Press Report 3rd October  

Oct 022023
 

ILFORD AC MAKE CAPITAL GAINS IN BERLIN, LONDON AND CARDIFF

Ilford AC Athletes Shine at 2023 Berlin Marathon.

Five Ilford AC athletes travelled to Berlin for the 49th edition of the annual Berlin marathon, one of the Six Marathon Majors, along with London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago and New York City.

In a field of 48,000 runners, from 156 different countries, all 5 of our athletes had outstanding performances on what is a notoriously flat and fast course

In near perfect conditions the first athlete back was Sam Rahman running a personal best of 2:47:26 placing 225th in the M40 age category.
Running together for most of the 26.2 miles Richard Woolterton and Danny Holeyman pushed each other to personal bests, 3:07:20 (265th M50) and 3:07:47 (270th M50) respectively.
Finishing in a respectable 3:15:43 (440th M50) Diarmuid MaC Donnell also completed his 4th world marathon major.
Rounding up the quintet with a solid run in 4:13:09 (2110th M50) was Stephen Lacey.

The race was won by Eliud Kipchoge for a record 5th time and saw a new women’s world record of 2:11:53 by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa.

Vitality London 10k

Last weekend over 15,000 runners took to the streets of our capital city, for the iconic Vitality London 10k. Included in the line up were 7 runners representing Ilford AC
The race starts on the Mall, takes in such landmarks as Trafalgar Square, St Pauls, Horse Guards parade and Parliament Square before finishing in front of Buckingham Palace.

Leading the team home was Amin Koikai with an impressive 35:09 which placed him 119th and 2nd in his age category.
Emma Ellender led the ladies home with an impressive run of 43:27
Billy Green was next home in a time of 53:08 followed closely by Mandy Reid in 55:13
Launa Broadley came home in a time of 1:06:30, followed by Julie Gillender in 1:12:26 and Sheila Sinclair in 1:15:12

Cardiff Half Marathon

The Cardiff Half is Wales’ largest mass participation event and raises around £3m for good causes every year.
This year over 20,000 runners crossed the finishing line including Ilfords Malcolm Muir, who put in his normal gutsy performance to record his fastest Half Marathon time of the season of 1:22:58 to come home in an impressive 302nd place.

  Press Report 26th September 2023  

Sep 262023
 

Essex Cross Country Championships

 Ilford AC had a very impressive squad of 9 teams, and 27 runners, enter the prestigious Essex Cross Country Relay championships last weekend.

The teams consisted of 5 men’s veteran teams, One Senior and one Veteran ladies’ teams and 2 male junior teams.

The day started with the U15 boys with Aron Berhe, Ryder Islam and Sam Horsley finishing in 5th place followed by our U17 boys with Aaron Hick, Samuel Crane and James Thake running well for 7th.

The Seniors ran a 2-lap course over difficult terrain.
Kicking off for the ladies were our Senior team of Carlie Qirem, Joanne Reeves, and Jordan Hinds.

First off was Carlie Qirem in a time of 29.51 handing over to Joanne Reeves to run the two-lap course in 32.02. Completing the trio with a fast finish was Jordan Hinds in a time of 27.21 and finishing the team in a very respectable 9th position.

The V50 ladies’ team was led out by Dianne Crisp in a time of 37.50, followed by Alison Sale who finished in 32.49. Finally completing the V50 team was Mandy Reid who stepped up only a few hours earlier, to finish in 38.25 and stand the team in 4th place on the day.

Ilford’s men fielded 3 teams in the V40 Category and one each in the V50 and V60 groupings.
First off in our 3 V40 teams were Tom Gardener, Steve Crane and Seb Parris and it was Tom Gardener who set the pace for the age category running a blistering fast first leg (21.50) to finish that stage in first place handing over to the ever reliable “Mighty” Malcolm Muir who ran a very quick second leg (23.53) to hand over to Berekhet Berakhy in first place, but with two competing V40 runners close behind, to run the final leg. In his first such competition Berekhet ran a superb leg (23.34) to find himself in crossing the line in 3rd place overall with the team earning a well-deserved bronze medal.

