Press Report 16th July 2018  

VAC 5km Championship (Vets AC)
Battersea Park
10th July

Ilford AC sent a large team of 9 runners down to Battersea Park for the Vets AC 5km Championships and came home with four age graded Bronze medals and a single Gold medal.
First home for Ilford, and first medal of the day was Steve Philcox for 4th place in 17:16 and 3rd M50. Steve was closely followed by Gary Coombes in 10th place in 18:00 amd 3rd M45.
Other finishers, who all performed well on the day were Rohan Alexander 16th place 20:14 5th M50, Steve Parker 28th 23:02 3rd M60, Trevor Robinson 33rd 23:42 4th M45, Rob Sargent 41st 25:55 6th M60, Doris Gaga 47th 27:56 3rd F50, Julie Gillender 53rd 31:09 4th F50 and Pam Jones who took home the F80 GOLD medal for 56th place in 33:11

100km ‘Race to the Stones’ Ultra Marathon
Berkshire and Wiltshire
14th and 15th July

The ‘Race to the Stones’ is a 100k ultra marathon that starts in Lewknor Oxfordshire and follows the Ridgeway path, which is recognised as the oldest path in the UK.
This race, which takes place over 2 days, was attended by over 2,000 ultra marathoners from over the country including Ilford AC’s very own Carlie Qirem.
The path, once trod by Vikings and Romans is lined with Bronze age hill forts and Roman River crossings and culminates at the largest neolithic stone circle in Europe that dates back to 2,500BC  at Avebury Wiltshire.
Although very scenic, the route includes over 4,000ft of climb which, combined with the heat, made this endurance event even more enduring!
Carlie put in a fantastic effort to finish 88th over the 2 days, and 17th Senior female in a time of 14 Hours and 49 minutes.

Orion Forest 5
Chingford
14th July

2 Ilford runners, Gary Coombes and Steve Philcox, competed in the second leg of the 3 race Orion Forest 5 series on Saturday. This was the 29th time the race has been run after originally being organised to help raise funds for the host club, Orion Harriers.

The 5 mile multi terrain course is a hilly and challenging one that takes place within Epping Forest.
Steve Philcox led the Ilford pair for most of the way, but was unlucky to suffer a nasty fall after the 3rd mile during a section of the race in which runners have to run into a densely wooded area.

Gary, adopting the attitude that all is fair in love and war, took this opportunity to get in front and managed to hold on until the end of the race despite at one point having to take evasive action to avoid a herd of horned cattle who had been startled by the lead runners into a mini stampede!

Gary Coombes finished in 12th place and was first V45 male in a time of 30:14 with Steve Philcox following closely behind in 16th place and first V50 male in a time of 30:56

Essex Cross Country 10K Series
Thorndon Country Park
14 July 2018

Danny Holeyman headed to the outskirts of Brentwood to run the third race of the five race series on a course that the organisers were describing as “challenging” due to the inclusion of several long hills.
Running the majority of the course more or less “solo” with the leading pack of four in front out of sight and the remaining competition quite a way behind, Danny Holeyman done well to follow the occasional markers to ensure he didn’t take a wrong turn in the shaded woods and go off course. Despite the uncertainty of the course and the hot conditions, Danny Holeyman managed to finish in 5th place overall out of a field of 169 in 42.47 minutes and was 2nd in the V40 male category.

British 10k
15th July

The British 10k is one of the largest 10k’s in Britain attracting over 14,000 runners including 2 this year from Ilford AC, Adi Patil and Billy Green.
The race takes runners through Central London, traffic free, and takes in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.
En route the runners pass several bands and large union jacks draping the streets.
Sunday’s race was held on an intensely hot sunny day that suited the spectators far more than it did the runners.
Both Ilford runners ran conservatively in the heat, with Adi Patil finishing in a time of 48:59 for 1318th place and Billy Green coming home in 51:19 for 1928th place.