Newspage

26th December 2011
Warm, snow free conditions greeted twelve hardy souls at the 3^rd annual Ilford Ac boxing day handicap. The 5k event which attempts to have all runners finish at the same time, saw ex president Les Hislop lead off the field with a 5 minute advantage over the next runners. The handicaps were loosely based on the individuals best 5k time of the year, with the fastest runners going off last, which meant that the last man Ben Jones started a full 14 minutes 30 behind Hislop.

Hislop made the most of his generous handicap and maintained his lead the whole way round the course to finish in first place 31.44, he was chased down all the way by a fast finishing Mel Jones who had reduced Les’s 5 minute lead down to just 27 seconds as she crossed the finishing line in second place. Jones’ time was 27.09

Further down the field, Ben was ploughing his way through the mud, passing most of the athletes in front of him in a course record time of 19.29. This had enabled him to move through from 12^th to 3^rd place overall.

The women’s course record was also broken by Jenni Sheehan who finished in 8^th place with a time of 26.27.

Full Results were.

Finishing Time Handicap Net Time

1. Les Hislop 31.44 0 31.44

2. Mel Jones 32.09 5 27.09

3. Ben Jones 33.59 14.30 19.29

4. Kevin Newall 34.02 13.30 20.32

5. Steve Philcox 34.07 14.00 20.07

6. Neil Crisp 34.33 13.00 21.33

7. Frank Mcgowan34.46 12.00 22.46

8. Jenni Sheehan 35.57 9.30 26.27

9. Peter Spelman 36.08 10.00 26.08

10. Nat Crisp 36.26 5 31.26

11. Di Crisp 36.33 10.00 26.33

12. Rob Sargent 37.10 11.00 26.10

11th December 2011
Essex Vet 50 Road Running Champion, Terry Knightley of Ilford AC galloped into first place at the Southend 5 mile Reindeer Run on Sunday 11^th December in a respectable 26:14. Dashing along the Promenade, Terry lead a seasonal festive band of 300 runners dressed as Santa, Christmas Trees, Elves and Rudolph over the flat, fast, slightly short course kicking Alex Masterson of Southend AC (26:36) and Simon Seigar of Woodford Green and Essex Ladies (27:54) into 2nd and 3^rd place. This family event, raising funds for The Children’s Trust, started with a 1 mile Rudolph Scurry and ended with much fun as the finishers received Rudolph medals and enjoyed mulled wine, Christmas puddings and mince pies.

4th December 2011
Golden Moments for the Golden Oldies!

Last Saturday saw the annual Essex Veterans Championships hosted by Ilford AC at Hainault Forest Country Park. After a damp start the sun came out in readiness for the start of the first race which comprised of the Ladies and over 50 Men, both held over a challenging 2 lap course.

In the Male Over 50 race Iain Campbell, running a commanding pace, won by 35secs in a time of 32.04. Next home was Terry Knightley in 17th [37.21], Andy Catton 24th [37.52]] and Stephen Parker, closing the team in 60th [42.28]. This was good enough for 5th team overall. . Other Ilford finishers were, James O’Brien 50th [41.15], Steve Cheal 74th [43.47], Martin Clarke 86th [46.02] and Graham Williams 98th [48.18].

The women’s race was won in an outstanding performance by Debbie Appleton with a storming run in a time of 34.19. First in for Ilford was Dianne Crisp in 27th [43.16], closely followed by Nicola Hopkinson, who has had a break from competing in 45th [45.36], a strong run by Eileen Sheridan placed her 54th [47.04] in her second outing over a cross country course. Closing the team with a solid performance was Sally Gillam in 63rd [49.53]. This placed the ladies as 8th team. Pam Jones was 73rd in a time of 52.52 which was good enough for the gold medal in her age group.

In the over 40 men’s race, run over the same course, Spencer Hempsted gave a great performance and was victorious in a time of 32.20, next with another good run was Ray Dzikowski in 7th [33.21], Stephen Philcox was 16th in 34.38 and Neil Crisp closed the team in 25th [35.10], which was only 5 points behind the winning team. So the men brought home the silver medal for the club.

Thanks must also go to all the preparation by our Chairman, Robin Davis without whom the event wouldn’t have happened. Big thanks go to Marion Macdonald and Doreen Sparrow for the essential after race refreshments. Not forgetting all the Marshalls and Essex AAA’s for all their help.

21st November 2011

7th Place for Ladies

Last Saturday saw a team of 8 Ilford AC runners make the trip to the third Essex League Cross Country race of the season at Hadleigh Downs. The weather was bright and sunny, which is a welcome condition for a cross country race. The course itself, which was 6.3k for the Senior Ladies and 8.2k for the Senior Men, had changed from previous years, but was just as challenging with a couple of steep climbs, uneven ground and a drag up to the finish.

Dianne Crisp, who is running well, was first home in the Senior Ladies race in 34th position with a time of 30.54. Jenni Sheehan came home in 38th place in a time of 31.33, followed by Eileen Sheridan who was strong in her first ever cross country race, in 48th place with a time of 33.00. Closing the team was Pam Jones in 60th position in a time of 36.30. The complete ladies team came 7th out of 16 teams.

In the men's race, Kevin Newell was the first Ilford vest to cross the line in 55th position with a time of 32.53. Neil Crisp was next home in 70th position in a time of 34.00, followed by Andy Catton in 93rd position in a time of 36.01. Steve Cheal finished in 150th position in a field of 174 runners, in a time of 42.14.

11th November 2011
Vets For Victory

Ilford AC’s Vets achieved phenomenal results in the undulating Billericay 10K on Sunday 6^th November. Despite the windy conditions and steep inclines at the start , Dianne Crisp achieved 1^st Vet 45 in 46.31 (176^th) with Graham Williams claiming 1^st Vet 70 in 49.01 (250^th) and the perennial Pam Jones attaining 1^st Vet 65 in 53.23 (401^st). Elsewhere Iain James Knight, slowly recuperating to top fitness, led the team home in 5^th place with a time of 35.30. Club captain Kevin Newell, performed well in spite of an injury and followed through in 12^th position in 36.50. A minute later, Neil Crisp was next in 23^rd scorer in 37:48.

Other Ilford positions and times were Steve Allen 155^th 45:16, Jenni Sheehan 199^th 47:21, Eileen Sheridan 368^th 52:19, Carol Muir 544^th 58:57,

The race was won by Basildon’s Andrew law in 34.16.

30th October 2011
Last Saturday saw the Ilford AC’s Mens squad make the short journey to the newly built Basildon Sporting Village at Gloucester Park. Whilst the venue was new the same challenging mixture of fast flat playing fields and the notorious man-made hill which had to be negotiated 3 times every lap remained!! The team finished in a very creditable 5^th place. Tom Gardner, admitting that he was not back to his best, lead the team home in 5^th place. Alex Richards, continued his fine form and was next in 17^th. Spencer Hempsted, mixing with the best of the vets in Essex, was next in 22^nd. Ben Jones [31^st], Kevin Newell [47^th] and Neil Crisp [60^th] , all feeling the effects of the hills closed the team. Other performances were Andy Catton [95^th], Jack Webb [111^th], Tony Nixon [117^th] and Steve Cheal [149^th]. The race was won by Southend’s Adam Hickey.

In the Men’s U17 race young Tom King, despite suffering with a back problem, stuck to the task and finished in 27^th. In the Senior Ladies race Dianne ran a steady race to finish in 36^th place.

10th October 2011

Ilford AC's Men's squad capped an excellent year on the roads by taking the Essex AAAs series gold in the final championship race of the Grand Prix, the Tiptree 10 miles, on Sunday morning. The team of Spencer Hempsted, 10th in 58.55, Malcolm Muir, 12th in 59.03, and Kevin Newell, 18th in 60.07 put in a performance good enough to eclipse current holders Springfield Striders yet had to narrowly settle for Essex team silver on the day to a very strong squad from Orion Harriers. Hempsted's run also earned him an individual silver in the male over 40s category while Muir proved he is on the comeback trail following a summer break and Newell weighed in with a personal best for the distance. The team had plenty of backup in the form of Steve Philcox, slightly disappointed with 61.23 (26th) on his club debut, Terry Knightley, highly placed in the over 50s with 62.05 (30th) and the dependable Neil Crisp 65.04 (58th). A County Gold also went to Pam Jones in the veteran women over 65s for her run of 89.02.
Other Ilford positions and times were Iain Knight 107th 71.47, Steve Parker 111th 72.25, Dianne Crisp 210th 79.47, Sally Gillam 262nd 84.20, Nicola Chester 494th 1.44.54, Carol Muir 543rd 1.56.43.
The race was won by Winchester's Tom Payn whose winning time of 52.22 put him 33 seconds clear of Kent AC's James Connor.

The previous day 6 Ilford athletes competed in the opening fixture of the Essex league at Braintree where Tom King moved up an age group to the u17 running a solid run for 26th place. Youngster Alex Richards was the club's star in the senior race, which was combined with the under 20's, having an excellent run for 17th place starting the first half steady & finishing 2min 42sec behind the winner Adam Hickey of Southend with Adrain Mussett in second. Richards enjoyed support from club veterans Andy Catton 100th, Tony Nixon 117th, Chris Togwell 124th and Steve Cheal 144th.

In Saturday's park run at Valentines Peter Spelman improved his course pb to 22.55 placing 10th ahead of Sally Gillam who shared 23.53 with Satha Alaga for 15th and 16th places respectively. Harrier Natalie Felix was 36th out of 48 runners with 32.42.

25th September 2011

Despite having 6 of their top athletes away on duty at the South of England 6 stage relays Ilford Athletc Club had an excellent turnout of 19 runners as they hosted their annual 5k road race in conjunction with East London Runners in Valentines Park on Sunday. 180 runners enjoyed the scenic 2 lap course as well as some late summer sunshine which helped to make the event a resounding success and a marvellolus finale to the 7 race "Elvis" series held between the local running clubs of East London.

Ilford, as current holders were already resigned to surrendering both the men's and women's trophies to their neighbours, East London Runners,. Notably their men's scoring team consisted of all veterans and was led home by prolific over 50's runner Terry Knightley in 18.15 in 17th place with Neil Crisp not far behind, 22nd in 18.43. Rohan Alexander proved he is steadily returning to fitness dipping under 20 minutes with 19.57 and 35th place. Andy Catton was next home, 43rd clocking 20.28 with Steve Cheal 81st, 22.32, and Billy Green 92nd, 23.32 closing the team.

In the women's race Jenni Sheehan was first across the line for the Club in 82nd place, 22.40, closely followed by her mum, Dianne Crisp 22.46 and one place behind. Sally Gillam recorded 24.15 for 102nd and Natalie Crisp completed the scorers just behind in 108th, 24.36.

The front of the race saw perennial winner Crispian Bloomfield of Billericay Striders successfully defend his title in 16.11 holding off East London's Brendan O'Grady. However East London provided the winner of the women's race with Karen Levison coming home in 19.33
Other Ilford performances were:-
Satha Alaga 24.16(104th), Suki Jandu 25.02(114th), Pathrose Louis 25.08(116th), Eileen Sheridan 25.34(121st), Pam Jones 26.08 (124th), Nicola Chester 26.10 (125th) Carol Muir 27.29 (138th), Ray Rawlinson 29.23 (150th), Gerry Pells 31.11 (157).

Prizes were presented afterwards by Frank Brownlie of East London Runners together with "Elvis" series organiser, Martin Clarke, who praised the performances of all athletes for supporting the series but especially East London Runners who swept all before them in both the mens and ladies competitions and also an excellent effort from the Dagenham ladies squad who were runners up.
The 8 local running clubs involved now look forward to an even better competition next year.

In Saturdays parkrun Satha Alaga improved his pb to 23.35, Suki Jandu clocked 25.37 and Carol Muir 27.46, all being in action the following day.

Ilford were well represented in the South of England 6 stage relay team held at Aldershot on Sunday as the Club put out a team in the prestigious company of the senior men's race for the first time in a few years. Despite not being at full strength the squad acquitted themselves well over the 6 legs of 6k around the undulations of the Rushmoor Arena in an attempt to qualify for the national championships. Alas this was not to be yet they managed a credtable 39th out of 83 starting teams, 68 of which completed. Tom Gardener's 19.14 was the club's fastest time set on the white hot first leg handing over in 24th. The following Ilford leg times and positions were:-

leg 2 Spencer Hempsted 20-52 place 33rd

leg 3 Alex Richards 20-55 place 36th

leg 4 Kevin Newell 21-52 place 40th

leg 5 Iain Knight 21-26 place 37th

leg 6 Malcom Muir 21-26 place 39th

19th September 2011
Ilford Athletic Club had a squad of runners at Sunday's Ingatestone 5 mile road race organised by club stalwart and life member, Howard Williams.
Kevin Newell found the new undulating course much to his liking leading the troops home in a good time of 29.27. Terry Knightley was unlucky to come up a top class field in the over 50s race but nevertheless finished highly in 30.05. Neil Crisp followed him home in 30.45 and Steve Parker clocked 35.40. With many of the ladies results incomplete Dianne Crisp clocked herself at 37.47 with daughter Jenni some 25 seconds behind. Sally Gillam, Eileen Sheridan, Pam Jones, Nicola Chester and Carol Muir are others awaiting confirmation of their times.

Further afield Ilford's Ray Dzikowski has reported that he came 3rd in a 10.5k run held in very humid conditions in Thailand. Suffering from a manic mass start the Ilford man was never able to close down the leader who had a 200 metre gap on him but neverheless settled for first over 40 in a time of just over 37 minutes.

Elsewhere ultra man Peter Spelman Completed the Green Chain marathon, a low-key and self-graded ultra trail marathon held around 27 miles around Eltham. Spelman's time of just under 5 hours was purposely slow as, unsure of the course, he kept with a slower group.

In Saturday's park run at Valentines, Malcolm Muir returned from a summer break to place 2nd in a time of 17.43. Sally Gillam led all the women home once again clocking a park run pb of 23.37 just ahead of Peter Spelman 23.38. Satha Alaga, 24.05, and Pathrose Louis 24.49, were in close attendance while first timer,Nicola Chester 27.13, finished a minute clear of Carol Muir 28.13.

12th September 2011

Ilford AC had a disappointing turnout in Dagenham's 5 mile road race held at Eastbrook End Country Park on Sunday morning when for the first time in the history of the "Elvis" series they failed to close a men's team being one short of the required 6 man squad. Nevertheles both Neil Crisp and Terry Knightley performed well finishing in 34.10 and 34.13 respectively on a course believed to be nearer 5 and a half miles. Steve Parker 39.52, Steve Cheal 41.01, and Billy Green 44.51 completed the Ilford quintet. In the women's section Dianne and Jenni Crisp finished together in 43.14 with Carol Muir 52.33 and Nicola Chester 52.48 closing the women's team. New recruit Lindsey Williams went round in 56.26.
East London Runners provided both the male and female winners in the form of Brendan O'Grady 30.21 and Karen Levison 36.13. East London also now have an unassailable lead in both the team competitions.
Elsewhere Kevin Newell and Sally Gillam were in action at the Grunty Fen half marathon where warm conditions coupled with a very strong wind on an open course made the going tough. Nevertheless Neweel came home in 19th place clocking 1hr 22.13 with Gillam 253rd in 1.51.59 which placed her 6th in her age category.
Superveteran Pam Jones travelled even further to compete in the picturesque Lake Vrynwy half marathon in Wales where she finished in 1hr 56.35 to win her age category.

