Press Report 24th March 2014  

Mar 242014
 
ESSEX ROAD RELAYS – CHELMSFORD SATURDAY 22ND MARCH
Vet 45 Ladies shine once again!!
Last Saturday saw 20 runners from Ilford AC participate in the annual Essex Road Relays at Chelmsford. Ilford AC were able to field 2 teams in the Ladies race and 4 in the Men’s which made us one of the best represented teams there.
Over the normal 3.5mile  [approx] course round the country lanes of Chelmsford the Vet Ladies 45 team were the pick of the teams as Mel Jones [26:18 1st leg], Dianne Crisp [27:48 2nd leg] and Nicola Hopkinson [27:58 3rd leg] sealed an excellent team performance taking the bronze medal.
In the Senior Ladies race Jenni Sheehan [26:30 1st leg], Krystle Balogun [24:18 2nd leg] and the evergreen Pam Jones [35:34 3rd leg] finished a very creditable 6th.
Due to ineligibility on the part of our youngsters and Blair McWhirter, Ilford AC were unable to field their strongest Senior Men’s A Team. However, this did not prevent some excellent performances on the day.
The Men’s A Team of Sam Rahman [21:32], Tom Gardner [19:36], Kevin Newell [21:58] and Malcolm Muir [18:51] finished a fine 7th place. The Men’s B team of Usamah Patel [20:05], Blair McWhirter [18:35 and 3rd quickest of the day], Jack Maher [21:29] and Michael Horsey [23:00] combined well to finish 8th overall.
In the Men’s V40 race Steve Cheal [28:07], Kieran McKenna [23:23] and Rob Sargent [27:12] finished 11th.
The Men’s V50 team of Neil Crisp [22:20], Steve Parker [25:54] and Satha Alaganandasundaram [27:04] were just out of the medals in 5th place.
[shashin type=”album” id=”129″ size=”medium” crop=”n” columns=”max” caption=”y” order=”date” position=”center”]

Orion 15
Club stalwart Iain Wilson was Ilford’s sole representative at the 60th running of the classic Orion 15 on Saturday morning. In the usual very sticky and tough hilly conditions Wilson acted as pacemaker for his wife Mary who is training for May’s Edinburgh marathon.
Brentwood Half Marathon
After a good run in Saturday’s relays Ilford’s Sam Rahman was back in action the following day to post a  time of 82.19 for 32nd place in the Brenwood Half Marathon. Robin McNelis led the troops home with a fine 79.40 for 16th ahead of Steve Philcox who ran 81.37 for 26th place. Paul Holloway was not far adfrift clocking 85.30 for 51st and Richard Mould chipped in with 89.42 for 102nd. Breege Nordin was the only female Ilford representative producing her usual consistently good performance when recording 95.12 for 194th. Kent AC’s James Connor headed the field of nearly 2500 finishers.

  Press Report 17/03/2014  

Mar 182014
 

British Masters Cross-Country Championship

Tollcross Park, Glasgow
Saturday 15 March

The British Masters Cross-Country Championships were held on a testing but firm grass hard course at Tollcross Park, Glasgow on a windy Saturday afternoon.

The first race was the women’s’ 6km event over 3 laps. Ilford Athletic Club had two representatives in the race with Dianne Crisp finishing 73th in 28 mins 30secs who 15th in the F50 age group. Local legend Pam Jones crossed the line in 37m 48s for first in the F75 grouping to take the gold medal.

There was more success for the club in the men’s 8km race where Malcolm Muir placed 3rd in the M35 grouping with 26m 39s and was 6th overall. Kevin Newell recorded 30m 57s for 10th in the same age group and 70th overall, while Neil Crisp had a good run in 79th in 31m 25s. Also in action were Steve Parker in 122nd with 37m 05, Rob Sargent(127th 39.330 and Steve Cheal (36.36 128th). Crisp, Parker, Sargent and Cheal combined as a M45 team and were placed 6th.

[shashin type=”album” id=”128″ size=”medium” crop=”n” columns=”max” caption=”n” order=”date” position=”left”]

Colchester Half Marathon
Sunday 16 March

Blair McWhirter continued his winning form in the Colchester Half Marathon last Sunday. Ilford AC runner McWhirter led home the 2000 plus entrants in 69m 09 beating last years winner and local club man Adrian Mussett into second.

Further back there was a big new personal best for Satha Alaganandasundaram in 430th spot. His time of 1h 47m 26ss beat his previous best by 4 1/2 minutes.

Both of these runners are in the Ilford squad for the London Marathon.

  Ilford AC Press Report Week Ending Sunday 9 March 2014  

Mar 112014
 

ESSEX 20 Mile Championship

Langham

Sunday 9 March

There were 12 athletes from Ilford AC taking part in this 20 mile road race
on a rural route at Langham, near Colchester. The event was made more
difficult by the weather producing a warm sunny day with the temperature
rising to over 20C, after the runners had been training in the cool wet
winter conditions.

