Great Bentley Half Marathon

On a dull drizzley morning with the temperature at 2C, but a stiff easterly breeze made it feel much colder, the Great Bentley half marathon was raced over a fast course but conditions meant that runners times were slightly slower than usual. However, the 9 runners from Ilford AC returned a set of impresive performances. Leading home the group, all of who train with the ‘Warriors of Time’ squad, who are coached by Rob Sargent at the track, was Kevin Newell in 22nd position out of a field of 605 finishers with the excellent time of 1hr 20mins 44secs while Sam Rahman set a new personal best of 1h 22m 01s for 35th. The next 2 Ilford men home also set new pbs; Paul Holloway with 1h 26m 58s in 69th and Richard Mould finished 121st with 1h 32m 52s. Breege Nordin, who has only recently returned to training following injury, recorded 1h 38m 18s which won her the trophy for 1st lady O55 and Nicola Hopkinson placed 3rd in the lady O50 category in 1h 44m 52s. Billy Green battled hard in the elements to finish in 1h 54m 25s and Rachel Allen and Nicola Chester ran well in the first race at the distance to finish in 1h 58m 16s and 2h 132m 48s respectively.

Report from Hank in the Bushes

Chingford League Fixture There were 4 athletes from Ilford AC running in the Chingford League fixture at a frozen snow covered Hackney Marshes on Saturday. The 4 were guests in the match which was over a 5.4 mile course. Neil Crisp was in good form finishing 32nd in 33mins 17 secs and was the 2nd runner in the M50 category to finish. Nicola Hopkinson showed her training for the London Marathon is going well with 145th overall in a surprisingly large field in 43m 25s. Coach Rob Sargent came home 154th with 44m 35s and Nicola Chester finished 183rd in 55m 22s in her first cross-country race Benfleet 15 This years Benfleet 15 mile race was held in much different conditions to usual. Most years the race has been held in very muddy conditions with a few road sections making the choice of footwear difficult. However, this year the course was frozen and the event took place in falling snow. Ilford AC had two runners in action and both fared extremely well. Steve Philcox came home 11th in 1 hr 40mins 37 secs and place second in the o40 category, while Kevin Newell was close behind in 13th out of the 373 finishers with 1h 41m 42s.

Report courtesy of Hank in a snowdrift

There was a good turn out from Ilford Athletic Club for the last match of this winter’s Essex Cross-Country League. The races were held in Epping Forest at Chingford and the host club, Orion Harriers, laid out the usual muddy course expected at the venue. In the U11 race young Harry Holloway, in his first Winter season, ran well to finish 43rd in a classy field In the U15 girls, held over 4.5km race Jessica Ferris came home 23rd in 25mins 53secs and team mate Greta Mazekaute one place back in 24m 33s. The UI5 boys ran over the same distance and Ilford fielded 3 competitors who combined to place the team 4th in this match. Leading the way was Jack Maher in a fine 14th place in 18m 08s, closely followed 12 seconds back by Usamah Patel. Harry Martin completed the team in 23rd with 19m 21s. The combined U17/20 women races was over 5km and Kelly Mavididi recorded 25m 13s for 27th spot while Tamara Chambers finished a creditable 34th. The club had only one runner in the Senior Ladies 6.5k event where Jenni Sheehan was rewarded for her recent hard training to have her best run of the winter in 32nd with 34m 11s. For the season the ladies team, which was often understrength due to injuries and work commitments, finished 15th place in the league. The club had a good squad of 12 on the line for the Senior Mens 8.5km race. Tom Gardner put in a fine performance in 12th with 33m 25s, while Peter Clinch returned to good form for 29th in 35m 06s. Steve Philcox, who is in heavy training for the London Marathon showed that it is going well with 34th and a time of 35m 38s. Two more runners for the London Marathon were next over the line; Kevin Newell in 38th with 36m 16s and Neil Crisp finishing 45th in 36m 58s. The scoring six was completed by dependable Andy Catton who came home 62nd and 6th in the M50 age category in a time of 33m 17s. The teams combined score placed them 5th on the day, their best position for the season. Next home was sprinter Sam Malpass in 38m 43s for 66th and coach Jeffrey Nkrumah finished 75th with 40m 22s. Also in action were John Platt (108th 46m 01s) Tinotenda Nyabowa (131st 51m 35s), Steve Cheal (133rd 52m 23s) and Ridge Wa-Beya 137th 54m 16s) The senior mens team finished the season in 10th position overall and over the season developed their side sto show the potential to climb to a higher position in the 25 team league next winter. Report courtesy of Muddy Hank in the bushes in a puddle! Ilford AC are inviting anyone who has an entry to this April’s London Marathon and is looking for advice and a group to train with or just want to improve their running in 2013 to join their endurance training squad. The squad is suitable for all standards from sub 3 hour runners down to first timers and is led by a highly qualified and experienced UKA coach. The group meets on a Tuesday at Cricklefields Stadium in High Road, Ilford at 6.30pm. They also have other training sessions during the week.