5th September 2011

Ilford Athletic Club enjoyed their best ever perfomance in the annual Essex Way Relay event held on Sunday when they shared 2nd place with Thrift Green Trotters and relegating a very strong Southend AC team to 4th. The race, which as originally run in 1989 on a public trail through Essex conceived as a result of a competition organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England in 1972, covers the 81 miles of the Essex way from Epping Station to Harwich Old Lighthouse in 10 stages.

The Ilford A squad got off to an unfortunate start when Ben Jones, one of the favourites to do well in the leg, went off course twice to finish in a disappointing 9th. Steve Philcox pulled them back to 4th with a solid 5th place despite also losing his way as the lead group took a wrong turn. Harold Wyber continued the trend by also making a small detour but recovered to get back to 6th running with the course directions in his hand. Leg 4 saw Ilford's Spencer Hempsted record the clubs highest position of the day finishing second, beaten only by Southend's Tom Frith. With Paul Cates digging in well for a fine 7th place on leg 5 Ilford were still 4th but closing on frontrunners Springfield Striders, Thrift Green Trotters and Southend by the halfway stage.

Peter Clinch ran a good leg despite some way off full fitness finishing in 6th place to keep the squad well in the hunt. Kevin Newell then chipped in running a well judged leg on 7 to come home in 4th place before handing over to Andy Coleman who managed 8th after sustaining a calf strain. With Springfield now out of sight Terry Knightleys 8th place on the penultimate leg was good enough to keep Ilford still in contention for 2nd spot. It was now the turn for club Captain Malcolm Muir to perform some heroics on the last leg. Despite limited training through the summer Muir found enough in the tank to finish in 5th place and with both Thrift Green and Southend finishing only 8th and 13th respectively Ilford were able to haul themselves up to share the runners up position.
Ilford veterans team finished a creditable 23rd overall out of 56 teams, and 3rd in their category, with Neil Crisp 9th on leg 7 and Jim Wilson's 15th overall on leg 4 being their best performances. The 'B' squad also did well to close in 31st where Iain Knight's 5th place on leg 7 and Kevin Newell's 10th on leg 8 are both worthy of mention.
Other leg positions were:-
Veterans - Jon Wallis (24th), Nicola Hopkinson (45th) Sally Gillam (34th) Zoe Woodward (34th) Steve Cheal (26th), Dianne Crisp (29th), Martin Clarke (33rd), Steph McCarthy (25th).
'B Squad' - Paul Emery (35th), Pam Jones (48th), Helen Smith (21st), Rohan Alexander (21st), Ray Rawlinson (46th), Eileen Sheridan (33rd), Robin Davis (49th), Carol Muir (48th).

55 runners toed the line at Saturday's Valentines park run with Satha Alaga first home for Ilford in 12th spot clocking 24.15 to equal his pb. Pathrose Louis was 16th in 25.16 followed by Suki Jandu 20th in 25.32 and Carol Muir 29th in 27.14.

30th August 2011

Ilford Athletic Club had 16 runners on parade at Barking Road Runners annual 5k event held at Eastbrook End Country Park on Monday morning. Kevin Newell led the squad home for 5th place overall in a time of 17.55 on an uneven multi-terrain course. Neil Crisp was next in marking a return to some good form with 18.45, good enough for 14th place Terry Knightley was close behind recording 18.54 for 16th place and 3rd in the veteran over 50 category. Rohan Alexander was next home in 20.27 and two other veterans Steve Parker 21.46 and Steve Cheal 22.12 both had good runs to complete Ilford's scoring 6 in the Elvis competition.
In the ladies race The Ilford scoring quartet packed well with Dianne Crisp running 24.04, Sally Gillam 24.44, Eileen Sheridan 24.50 and Pam Jones 26.11.Pam ran slightly quicker than Fridays Sepentine 5k where she recorded 26.28 in wet conditions at Hyde Park. The overall race was won by Crispian Bloomfield in 16.23 with a strong East London Runners squad taking both the mens and womens competition.
Other Ilford times were Billy green 23.50, Ray Rawlinson 24.24, Satha Alaga 24,55, Pathrose Louis 26.03 and Carol Muir 27.18.
The previous day Kevin Newell when one better when he placed 4th overall in the Mersea 10 mile road race held on a 2 lap course around Mersea Island. With Colchester Harrier Sarah Stradling clocking 59.41and top lady in 3rd place overall, Newell took the 3rd male trophy in a time of 60.33 just a few seconds outside his personal best although the course is believed to be slightly over the distance. Spnngfield Strider Mark Newton came home first with a massive lead of over 6 minutes in a time of 52.56. Sally Gillam also ran finishing in 85.25 for 90th place in a field of 134.
Saturdays park run at Valentines had 3 Ilford runners participating with Chairman Robin Davis improving his PB to 27.03 for 31st position. Pathrose Louis was 22nd in 25.26 and Carol Muir 37th in just over 28 minutes.

22nd August 2011

Ilford Athletic Club had 4 runners in Saturdays Pride 10k run held in Hackney's Victoria Park. Kevin Newell was first home for the club finishing in 36.15 just a few seconds off his personal best in 28th position. Robin McNelis was not far behind recording 37.00 for 35th spot. Pam Jones at 75 years young gave many of the females at east 10 years to finish top of the woman 65 plus ctagory in 51.58 for 444th. Carol Muir although missing out on a personal best was happy to go under the hour in 59.32 for 670th spot out of 832 finishers.

Earlier in the morning Eileen Sheridan led the Ilford contingent home in the Valentines Park run fiishing strongly in a personal best of 24.12 for 17th place. Satha Alaga was 20th in 24.46 with Pathrose Louise 21st in 25.04 for another course pb. Martin Clarke was 22nd in 25.20 just ahead of yet another pb set by Suki Jandu of 25.32. 46 runners completed the course.

Sally Gillam was the sole Ilford runner in the Burnham beeches half marathon on Sunday morning. Conditions were very warm and together with an undulating course times were on the slow side. Nevertheless Gillam made no excuses for her disappointing time of 1.53.48 which gave her 387th place and about halfway down the field.

15th August 2011

Athletes from Ilford AC have enjoyed some considerable success over a wide range of events recently. Kevin Newell won last Wednesday's 5k on the rides of Epping Forest hosted by Orion Harriers in a time of 17.47 leading home Woodford's Harold Wyber and Orion's Neil McGoun. Newell was also in action in Saturday's Valentines Park run where his time of 17.36 placed him 3rd to Ilford 2nd claimer and prolific event winner Stephen Philcox who clocked 17.17. In the same event Suki Jandu lowered his pb to 25.34 placing 25th ahead of Pathrose Louis clocking 25.59 for 28th. Inh the ladies section Carol Muir finished in 29.12 placing her 37th out of a field of 51 runners.
Elsewhere Billy Green competed in Memphis Tennessee in the annual Elvis 5k run where he was happy to survive the humidity and 82 degree tempeartures at 8am to finish in 24.25.
Recent appearances on the track by Ilford athletes at the Watford Open events have included further personal bests by Tom Gardner and Tom King. Gardner has now brought his 800m and 1500m times down to 2.02.15 and 4.03.66 while 15 year old King has set a new mark of 4.52.36 for his the 1500m event.

8th August 2011

Ilford AC's Ray Dzikowski took an excellent 4th place in Saturday morning's Orion 5 mile race. This added to his 1st and 3rd places in his previous outings over the course and was therefore more than good enough to seal overall victory in the 3 race Forest 5 summer series organised by the Chingford Club. The Ilford runner was also top veteran of the day with a time of 29.30 leading the squad home in front of Kevin Newell, 9th in 30.25. Newell had also raced earlier in the week at the Woodford Green Ashton's track where he had recorded times of 2.23.03 and 10.05.15 respectively in the 800 and 3000 metres.

Over 50 Terry Knightley was next home for the club finishing in 32.08 for 24th nearly a minute ahead of Neil Crisp, 33.03 for 28th. Steve Cheal was happy with his run of 37.56 for 76th spot as too was Billy Green whose 41.54 in 117th place closed the men's team to 4th spot in the ongoing ELVIS competition, this also being the 4th race in the 7 race series. Ultra man Peter Spelman shook off the effects of his recent 78k alpine run to sprint in only just behind in 42.04 for 119th.
In the women's race Nicola Hopkinson had an excellent run to finish claer in 87th overall clocking 39.19. The team packed well behind to finish in 3rd place in the Elvis standings with Dianne Crisp, 105th in 41.05, Sally Gillam, 124th in 42.37, and Eileen Sheridan 128th in 42.47 being the scorers. 75 year old Pam Jones continues to amaze with a performance of 44.06 for 144th position out of 211 finishers.
Victoria Park boasted both race winners with Tom Heslop taking the men's race in 28.11 and Jo Singer the women's in 33.00. East London Runners continue to dominate the Elvis series with a victory in the women's team competition but having to be content with second place in the men's after suffering a rare defeat from a very strong home Orion team.
Despite a fixture clash a respectable 37 runners also made it to the Valentines Park run where the Ilford duo of Satah Alaga 13th and Suki Jandu 15th hit times of 24.31 and 25.45 respectively. Star turn of the day came from Woodford Green's Bertie Powell who broke the course record with a time of 15.56 before dashing off to spectate at the Orion event.
1st August 2011

Ilford AC’s Peter Spelman made his annual trip to Switzerland where he completed the Davos alpine ultra K78 event in an incredible time of 11 hours and 57 minutes Poor weather conditions hampered runners over the course of nearly 50 miles where Spelman reported that the organisers had also added 3 new steep ascents presumably to ”toughen” up the course. Undeterred the Ilford man still finished well within the time limit of 14 hours.

Slightly closer to home Kevin Newell was first home in the Valentines Park Run finishing in 17.35 to get the better of Thrift Green’s John Barker 4 seconds behind. Satha Alaga continued his return from serious injury to record a new personal best of 24.15 for 17^th place. Another PB came from Eileen Sheridan who broke the tape in 25.13. for 20^th. Carol Muir was 33^rd out of 54 runners clocking 28.31.

Harlow Running Club held their 10 mile road race on Saturday where Ilford’s Pam Jones, recently celebrating her 75^th birthday still got the better of runners 10 years her junior when she took the top spot in the women’s over 65 category in a time of 89.45.

25th July 2011

The atrocious weather last Wednesday evening failed to dampen the spirits of some 174 runners, including 19 from the host club who all braved the downpour to support Ilford AC's Newman Hilly 5, held in memory of club stalwart Newman Sargent. Tom Gardner was the pick of the Ilford team finishing runner up to the class act of the evening, Dan Watts from Shaftesbury Barnet. Watts, who regularly places highly in the English national, had established a comfortable gap by half way which he held to the end to come home in 26.44, just 1 second adrift of the course record which was set in much drier conditions. Gardner was clear in 2nd to finish in 27.10. Youngster Alex Richards posted his best time on the course with an excellent 29.21 for 7th place with vetran Ray Dzikowski taking the over 40's prize, 8th overall with 29.36, and by the narrowl margin of only 3 seconds from Barking's Steve Philcox. Kevin Newell completed the senior mens scorers with an excellent 29.50 for 10th place. The other two scoring veterans were Rohan Alexander, returning from injury,43rd and 34.40, and Steve Parker 55th in 36.09. The men however had to be content with 2nd place in the team Elvis competition as East London Runners packed their veterans into higher positions.
Another noteworthy performance was under 15 Tom King who just missed out scoring with a creditable 34.39 and 41st place overall.
The Ilford women have been miissing some stars all season yet packed well with Nicola Hopkinson leading them in with 39.08 for 87th. Just Behind came Dianne Crisp,39.16, and Jenni Crisp 39.20, who recorded respective times of 90th and 93rd. Sally Gillam completed the womens scorers with 42.21 for 119th place and closing the team to a respectable 4th place..
Other performances were Steve Cheal 37.58 (57th) , Billy Green 40.55 (113th), Chris Evans 42.35 (120th), Graham Williams 43.00 (123rd), Eilleen Sheridan 43.13 (128th), Carol Muir, 50.40(161st) and Nicola Chester 59.01 (173rd).
Despite the weather the Organisers reported an outstanding success with a significant sum raised for St Francis Hospice. The Elvis series now moves on to Orion on the 6th August with a 5 mile race at Chingford.
Saturdays Park run at Valentines saw Sally Gillam take the top spot in the Ladies section running a few seconds off her course personal best in clocking 23.52 and 13th overall. Pathrose Louise was 19th in 25.21 and Carol Muir 29th in 28.37. Septuagenarian Gerry Pells made his course debut in 32nd finishing in 29.51. 45 runners finished. The race was noteworthy for the winner Richard Ward setting a course record of 16.03. The Belgrave athlete has completed over 100 Park runs and added Valentines to his quest to win at every venue.
On Sunday Kevin Newell was back in action competing in the very tough Dartford half marathon in an excellent 12th place and clocking 80.48. Cambridge Harrier Dean Lacy was first man home in 71.33.
Several Ilford Runners also took part in the inaugural Redbridge 10k run by the Tessa Sanderson Foundation over 2 laps of Fairlop Waters on Sunday. Run as the finale to the Council's Inspiartion Event, some 207 runners had to cope with some very warm conditions over a demanding multi terrain course which may have accounted for why many of the times were on the slow side. Ilford times were Billy Green 52.01, Satha Alaga 58.02, Suki Jandu 58.55, Nicola Chester 59.17, Carol Muir 63.46.

18th July 2011

Ilford AC had a good turnout in Sunday's Essex 10k road Championships on a tough and unforgiving Thrift Green course around Brentwood. Kevin Newell continued his rich vein of form to lead the club home in 36.09 in 15th place to just get the better of Ben Jones 36.19 in 18th. James Roberts (36th) and Neil Crisp (53rd) both supported well with solid performances of 37.44 and 38.49 respectively whilst over 50 Terry Knightley was the club's sole medal winner of the day taking county bronze in his age category with 37.58 which placed him 39th overall. Iain Knight found the hills not to his liking dropping back from the early pace to finish 147 in 46.15. Jenni Crisp led the women's team home in 191st position with 48.34 just ahead of mother Dianne Crisp 202nd in 48.55. Sally Gillam was just behind, 226th with 50.16. Nicola Chester 59.38 (368th) just got the better of Carol Muir, 60.40 (379th).
Graham Williams was 273rd and 4th in the over 70s category clocking 52.47 just behind Declan Cullen, 238th in 51.05, but ahead of Billy Green 282nd in 53.08. The mens race was won by Paul Polyneux of Springfield Striders in 33.01 with Colchester's Sarah Stradling easily taking the womens race in 36.22. There were 428 finishers.