Ilford’s Kiwi sensation Blair McWhirter was again in superb form taking the
lead from the gun and by 3 miles he had a commanding lead which he continued
to increase on his solo run. Blair crossed the finishing line 8 minutes
ahead of the second placed runner in 1hr 48mins 27secs, which is the fifth
fastest at the distance in the country in 2014 and places him 7th on the
Ilford all time list. However, as McWhirter has not completed the
residential qualification of 9 months he was not eligible for the county
title.

The Ilford runners in their scoring team crossed the line 16th, 17th and
18th in the county race. Sam Rahman led the trio in 2h 09m 12s, followed by
Paul Holloway with 2h 09m 24s, a big personal best time, with Robin McNelis
completing the team in 2h 09m 58s. Combined their score placed them 3rd in
the team race and they were awarded the bronze medals.

Bree Nordin, who is ranked top in the country for this distance in the FV55
age group, continued her dominance by taking the county age group title in
2h 34m 50s, which also placed her 7th in the senior ladies race.

Kevin Newell took 31st place in 2h 16m 02s, while Kevin Wotton came home
43rd in 2h 17m 22 and Richard Mould recorded 2h 32m 15s.There were new best
times for 20 miles for Rohan Alexander (2h 34m 14s) Declan Cullen (2h 50m
22s), Satha Alaganandasundaram (2h54m 56s) and Ian Wilson (2:57:26)

Report by hank in the Bushes

Pictures courtesy of Dianne Crisp

[shashin type=”album” id=”127″ size=”medium” crop=”n” columns=”max” caption=”n” order=”date” position=”left”]

Roding Valley Half Marathon

Woodford

Sunday 9 March

The local Roding Valley was held over the usual hilly route from the
Woodford Green Athletic track. Steve Philcox of Ilford race put in a
competitive run to come home 9th in 1h 21m 21s, while Michael Horsey placed
48th in 1h 31m 31s. Also representing the club was Moran Rahju (1h 44m 16s),
Dan Cogan (1h 45m 21s) and Peter Spelman (2h 03m 19s)

Report by hank in the Bushes

BMAF Indoor Championships

Lea Valley

Saturday and Sunday 8 and 9 March

John Batchelor was in great form at the BMAF Indoor Championships at Lea
Valley at the weekend. On Saturday the 1500m was composed of over-70 men
and 0ver-65 women, and he had an expected ding-dong with Angela Copson,
multi-world record holder in her age group and generally about his mark. He
led her all the way and won in an indoor PB of 5:35.18. Next day was more
of the same in the 3000m, chased by the redoubtable Angela but pulling away
at the end, winning by 17 seconds in his M70 best, indoors or out, of
11:45.76.

Report by John Batchelor

 

  Ilford AC Press Report Week Ending Sunday 2 March 2014  

Mar 032014
 

Netherhall 10m, Incorporating the British Masters Athletic Federation 10
mile Championships

Netherall

Sunday 22 February

Two Ilford men made the long, tiring journey to Cumbria to compete in the
above race. It is a tough, windy and hilly course. The winner of the race
was V40 runner Kerry Wilson from Scotland, in 55.17. Malcolm Muir came home
as the first Ilford runner, but third overall in a time of 56.21. Malcolm
was pleased to win the BMAF V35 gold!

Spencer Hempstead competed bravely despite suffering a tummy bug. He came
11th in the race, in a time of 59.47. He was an unlucky fourth placed V40 in
the BMAF competition.

Report by Malcolm Muir

Last Friday in the Month Serpentine 5k

Friday 28 February

Continuing his recent good form John Batchelor competed in last Fridays
Serpentine 5k. He finished 82nd out of 215 runners in 20:51, which bettered
his January mark by 12 seconds and in the process scored the second best
age-related percentage of 88.0%. Next weekend he hopes to compete in both
the 1500m and 3000m at the BMAF Indoor Championships.

Report by John Batchelor

Ilford AC 10 Mile Cross Country Championship

Hainault Forest

Saturday 1 March

Seventeen runners lined up for this years Ilford AC 10 mile cross-country
championship, which included a few guest competitors. The course was three
laps of a gruelling muddy route of arond 3 1/3 miles a lap.

Tom Gardner made light of the conditions to win in an excellent time of
63mins 43secs. Next home was Steve Philcox with 68m 48s with Steve parketr
winning the prize for 1st in the M50 category with 85m 19s. Bree Nordin
again showed good form to take the ladies title in 85m 33s and Mel Jones
finished 3rd female in 94m 10s. Nicola Hopkinson won the F45 grouping in 95m
53s.

Junior athletes ran obne lap of the course with Usamah Patel winning in 22m
42 from Jack Maher with 23m 37s.