The Bronze placed team were supported by two additional V40 teams from the club. These consisted of Seb Parris (27.05), Danny Holeyman (27.44) and Joel Denning (28.01) which earned them 15th place out of 24 teams in their age category as well as Steve Crane (28.45), Dennis Briggs (29.24) and Tarik Qirem (32.31) which left them 19th out of 24 teams.

Turning to the V50 team, these were led off by Richard Woolterton (26.55) who held position well before handed over to Fabrizio Stefani who ran a very fast second leg (24.08) and made ground on the pack before handing over to Diarmuid MacDonnell (26.14) to finish the competition for the team in fourth place only narrowly missing a bronze medal position by seconds.

Finally in the V60 competition the club were represented by three club legends – Terry Knightly (28.15) Ray Dzikowski (28.16) and Neil Crisp (26.48). All ran superbly well with Neil Crisp running a superb final leg to ensure the team rightly won the gold medal in their age category with all being able to add these County medals to their already bulging collection of past accolades and achievements.

 

 

Valentines Park 5km (ELVIS)
Ilford
Sunday 24th September

The concluding race of the 2023 ELVIS series was held on a flat fast course in Ilford’s Valentines Park.

Ilford entered 29 runners who all performed well.
Our men secured 6 of the first 12 places to claim first place on the day, finishing the table in 3rd place over the season.
First home, in first place was Tom Gardner in 15:58, closely followed in 3rd place by Sam Horsley in 16:32. Samuel Crane came home in 6th place in 17:31, just in front of Berekhet Berakhy in 7th place in 17:40. Malcolm Muir came home in 10th place in 17:48 with Joshua Adler closing the first place scoring team of 6 in 18:01 for 12th place.
Stephen Philcox, in 13th place with a time of 18:13 claimed 1st VM50 on the day, and Neil Crisp was also amongst the prize winners, claiming 1st place in the M60 category in 35th place with a time of 19:52.

Backing up the team were Aaron Hick 23rd 19:05, Rhys Edwards 24th 19:06, James Thake 25th 19:08, Steve Chissell 43rd 20:26, Tarik Qirem 60th 21:06, Steven Horsley 66th 21:24, Adam Coals 71st 21:31, Gary Floate 78th 21:47, Craig Livermore 89th 22:27, Sean Costello 99th 22:58 and Ramen 151st 26@03.

Ilford’s ladies also had a very successful morning, finishing 2nd on the day and securing 2nd place overall for the season.

First female home, and the first female on the day was Jordan Hinds, who continues her great season with a time of 18:42 for 17th place. Backing up Jordan in the scoring team of 6 were Carlie Qirem 63rd 21:12 and Joanne Reeves 70th 21:30. 4th home for the ladies and grabbing 1st place in FV60 placings was Breege Nordin in 98th place with a time of 22:56. Completing the team were Leila Lauder 105th 23:17 and Alison Sale 108th 23:26

Backing up the team, all with good performances were Anika Sharma 125th 24:41, Pauline Tester 149th 25:50, Dianne Crisp 164th 27:42 and Julia Galea 185th 30:24.

Our combined performances also gained Ilford AC first place in the ‘mixed team category’.

At the conclusion of the Elvis series of 8 races, with best 6 scoring Ilford’s men claimed 1st place in the M40, (Malcolm Muir), M50 (Stephen Philcox) and M60 (Neil Crisp) categories.

EUROPEAN MASTERS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP
Pescara, Italy
Sunday 24 September
The European Masters Athletics Championships are currently being held in Pescara Italy.
Rob Sargent of Ilford Ac took part in the M65 age group cross country which was over 4 2km laps of run on trial in the 8km event.
The race was held in heavy rain with a lot of standing water on the course but Rob faced the challenge to come home 20th in 44mins 35 secs and 2nd scoring Brit in the 4th pace GB team.