Ilford AC had 5 runners in Saturdays Valentines Park run where Gary Floate was the best of the bunch running 20.39 for 11th place. Petr Spelman returned 24.43 for 21st just ahead of Satha Alaga 24.43 in 23rd. Carol Muir, 27.13, ran just shy of her pb in 29th on place and 8 seconds ahead of Robin Davis 30th. The race was won by Havering's Martin Chester who clocked 17.59 to lead home a field of 45 runners.

Ilford AC's Tom Gardner was amongst an Ilford contingent contesting medals on Day6 of the the Essex track and field championships at Braintree here he was caught in a lightning fast 3000m. Tom bravely followed the early pace before being dropped by the leader as Tom and David Gibbons fought for the silver position. The younger legs of Gibbons were too much for Gardner in the last 200m but Tom was still rewarded with a bronze medal and a new personal best of 8.46.7. This was not Tom’s only success of the weekend as he went on to come 2nd in a tactical intercounties 5000m race with 15.31.

11th July 2011

Ilford AC’s super golden oldie John Batchelor continues to impress on the world stage when he won bronze in the M70 5000m in the World Masters Championships in Sacramento at 9am on Sunday morning run in thankfully quite modestly warm conditions and sunshine of the best kind not seen in Britain.

The field of 31 runners was quickly dispersed as Ron Robertson of New Zealand charged ahead from the gun, closely followed by Batchelor’s Aussie rival Peter Sandery. The Ilford man settled into third place with European 10K champion Peter Lessing on his shoulder, and they ran this way for eight laps. With four laps to go Lessing made a break, eventually opening up a 40m gap, and soon afterwards Batchelor was passed by USA runner Hans Schmidt. Unphased by this he burst past the American with 200m to go then headed after Lessing, catching him off guard and going away down the straight for bronze. he was just lapped by Robertson, who won in an M70 World record time of 18:15.53, with Sandery second in 19:20.47. Batchelor’s time was an M70 personal best of 19:49.82 with the last 200m covered in 33.8s.

He had acclimatized over the July 4th holiday weekend in the desert beyond Palm Springs where the temperature in the afternoon reached 118F, training at 7am when it was only in the eighties. Batchelor now looks forward to the 10000m which is scheduled for 7:15am Wednesday.

Closer to home field of 47 runners toed the line in Saturday’s park run at Valentines where Ilford rascals coach Michael Whitehead came home 8^th in a a time of 22.35 in his 2^nd outing over the course. Satha Alaga was 16^th in 24.51 and Carol Muir 27^th in 28.07.

The following day Eton Manor AC held a new fixture over an excellent scenic 5k course on the marshes of Hackney, Leyton and Walthamstow. Some 182 runners showed up on this inaugural event which was an undoubted success with 2 other local races also being held on the same day. This was the 2^nd of the Elvis grand prix series and Ilford were hoping for an improved showing on their performance at the 1^st race in Havering. Ilford’s Ben Jones led the way home for the men’s team in 5^th position clocking 16.55. He was well supported by strong performances particularly from James Roberts ,9^th in 17.33. Terry Knightley ran 18.36 for 23rd with Neil Crisp returning from injury placing 26^th in 18.44, Andy Catton, 45^th in 20.08, and Steve Parker 58^th in 21.10 closed the team to a respectable 3^rd place. In the women’s race Dianne Crisp, 22.41, 78^th, just pipped daughter Jenni, 22.49, 80^th, with Sally Gillam 25.45, 114th, and Pam Jones, 25.49, 116^th ,closing the team to 4^th place.

Other Ilford performances included Steve Cheal, 67^th, 21.58, Declan Cullen 86^th, 25.19, Carol Muir 128^th, 27.14 and Nicola Chester 129^th, 27.16.

The overall race was won by Lithuanian Tomas Stasionis from the Alytus club whos 16.05 clocking was just too good for East London’s Brendan O’Grady 16.10. Alex Gounelas of Eton Manor once again topped the women’s field withy an excellent 18.03. East London won both the male and female races and now look strong favourites for the series which continues at Chigwell Row on Wednesday Evening 20^th July with Ilford as the hosts. Entries will be taken on the day up to 7.15pm.

Meanwhile Kevin Newell continues his impressive recent form as he continues to blaze a trail of pb's. The latest were set over 1500m and 3000m at the Woodford Green Open Graded meeting at Ashtons on Tuesday night where he clocked 4.50.29 and 9.59.15 respectively. Ilford's Ray Dzikowski was just ahead of him in the 3000m with 9.58.21 and only Barking's Stephen Philcox beat him in the 1500m with 4.43.39. Ilford Rascal Jamal Berleen competed at Picket's Lock last Thursday in the Epping Forest Schools Championship. Jamal ran the last leg in the 4x100m relay semi-final where his Year 4 Hereward School team went on to win the final.

Pam Jones was also in action in the Great Bentley Friday night 5 miler where her 42.17 gave her top female 65 time of the evening placing her 363rd out of 461 finishers.

4th July 2011
Ilford AC's 5000m club championships returned to the track after a break of some years when 15 runners toed the line at Cricklefields stadium on Tuesday evening. Tom Gardner was the class act clocking 15.59 as he paced under 17 youngster Alex Richards round for a superb personal best of 16.10. Gardner, Richards and Iain Knight made the early running before Knight dropped off the pace after the third lap. Gardner continued to chaperone Richards round before accelerating away on the final lap. Stephen Philcox finished like a train and was delighted with his personal best of 16.53 passing Knight in the final stages. Knight was given a time 17 minutes dead and was the 4th person to clock 17 minutes or under. Not far behind Ray Dzikowski was 5th in 17.06 just getting the better of Kevin Newell with another fine performance and pb of 17.11 and the consistent James Roberts 17.33. Terry Knightley led the charge of the over 50s age group coming home 8th in 18.40, ahead of Andy Catton 9th in 19.02 and Steve Parker 10th in 20.25. Peter Spelman 12th in 23.14 and Sulakhan Jandu 14th in 24.10 completed the men finishers. The womens race saw Dianne Crisp following a metronomic pace designed to bring her home sub 22 minutes for the Gold medal. Always ahead of her schedule the fact that her final time was 22 minutes dead was more due to husband Neil's miscalculating the distance by half a lap than fatigue. The silver and bonze medals went to Sally Gillam 23.31 and Pam Jones 27.46 who both enjoyed their runs.

Saturday's park run at Valentines was notable for the appearance of female international Rebecca Robinson who was visiting relatives in the area. The Kendal AC athlete who has pbs of 15.58 for 5k and 2.37 for the marathon is returning from injury yet still managed 2nd overall posting a time of 17.17 beaten only by Stephen Philcox a multi winner of this event clocking 17.08 .Kevin Newell was 3rd in 17.29, Robin McNelis 4th in 18.16 and Neil Crisp 6th in 18.49. Jenni and Dianne Crisp were 2nd and 3rd women home in 22.27 and 22.32 respectively.
Other Ilford performances were Peter and Mitzi Spelman 26th, 27th, 24.31, Satha Alaga 31st 24.43, Martin Clarke 33rd 25.09, Pathrose Louis 36th 25.56, Robin Davis 42nd 27.13, Carol Muir 44th 27.37. There were a record 73 finishers.

Orion also hosted their Forest 5 mile series on Saturday morning where Ilford's Ray Dzikowski consolidated his position as series leader with 3rd place in a very good time of 28.58, narrowly beaten only by Orions Dan Moses in 28,25 with James Williams of Chelmsford just behind. Ilford's Declan Cullen had an excellent run to crack 40 minutes improving to 39.42 for 62nd position. However both Billy Green and Sally Gillam found the heat of the morning and conditions not to their liking with Green 81st in 41.19 and Gillam 86th in 42.20. There were 126 finishers.

Carol Muir continued her busy weekend by competing in the mass event Race for Life at Blackheath on Sunday where she finished the 5k course in 27.58

28th June 2011

Ilford AC's over 70 England international, John Batchelor, took his fourth British Masters title of the year in the 5000m in Sunday's BMAF Track and Field championships in Birmingham. The Male 70 race was held in blazing sunshine and a stiff breeze in mid-afternoon in conjunction with the M65 age group, and most of the way Batchelor was trailing four of the younger group, though always ahead of Bingley's Fred Gibbs, last year's M70 winner. After the first couple of laps the Ilford man was set a regular but not very fast pace, but then the heat told on M65 rival Gordon Orme (Birchfield) who started flagging as Batchelor passed him with two laps to go and he finished with a flourish passing Geoff Newton (Tadworth), who had beaten him Horwich the previous week, down the finishing straight. The overall winner was Martin Ford (M65) of Cheltenham in 18:55, ahead of Peter Giles of Thames H&H while Batchelor placed third overall in 20:17.4. The Ilford man now moves on to the USA where he has scheduled races throughout July.

Also on Sunday Kevin Newell and Pam Jones competed in the Bishop Stortford 10 mile race. Described as no fun in the sun the tough conditions and multi terrain course provided a stiff challenge to the 196 runners who finished and was reflected by the relatively slow winning ime of 59.32 set by Simon Riley of St Albans Striders. Newell magaed 8th place in 65.24 and Pam Jones 127th in 95.04. Newell had also run in the Park run at Valentines the previous day where his 5k clocking of 17.40 placed him 2nd, beaten only by Sweatshop's Robin Jones, 17.05. Gary Floate tested his injury with a rare outing to place 5th in 20,49. Three Ilford runners filled 11th,12th and 13th, Declan Cullen,23.14, and Mitzi and Peter Spelman both timed at 23.52. Sally Gillam was 17th in 24.54 and Satha Alaga 18th in 25.02. The race continues to expand in numbers and this weeks entry of 61runners was a record.
Elsewhere Nicola Hopkinson and Sally Gillam competed in the Orion Fell race held at Chingford on Friday evening, unique for being the only fell held race in Essex, incorporating the stiff climbs of both Pole and Yardley hills. Hopkinson enjoyed her run to take 4th place in the ladies race in a time just over 32 minutes which was good enough for the womens over 45 prize. Gillam was 6th lady home in a time of 34.04.

During the week the Club had a poor turnout in the Havering 5 miles race held at Raphaels Park which was the first of this years "Elvis" grand Prix event. Missing many of their top runners the club struggled in both competitions finishing 5th out of 7 in the men's and 3rd equal out of 7 in the women's.
The 6 scorers for the men were Kevin Newell 5th, 28.52,Terry Knightley 15th, 30.17,James Roberts 21st, 30.33, Andy Catton 40th, 32.16, Steve Parker 74th, 35.01 and Steve Cheal 99th, 37.14.
The 4 scorers for the women were Dianne Crisp 102nd, 37.46, Sally Gillam 126th, 40.31, Eileen Sheridan 135th, 41.41, and Pam Jones 151st, 43.09.
Other Ilford performances were Peter Spelman 134th, 41.39, Billy Green 156th, 43.59, Satah Alaga, 161st, 44.29, Nicola Chester, 184th 47.17, Carol Muir, 187th 47.46.
There were 211 finishers in a race won by Brendan O'Grady of East London Runners in 27.28.
East London Runners produced a massive turnout to run out worthy winners in both races. As series winners of both competitions for the past 3 years the Club will be looking for a big improvement in the next race in the series which will be held at Eton Manor on 8th July.

21st June 2011

Last Saturday's park run at Valentines saw good performance s by Ray Dzikowski 17.29 and Kevin Newell 17.40 (personal best) over the scenic 5k course. Peter and Mitzi Spelman clocked 24.51 and 24.52 for 19th and 20th respectively. Carol Muir was 30th in 28.35 followed by Meredith Floate 38th in 32.27. The following day Sall Gillam and Peter Spelman competed over 18 miles of the idyllic yet tough North Downs run. Gillam came home in 3hrs 9 minutes 13 seconds giving her 204th place while Spelman was 5 minutes behin in 3.14.47 for 229th. Serpentine's Huw Lobb led the field of 365 runners home in 1.52.43.
Meanwhile Pam Jones and John Batchelor were flying the club flag at the British Masters 5k Championships in Horwich, near Birmingham. On a tough hilly 3 lap course Pam and her Welsh arch rival Brenda Jones went head to head in the womans over 70s race. Pam, soon to move out of the category whereas Brenda has just moved into it, was unable to go with Brenda's pace at the start but nevertheless kept the gap to 15 seconds throughout to finish with silver in 26.41 with both runners beating all the over 60 women. John Batchelor went one better with a fantastic run for Gold and setting a new M70's record of 19.55 in the process.The race was also notable for a fantastic run by Fiona Matheson of Falkirk who not only won the over 50's but was outright women's winner in 17.10.

Tom Gardener was another Ilford AC athlete in action this weekend at the SEAA championships in Ashford. On Saturday and in very windy conditions he ran a slow run first half of the 1500 final but then came through to take 6th place in 4-05-68 for a personal best. Youngster Alex Richards also had a b aptism at this level and competing in the same race clocked 4.26 to finish 14th. Gardner's Saturday effort took its toll the following day when after an excellent start he fell back in the last mile of the 5000 final ,finishing in 9th place, Nevertheless his time of 15-31 was still a personal best.

Young Athletes

Ilford Athletes are top of the tree

There was high excitement for the Cricklefield club on Sunday as they romped to victory in their last match of the UK Young Athletes League held at Mile End and secured a division 1 place for 2012. Representing the spirit of the team, Sunneth Lawrence competed in six individual events and two relays, including a fine triple jump of 9.67m and an energy sapping 3000m. There were high class performances in the under 15 boys category from Eliel Idehen who leapt 1.70m in the high jump and the sprints pairing of Asad Ahmed with 12.2s, 25.6s and 4.79m in the 100, 200 and long jump and Randall James with 11.9s and 5.48m in the 100m and long jump. Jack Maher was agonisingly close to breaking the 5 minute barrier in the 1500m with 5.00.7 just ahead of teammate Israel Olujimni, while debutant Josias Biembongo showed some exciting promise with 68.6 in the 400m and a victory in the discus. Shahriar Choudhury was also making his debut and was rewarded for some hard work on the training track with times of 33.7s for 200m and 74.2s in the 400m, while Stephen Wilson smashed his 800m personal best by 13 seconds with 3.12.2.

Also breaking new ground was Diago Barreto-Alves who was pressed hard in the finishing straight for victory in the 400m with a new personal best of 54.3s, with Ridge Wa-Beya following closely behind before running out of energy in the last 50m. The red hot rivalry between Qu Edwards and Sam Malpass continued with Edwards just getting the better of Malpass with 11.8s to 11.9s. Malpass again showed his promise in the long hurdles event with 68.4s and ran a fine 24.5s in the 200m while Edwards showed his jumping prowess with 1.55 in the high jump and 5.17m in the long jump, just ahead of Simon Wilson with 4.23m. Sharmaarke Adan continues to slice time off his best in the 3000m with a new personal best of 11.05.6 and will surely break the 11 minute barrier at his next effort, while Tom King again ran near his best with 5.04.0 in the 1500m and threw an excellent 26.38m with the javelin in the pouring rain. Ameer Bear is equally home over the barriers as the sand pit, outsprinting fellow Ilfordian Ricardo Da Silva in the steeplechase before leaping a fine 9.88m in the triple jump.

