to teammate Alicia Adams who managed to gain 2 places clocking 10.03m before handing over to D.L. Majen-Akande, who produced a solid run of 10.09 m before handing over to last leg runner Iris Wan. Iris produced another consistent run equaling D.L. ‘s time of 10.09m finishing in overall 5th position, just 20 seconds off the medal places.
This team of junior girls have been a credit to Ilford AC with some great performances this winter and we look forward to their continued improvement.

U11/13  A team boys proved to be the most successful of the teams with a fantastic second place securing well deserved silver medals
Danilo Reina timed at 8.41m handing over in second place to ever consistent Caleb Singleton recording a time of 9.03m for third place Elias Furreedan took on the third leg with his usual determination and completed in a great time of 9.04m handing over to last leg runner Khalif Ali in 5th place. Khalif produced another great run with an outstanding last leg of 8.19m to overhaul three rivals and secure a well deserved silver for the team.

U11/13 boys B team produced a brilliant performance to finish in 9th place overall
First leg runner Daniel Guiba ran a strong first leg of 10.13m handing over in 8 th position to debutant runner Alfred Nelson  who produced a fine first performance of 9.44m before passing on to third leg runner Hashim Khan who produced a season’s best run of 9.28m making up one place before handing on to last leg runner Ewan McKinstry who ran a brilliant last leg of 9.25m making up three places to secure overall 9th place for the team .

These were great performances by the youngsters who had to mix and match the age groups with three U11s running against older athletes.

Amazingly Ilford’s U15/17 had to compete in the men’s competition, apparently due to a lack of U15 age groups teams entering, thus denying the team their chance of glory in their correct age groups.
A combined U15/17 team took on the challenge a produced some great performances
A leg runner Ryder Islam handed over to teammate Luke Thake after a fine run of 12.05 for the 3.2km leg. Luke worked really hard on the second leg producing a good time of 13.03m before handing over to teammate Barney Perkins for the third leg . As usual Barney gave his all for the team and produced another gritty run of 13.21m before handing over to last leg runner and ever improving teammate Fabio Reina who moved through the field and finished in a great time of 12.08m . Great credit must be given to this team who undoubtedly would have been amongst the medals if they had competed in their true age category.

This relay competition signifies the end of the Chingford league series which saw Ilford’s Juniors enjoy great success.

Barney Perkins was the overall series U15 champion and U13 runner Khali Ali was 3rd overall as was Ryder Islam in the U17s

Great season from everyone. Special thanks to our athletes and supporters for getting to these fixtures and competing in some very difficult conditions

PADDOCK WOOD HALF MARATHON
Sunday 9th March

This popular race in Kent had 2400 finishers and this year incorporated the British Masters Half Marathon Championship. The race is a one lap rural route over a fast flat course and was held on a sunny spring morning.

Ilford AC had two finishers in the race. Dave Thomas had a great run although tiring a little in the last couple of miles in the warm conditions. He crossed the line in 1 hour 32 mins 42 secs in 534th spot. The performance earned him 3rd place in the British Masters M65 age category and a bronze medal.
Launa Broadley recorded 2hrs 22 mins 40 secs, a time under a minute away from her personal best, placing her 9th in the British Masters Championship

Ilford also had Bev Thomas and Rob Sargent entered in the race but neither were able to take part due to injury