Essex League Gloucester Park Basildon 15 December There were 11 athletes from Ilford AC in action in the latest round of the Essex Cross-Country league last Saturday at Gloucester Park Basildon. The recent rains made the normal tough hilly course much tougher as the conditions under foot were very wet and boggy. The senior men raced over 8.1km, which included the hilly section, which features four tough climbs, on each of the 2 laps. Leading home Ilford A C was Tom Gardner on his first appearance of the season in 32nd spot with 31m 53s. Backing him up was Kevin Newell, in excellent country form, finishing 41st in 32m 47s while Steve Philcox came home 47th with 33m 21s. There was a good run from Neil Crisp for 52nd and 33m 35s and long time stalwart Andy Catton finished 84th in 36m 12s. Paul Holloway completed the scorers in 99th with a time of 37m 44s. Also in action for the club were Rob Sargent (136th 43m 17s) and Steve Cheal (150th 46m 08s). The team finished 8th on the day and now lie 11th in the 25 club league with one match remaining. There were also 3 young athletes of the club in action. Tom King ran in the u17 6.2km race finishing 16th in 32m 20s. Usamah Patel took part in the u15s event recording 17m 40s for the 4km course and 16th spot. Ten year old Harry Holloway came home 17th in the u11s race. Report courtesy of Hank on the Hill

South of England Masters Cross-Country Championship There was a small squad in action for Ilford AC at the South of England Masters Cross-Country Championship at the weekend at Claybury Park, Woodford. This was the second successive week that the club had raced at this venue, however the course was different and conditions on this occasion were wet with soft going making the running energy sapping. The deleted squad, due to injury, illness and other commitments, was reduced further in the first race, the Men M50-69 event, when Andy Catton had to put up with a calf injury. The club still managed a team result as Steve Parker led home the team in 80th spot in 47m 04secs for the 10km race. he was backed up by Rob Sargent in 85th with 48m 25s and Steve Cheal completed the side in 94th in 50m 44s. In the m50-59 team competition Ilford finished 13th. In the M40-49 race there were 2 Ilford runners. there was a fine performance from Steve Philcox who came home 10th overall and 4th in the M45-49 age group with a time of 36m 14s, while Neil crisp finished 14th in the same category and 28th overall in 38m 44s. Nicola Hopkinson was the only lady in action for the team and had a good run to finish 48th overall [6th in the F50 category] in a time of 33:03. Report courtesy of Hank in the Muddy Bushes Southend 5 Mile Rudolph Run Terry Knightley shook of his antlers and took on the 2nd Southend 5 Mile Rudolph Run on Sunday 9th December, along with many Santas, Reindeers, and Elves. Terry, winner of last years race, bravely worked his way through the strong field in icy sea winds, then engaged in an exciting finishline sprint where he was just held off for 2nd place by Benfleet runner Paul Ruffy. However Terry was well rewarded for his respectable 30minutes and 36 seconds finish with two bottles of wine, a gift voucher for £10 and a mini Christmas pudding as he claimed 3rd place in the main race and 1st Male Veteran over 50 – A Very Merry Christmas ! Report courtesy of Kim the Blur