The under 17 women were without the sprint skills of the talented Tamara Chambers but were equal to the task, with sprint duo of Ivy Alubala and Daniella Bonomo running each other close for 13.9s and 14.5s respectively in the 100m, while Bonomo was again in action later, running shoulder to shoulder with Odeta V’Kaite in the 300m for 55.9s, separated by a second at the end. Kelly Mavididi won both her track events, including a tight 800m, which she led from the halfway point before being closed at the end for 2.37.6. Ella Bastian made her debut over 800m for a fine 3.34.8, while Aleah St Prix took to the long jump for the first time with 3.13m.

Israel Idehen continues to impress with 13.0s in the 100m, just ahead of Jonathan Mondua with 14.9s. Mondua and Ilford colleague Joel Miansiantima had started the day off with good times in the 75m hurdles with 17.3s and 16.4s respectively. Sayone Sri is penalised for being in an age group with a limited range of throwing events and so took on the heavier javelin in the under 15 age group with great aptitude to throw 16.38m. Shaki Aikman showed his good form to record 3.68m in the long jump and 31.4s in the 200m.

The day was completed with some thrilling relays with the Victoria Park and Ilford under 15 squads running times of 48.3 and 48.9s respectively and the two under 17 squads running each other close with the Ilford team again coming narrowly second with 47.9s, while the under 17 women’s squad went one better to win in 57.9.

A week earlier, a small squad of Ilford AC athletes had been at Barnet at the London Interclub Challenge, with star showing going to Sam Malpass with a time of 11.69s in the 100m and 24.22s in the 200m. There were personal bests all round with Simon Wilson recording 26.5s in the 200m and 62.0 in the 400m, and 100m bests for Dami Makinde - 13.49s and Omar Rashid – 12.87s.

Images: Tamara Chambers (L) and Dami Makinde ( R) at the London Interclub Challenge
Ameer Bear (L) and Ricardo Da Silva run side by side in the steeplechase
Kelly Mavididi runs to victory in the 800m
The victorious team win the UK Young Athletes League

Results – UKYAL
U13 Boys
Joel Miansiantima 75H 16.4 / 800 2.53.4
Jonathan Mondua 75H 17.3 / 100 14.9
Israel Idehen 100 13.0 (2) / 200 29.3 / LJ 4.09
Shaki Aikman 200 31.4 / LJ 3.68
Sayone Sri 1500 7.12.3 / JT (U15) 16.38 / HJ 1.05 / SP 5.47
4x100 U13B 59.2

Under 15 Boys
Israel Olujimni 800 2.30.9 / 1500 5.43.1
Stephen Wilson 800 3.12.2 / SP 4.17
Shahriar Choudhury 200 33.7 / 400 74.2
Jack Maher 1500 5.00.7
Randall James 100 11.9 (2) / LJ 5.48 (3)
Josias Biembongo 400 68.6 / SP 6.69 / DT 14.84
Asad Ahmed 100 12.2 (4) / 200 25.6 (2) / LJ 4.79
Eliel Idehen HJ 1.70 (1) / JT 31.36
4x100 U15B 48.9
4x400 U15B 4.59.0 (Olujimni 68.8, Wilson 85.8, Idehen 78.8, Maher 63.6)

Under 17 Women
Sunneth Lawrence 80H 19.9 / 3000 17.58.0 / 300H 78.0 / 200 30.7 / TJ 9.67 (4) / HJ 1.30
Kelly Mavididi 800 2:37.6 / 3000 15.23.8 / HJ 1.30
Ella Bastian 800 3:34.8 / DT 9.47 / JT 9.78
Ivy Alubala 100 13.9 / 200 29.9 / HT 11.96
Daniella Bonomo 100 14.5 / 300H 66.2 / 300 55.9
Odeta V’Kaite 300 57.0 / HT 15.43 / SP 6.45
Aleah St Prix LJ 3.13 / JT 11.59
Tamara Chambers SP 5.74 / DT 11.03
4x100 U17W 57.9
4x300 U17W 4.01.2

Under 17 Men
Diago Barreto- Alves 100H 17.7 / 400m 54.3
Tino Nyawoba 100H 21.7 / 400H 80.2 / SP 6.71
Ricardo Silva 800 2.26.4 / 1500SC 6.17.5 / HT 18.82
Qu Edwards 100 11.8 (4) / HJ 1.55 / LJ 5.17
Sam Malpass 100 11.9 / 400H 68.4 / 200 24.5
Sharmaarke Adan 3000 11.05.6
Taschan Peart 3000 12.56.6 / 1500 6.08.0
Tom King 1500 5.04.0 / JT 26.38
Ridge Wa-Beya 400m 61.1 / SP 8.73
Ameer Mer 1500SC 6.17.5 / HT 14.41 / TJ 9.88
Suad Bajraktari JT 25.26 / TJ 8.85
Simon Wilson LJ 4.23
4x100 U17M 47.7
4x400 U17M DQ (Bajraktari 70.7, Nyawoba, Silva, Wilson 63.6)

Results - LICC

Sam Malpass 100m 11.69s / 200m 24.22s
Dami Makinde 100m 13.49s
Omar Rashid 100m 12.87s /200m 26.30s
Simon Wilson 200m 26.50s / 400m 62.0s
Stephen Wilson 200m 35.41s
Tinotendra Nyawoba 400m 66.0s
Taschan Peart 400m 68.0s

14th June 2011

Ilford AC's Kevin Newell capped a week of personal bests with a half marathon pb on a mild yet drizzly morning last Sunday at Southend. Newell improved his best by 2 minutes when clocking a chip time of 78 minutes and 49 seconds which brought him home in an excellent 18th place out of a field of some 150 runners. There were some other good club performances with Steve Parker 187th in 94.12, Declan Cullen 775th in 1.53.32 and Billy Green 883rd in 1.56.33. Two other Ilford athletes, Steve Allen and Ollie Browne racewalked the course in a very respectable 2.19.02 finishing ahead of at least 150 runners. The sharp end of the men's race was full of quality and was won by New Zealander Paul Martiletti of VPTH in a time of 67.56, followed by James Lawler of Bedford 68.14, and James Connor of Kent 69.28. First lady home was Samantha Amend from Belgrave in a time of 80.10.

Newell was also in action on Friday night at the Springfield Striders Friday 5 miler near Chelmsford when he set another distance pb of 28.44 for 8th place and hot on the heels of clubmate Iain Knight who ran 28.21 for 5th place. James Roberts closed the men's team to a marvellous 2nd place in the team competition narrowly being beaten by the host club, Springfield striders. Roberts time was 29.43 and another under the 30 minute mark for 12th place. In the women's race Sally Gillam was pleased with her run finishing in 38.05 for 113th and Eileen Sheridan continued her improvement with 40.45 and 148th place. Pam Jones easily took the womens over 70's prize with 43.22 for 175th. Robin Davis was 206th in 48.28 just ahead of Carol Muir, 209th in 50.07.

In Saturday's Valentines Park run Robin McNelis was the 1st Ilford man home over the 5k course when finishing 3rd in 18.34. The Spelman duo of Peter and Mitzi ran 25.03 for 15th/16th place. Satha Alaga improved his PB to 25.43 in 19th. Meredith Floate was back in action clocking 36.20 for 40th just ahead of Robin Davis, 36.48 in 41st. There were 43 runners with the winning time of 17.54 being set by Barking's Kevin Wotton.

Saturdays LICC meeeting at Barnett Copthall saw Ilford's Tom Gardner take a superb 1st place in the 3000m in 8 minutes 52 seconds. Gardner was also in action a little later in the mile where he ran a pb of 4.28.8 timing his race to perfection to just catch the leader with a few strides to go. Alex Richards was also in action in the 800 metres (race 3), his first outing over the distance for 3 years. Richards went out fast from the start to hit the front and lead all the way round to finish in a personal best of 2.07.34. Richards later had a few problems in the mile and was unhappy to finish in 4.53.

At last Tuesdays open graded meeting at Woodford Green Kevin Newell ran yet another PB in the 3000m when crossing the line in 10.15.00. Ilford 2nd claimer Stephen Philcox won the race in his debut over the distance breaking the tape in 9.59.62.At the same meeting Ricardo Da Silva was 3rd in the Essex U17 1500 steeplechase finishing in 5.32.47.

7th June 2011

Ilford AC's Ray Dzikowski had an excellent run on Saturday morning when he took 1st place in the first of the 3 race Orion Forest 5 series in a time of 29 minutes 9 seconds. . Dzikowski was nip and tuck with Woodford's Jim Roche for most of the way round but pulled away as the the hills had took their toll to finish over 30 seconds clear of his rival. The club were well represented with BIlly Green clocking 39.49, Sally Gillam was 41.12, and Declan Cullen just behind in 41.22. Paul Emery had to pull out early on with a calf niggle.
Meanwhile at the Valentines "Parkrun" Mike Whitehead made his debut clocking 22.40 for 7th place. Another debutante was Nicola Hopkinson whose 23.33 saw her 1st lady home in 10th place. Peter and Mitzi Spelman shared 12th and 13 places in a time of 24.58 while Satha Alaga managed 26.37 in 20th. Carol Muir ran despite recovering from a throat infection and finished 27th in 29.00. There were 36 runners headed by Barkings Stephen Philcox who crossed the line in 17.27.
Billy Green was back in action the following day in the Barking and Dagenham BAD 5 improving his time for the distance to 38.45. Rohan Alexander ran 34.50 despite little training recently and brought his family along with Jovan and Javene Alexander representing Ilford Rascals in the fun run. 7 year old Javene came first in the under 10 category and Jovan was 2nd in the under 10 boys. Meanwhile Kevin Newell agonisingly missed out on breaking the 30 minute barrier in the Tilty Hilly 5 near Dunmow recording 30.01 for an excellent 5th place.

Racing on the Horspath track in Oxfordshire John Batchelor managed to win the BMAF M70 10000m title in a field of two, plus 2 male 75s and a relatively poor turnout of women. His time was 41:14.29, just a bit slower than his recent road time in France.

Ilford Athletes in action during the week at the Watford Open Graded meeting included,Tom King, 7th place in the 1500 metres,5.05,17,Tom Gardener, 7th place in the 1500 metres. 4.08.47, and Michael Gardener who recorded a personal best of 4.10.91 in the 1500m for 10th place.

Ilford AC continue winning form

Ilford AC stormed to victory at the third UK Young Athletes meeting at Cricklefields on Sunday to put them at the top of the division with one match to go. In a fine team performance, the home team made up for some high profile injuries with a total of 50 individual victories. Sunneth Lawrence won the athlete of the match award with an excellent performance of 8.80m in the triple jump, 1.35m in the high jump, an excellent 29.8s in the 200m and a brave solo run to gain points in the 3000 metres.

Asad Ahmed and Eliel Idehen were nip and tuck all afternoon with Asad gaining the advantage in the 100m and 200m with 11.7 and 24.7 respectively to Idehen’s 12.2 and 25.9 and again in the long jump with a marginal victory with 4.81m, 3cm ahead of his rival. Idehen returned to dominate in his specialist event the high jump with 1.50m.

Jonathan Mondua was responsible for two victories with 17.4s in the 75m hurdles and 30.6 in the 200m and narrowly out dipped in the 100m with 14.2s. Team mate, Israel Idehen took on the A string duties with 13.2 and 28.3 in the 100 and 200 metres respectively and a fine victory with 3.86m in the long jump, just ahead of Ilford team mate Shaki Aikman with 3.48m and again in the shot with 7.33m to Aikman’s 5.32m. Qu Edwards had a busy afternoon, winning the high jump with 1.40m before running a season’s best 11.5s in the 100m and 31.11m in the javelin just ahead of Tom King with 24.28m. Sam Malpass ran a determined race in the 200m to out-run Edwards by 2-tenths with 23.8s to turn the tables after the 100m where he was narrowly defeated with 11.9s.

Daniella Bonomo broke her personal best by a huge margin of 1.5 seconds in the 100m with 14.1s for second place, supported by debutant Lois Blasse with 17.2 before running 34.9s in the 200m. Blasse responded in the long jump, to outjump Bonomo with 4.06m to 3.40m, while Nadia Jervier was subjected to a rare defeat but still ran a fine time of 13.4s in the 100m. Kelly Mavididi returned to the track after 4 weeks off with injury to win a tightly fought 800m with 2.38.1 and a more comfortable victory in the 300m with 48.8. Odeta V’skaite dominated the throws with wins in the hammer and discus with 13.94m and 12.78m respectively and 6.53m in the shot, just 8cm behind the lead throw. Einora Seilute was also in winning form with 10.68m in the hammer while Ella Bastian ran out victor in the shot with 5.73m.

Manoj Ragunathan ran a flawless race in the 80 hurdles to win in 13.1s with Diogo Alves also running to victory in the under 17 category with 17.2s, just ahead of Tino Nyawoba with 21.7s. There were several lifetime bests in the middle distance events with Tom King getting ever closer to the 5 minute barrier in the 1500m with 5.02.6, Sharmaarke Adan continuing his rapid progress in the 3000m to knock 15 seconds off his best for 11.17.7 and Sam Surpawala improving his pace judgement to gain him victory in the 800m with 2.17.9. Ricardo Da Silva was a few paces behind in the 800m with 2.26.8, just behind his lifetime best and completed the day with an exciting tussle with steeplechase debutant Ameer Mer as they sprinted over the last barrier to win by half a second in 6.12.4. Surpawala was again in action in the 400m in a tightly fought race with Diogo Alves with Alves only gaining the advantage in the last 40 metres with 55.5s to his rival’s time of 56.7s. The under 15 boys race was also close with Matthew Canlas narrowly gaining the advantage over Harry Kyriakou with 58.4s to 61.4s. Israel Olijimni also gained a lifetime best in the 800m with 2.27.5 in a highly competitive under 15 boys race won in 2.13.3.

Sole under 13 girl, Cora Polland started her debut performance with a tumble in the hurdles but bravely fought to finish the race and through her other events with 1 metre in the high jump and 2.76m in the long jump. Ridge Wa Beya is showing his prowess in a number of events with 8.26m in the shot putt, 1.35m in the high jump and 9.35m in the triple jump, just behind Mer who was marginally below the 10 metre barrier with 9.79m. Simon Wilson was also in good form with a personal best 4.01m in the long jump, while his brother Stephen ran out victor in the B string shot putt with 4.04m, with team mate Matthew Canlas winning the A string with 5.55m. Sayone Sri stepped up an age group to compete in the discus and was the equal to his older competitors with 16.47m.

By the time the relays closed the day, Ilford had already secured the winning place but fine performances from the sprint squads ensured that the Ilford team continued their winning form. The club are hoping to gain promotion at the final match at the home of close rivals Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets on 19th June.

1st June 2011

Bank Holiday Monday saw a small contingent of Ilford athletes attend the 26^th Hatfield Broad Oak 10km. The forecast rain and wind did not materialise and instead a sunny warm morning beckoned the 1300 runners who toed the line.

First home for the club was Kevin Newell in 37:18 which was good enough for a very creditable 35^th overall. Andy Catton, using this as his “comeback” race was next in 41:04 [113^th]. The Mother and Daughter duo of Dianne and Jenni worked together for the first 5k with the former pulling away in the second half to record 47:03 [325^th] as Jenni held on for 49:08 [425^th]. Steve Cheal, 49:57 [451^st] just held off Paul Emery, 50:20 [471^st]. The performances of Pam Jones, 54:03 [646^th]and Carol Muir, 69:59, [1173^rd] in the warm conditions were noteworthy.