Report by Hank in the Bushes

Half marathons

Sunday 2 March

There were two excellent performances from Ilford AC athletes in half
marathon events at the weekend

New Zealander Blair McWhirter, who is currently working in Essex, took part
in the Reading Half Marathon. This event attracts a number of the top road
runners in England and was won by Olympic marathon runner Scott Overall in
64mins 44secs. Blair, who comes from Christchurch, put in his best
performance for several years to finish 26th with 68m 33s, which ranks him
2nd in his country’s half marathon rankings for 2014 and 10th on the Ilford
all time list.

There was a classy field for the Bath half marathon with a couple of Kenyans
in the line -up. Malcolm Muir also put in his best showing for a number of
years finishing 19th in 71m 07s on the hilly course.

Report by Hank in the Bushes

  Ilford AC Press Report Week Ending Sunday 23 February 2014  

Feb 242014
 

TARPLEY 20

Bury St Edmunds

Sunday 22 February

Ilford AC’s Breege Nordin put in a outstanding performance in the Tarpley 20
mile road race on a rural hilly course over the windy countryside
surrounding the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds. Breege finished in 84th
overall in 2hr 31min 22secs, this run placed her as 3rd female in the event
and first in the F55 age category. She is ranked 28th overall in the country
in 2014 at the distance and is top of her age group.

The club also had 3 men in action. Sam Rahman ran a controlled race to
finish 17th in 2h 09m 42s, while Kevin Newell recorded 2h 15m 42s. The squad
was completed by Bradley Brown with 2h 38m 19s.

Report by Hank in the Bushes

Photos courtesy of Ralph Nordin

CHINGFORD LEAGUE

Victoria Park

Saturday 15 February

The last round of this winter’s Chingford League was held on the fast, flat,
traffic-free roads on Victoria Park in Hackney on a blustery afternoon. The
race was over a two course totalling 8km and there were six endurance
athletes from Ilford AC running as guests.

Best for the club on the day was Sam Rahman finishing 29th in a large field
of 210 runners in 29 minutes exactly (spooky!).Next home was Kieran McKenna
in a creditable 31m 43s for 71st, while Rob Sargent was satisfied with 36m
27s in 147th spot. Jenni Sheehan put in an excellent run to finish as 20th
female with 35m 29s. Husband and wife team of Neil and Dianne Crisp returned
to action following injury and illness respectively to recorded 35m 30s and
39m 07s.

Report by Hank in the Bushes

Photos courtesy of Gasen (Sam left and Rob)

SOUTH OF ENGLAND MASTERS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP

(Incorporating the Veterans AC Championship)

Lee Valley

Sunday 16 February

There was medal success for Ilford AC at the South of England Masters indoor
Championship at the Lee Valley Athletics centre last Sunday with all of
their runners featuring on the podium. The meeting incorporated the
Championships of Veterans AC, the London based club which organises
competitions for masters athletes.

In the M70 category it was double success for John Batchelor in the 1500m
where he finished 1st in 5m 36.61s to take double gold. Steve Philcox ran
the 3000m in the M45 group finishing 3rd in the Southern Championship in an
indoor personal best time of 9m 45.90s which earned bronze in the South of
England and silver in the VAC event. Kevin Newell ran the same distance and
recorded 10m 37.96s for 3rd in the M35 class taking the Southern bronze and
a VAC silver.

Report by Warrior Dog

INDOOR MIDDLE DISTANCE EVENING

Lee Valley

Wednesday 19 February

The last indoor event of the season for the endurance squad of Ilford AC was
a series of 800m and 1500m races at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre on
Wednesday evening.

In the 800m there was fast running for the younger members of the club. In
heat 2 Jack Maher recorded 2m 03.50secs for 2nd place, while Usamah Patel
was 2nd in heat 5 in 2m 07.75s. Both athletes are in the U17 age category.

There were 5 runners from the club in the 1500m. Best of these was Steve
Philcox with 4m 35.21s, a indoor personal best, in 6th spot in heat 2. In
the same race Sam Rahman akso improved his best time for the distance on the
boards with 4m 40.10s. Kevin Newell was in heat 3 and finished with 4m
51.50s and Krystle Balogun was timed at 5m 14.03s in heat 4. In heat 5
Kieran McKenna made his first appearance in a track race for the club and
make a winning start to take the race in 4m 58.86s

Report by Warrior Dog

Essex & Eastern Counties Indoor Championships

Lee Valley – 8th & 9th February 2014.

Word document attached courtesy of Jeffery Nkrumah

EAMA Inter-Area Indoors

Lee Valley – 23rd February

John Batchelor continued his fine indoor season this weekend. He placed 1st
M70 in both 800m (2:42.66) and 3000m (11:58.24) running for SCVAC in the
Indoor Inter-Area meet at Lea Valley today. He won the 800m by 12 seconds
and the 3000m by 50 seconds, and both times were faster than his
performances at this meeting last year.

Report by John Batchelor

doc icon Essex-Indoors.docx