 

 

  Gerry Pells – RIP  

Sep 212023
 

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Gerry Pells:-

If you would like to leave a tribute please email: tributes@ilfordathleticclub.co.uk

Eulogy

I am really not quite sure when was the first time I met Gerry at our club. At Ilford AC he was just always there, part of the club fabric. I know I am just a few years younger but, meant in the nicest way, Gerry had always looked old. But that had the huge advantage that he never seemed to age.

And of course he was always young at heart and was at every club event, competition and definitely every social function and enjoyed the company of younger club members.

Actually we started as rivals within the club. Gerry got involved in coaching a young upstart, Brian Meadows, who was trying to beat me. Obviously I wasn’t having any of that and I think between them they only managed it the once. Despite that Gerry, like his Dad Alf, was a great coach. Whilst never wishing to qualify as an official coach, he was always keen to mentor newcomers to the club and share with them the knowledge he had picked up from all the world-famous distance running coaches whose manuals he studied closely. And as mentioned he played a significant role in nurturing the mercurial talent of the young Brian Meadows and helped him to achieve his potential in the 800 metres as a junior. He was a great motivator and also good at picking you up if you were down after a poor performance with his positivity and enthusiasm.

Gerry joined Ilford on 1st of April 1949 and was a totally dedicated and passionate one-club man and he went on to perform for the club regularly and with distinction for six decades.

Unfortunately, I have little record of Gerry’s early sprinting career at the club but he was rightly proud of the fact that he competed in the shortest event 60 yards and the longest event the marathon on the AAA calendar. Initially a sprinter, he was part of the Ilford medley relay team that won a AAA bronze medal in 1965 and 11 years later he won an Essex County over 40 silver medal over 100 metres in a time of 11.9 secs. Gerry by then was already moving into the longer distances and by 1987 achieved the best of his 24 marathon times in the St Albans Marathon clocking 3 hrs 17 minutes at the age of 52.

He was a consistent trainer and racer well into his later years, achieving a National Vets over 60 silver medal in 1997 at the Hastings Half Marathon in an impressive 92 minutes and bowed out on his racing career with a 27min 23sec clocking at the Hyde Park 5k road race in 2008 as a 73 year old. His favourite races were the Offa’s Dyke 15 mile fell race, where he led many Ilford raiding parties (13 in total) between 1984 and 1998, and the Windermere Marathon.

In addition to competing Gerry was always involved in all club activities outside of racing. He served on the club committee and was honoured to be elected as our club President on two occasions in 1981 and 2014. Gerry took on the organisation of the club 75th anniversary reunion, as he liked nothing more than a trip down memory lane with all the friends and colleagues whom he had encountered across the years.

Gerry was a gifted photographer and enjoyed capturing both the beauty of the Lake District in autumn and in equal measure the grace and power of his track and field subjects and of course his own family. He gifted many athletes wonderful photographic memories of their performances and indeed other special occasions like their weddings. Also there were the terrific photographic records of the many holidays he and Jill enjoyed with Gill & Les Hislop.

Gerry was an avid reader and would always be ready with book recommendations for fellow club members or wanting to hear if we had interesting literature tips for him.

Having been ever present on the Ilford AC social circle for many many years, including all the putting the world to rights sessions at The Cauliflower, The Joker, The Red Cow, The White Horse and lastly The Fairlop Oak and his much loved weekly outings with his longstanding pal Les, Gerry had to step back in order to devote himself fully to the care of Jill. Jill the love of his life whom he had actually first met at the Club, both aged 16, in the 1950.  His devotion to Jill was truly inspirational and nobody could have done more to help her through her sad decline with dementia.

A gentle man and a true gentleman and much respected Ilford AC member who will be greatly missed.

Andy Catton

Tributes:-

Sad to see the passing of a tremendously loyal Ilford AC member and close friend.

Gerry was a one-club man and performed for the club regularly and with distinction for six decades.