John Batchelor finished 48th out of 215 runners of all ages in last Friday's Last Friday 5K at the Serpentine, Hyde Park breaking the M70 record for the fourth time this year, improving by nine seconds to 19:40.

24th May 2011

Watford Open

Ilford AC had two personal best runs from the Gardner brothers at the Watford open during the week with Michael finishing 5th in the 800m with 2.00.83 Pb and Tom Gardner 7th in the 3000m with 8.47.16.

Ilford storm ahead on a windy day
Ilford AC stormed to victory on a blustery day at Parliament Hill in the second UK Young Athletes League match of the year. Monique Morrison was responsible for the star performance of the day with a time of 22.3 seconds in the under 13 girls 150m, which was complemented by a fine time of 13.8 seconds in the 70m hurdles and 13.9 seconds in the 75m. Nadia Jervier continued her fine form from the last match with a time of 13.9s in the under 15 100m, while under 17 pairing of Tamara Chambers and Ivy Alubala ran strongly at the same distance for 13.5s and personal best time of 14.3s respectively. Not to be outdone, the guys also ran well with under 17 Bobby N’Ike and under 15 Elial Idehen recording excellent times of 25.7s and 26.4s in the 200m into a strong headwind and Elial’s brother Israel coming close to the graded standard with 29.5s. The under 17 quartet of Chambers, Alubala, Jervier and Daniella Bonomo were dominant in the 4x100m with an excellent time of 54.6s, while the men’s team of N’Ike, Qu Edwards, Ridge Wa Beya and Ameer Mer were narrowly pipped to the post with 49.1 seconds.

Star athlete in the middle distance was Sharmaarke Adan who has now come to terms with the gruelling 3000m race, knocking 45 seconds off his personal best for 11:27.8, before recording a second personal best in the 1500m with 5:18.0, just behind Tom King with 5.15.6 and Jack Maher, 5.16.9. Another athlete surpassing his previous best was Stephen Wilson who was just half a second from the 3.30min barrier, while Ricardo Silva narrowly got the better of his younger rival Israel Olujimni by 2 seconds with 2:29.5. There were some spirited debuts from Shaki Aikman who recorded an excellent time of 2:51.9 just ahead of Joel Mianbiantima and Jonathan Mondua attempted the hurdles for the first time with 16.1s. Sunneth Lawrence was also making her debut leaping 1.25m in the high jump before joining Ella Bastian in a close 300m where the pair could not be divided at the finish, both recording times of 68.6s. Amy Ringrose came an excellent 3rd place in the under 13 75m while Simon Wilson and Sharmaarke Adan were attempting the tricky 400m hurdle race with Wilson narrowly having the edge with 87.5s.
While Elial Idehen was not on top form in the under 15 high jump, he still dominated the competition with a graded height of 1.55 metres, while triple jump pairing of Ameer Mer and Ridge Wa Beya both surpassed the 10 metre mark with 10.17m and 10.06m. The Wilson brothers, Simon and Kevin discovered hidden talents in the throws with Simon throwing 13.94m in the discus and Kevin pushing his brother close in the shot with 6.48m to Simon’s 6.79m before launching the javelin 16.32m. The under 13 shot was also a close affair with Joel Mianbiantima and Israel Idehen sharing the lead throughout the competition with Joel finally winning the spoils in the final throw. Asad Ahmed leapt strongly for 4.59m in the long jump, with Ridge Wa Beya and Diogo Barreto neck and neck in the under 17 age group with 4.35m and 4.07m.

The squad will be looking for big crowds to support them to victory at the next match at Ilford on the 5th June.

23rd May 2011
Ilford AC produced 3 good performances in the Great Baddow 10 mile held on the roads of Chelmsford on Sunday. Despite some strong winds and the far from easy course Ian Knight led the team home in 61.06 for 10th place. Hot on his heels was Kevin Newell with 61.46 for 12th and James Roberts had a rare run over the distance producing 63.56 for 20th. 2nd claimer Steve Philcox was 13th in 62.21. The runaway winner was Paul Molyneux of Springfield Striders in 52.22 with Debbie Appleton of Havering Mayesbrook taking the womens race in 64.26.
Elsewhere the wind was also a factor combined with some rain in the Edinburgh marathon where Ilford's Steve Parker was amongst over 15000 runners that found the going tough. Nevertheless Parker battled through the conditions to be quite happy with his time of 3.22.16.
Saturday's Park run at Valentines saw Stephen Philcox and Ray Dzikowski locked together for the lead as they came through the first lap. However It was Philcox who eventually proved the stronger as he opened up a narrow gap to come home in 17.10 to Dzikowski's 17.16. Youngster Michael O'Callaghan enjoyed a good run for 7th place in 20.34 ahead of Declan Cullen and Billy Green, 12th and 13th respectively but sharing the same time of 23.14.Mitzi and Peter Spelman were next placing 20th and 21st, again both sharing 25.47. Pathrose Louis was 27th in 26.18 ahead of Satha Alaga 30th in 26.35, Pam Jones 32nd in 26.44 and Catherine Green 44th in 35.49. For the 2nd consecutive week the field was just shy of 50 runners with 49 completing the course.

Also in action at the weekend were three junior members of the Alexander family representing the "Ilford Rascals" at the YMCA 1 mile event in Priory Park, Hornsey. Javene Alexander came 1^st in the under 8s Girls category and Jaydah Alexander came 1^st in the under 12s Girls category.Jovan Alexander Jovan also took part and came 39^th out of 170 but was 40 seconds quicker than he was last year.

SCVAC
The Vets team travelled to Barnet Copthall on 23 May for Match 2. The evening itself was a cloudy one with blustery winds.

The match started with Henry Ricketts competing in the 110m hurdles where he finished 5th in 22.1s. 5th was also his placing in the 200m with 27.5s and he finished 6th in the hammer with 9m 49.
Kevin Newell wore the A string vest placing 6th in the 800m with 2:28:1. In his favoured event of 3000m he achieved a PB of 10:20:4 to finish 3rd.
Jason Praill wore the B string vest and competed in the 200m to finish 6th in 30.9s. After a quick first lap he hung on for 4th in the 800m with 2:34:0. In the 3000m which he had not intended on running he finished 4th in 13:01:2 to gain some valuable points.
Andy Catton competed in the 800m and 3000m finishing 3rd and 4th respectively in 2:44:7 and 11:27:1.
John Batchelor fresh from his recent European exploits finished 3rd and 2nd respectively in the 200m and 800m in 34:0 and 2:43:5.
Pete Whiting nursing a sore calf competed in the 200m finishing 6th in 43:1. He gained 4th place in the pole vault with 1m 25 and his best result was a solid 2nd place in the hammer with 23m 42.
The team finished the evening with the 4 x 400m relay. Malcolm Muir who had attended as a spectator stood in as the last leg athlete so that the team had four runners. The team of Henry, Kevin, Jason and Malcolm came in 4th with 4:48:6.
Agonisingly the team finished 5th on the night by one point to Trent Park.
Ilford now stand 2 points behind Trent Park after two matches.
Match 3 will be on 13 June at Lee Valley.

Henry Ricketts
17th May 2011

Richards secures silver in Chelmsford

Alex Richards flew the Ilford AC flag with pride with an excellent second place in the junior men’s County 1500m held at Chelmsford at the weekend. His time of 4.17.2 is a new personal best and may put him in line for a county vest. Richards ran a measured race against tough opposition and pulled away in the last lap to head the chasing pack for his silver medal. Tamara Chambers was also in good form for fourth place in the under 17 women’s 100m with 13.01, frustratingly close to getting a medal. Meanwhile, Tom Gardner had a tough weekend with a 5000m / 1500m double with excellent performances of 15.38.9 for 6th in the longer event and a new personal best time of 4.07.7 for 7th in the metric mile.

Ilford had two runners in the under 20 women’s 100m with Ashley Nti-Agyemang and Dami Makinde narrowly missing out on the medal spots with 5th and 6th and times of 13.45 and 13.47 seconds respectively. Ivy Alubala and Daniella Bonomo were also in good form with new personal best times of 14.26 and 15.26 while in the under 17 mens race, Ridge Wa Beya got the better of team mates, Simon Wilson and Tino Nyawoba with a strong performance of 12.56 seconds. Not to be outdone, Simon’s brother Stephen also got a new personal best of 16.90 seconds.

The competition proved too strong for the club’s middle distance runners but there were spirited efforts from Michael O’Callaghan with 2.21.99 in the 800m, just ahead of Omar Rashid, while Sharmaarke Adan outkicked Suad Bajraktaria on the second lap for a new personal best of 2.29.78 in a closely fought 800m in the younger age group.

Road Report

Elsewhere Ilford Ac's John Batchelor won a superb bronze medal in the 12th staging of the European Veterans Athletic Championsips on Friday. The Ilford man raced over 10k on the roads centred around t Thionville/Yutz in the Lorraine district of North-east France where he clocked an excellent time of 41.09 only 30 seconds behind the M70 winner, Peter Lessing of Germany.

Meanwhile not so far afield a record 49 runners line up at the start of the 13th Valentines Park run which was won in a vey good time of 16.51 by sponsors Sweatshop employee Phl Dickens.ILford 2nd claimer Steve Philcox was only just behind in 17.07 with Kevin Newell cracking th 18 minute barrier for the first time, 4th in 17.48. Gary Floate was nursing a niggle yet still managed 10th in 20.51 whilst the dynamic duo of Mitzi and Peter Spelman were 21st and 22nd respectively both sharing 23.11. Next home in 23 was Paul Emery,23.23, followed by keeley Turner 29th in 26.18 and Pam Jones 30th in 26.23. Carol Muir improved her personal best yet again in 33rd plac clocking 27.06 follwed by Satha Alaga returning from injury 37th in 28.14.

10th May 2011
Ilford squad win tense opening league match

Ilford AC’s exciting new youth squad beat a strong Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets team at the first UK Young Athletes League on Sunday at Parliament Hill. In a close match, Ilford were neck and neck with the usually dominant east London team, with victory only assured in the final 4x400m relays.

Athlete of the match, Nadia Gervais breezed to victory in 13.5 seconds in the under 15 girls 100m before winning the long jump (4.33m) and taking leg one in the winning 4x100m squad. Also reaching high levels of excellence was Elial Idehen who equalled the under 15 boys club record in the high jump with 1.70m and was only prevented from going higher by restrictions on the number of jumps.

The sprints were particularly strong with Monique Morrison reflecting Nadia’s high standards in the under 13 girls with 75m (10.8s), 150m (22.6s), 75m hurdles (14.1s). Performing well in the under 15 boys 100m and 200m was Elial Idehen (12.6s and 25.9s) and Asad Ahmed (12.8s and 25.9s) and were part of a quick 4x100m squad with Elial’s brother Israel and Israel Olujimni who came in a close 2nd with 51.5s. In the under 17 men was Qu Edwards and Sam Malpass in the 100m (11.9s and 12.0s respectively) and Bobby N’Ike and Diogo Alves (24.5s and 25.0s). Alves and N’Ike battled shoulder to shoulder in the 400m and were both rewarded with lifetime bests with 55.3s and 55.4s respectively and Malpass had an exciting debut in the 400 hurdles with 68.4s. Alves, Malpass, Edwards and N’Ike came together for a strong 4x100m team, recording 47.4 seconds. In the under 17 women, county finalist Tamara Chambers (27.0s in the 200m) was joined in the 4x300m by Ivy Alubala (14.5s in the 100m), Rijeanne Mbu (17.7s in the 80m hurdles) and Daniella Bonomo (33.3s in the 200m) to finish in a strong 3.35.9. Best of the under 13 athletes were Israel Idehen with 14.0 in the 100m, 29.7 in the 200m and 4.24m in the long jump, Jonathan Mondra with 15.3 in the 100m and 16.0s in the sprint hurdles and Shaki Aikman with 32.9s in the 200m, 3.00.3 in the 800m and 3.53m in the long jump.

Pick of the middle distance runners was Israel Olujimni who knocked 6 seconds from his 800m personal best with 2.28.4 in the under 15 boys, who was joined by debutant and male athlete of the match, Stephen Wilson. Stephen’s brother Simon stepped up from his usual sprint distance to run an impressive time of 2.31.3, just behind Ricardo Da Silva with 2.28.4. Da Silva was later in action with a new personal best of 5.47.1 in a solo effort in the 1500m steeplechase. Tom King ran strongly in the wind to finish just a couple of seconds from his best with 5.06.9 in the 1500m while Shamaarke Adan managed the tough double of 3000m and 1500m for 12.10.7 and 5.46.8 respectively.

In the long jump, Qu Edwards pipped Ridge Wa Beya to the premier spot with 5.14m to 4.91m. Tinotenda Nyawoba performed well in the shot putt (5.61m), as did Odeta V’Kaite and Ella Bastain, who, with Reanne Carey and Einora Seilute outscored rival teams with their promising debuts in the throwing events.

Summary of recent Ilford AC news

Alex Richards continued his amazing return to form following his victory in the London mini-marathon trials with an outstanding silver medal in the 3000m in the County Championships with 9.24.1. The Championships takes place over several days with Tamara Chambers being the star of the first day with an impressive 5th place in the under 17 women’s 200m with 26.42 seconds. Also running well was Jack Maher, who ran an impeccable race in the strong breeze for a new personal best in the under 15 boys of 5.04.28.

Ilford AC has also had early league action in the London Inter Club Challenge with star performances coming from Elial Idehen with 1.70m in the under 15 boys high jump, Jack Webb with 55.77s in the 400m, Tom Gardner with 4.10.33 in the senior 1500m and Ashley Nti-Agyemang and Dami Makinde running shoulder to shoulder in the under 20 women’s 100m for 13.34s and 13.50s respectively.

Fortunes were not so good in the opening Southern Men’s League match at Hemel Hempstead with a weak team finishing in bottom place, but with an outstanding personal best and a win for Michael Gardner in the 800m with 2.01.9 following a lightning quick first lap and Tom Gardner who was outsprinted in a tight 5000m for 15.34.0. The pair were also in action in the 1500m with 4.23.1 and 4.17.4 respectively.

In the recent Woodford Open, the highlight was a season’s best for supervet, Wesley Clarke with a season’s best 42.74m in the hammer. The 300m was a tight affair with Ridge Wa Beya prevailing with 42.75, ahead of Tamara Chambers, 44.94 and Ashley Nti-Agyemang and Dami Makinde with 46.99 and 47.72.

