Southern League Report
The first race of the Southern League, held in Stevenage, proved to be a successful day for Ilford, where the team came a comfortable 4th place in Division 2 of the League.
Much thanks must go to Team Managers, coaches, officials and volunteers who contributed to the team’s success.
Ilford’s sprinters shone brightly in some highly competitive races. Krystle Balogun finished 5th in 13.07 in the women’s 100m A string, and 3rd in 26.43 in the 200m A string. Her contributions to the success of the Ilford track team season after season have been pivotal, and this shows no sign of changing. Young athletes Rachel Obeng and Stacey Kwarteng-Amaniampong also put in assured performances, with Rachel finishing 3rd in the 100m B string, and Stacey 4th in the 200m B string. Bineta Keita and Jasmine Shaer also competed in the 100m with good seasons bests. Jasmine also had a great leg in the relay later and jumped 3.33m in the long jump.
On the men’s side, several more young athletes showed their importance to the club. Ian Johnson’s 11.1 in the A string 100m and Jaydan Roberts-Edward’s 11.3 in the B string saw them finish 5th and 4th respectively. The A string was notable for its quality, with 3 runners running under 11 seconds. In the 200m Jaydan’s 23.16 saw him finish 5th in the A string, with Adam Idouhra also finishing 5th in the B string in 26.12. Adam also ran a new PB in the non-scoring 100m of 12.42 and Damien Kwarteng-Amaniampong also ran a new PB 11.53.
In the middle distance events, our reliance on stalwart Jordan Hinds is as evident as ever, with wonderful performances in the 400, 800, and 1500 metres. Her 2nd place finishes in the 400 and 800 A strings, with times of 62.38 and 2:19.84 were impressive enough, but her great day was capped off by a commanding victory in the 1500 A string in a time of 4:51.26.
The contributions of Osawhese Suma and Anna Crawley were also important, with Osawhese coming 2nd in the 400m B string, with a time of 73.52, and Anna coming 3rd in the 800m B string, and 2nd in the 1500m B string.
James Thake, Dylan Harrod, and Ronan Edwards were all big point scorers in their races. James, who always gives his all for the club, ran strong times in the 400A string, coming 5th in 54.44, and the 1500B string, where his tactical nous was on display, as he won in 4:21.62. Dylan, who has been in brilliant form in training, was impressive in both the 400m and 800m, finishing 2nd in the 400m A string in 53.61, and 1st in the 800m B string in 2:00.43. Ronan was a standout performer, finishing 1st in the 1500 A string, in 4:07.74, and 3rd in the 800 A string in 1:58.64. James brother Luke in his first senior fixture ran a brilliant 58.40 in the 400m breaking 60 seconds for the first time.
In the hurdles and long distance events of the day, Josh Adler proved dependable with a 1st place in the B string 3000m steeplechase and a 4th place in the 5000m A string. His willingness to tackle the 400m hurdles was also appreciated, where he came 2nd in the B string. Rhys Edwards ran two wonderful races in the 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase respectively, coming 2nd and 3rd in the A strings of each event. His hurdling technique is second to none, and was particularly evident in his mastery of the steeplechase’s notorious water-jump. Anna Crawley again showed her great form, finishing in 11:21.37 in the women’s 3000m. This represented a substantial personal best for her, which is a deserved reward for her hard work. Berekhet Berakhy showed that veterans can still make an important contribution to the team with an excellent track 5km PB of 17.28 for 3rd place in the B race. Ryder Islam also ran his first 5000m on the track and an excellent 800m of 2.18. Finally Bradley Brown ran an excellent 20.06 in the 5k, almost dipping under 20 minutes with his customary strong finish.
In the field events many athletes were willing to go out of their comfort zone to help the club. Notable contributions came from Pete Whiting in the Javelin and Shotput, an Ilford mainstay, as well as the ever-dependable Nat Senior, Krystle Balogun. Contributions from Ronan and Rhys in the men’s triple jump, Jaydan and Damien in the men’s long jump, and Stacey and Rachel in the women’s long jump, were pivotal in Ilford securing 4th place overall. James Thake, Osawhese Suma, Bineta Keita and Ryder Islam in the high jump also showed their willingness to help out the team. Omotola Sadre on her debut scored vital points in the women’s javelin (15.40m) and shot-put (5.89m). She will return on the next match in her preferred event of the discus and hammer which were unfortunately cancelled for this fixture. Azaria Penny-Feather is another young athlete who helped Ilford greatly, coming 5th in the javelin and jumping 1.30m in the high jump. Their efforts are much appreciated.
The relays proved exciting affairs, with Ilford coming 3rd in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, 4th in the men’s 4x100m and 3rd in the men’s 4x400m. All athletes excelled themselves in a highly competitive field.
Colchester Zoo Stampede 10k
Billy Green took part in the annual Colchester Zoo stampede at the weekend . Starting inside the Zoo, which was still closed to the public, the start was a little congested as the runners passed the Camel enclosure, which gave Billy the ‘hump’ a little, before heading out into the rural streets of Colchester. A steep incline in the final kilometer takes runners back into the Zoo for the finish. Billy was pleased with his time of 49:06 which placed him 4th in his age grouping.
Great Baddow 10M
Malcolm Muir was the only Ilford competitor in this years Great Baddow 10, which takes runners around a traffic free course of the Essex village. Malcolm had a great run, finishing in 7th place overall and second in his age grouping in a time of 62:22
Chester Half Marathon
The 43th Chester Half Marathon was held on a bright warm sunny morning on a predominantly flat course with the early and late miles in the city centre. The race starts from the race course and finishes outside Chester Cathedral. There were over 6500 starters and Ilford Ac’s Rob Sargent ran a steady race to finish in 2 hrs 23 mins 07 secs for place 4405. This gave him 4th spot in the qualifying event for the England Masters selection event for a match against Wales later in the year, so he just missed out on selection for the event.