He was rightly proud of the fact that he competed in the shortest (Senior Men 60 yards) and longest (over 50 vets marathon) events on the AAA calendar having qualified by virtue of his times. Initially a sprinter, he was part of the Ilford medley relay team which won a AAA bronze medal in 1965 and 11 years later he won an Essex County Vet 40 silver medal at 100 metres in a time of 11.9 secs. Gerry was already moving into the longer distances and by 1987 achieved the best of his 24 marathon times in the St Albans Marathon clocking 3 hrs 17 min 49 sec at age 52.

He was a consistent trainer and racer well into his later years, achieving a National Vets over 60 silver medal in 1997 at the Hastings Half Marathon in an impressive 92 min 58sec and bowed out on his racing career with a 27min 23sec clocking at the Hyde Park 5k road race in 2008 as a 73 year old. His favourite races were the Offa’s Dyke 15 mile fell race (where he led many Ilford raiding parties between 1984 and 1998) and the Windermere Marathon.

Gerry was always involved in club activities outside of racing too. He served in various committee roles and took on the organisation of the 75th anniversary reunion, as he liked nothing more than a trip down memory lane with all the colleagues whom he had encountered across the years.

Whilst not a qualified coach, he was always keen to mentor newcomers to the club and share with them the knowledge he had picked up from all the world-famous distance running coaches whose manuals he studied closely. He played a significant role in nurturing the mercurial talent of a young Brian Meadows and helped him to achieve his potential in the 800 metres as a junior. He would pick you up if you were down after a poor performance – I have rarely met a more positive and enthusiastic man.

He was a gifted photographer and enjoyed capturing the beauty of the Lake District in autumn in equal measure to the grace and power of his track and field subjects. My most prized wedding gift remains the three informal photo albums which he compiled as a guest on my big day.

Gerry was an avid reader and would always be ready with a recommendation for me in our regular telephone chats in later years. He was a spiritual man and in more recent times immersed himself in the study of Zen Buddhism which provided him with great comfort.

Having been ever present in the Ilford AC social circle for so many years (The Joker and The Cauliflower and later on The White Horse, Chadwell Heath and The Fairlop Oak) Gerry had to step back in order to devote himself fully to the care of Jill – the love of his life whom he had actually first met at the Club in the sixties – who had succumbed to the ravages of vascular dementia on top of type 1 diabetes. His devotion to Jill was truly inspirational and nobody could have done more to alleviate her sad decline. Gerry never really got over Jill’s loss and the removal of the rigid structure he had put in place to manage Jill’s healthcare seemed to leave him in limbo. He himself was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s in the summer of 2022 and a rapid deterioration culminated in his death following a severe sepsis infection.

A gentle man and a true gentleman.

Proud and optimistic.

Ilford through and through.

John Mackenzie

He served 2 separate terms Ilford President and for a decades was an outstanding photographer with work published in, and acknowledged by, Athletics Weekly and other respected publications.  He was one of race walking’s greatest friends – indeed he attended Ilford’s 2014 Walkers’ Luncheon at “The Harrow” which recognised 40 years since Roger Mills earned a European 20K bronze medal at Rome and since the first time Ilford AC closed home a full team of 3 (Dave Neagle/Alan Barber/Dave Ainsworth) in a 100 miles’ race (1974 Leicester-to-Skegness). On that occasion Gerry (as President) presented a souvenier programme of the last ever London-to-Brighton Walk to Centurion Steve King. His health wasn’t good in recent times – which was sad for one so long involved in athletics.  Widower Gerry, 89, was one of the most active members Ilford AC ever had and came from a family who also strongly contributed to Ilford AC’s success.  Dave Ainsworth

Another stalwart lost. Don’t know if you ever met his dad Alf. The double for Lionel Jeffries. Ex military PTI, perfect gentleman, terrific Sprint Coach and wonderful sense of humour. Like his son, dedicated to Ilford Athletic Club. The club have be fortunate to have had the benefit of genuinely good people.  Best. Roger Mills.