Road Report
Hot and humid conditions did not deter Ilford AC's Terry Knightley from adding to his impressive collection of county medals when he took the Gold in the over 50's category at the Essex marathon championships held around the roads of Halstead on Sunday. This added to his Essex golds already secured over half marathon and twenty miles this year. Always a demanding course and coming 3 weeks after London the going was always going to be tough for the Ilford man yet Knightley was pleased with his 3.03.36 chip time which saw him come home in 10th place overall. Over 600 runners braved the route as conditions took their toll with less than 250 runners breaking the 4 hour mark and only the first 4 runners breaking the 3 hours. Springfield's Mark Newton took the overall title in 2hrs 45.32. Elsewhere Declan Cullen was racing over the same distance at the Stratford-on-Avon marathon. Cullen made up for his disappointment of a forced withdrawal from last month's London Marathon by recording a good time of 4.34.32 on his debut outing over the classic distance. Sally Gillam was another in action at the Frinton & Walton half marathon where she finished as 5th lady home in a time of 1.49.22.
Many Ilford runners were out the previous day competing over 5k iin the 12th running of the Valentines Park Run where Kevin Newell enjoyed a good tussle for the lead with Havering's Martin Chester. Although it was a battle that the Ilford man narrowly lost it took him to another improvement on his PB with a time of 18.09. Neil Crisp was 3rd in 18.41 despite being a little unsure of the route to the finish. Dianne Crisp posted a good time of 22.06 for 13th just ahead of Paul Emery, 15th in 22.39. Peter and Mitzi Spelman came in next in tandem 18th and clocking 24.14, both improving on their PBs although Mitzi still had a lot in hand. Eileen Sheridan was next in for the club in 20th and 25.56 whilst Carol Muir was another improving on her best clocking 27.36 for 30th.

9th May 2011

On a fine and sunny evening the Vets team took to the track and field arena at Lee Valley for the first match in a series of four on Monday 9 May.

The team welcomed Henry Ricketts back to the track after two years absence through injury and were even more pleasantly surprised by the return of Roger Honey. Despite not having an over 60 athlete the team performed admirably to finish fifth on the night.

The highlight of the night was the dominating performances by Francisco Reis and Steve Uttley in the 2000m walk who finished first in their respective categories of 50 plus and A string in 9:15:00 and 9:47:9 for maximum points.

Henry Ricketts finished sixth in the A string 100m and 400m in 13:7 and 61:9. The long jump saw in improvement to fourth with 4m 84.
Kevin Newell performed well to finish the 400m in 66:9 for fourth and in his favoured distance of 1500m placed third with 4:57:2 in the B string events.
Debutant Steve Philcox competing as A string took the bell in the 1500m in first place hoping a long strike for home would run the finish out of the other athletes. His plan nearly came to fruition but in the end had to settle for third with 4:43:7.
Andy Catton warmed up by jogging round the 400m in 77:3 to gain some valuable points with fifth in the 50 age group. He finished fourth in the 1500m with 5:22:6.
Pete Whiting moved up to the 50 age group and bravely finished the 100m in 28:6 for sixth after suffering from a calf problem in the early stages of the sprint. Pete was also able to cover the 35 plus shot and discus finishing sixth in both with 5m 98 and 20m 09 respectively.
Roger Honey finished fourth in the shot and discus in the 50 age group with 9m 10 and 25m 89. He improved his placing with third in the long jump with 4m 19.
Neil Crisp competed as a guest in the 1500m and was agonisingly just outside the 5 minute mark with 5:00:5. Rob Sargent who was on standby as an Ilford athlete also ran as a guest but his time was not recorded correctly on the results sheet.
Diane Crisp also took the opportunity to run as a guest in the ladies 1500m. Unfortunately the ladies results have not been sent through.
The 4 x 100 team of Henry, Kevin, Steve and Roger finished the night with sixth place in 56:7.
Match 2 moves on to Barnet on 23 May.

Henry Ricketts
Vets Track and Field
3rd May 2011
Ilford Athletic Club were fully occupied on a warm and pleasant extended bank holiday weekend. The Club marked the Royal Wedding Celebrations of Friday as club members paired up in teams to race over a “parluuf” relay of 2 laps of 2.5k each. Held in Valentines Park and billed as a low key handicap race runners entered into the spirit of the day with Iain Knight sporting a union jack bandana and Pam Jones going one better running her leg in full bridal dress. The family partnership of Jenni and Neil Crisp seemed to have triumphed with leg 2 Neil Crisp crossing the line first but a later adjustment to times was made after it was discovered the handicapper's maths were 1 minute awry. Thus Dianne Crisp and Steve Philcox, both running the respective fastest female and male legs of the morning, were declared the winners. Placings with actual and total handicap times follow 1. Dianne Crisp 11.00 / Steve Philcox 8.34, 23.04, 2. Carol Muir 13.43, / Kevin Newell 9.07, 23.05, 3. Jaydah Alexander 12.45 / Rohan Alexander 9.57, 23.12, 4. Sally Gillam 12.94 / Martin Clarke 11.35, 23.39, 5. Jenni Crisp 11.03 / Neil Crisp 9.26, 23.14, 6. Pam Jones 13.40 / Iain Knight 8.51 24.31.

The following morning many returned to the park as another good turnout of 46 runners toed the line for the weekly 5k park run. Iain Knight took out his frustration of having to chase the field of the previous day by blasting into the lead from the outset. Holding off a determined challenge from a closing Steve Philcox, Knight broke the tape in a good time of 17.18 to Philcox’s personal best of 17.27. Another PB went to third place man Kevin Newell who clocked 18.11. Frank Mcgowan was 5^th in 18.54 whilst Robin Davis was another breaking his PB with 27.05. Sally Gillam led the Ilford ladies home in 17th with 24.06 ahead of Eileen Sheridan 19^th in 25.23 and Carol Muir 28^th in 27.50.

Ilford’s Tom Gardner had an excellent run for 2^nd place getting the better of Billericay’s Crispian Bloomfield in the Witham 5 on Bank Holiday Monday. Gardner’s time of 26.32 bettered Bloomfield’s by 6 seconds but the victory went to the in-form Paul Molyneux of Springfield Striders in 25.53. Kevin Newell had another good race finishing 13^th in 30.17 and Carol Muir completed a busy weekend with her 3^rd race managing 47.02 for 222^nd.

Meanwhile many of the clubs “golden oldies” were slugging it out at the Ted Pepper 10k in Beckenham, Kent.

The race dates back to 1979 and is held as a memorial to the Blackheath Harrier who lost his life when competing in the 3 peaks fell race the year before. It also doubles as the Southern Counties Veterans AC championships and all 4 Ilford runners competing acquitted themselves well. Spencer Hempsted was the club’s star turn of the day taking SCVAC gold when finishing top male 40 and 3^rd overall in 34.52. Though Hempsted and others were disappointed with their times all runners agreed that they were significantly slowed by a strong, cold wind. John Batchelor and Pam Jones also headed the male and female over 70 categories. Despite the wind both ran incredible times for their age of 42.25 and 53.51. Graham Williams also posted a good time of 50.33 for bronze in the over 70’s but was unlucky to come up against the quality of both Batchelor and London Marathon ever present, Pat Dobbs, of Thurrock who took the silver. The race was won by Blackheath Harrier Mark Steinle who posted 33.26 when taking the trophy for the 4^thtime.

25th April 2011

The sunny weather of the Easter Weekend brought out a record field of 47 runners in the weekly Valentines Park run of 5k held on Saturday morning. 11 of these places were filled by Ilford AC runners as Ben Jones shaved another 2 seconds from his course record set from the previous week. Jones got away from Ray Dzikowski early on to cross the line in 16.24 with the 2nd place man half a minute back in 17.15. 2nd claimer Steve Philcox held third in 17.45 to make it a clean sweep for Ilford runners. Kevin Newell ran 18.30 for 6th to just get the better of Frank McGowan 18.49 one place behind. Other Ilford times and positions were Sally Gillam 20th, 24.12, Peter Spelman 24th 25.19, Eileen Sheridan 26th 25.58, Pam Jones 29th 26.22, Robin Davis 33rd 27.38, Carol Muir 37th 28.51.
The previous weekend many of the club's track and field stars were in action at the Woodford Green Open graded meeting. Amongst some promising performances Tom Gardner featured by winning the 1500 metres in 4.14.57 after placing 3rd in the 800 with 2.03.86. Jack Webb ran 57.74 in the under20 men and Wesley Clarke threw the hammer 42.74metres.

Meanwhile Ilford's super golden oldie, John Batchelor, has been in action in a low key Vets AC 5000m track race on a very cool evening, finishing third, a couple of laps behind two M40s, in 20m 02.3s. This would normally rank him 8th on the GB M70 all-time list, but as the race had to be started with a whistle it probably won't be officially recorded. Batchelor followed this with a run in the Vets AC 5 mile road event last Tuesday, finishing 5th overall in 33:10, over two minutes faster than the top GB M70 time so far this year.

18th April 2011
Ilford Athletic Club produced a mixed bag of results in the 31st running of the London marathon on Sunday. The sunny weather brought out large crowds around the course and at the 19 mile mark where the club manned the waterstation, but perhaps made conditions slighlty too warm for some of the runners. As predictected Malcolm Muir was first man home but his 2.50.39 was around 10 minutes slower than he had hoped. Similarly 50 year old Terry Knightley started strongly before cramp and fatigue set in during the final miles. Nevertheless he should be pleased with a fine time of 2.56.25 for a high placing of 34th in his category.

Kevin Newell was another who survived the heat well just missing out on the 3 hour mark with a PB of 3.01.43. Robin McNelis was not far behind him with 3.04.38. Iain Knight was forced to briefly pull up at 19 for attention to a bad nosebleed he had suffered earlier on, bravely making his way to the finish in what was for him a disappointing time of 3.19.28. Steve Parker was next in running solidly as usual in 3.20.49.Peter Spelman was next man home 3.50.34 and another to break 4 hours.Debut man Billy Green just missed out on his predicted 4.45 mark but was happy to finish in 4.49.39. Big hearted Dave Sharpe running for Cancer Research racewalked in 5.23.24..
The club had four ladies in the mass field with a far from fit Bree Nordin leading the troops home in 3.40.47. Nicola Hopkinson finished some 5 minutes behind that with 3.45.15. Sally Gillam had a good one running her fastest London raceand 2nd fastest ever in 3.47.49. Carol Muir finished her race in 6.04.24.

In the earlier mini marathon many Ilford youngsters were on parade to represent the borough. Star run of the day came from unhder 17 Alex Richards whose 16.08 clocking placed him well to the head of the field and 13th in his category. There were some other very promising runs with times and category positions as follows:- U13 - Jack Maher 122nd, 20.10, Israel Olujnimi 166th, 20.59. U15 - Sharmaarke Adan 126th, 19.36, Ameer Mer 109th, 19.10, Ricardo Da Silva, 123rd, 19.34, Thomas King, 158th 20.36. U17 - Michael O'Callaghan 138th, 19.42.

Ilford's Ben Jones was the man in charge in Saturday's Park run in Valentines. Jones blasted away from the gun to set a new pb and course record by clocking 16.28 over the measured 5k. Yet even this was eclipsed by septuagenarian Pam Jones who recorded 26.14 for 14th place out of 26 runners which gave her a massive 91.99% on the age grading scale,

11th April 2011
Ilford Athletic Club held their annual road championships in the idyllic setting of Valentines Park on Sunday. A beautiful sunny morning brought 22 club runners to the start of a measured 5 mile course of 3 laps on the paths around the perimeter of the park. The race proved to be notable with a family theme prevailing in both the mens and ladies race. Tom Gardner dominated the men's field setting a furious pace from the outset and blasting through the finishing line in a new course record of 25.58. His Brother MIke Gardener soon became isolated in 2nd place but nevertheless posted an excellent time of 28.29. The bronze medal went to Terry Knightley whose 29.16 was also the best veteran time of the day, some 40 seconds clear of Neil Crisp 29.57. Michael O'Callaghan and Tom King, both due to run in next week's London mini marathon, were representing the younger section of the club acquitting themselves well with 34.10 (6th) and 35.33 (7th) for 6th and 7th respectively.
The women's race saw the mother/daughter pairing of Dianne and Jenni Crisp locked together at the front for the first 2 laps before Jenni finally pulled away to take gold in 36.09 to Dianne's 36.25. Meanwhile Jenni's sister Natalie was working her way through the field to take the bronze in 38.15 ahead of Sally Gillam 38.45.
Other times and positions were:- Andy Catton 33.39 (5th), Steve Cheal 37.23 (10th), Paul Emery 38.32 (12th), Graham Williams 40.14 (14th), Suki Jandu 41.44 (15th), Peter Spelman 42.25 (16th), Pam Jones 42.37 (17th), Carol Muir 44.30 (18th and PB), Meredith Floate 45.00 (19th), Robin Davis 47.29 (20th), Gerry Pells 53.46(21st). Club President Les Hislop was unfortunately forced to pull out early on with a niggle but was fit enough to assist with the presentations aftterwards which took place outside the park cafe..
Meanwhile harrier Billy Green was put in his final prepartions for next weeks marathon with a 50.03 clocking at the Newham 10k.

The previous day Paul Emery and Carol Muir had also been in action at the weekly park run in Valentines with Paul improving his course pb to 23.21 (8th) and Carol just outside her previous best with 28.04 (18th)

The Club now look forward to next weeks blue riband event. the Virgin London Marathon, where volunteers will be manning the water station at 19 miles in Canary Wharf and supporting the many Ilford AC athletes as well as the mass field.
4th April 2011

Sun shines on Charity Race Day
A small contingent of Ilford athletes made there way to the Sunflower Clare Hospice near North Weald for their annual fund raising 10k race. The sun was out and a field of about 500 set out on an undulating course through the local countryside.
Neil Crisp was first man home in 16^th [37:53] closely followed by Gary Floate in 32^nd [40:02]. Robin Davis [63:00] closed the Men’s team.
Dianne Crisp was the first lady home in 104^th [46:26] with Natalie Crisp in 166^th [50:28], Pam Jones 233^rd [54:40], Meredith Floate [58:14] and Carol Muir [60:18].

The previous day Kevin Newell ran 18.33 in the 7th staging of the Valentines Park run held over 5k on the flat and scenic two lap course.

Marathon smiles

Ilford's young athletes are due to take part in the country's largest race in two week's time, following some excellent performances at the London Mini-marathon trials at Newham last weekend.

The star showing came from Alex Richards who has overcome years of injuries and illness to show sparkling form this season and showed his form with anelectric sprint finish to win the race, beating competitors from Redbridge, Newham, Waltham Forest and City of London. His time of 12.50 over the 4 kilometre course which took in the sights of the spectacular Olympic stadium, will put him in good stead for a good showing on Marathon day itself. Jack Maher was also a victor, this time in the under 13 age category, just ahead of team rival Israel Olujnimi, with a clocking of 16.15, which beat many runners his senior and was reward for months of hard training.

Kelly Mavididi was the pick of the Ilford girls, coming in 2nd with 17.48 in the under 15 age group after leading for a good part of the way but succumbing to the fast finish of Redbridge rival, Eleanor Foster. The under 15 boys category was highly competitive with Redbridge runners filling nine of the top 12 places, a testament to the excellent partnership work which has been taking place between Ilford AC and James Roberts, the dynamic coach at Seven Kings High School. Leading the way for Ilford was Sharmaarke Adan in 4th place with 15.37 who surprisingly managed to head the talented athletes, Ameer Mer, 5 seconds behind in 5th and Ricardo Da Silva in 8^th with 16.03. They will be joined by the talented Tom King who was match tied but preselected to ensure a strong showing on Marathon day.

