Hawassa Half Marathon Ethiopia Saturday 9th February 2019 Two Ilford athletes, Doris Gaga and Julie Galea traveled to Ethiopia this weekend to take part in the Hawassa Half Marathon. The race is the brainchild of Ethiopia’s greatest distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, who was in attendance to support the event with all proceeds going towards the conservation of Lake Hawassa and the Hippopotamus which live there. Both athletes had trained hard for the event, however with an altitude of 1700m above sea level and temperatures hovering above 30 degrees the winter training in Ilford was never going to be able to prepare them fully for the race. Both runners however thoroughly enjoyed the run, a mixture of road and trail including …Read More
Press Report 5th February 2019
Essex League Cross Country Basildon Saturday 2nd February JUNIORS Hick shines in last Essex league race In the last Essex league X country for 2018/19,Ilford only had 3 younger athletes compete,due to other races and injuries. However the 3 athletes all competed to a high standard on the day. First up was 10 year old Aaron Hick ,competing in the U11s race. Aaron was third in the previous race so had high hopes again to compete well. About 60 youngsters started the race but Aaron had a very poor start and had to weave himself through the field in the first part of the race to move into the top 10 The Basildon athlete got a great start and was …Read More
Press Report 28th January 2019
2019 Southern Cross Country Championships Parliament Hill Saturday 26th January The 2019 Southern Cross_country Championship were held last weekend at Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath, considered to be the home of English Cross-Country. The mass start up the hill is exhilarating for athletes and spectators alike with all the hallmarks of a charge into battle and the crush at the top of that first hill is a welcome break for the runners legs The challenging course was firmer than usual due to the dry weather this winter which led to some good racing, although the course was not without its mud baths in places. After a hard battle with the hills that Parliament hill is famous for, the runners …Read More
Press Report 22nd January 2019
Essex Schools XC Championships Hockley Saturday 19th January 2019 Seven of Ilford’s young athletes travelled to Hockley at the weekend, to compete in the Essex Schools Cross country championships. In each race the first 20 would be chosen to represent Essex at The South East Inter Counties, with the top 6 also automatically picked for the English schools Championships later in the year With the Athletes representing their Boroughs rather than the clubs, it was hard to keep an eye on the athletes in their unfamiliar vests. First up was Matthew Hick representing Havering in the U15 boys, Matthew has been lacking in confidence lately and this was shown by his very cautious start., which meant he was always going …Read More
Press Report 21st January 2019
Veterans AC Masters Wimbledon Common Saturday 19th January 2019 The Veterans Masters Cross Country Championships took place last Saturday on a 2 lap course compromising gravel tracks and playing fields at Wimbledon Common. Held over a distance of 4.5 miles Ilfords one representative was Trevor Robinson. Trevor finished in 35th place in a time of 35:40 which gave him a Bronze medal in the V45 category Benfleet 15 Sunday 20th January 2019 Ilford AC fielded 2 runners in the Benfleet 15 held at Hadleigh Downs on Sunday. The course is a very challenging multi terrain course comprising hard sections of the Canvey Island sea wall contrasting with marshland and the undulating Hadleigh downs. Starting downhill and finishing on a mile …Read More