So sorry to hear of Ilford’s sad news.  Althought I’d heard of him, I didn’t know him, but an athletics stalwart as he clearly was, is a truly great loss to a Club.  June Cork (Former EssexCounbty AA President)

Very sad news and such a stalwart and much respected athlete and admired reporter of Ilford A.C. activities Gerry was.  A great loss indeed. May he Rest in Peace. Sincere condolences to his family and so many friends.

Bill Sutherland BEM (Past Ilford President).

It has taken a bit of time for this sad news to sink in and for me to try and pay a fitting tribute to my old mate, drinking buddy and fellow competitor Gerry.

I loved my conversations with Gerry, especially in the Joker, White Horse and Fairlop Oak, usually following a really tough training session or race or at the Annual Club President’s Dinner and Dance

Not many people realise that Gerry was a great film buff and as a fellow film lover we had many great debates and quizzes about our favourite films and actors.

Mind you Gerry was one of the most knowledgeable people that I ever met and could hold conversations on many many subjects. I witnessed many ” fairly heated” conversations between Gerry, Mick Herring, Frank Heaney, Barry and Les,mostly based on political subjects that were beyond me, but they were highly entertaining with great comical content. Absolutely priceless memories.

Gerry was a fierce competitor on road and country and we enjoyed many great running occasions together, most notably The Great North run(8 times I believe), Glasgow Marathon and the infamous Offas Dyke 15m Fell run. I never forgave Gerry for persuading my to run it, although it turned out to be the hardest race that I ever did I regard it as one of my best ever performances.

Great memories of Gerry dancing around a load of handbags in a Newcastle nightclub, great debates in the pub with his many friends, his unwavering support through my own personal challenges and his great love of Ilford AC and clean athletics.

Ilford AC owes Gerry a great debt for chronicling much of it’s history via his camera but mostly for his contribution to its history both on the track, road and Country, but mostly for being such a great friend to athletics in all it’s forms.

We were blessed to have Gerry in our lives for so long and he will always hold a very special place in our hearts.
Everyone who knew Gerry will miss him greatly.
Rest in Peace my friend

Ernie and family

As a youth athlete in the late 60s, who progressed into Race Walking, Gerry and his father were always very supportive to us as a group and always had a cheery encouraging word for me at events or at training.  Every time I met up with him in those intervening years, his bright character always shone through.
He was one of those guys who brought a pleasant face to the club.
My sincere condolences to his family at this sad time.
Len Ruddock

 

 

 

  Press Report 18th September 2023  

Sep 182023
 

Ingatestone 5

There were 5 Ilford AC runners in this long established race. 

The race takes place on a challenging course starting from the Anglo-European school in Willow Green, taking in Fryerning and a challenging Beggar Hill before heading back to the finish at the back of the school.

First home for the team was Steve Philcox in 16th spot with 31 mins 07 secs which placed him third in the M50 category title.

Next home, and first for our ladies was Alison Sale in 68th with 39 mins 58 secs.

Mandy Reid was next for the ladies in 95th overall with 43 mins 49 secs. 

Mandy was followed home by Frieda Keane in 138th place in 54 mins 45 secs, and Julie Gillender  closing the team in 136th place in a time of 57 mins 57 secs.

The ladies finished 7th on the day.

This charity race has strong links with Ilford AC, being founded by Ilford Legend Howard Williams to raise money for Ingatestone Boys Club. Sadly Howard passed away in 2017, but nevertheless every year a willing team of Club volunteers keep Howard’s legacy by providing a team to administer the on the day entries and results service. 

SPITFIRE 10K
RAF Museum Hendon

The Spitfire 10K is held at the RAF Museum in Hendon and it is to raise funds to maintain the museum that commemorates the Battle of Britain and all the men and women who defended Britain’s skies during the summer of 1940.
A Nice touch is that all the runners wear the name of a Battle of Britain pilot on their backs alongside their race number on the front.