Michael O'Callaghan also had a good run to join Alex Richards in the under 17 squad with 8th place, while Jaydah Alexander made an excellent debut in the under 13 girls to book a place in the team.

Regan Henry-Owen was unlucky to miss out finishing in 11th, while Rohail Najam and Cameron McIntosh also finished well.

The mini-marathon course takes in the final 3 miles of the famous marathon route finishing in the shadow of Buckingham Palace in front of an excited crowd of thousands of marathon followers.

Ilford Athletes Open Season

The first track and field meeting of the season took place in unseasonably warm weather and some excellent performances from the Ilford squad.

Pick of the athletes was Tamara Chambers who cruised to victory in the under 17 girls 100m with an excellent time of 13.1seconds, which followed a good second place in the long jump with a leap of 4.29m. In the under 17 boys 100m, there was a strong Ilford foursome with Qu Edwards narrowly grabbing the spoils in 12.1s ahead of Bobby Nkem-Ike in 12.2s. Simon Wilson has only been running for a short time but has rapidly developed into a quality sprinter with a time of 13.1s, just ahead of his brother Kevin. Bobby, Simon and Kevin were again in action in the 200m and setting good early season marks with 25.3, 27.1 and 31.8 seconds respectively. The third of the three Wilson brothers was unlucky to be dipped to the line in his 100m race with just half a seconds separating the two.

The club was well represented in the middle distance with a head to head promised between Ilford's form senior athlete Tom Gardner and the young pretender Alex Richards in the 1500m. Both set off at break neck speed with a 64 second lap and maintained the pace to the half way mark. The early laps eventually took their toll but both were pleased with times of 4.15.5 and 4.21.9 respectively. Tom King also ran well but his time of 5.10.9 in the under 17 boys race was affected by the strong early pace and could have been much faster given more even lap times.

Kelly Mavididi ran a perfectly executed race in the under 17s 300m as she came through the field to record 45.0 seconds, under a second behind the winner. As seemed to be the order of the day, a quick first lap put paid to a fast time in the 800m but her time of 2.35.1 was a good early mark to build on. Omar Rashid ran well in the 800m with a time of 2.22.4 but found the going hard in his second race of the day with 63.8 in the 400m, while Daniella Bonomo was pleased with her time of 15.8 in the 100m.

Pictures

1. Alex Richards wins London Mini-marathon trials
2. Ilford athletes Sharmaarke Adan, (Gowdeep Selvaranjan), Ricardo Da Silva, Ameer Mer and Kelly Mavididi get selected for Redbridge at mini-marathon trials.
3. Tom Gardner in 800m at Havering
4. Tom and Alex head to head in 1500m
5. Kelly Mavididi overcomes Newham athlete in 300m

28th March 2011

Ilford Men retain Essex County 5m Title and Ladies bring home County Bronze

A large contingent of 18 Ilford AC runners made their way to Braintree for the 2nd Annual Braintree 5m Road Race which also incorporated the Essex County Championships for the first time. Conditions over the undulating course were sunny if a little windy.

Hopes were high for the men to defend their title and they didn’t disappoint. Tom Gardner, fresh off the back of a fine performance at Victoria Park the previous day, set off in pursuit of another Essex Favourite, Crispian Bloomfield. However, after a titanic struggle Tom had to settle for 2nd in a fine time of 26.15. He was ably supported by Malcolm Muir [26:55], who after a steady start moved through to a final position of 4th. The team was closed by Ray Dzkowski [29:01 - 2nd Essex O 40], who edged ahead of Terry Knightley in the final stages. This performance was good enough for an Essex Team Gold medal. The “B” Team of Terry [29:20 - 2nd Essex O 50], Neil Crisp [29:44] and Kevin Newell [29:52] were just outside the medals in 4th position. Other finishes were Steve Parker [34:10], Colin Douglas [36:40 – new PB], making his debut for the club, Steve Cheal [38:25], Graham Williams [39:13 - Essex O 70 Champion] and Robin Davis [52:00].

In the Ladies race Dianne Crisp [36:16 - 2nd Essex O 45] came through strongly and was first Ilford Lady home. She was closely followed by Jenni Crisp [36:59 – new PB] and Nicola Hopkinson [37:13]. Their performances were good enough for an Essex Team Bronze medal. Other fine performances were from Natalie Crisp [39:53] , Pam Jones [43:31 - Essex O 65 Champion], Carol Muir [45:31] and Meredith Floate [46:17].

On Saturday Ilford AC's Tom Gardner fiinished 18th in a star studded field of 225 runners at the Victoria Park 5 miles in Hackney on Saturday with an excellent 25.49. Ben Jones however produced Ilford's run of the day clocking 27.32 to record a pb in 35th. Gary Flaote made up the Ilford trio with 76th place and 31.20. The race which included Morpeth international Nick McCormick was won by the prolific Kenyan, Simon Kasimili in 23.28.

On Friday John Batchelor lopped yet another 27 seconds off his M70 record in the Serpentine 5k race in Hyde Park with a time of 19:49. This brought him in 55th in a field of 242. The weather was perfect, warm sunny and almost windless.The British best, set in the nineties by a UK resident in Oregon, John Keston, is 19:18. Steve Charlton ran 19:27 as an M75! No other British runners are recorded under 20 minutes, though for some years there appear to be no M70 performances on record at all.

This weeks Valentines Park 5k run saw a debut performance by Ilford's Robin McNelis who tracked the leader round for 2nd place in a good time of 17.59. Paul Emery returned from a recent injury crossing the line in 24.09 and Carol Muir ran a personal course PB in 27.55.

Ultra man Peter Spelman went a little bit further when competing abroad in the Eco-trail de Paris Spelman covered the 82.5k (just over 51 miles) in around 12 hours. This is a unique cross country event where competitors have the unique opportunity to dicover the woods and forest trails of the ile de Frace region with the second half of the race held in darkness and finishing on the first level of the Eiffel Tower!

With now less than 4 weeks to the London marathon 3 Ilford runners continued their preparations to good effect by competing in the Oakley 20 mile road race in Bedfordshire. Iain Knight led the squad home with a solid 2.12.47 for 30th position overall. He was followed in by Bree Nordin in 2.34.56 who was 1st in her category and Sally Gillam clocking 2.48.55 for 8th in her category, showing that all 3 are well on course for their respective marathon targets. Philip Critchlow of Beaumont headed the field of 796 runners with a time of 1.57.42.

21st March 2011
On the 4th consecutive weekend of County competion Ilford AC fielded 4 teams in the annual Essex Road Relays at Chelmsford. Conditions were ideal with a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Expectations for the Men’s team were high. Alex Richards (20.56) lead the A team off and performed well in his first outing for the Seniors. He handed over to Malcolm Muir (19.03) who ran a very solid leg. Next up was Tom Gardner (18.52) who, with the best club performance of the day lifted the team into 3^rd position, Last man up was Ian Campbell (19.46) who ran the best O50 performance of the day, but was unable to hold off the attentions of Adam Hickey [Southend - fastest lap] and Grant Twist [Havering Mayesbrook], and had to finally settle for 5^th place overall. The B Team of Terry Knightley (21.19), Ben Jones (20.18), James Roberts (22.13) and Neil Crisp (21.57) all had solid runs and finished 10^th overall. The incomplete C Team of Michael O’Callaghan (24.07), [Senior debut], Steve Parker (25.01) and the evergreen Graham Williams (30.12) also had very encouraging runs.

The Ladies team were led off by Natalie Crisp (30.04) who, after a steady start worked her way through the field to hand over to Dianne Crisp (26.49), who ran the quickest of the Ilford trio. She handed over to Jenni Crisp (27.13) who closed the team in a very creditable 7^th place.

Meanwhile the Club also had 4 runners contesting the historic Orion 15 over the classic and notoriously tough mud and climbs of Chingford's Epping Forest. Iain Knight was Ilford's leading man coming home in 1.47.26 for 23rd overall. Kevin Newell wasa not far behind in 35th place clocking 1.50.37. In the women's section Nicola Hopkinson enjoyed a good run recording 2.15.36 for 196th ahead ofg Sally Gillam 2.23.58 for 247th. 326 weary runners completed the course with Frenchman Cedric Lassonde quickest on the day with 1.31.45.

Earlier in the morning many Ilford members were out either as volunteers or runners at the 5th Valentintines Park Run where a record 31 runners contested the scenic 5k course of 2 laps. Frank McGowan tweaked a hamstring on the bridge and had to pull out but Peter and Mitzi Spelman both ran in tandem to finish in 10th place recording 24.32. Ilford's premier hammer thrower, Wesley Clarke made a cameo appearance finishing 18th in 27.26 with Robin Davis setting the mark for the best male 60 time recorded so far with 28.22 and 23rd position. Park runs continue in Valentines Park every Saturday morning at 9am.

The following day the prolific Malcolm Muir was back in action in the Reading Half marathon. Despite his sore legs the Ilford man was pleased with his 73.32 which gave him 49th place in a field packed with international quality. His sister Carol accompanied him to post a time of 2.19.14. Kenyan Simon Kasimilli led home a mass field of over 12000 finishers in 63.07.

Meanwhile at the Brentwood Half marathon Darren Bottrill was 1st home for the club, 1.30.24 (101st), followed by Bree Nordin, 1.33.06 (142nd) and Tony Partridge 1,43.12 (362nd).

The Men and Ladies squads now make their way to Braintree next Sunday [Last race of the Winter Trophy] where the Men hope to defend their County 5m Team Trophy.

14th March 2011

Road and Cross Country
Ilford AC’s super veteran John Batchelor took the M70 gold at the BMAF cross country championships held at Perry Park, Birmingham on Saturday finishing 34seconds ahead of twice former winner Fred Gibbs Of Bingley Harriers.The M65’s and M70’s men raced over 6k with the women of all age groups with Batchelor magnanimous in his victory stating that he was lucky that the fast course gave him the advantage over his fell-running, mud-splashing northern opposition. “On their kind of course I would have been in deep.trouble”

In the M35-64 race Spencer Hempsted also had a brilliant run in a very high class field of 185 runners who blasted off on an 8k course. The Ilford man clocked a very fast 27.59 which gave him 15^th overall and 9^th in the m40 category. Ilford second claimer Iain Campbell was also present running under his Scottish colours of Cambuslang. His finishing time was 28.23 which placed him third in the M50-M54s.

Ilford also managed to turn out 5 teams in the Essex Relay Championships which were held in conjunction with the Chingford Relays at Highams Park on Saturday. With full results and times not yet available the Ilford mens “A” string of Ben Jones, Tom Gardner, Ray Dzikowski and Malocolm Muir finished a very respectable 4^th place just outside the medals. Others in action for the men were Terry Knightley, Kevin Newell, Neil Crisp, Darren Bottrill, Steve Cheal, Frank McGowan, Martin Clarke and Steve Parker. Bree Nordin, Nicola Hopkinson, Dianne Crisp, Jenni Crisp, Sally Gillam, Meredith Floate and Pam Jones made up the two Ilford women’s teams.

Nicola Hopkinson and Sally Gillam were back in action the following day lining up in a field of 489 finishers at the Finchley 20 at Hillingdon held over the usual 4 lap course.. The oldest 20 mile road race in the country saw Hopkinson finish in 2.50.55 for 276^th with Gillam less than a minute behind in 2.51.54 for 288^th. Both are well on track for good times in next month’s London marathon. The race was won by Ben Fish of Blackburn Harriers in 1.47.49 with Billericay’s Crispian Bloomfield runner up in 1.50.52. Dulwich Harrier Clare Elms, a prolific racer of late, took the women’s race in 2.08.08.

Track and Field
Ahmed Strikes Gold at Essex County Indoor Champs

Asad Ahmed fulfilled his potential on Saturday with a commanding victory in the 60 metre sprint at the Essex Indoor Championships. Making his debut indoors, he showed great maturity in recording 7.84 seconds in the heats and going even faster in the final with 7.80 seconds.

Also making her indoor debut, Ashley Nti-Agyemang won a bronze medal in the 60m with 8.50 seconds in the under 20 women's category, while Tamara Chambers was unfortunate to be in a very high quality 60m final in the younger age group with an excellent time of 8.16 seconds. Both ladies are at the bottom of their age group and will go onto greater things next year.

Michael O'Callaghan was making his debut for any track race in the under 20 800 metres and did well to record 2:19.7 for 6th place. A quick first two laps of 61 seconds held him in contention at the halfway mark but took their toll as he struggled towards the end and he will be looking for much quicker as the outdoor season starts.

7th March 2011

Ilford AC continued their recent county success on a full weekend of running action with yet another crop of medals at the Essex 20 mile road championships held at Great Bromley near Colchester on Sunday morning. Malcolm Muir led the mens squad to a well deserved bronze team medal with an excellent run of 1hr 53 .53 as a cold icy wind blew round an exposed yet predominantly flat two lap course. Muir placed 3rd overall after passing Colchester's ultra man Alan Smalls on the finishing hill which also gave him the the county silver as the winner came from Kent. Iain Knight also performed admirably smashing his previous PB with a superb 2.02.47 for 14th place after going through the half way mark dead on the hour. The third Ilford scorer home was the evergreen Terry Knightley who became a double gold medallist after adding to his county half marathon gold of the previous week with another category win in the over 50s.
Ilford's "B" string of Kevin Newell 29th in 2.07.22, Darren Bottrill 34th in 2.10.47 and Neil Crisp 49th in 2.15.07 also put in some very good work. The much travelled Steve Parker chipped in with a good 2.29.29 despite having 3 races from a week in Lanzarote still in his legs. Declan Cullen and Billy Green deserve special mention recording 2.51.52 and 2.56,53 respectively both showing that their London Marathon prepartions are well on track.

In the women's race Bree Nordin duplicated Knightley's performance by also doubling with another gold in the womens over 45 category as she cruised round the course in a very respectable 2.26.02. Nicola Hopkinson was second Ilford scorer, happy with her 2.42.47 after confessing they she may have started a little too fast for her intended plan. Sally Gillam ran strongly and even paced throughout to finish in good shape with 2.50.03 to close the team to a creditable 4th place. Carol Muir was another happy to finish within her target time with 3.58.09.
Both races were memorable for both the mens and womens course records falling in a sellout field of 450. Laura Cowley of Herts Phoenix ran a storming 2.04.06 while James Connor of Kent AC hit 1.44.15 a time faster than anyone else in the country ran last year and will take some beating.

Elsewhere Gary and Meredith Floate were in action at the Heathside 5 with both improving considerably on last years efforts. Gary was 55 seconds quicker finishing 22nd in 32.44 whilst Meredith improved by 1minute 15 seconds to record 49.11 for 132nd. Saturday's Valentines Park run over 5k saw Sally Gillam finish as 1st lady for the second week running and improving to 23.49 whilst first timer Martin Clarke was 6th home in 22.44.

28th February 2011

Ilford AC capped a great weekend of running action when taking both the men and women team gold medals in the Essex Half marathon championships at Roding Valley on Sunday.

On a bright but crisp morning ideal for running the mens scoring trio was Malcolm Muir 5th overall in a time of 74.15 followed closely by Iain James Knight 8th in a personal best of 77.24 and Terry Knightley 29th in 81.25. Knightley also claimed individual Gold in the mens over 50 category. Kevin Newell was unlucky to miss out on a scoring spot chasing Knightlley home in 81.28 which placed him 33rd. The women were once again led home by Bree Nordin with a time of 1hr 34.49 secs to become the individual womens over 45 county champion. On a difficult and undulating course she was ably supported by excellent runs from both Nicola Hopkinson 1.41.29, and Sally Gillam 1.48.15. Pam Jones belied her 74 years to clock 2.07.08 to take gold in the womens over 55 category. Carol Muir completed the course in 2.21.26.
Enfield and Haringey's Shaun Collins was first past post heading a field of nearly 900 finishers. Dulwich veteran Clare Elms was the class act in the womens race going through the line in 80.07.
Other Ilford runners were:- Neil Crisp (1hr.25.00), Steve Allen( 1hr 37.00), Martin Clarke (1hr 41.44), Tony Partridge (1hr.45.40), Declan Cullen (1hr 49.19), Graham Williams (1hr 50.55), Rohan Alexander (2hr 19.25).

The excellent weekend had started well for the club with a good performance by 2 Ilford runners at the Serpentine 5k on Friday.

Enjoying unseasonally warm weather, Malcolm Muir placed 8th of the 201 runners, and first over-35, in Friday's monthly Serpentine 5K in 16:09. Though 10 seconds faster than the time that won him the race in August last year, he, like everyone else, was well outclassed by winner James Shane's 14:44, which was close to the course record. John Batchelor, though feeling tired and a little disappointed, took another 10 seconds from his V70 course record set last month with 20:16 in 67th overall place.

Saturday morning witnessed an Ilford one two in the Valentines Park run where Darren Bottrill just pipped Frank McGowan with a time of 19.14. Bottrill had recovered from losing about 100 meteres when going off course while leading the race. Sally Gillam was 1st lady home in 23.56 withy Carol Muir 28.12 just getting the better of Meredith Floate who ran a personal best of 28.27.

21st February 2011
The highlight of the English Cross Country season took place on Saturday with a rollercoaster day of action as runners headed towards Alton Towers for the Saucony sponsored National Championships. First staged in 1876 the Championships returned to the Staffordshire venue after a 3 year absence with towards 1500 runners lining up for the start of the senior men's race. This year Malcolm Muir led Ilford AC's assault on the 12k course that boasted something for everyone: twists, turns, firm,fast a bit of sticky mud for the purists and a startling almost comical hill to rival the nearby theme park. Muir's excellent time of 42.02 was less than 7 minutes behind the winner Steve Vernon of Stockport and gave him a pleasing 189th place out of 1302 finishers. Kevin Newell was another Ilford man happy with his time of 48.09 which placed him well in the top half of the field with 542nd. Matt Maple who has raced sparingly of late also made the trip and was happy to get round in 56.12for 976th.

Elsewhere several members of Michael Whiteheads "young rascals" group for under 11s competed with some good success at the Lee Valley minithon at Picketts Lock.

The following day the Club helped Redbridge Sports and Leisure with the inaugural staging of the borough's "Park Run" initiative held over a measured 5k course in Valentines Park. Despite a horrendously wet morning several brave volunteers turned out to assist with the organisation and marshalling as well as 7 Ilford runners also taking part in the race itself. Best of the bunch was Ben Jones who posted a very good time of 17.32 for 2nd place overall. Bree Nordin was 2nd lady home in 21.31. Other runners were Sally Gillam 17th (4th lady) 24.13, Peter Spelman 19th equal with Mitzy Spelman 25.42 Carol Muir 21st in 28.14. Robin Davis 26th 32.47. The morning was an undoubted success for an inaugural event and the runs will continue to take place in the park at 9.00am every Saturday.

14th February 2011

Ilford AC brought their Essex Cross Country League campaign to a successful conclusion with a marvellous 2nd place in the final fixture at Chingford on Saturday. Veteran Spencer Hempsted relished the extremely wet and boggy Orion course as he ploughed through the quagmire to finish in 6th spot. Close behind Tom Gardner showed he is on the way back to fitness with 10th place just in front of a slightly below par Malcolm Muir in 13th .Ben Jones and Darren Bottrill had an almighty tussle which was epitomised by a desperate final sprint for the line when Jones finished spreadeagled face down in the mud in 37th to just pip his teammate one place behind. Kevin Newell produced a great performance to close the team in 45th. Ilfords "B" string saw Neil Crisp 55th, Terry Knightley 65th, Frank McGowan 67th, Steve Parker 106th and Steve Cheal 140th. Basildon's county champion Mark Sanford took the spoils ahead of a field of 146 runners.

In the women's race Bree Nordin 27th steered the squad to 8th place out of 16 competing teams. Jenni Crisp 29th, Dianne Crisp 30th, and Sally Gillam 57th were the other scorers whilst Pam Jones 71st and Meredith Floate 82nd provided good back up. The race was won by Havering's Harriet Scott.

Ilford youngster Alex Richards produced a star performance in the boys under 17 race where his 4th place was by far his most impressive performance of the cross country season.

Once again the Club fielded a scoring under 15 boys team. Ameer Mer 20th, Thomas King 22nd, Ricardo Da Silva 24th and Sharmaarke Adan 25th have turned out consistently throughout the season and have achieved invaluable experience against some very good opposition. They were rewarded by a creditable 5th place in the final standings out of 11 competing teams. At the presentation afterwards there were awards for Dianne Crisp (45+) and Terry Knightley (50+) who were both 2nd in their respective categories.

The previous weekend Ilford's super golden oldie Graham Williams achieved in an excellent time of 48.26 in the over 70s category to p lace 250 out of 750 finishers when running in the Ashford 10k in Kent.

7th February 2011

Ilford Athletic Club had 6 runners on parade at the Great Bentley half marathon on Sunday morning where Iain Knight recorded a very solid 20th place clocking 81.06 in some extremely windy conditions on what is ussually a very flat and benign course. Darren Bottrill followed him home in 89.52 for 101st with Steve Parker showing some excellent form with his 93.49 good enough for 150th.
Bree Nordin put in an impressive performance for the women defeating her arch rival Sue Spong of Havering 90 for the top 50 prize. Nordin's time of 95.03 was also good enough for 160th overall being bettered by only one woman over 45. Martin Clarke continues his comeback weighing in with 99.37, 226th and 3rd place in the MV55 category. Also runnning was Sally Gillam who clocked 116.21 for 491st spot, having raced the day before in the Chingford League.
728 runners completed the race which was won by James Connor of Kent AC in 68.33. Colchester's Sarah Stradling took the top women's spot with an impressive 76.52.

Elsewhere a crack squad of Ilford athletes runners made the trip to West Sussex to compete in the Chichester Priory 10k where Malcolm Muir led the team to a provisional 2nd place after blasting out an excellent time of 32.17 (19th), his 2nd best ever over the distance. He was more than ably supported by top veteran Spencer Hempsted whose 33.07 (27th) gave him 3rd place in the over 40 mens category. Ben Jones was also back in action after returning from travelling and acquitted himself well with a good time of 36.04 (79th). Carol Muir chipped in 61.01. Over 1600 made up a top quality field with Ben Noad of Highgate ,30.04, narrowly taking the mens spoils from Paul Martelletti of VPTH and Southends Adam Hickey. Liz Yelling of Bedford and County was the class act in the women's race winning in 34.04.

Youngster Alex Richards was the top under 18 runner of the day when he guested for the club in the Chingford League at Victoria Park on Saturday. RIchards stormed to 7th place overalll finishing in 27.38 on a course believed to be just short of 5 miles.

31st January 2011
Alex Richards led a strong squad of junior Ilford AC athletes at the Southern Counties Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill on Saturday.
Richards braved the biting wind and the notorious slopes at the 'home of cross country' to finish an excellent 101st place in the under 17 category. After a steady
start, he moved strongly through the field on the four mile course, missing a top 100 space by just 1 second in 23.47 minutes. He was ably supported by
Michael O'Callaghan who although not at his best, still managed an excellent 170th.

The club closed a full team for the first time in over 20 years in a junior category in the under 15 race. Tom King led Ameer Mer throughout the race until the final sprint,
when Mer took advantage of the quick downhill finish to sprint by for 213th, with King, who has been recovering from injury and illness, 4 places behind. Not far behind Sharmaarke Adan and Ricardo Da Silva were battling hard for the remaining two team places. Da Silva ran the steadier race and managed to overhaul Adan in the final straight as he
began to tire in the last mile with the pair recording 234th and 237th respectively. Adan was particularly pleased with his performance which showed a return to form after a disappointing run in the County Championships.

Jack Maher was the final junior athlete running in the under 13 boys category. Despite his youthful age, Maher ran a confident race in the difficult conditions and was pleased with his excellent 153rd place. Ilford AC also closed a team in the senior women's race, with Breege Nordin running a strong race for 214th place, with Dianne Crisp a minute behind on
the 5 mile course in 246th place. Nicola Hopkinson ran strongly for 261st while Meredith Floate completed the team in 381st.

Ilford's senior mens squad was missing athletes and with Iain Knight succumbing to the tough 9 mile course finished one short of a full team.
Malcolm Muir ran well but was a little off his best as he led the team home in 143rd in 56 minutes, while Darren Bottrill was on excellent form for his 238th place.
Neil Crisp recorded a rare victory ahead of team mate Kevin Newell in 357th and 379th respectively. Steve Parker made up the squad with a dependable run in 707th place.

The previous day Ilford's super golden oldie, John Batchelor, returned to competition following a hamstring injury when 5 days after his 70th birthday he broke the over 70's course record
at Hyde Park in the monthly Sepentine 5k. Batchelor's time of 20.26 was even more remarkable considering the very cold and windy conditions which he described as very testing.

Tom King and Alex Richards were in action earlier in the week, but this time to collect a cheque from the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games Fund at City
Hall. The grant is awarded to Redbridge Council for work with Ilford Athletic Club to develop youth athletics in the borough with innovative initiatives aimed
at encouraging young people to take up the sport in the run up to the Olympics. Richards and King were delighted to meet Boris Johnson and other sporting celebrities such as Arsenal's Rachel Yankey.

24th January 2011
The Magnificent 7
Ilford AC had 7 athletes competing at the annual Benfleet 15. Iain James Knight brought the team home by coming in 15^th out of 583 finishers. The Ilford man started easily before picking up the pace as he progressed through the challenging course finishing flat out in a fantastic personal best time of 1:37:43, a five minute improvement from last year. He was well supported by Darren Bottrill who finished in 21^st as he battled hard through the undulating Hadleigh Downs with mud,sludge and extremely boggy patches testing the strength of each runner. Bottrill was another achieveing a personal best time by knocking off 2 minutes from his previous as he recorded 1:39:13. Cross country captain Kevin Newell learned the lesson from last year running at even pace for 32^nd in yet another PB time of 1:42:58. Breege Nordin was the club's only lady running superbly to completed a good time of 2:11:33 in 248^th.

Other runners were Terry Knightley 1:56:17 (123^rd), Steve Allen 1:58:56 (145^th) & Stephen Parker 2:03:54 (181)10th January 2011

Elsewhere top Ilford Veterans Spencer Hempsted and Ray Dzikowski both had excellent runs when guesting in the Chingford League held over a muddy course set by Orion Harriers on Saturday. Hempsted crossed the line in an excellent 3rd place with only Woodford Green's Ronnie Sparke and Bertie Powell getting the better of him. Dzikowski for his part chipped in with an excellent 18th place.

10th January 2011

An excellent turnout by 7 of Ilford AC's promising young runners spearheaded the Club's challenge at the Essex Cross Country Championships held at Hadleigh Downs on Saturday.
In what many were to describe as a mud bath the hardy contingent battled well over the unforgiving terrain!! First up was Jack Maher in the U13 Boys who ran well to finish in 24^th.
In the U15 Boys the quartet of Thomas King [18^th], Ameer Mer [23^rd], Ricardo Da Silva [30^th] and Sharmaake Adan [37^th] placed a very creditable 5th in the team competition, which is the first time the Club has closed a team in this category for about 20 years. In the U17 Mens race Alex Richards [18^th] and Michael O'Callaghan [37^th] battled well in the deteriorating conditions.
In the Senior Womens race a depleted squad was lead home by Dianne Crisp [37^th] followed by Nicola Hopkinson [51^st] and the evergreen Pam Jones [76^th].
The Senior Mens race saw some excellent performances. Malcolm Muir, enjoying the conditions was 7^th. He was closely followed by Spencer Hempsted [10^th]. Ray Dzikowski [29^th] and Darren Bottrill [31^st] enjoying a welcome return to form were next in. Closing the team were Neil Crisp [49^th] and Kevin Newell [79^th]. This was good enough for a fine 4^th place overall. Also competing were Terry Knightley [87^th], Steve Allen [99^th] and Steve Parker [116^th].

3rd January 2011

Ilford AC had 16 athletes competing as they hosted their annual 10 mile cross country event in Hainault Forest last Sunday. Malcolm Muir retained his title with the fastest time ever recorded on this course clocking an impressive 58 minutes and 43 seconds. The 3 lap course of mud and hills was at its boggiest following the recent thaw but Muir made light work of the conditions to run away from 2^nd place man Matt Molloy of Woodford Green and lapping nearly a quarter of the field of over 100 runners.

lford’s Iain Knight won the Club silver after a classic struggle for third place overall. Knight had shed a shoe in the boggy section towards the end of the second lap causing him to drop to 5^th behind Orion’s Neil McGoun and Barking’s Stephen Philcox. Remarkably the Ilford man recovered both his composure and position to battle through the last lap without it finishing triumphant in a time of 1hr 3.45. Alex Richards was another Ilford youngster who excelled himself with a blinding run for 7^th place finishing in 1hr.4.51 which also gave him the bronze in the club championships. Richards was originally only planning to do 2 laps but happily decided to stay on for the full trip.

Darren Bottrill also had an excellent run coming home in 9^th place and recording 1hr 5.25. Further scorers in the 10 strong team contesting a closely fought mob match were Neil Crisp (16^th,1hr 8.16), Kevin Newell(19^th, 1hr 9.17), Terry Knightley(28^th, 1hr 12.55), John Mackenzie(46^th, 1hr18.28), Steve Parker(51^st, 1hr 19.42) and Bree Nordin(54^th, 1hr 20.17). So close was it that the scores of the mob match went to countback with Orion prevailing over the host club by just 1 point. Scores were as follows:- Orion 233 points, Ilford 234 points, East London 543 points.

In the womens race Bree Nordin took the Ilford Gold medal with her performance as well as being the first vet over 45 home. Nicola Hopkinson (76^th, 1hr27.51) took the silver and Sally Gillam(78^th, 1hr 28.21) the bronze . The ladies overall winner was triathlete Louise Rolfe who finished in 1hr 11.02.

Other Ilford performances were Steve Allen (55^th, 1hr 22.07) Martin Clarke (56^th, 1hr 22.22), Graham Williams (83^rd, 1hr 32.06), Peter Spelman (88^th, 1hr 35.07), Carol Muir (98^th, 2hr.04.11)