The race takes runners around the historic London aerodrome in Colindale, out onto local streets and on a 2 lap course of Sunnyhill Park, before returning and finishing through the museum, past the Spitfire, through Hangar 1 and back out onto the grounds, before crossing the finish line.

This year Billy Green was the sole Ilford Entrant finishing in a time of 53 mins 08 secs for 64th place.
Billy carried the name of Sergeant Leslie Arthur Dyke, who died aged just 22 years old on September 27th 1940

The Vitality Big London Half

Six Ilford runners were amongst the 10,000 runners who took to the streets of the Capital in The Vitality Big London Half Marathon.

The race starts by Tower Bridge and finishes at the Cutty Sark, passing by some of the greatest sights our capital has to offer.

First home for the club, finishing 2nd in his age category and 138th overall was Aman Koikai in 1 hr 15 mins 33 secs. First female for the club was Zuzana Sinalova in 1887th in a time of 1 hr 35 mins 05 secs and was closely followed by Steve Chissell in 1 hr 35 mins 32 secs for 1936th place.

Next home was Gemma Ellender in 3018th place in 1 hr 42 mins, closely followed by Joanne Reeves in 3066th place in 1 hr 42 mins 13 secs.

Stephen Lacey, who is in training for the Berlin Marathon in a couple of weeks came home in 1 hr 48 mins 32 secs for 4467th place

  Press Report 12th September 2023  

Sep 122023
 

PLESHEY HALF MARATHON (Incorporating the Essex Championship)

Sunday  September 10

The Essex Half Marathon Championship was held in conjunction with the Pleshey half marathon for the 10th consecutive year.
The race from the village green in the picturesque village is held over rural roads on a rolling course and was held in blazing temperatures, in the early 30’s, which made the times well down on normal.
Ilford AC had 15 runners among the 282 finishers and Sam Rahman led the way for the club in 22nd spot with I:23:04 to finish 4th in the Essex M40 category. Four places back was Malcolm Muir with 1:25:20 which earned him the Bronze Essex medal in the M45 age grouping.
Then followed a batch of club members competing against each other, grouping together in in 80s with Richard Woolterton 83rd (1:38:48) Dennis Briggs 87th (1:39:45) Dan Holeyman 89th (1:40:21) and Terry Knightley 90th (1:40:30). 

Carlie Qirem was the first Ilford lady to finish in 110th place overall and 18th in the Essex female Championship in 1:45:12, with her husband Tariq not far behind in 123rd in 1:48:30 and one place in front of Steve Chissel in 1:49:25
Joanne Reeves 23rd lady and 134th overall was the second Ilford lady home in 1:50:56.
Stephen Lacey was next home in 140th for 1:52:06 followed by Alison Sale who was 3rd lady home for the club and 203th in the overall race in 2:10:48.

Alison was followed by home by Mandy Reid 241st 2:25:18 and Launa Broadley 257th 2:37:11

There was a Silver Essex medal for Julia Galea in the Essex F65 category as she came home 276th overall and 70th lady in the Essex Championship in 2:58:01.

Great North Run

Sunday  September 10

Three Ilford AC runners made the journey north to Newcastle for the iconic Great North run, joining in excess of 60,000 others running the 13.1 miles from Newcastle down to the coast at South Tyneside.

The race set off in record breaking high temperatures which made the run even more challenging than our team would have prepared for.
Leading the club home was our very own Geordie Tony Young who came home in 1:56:01.

Next home was Nick West who finished in 2:01:00.

On the very day that Sir Mo Farah ran his very last GNR, Ilford AC runner Wendy Everingham ran her first. Wendy had won a ballot place and has worked very hard over the summer to be able to complete the distance. On a day of contrasts Wendy crossed the line in 3:14:23 in a torrential downpour and flash floods which led to chaos for athletes trying to get back to their transport home.

Well done to all Ilford runners completing a Half Marathon in challenging conditions on Sunday