Press Report 11th July 2023  

Jul 112023
 

Newman Hilly 5 (Elvis)
Hainault Forest
Wednesday 5th July

The Annual Ilford Hilly 5-mile cross country race, incorporating round 4 of the Summer Elvis League, was held at Hainault Forest on a warm Wednesday evening.

This year’s course was a temporary new one whilst works are being carried out on part of the old course and the general consensus was this course was a more challenging one with longer hills to conquer.

Ilford were without many runners who gave up their run to marshal on the course

Winning the race was Ilford’s Tom Gardner in a time of  29:13,

The Ilford men’s team was completed by Malcolm Muir 5th in 31:53, Stephen Philcox 9th in 32:33 (1st M50), Fabrizio Stefanoni 14th in 33:19, Joshua Adler 22nd in 34:55 and Seb Parris 30th in 35:43.
Finishing just outside the team scoring by just seconds were Richard Woolterton 31st in 35:49 and Daniel Holeyman 32nd in 35:59

This year, for the first time, a Vets 70 category was added to the prizes, and just a week after his 70th Birthday, Ilfords Andy Catton won the new prize finishing 88th in 41:18.

Runners outside the scoring team were Neil Crisp 36th 36:20, Raymond Dzikowski 60th in 38:48, Craig Livermore 83rd 40:36, Steven Horsley 94th 41:37, Bradley Brown 122nd 44:49, Nick West 126th 45:16 and Joe Ramen 187th 51:15.

Ilfords Men finished 2nd on the night and sit 3rd in the overall table after 4 races.

Ilford’s ladies went one better, finishing first on the night.

Matching the men’s first place, Ilfords Neringa Masilioniene, who ran to the race from her home in Romford, was first lady home on the night finishing in 11th place overall for a time of 32:38.

Backing her up in the first place ladies team were Anna Crawley 68th 39:20, Gemma Ellender 72nd 39:39, Joanne Reeves 85th 41:06, Alison Sale 97th 42:06 and Gaye Young 127th 45:18.

Also running well on the challenging course were Mandy Reid 154th 48:00, Dianne Crisp 179th 50:08 and Julia Galea 213th 55:52

The ladies currently sit top of the Elvis League table after 4 rounds

Southern Inter Counties
Oxford

Three Ilford Athletes competed for Essex in cold windy conditions at Oxford on Sunday in the Southern Inter counties match.
First up was Jordan Hinds in the Senior Ladies 800m. It has been 5 years since Jordan ran for Essex and she put in a good performance. The early going was ok, but a strong wind on the back straight slowed the athletes down. Passing the bell in around 67 seconds Jordan was in 2nd place and made a move with 250m to go, she initially got clear, but the Surrey athlete proved to be slightly stronger in the home straight. Jordan’s time for 2nd place was 2.17.75, just 2/10ths outside her pb. 

Farris Vakil took part in the senior men’s 800m, in which again the times were affected by the wind, the initial going was quite slow for a high class 800m, with the bell only reached in 57 seconds. Like Jordan, Farris made a move along the back straight and again it was a Surrey athlete that came with him. Down the home straight the pair were neck and neck, but Farris held on to win in a time of 1.56.84 

Oliver Blainey although only an u20 athlete stepped up to run the senior men’s 400m, and in the worst conditions of the day he produced a good performance to finish 4th in a time of 52.28.

 

High Easter 10k
Sunday 9th July

Two Ilford ladies made their way to High Easter in Chelmsford at the weekend to compete in the 10k race.
The race is a one lap, fast and flat course, through the High Easter village.

Mandy Reid put in a great run for a 10k PB of 53 minutes 48 seconds.

Wendy Everingham was also pleased with her time of 1 hour 18m 2 secs to finish in 302nd place.

Great Bentley 5 Miles

7th July 2023

The Friday 5 series is a popular set of 5 mile races which are hosted by local running clubs in Suffolk and Essex in the early part of the summer.

The Great Bentley Friday 5 is held in July and is the final race in the series. It takes place on a fast, flat course, excellent for a PB.
Ilfords Malcolm Muir ran a great race to finish in 16th place, in a field exceeding 400 runners, in a time of 28 minutes 08 seconds

  Press Report 4th July 2023  

Jul 042023
 

OLYMPIC PARK 5Km 

Ilford had 35 runners in a strong field for the 3rd round of the Elvis league held over a fast two lap course in the Olympic Park.
Neringa Masilioniene was victorious in the ladies race in a new personal best of 18 mins 15 secs for 25th place overall, with Jordan Hinds running a fine race to come home 2nd lady and 33rd overall  in 18 mins 45 secs which is her best time for the distance.
Supporting them was Anna Crawley 117th in 21 mins 21 secs, Joanne Reeves in 147th position with 22 mins 12 secs  and Gaye Young, who is in good form, with 23 mins 07 secs for 181st spot . Alison Sale closed the team finishing in 184th place in 23 mins 04 secs,
The Ilford ladies finished 3rd in this match and remain second in the table, 1 point behind East London Runners.

The men’s team was led home by the dependable Malcolm Muir  in 11th place in 17 mins 22 secs with Berekhet Berakly 19th with a great run in 17 mins 49 secs . Steve Philcox came in 22nd in 18 mins 04 secs , which won him the prize for the first in the M50 category. with Gary Coombes two places further back in 18 mins 13 secs. Diarmuid Mac Donnell crossed the line 41st with 19 mins exactly and Dan Holeyman completed the team with 19 mins 11 secs for 43rd. The Ilford team were 4th in this match and are currently 3rd in the league.

Neil Crisp won the M60 group prize as he came home 64th with 19 mins 46 secs and Andy Catton was first in the M70 category recording 22 mins 47 secs for 165th.

Also representing the club were:  Seb Parris (57  19.39)  Josh Adler (59  19.40)  Joel Denning (78  20.16)  Steve Chissell (98  20.53)  Dave Thomas  (115  21.21)  Dennis Briggs (134  21.50)  Steve Horsley (152  22.15)  Bradley Brown (187  23.36)  Tony Young (203  23.42)  Sean Costello (225  24.22)  Jenni Sheehan ( 226  24.25)  Pauline Tester (230  24.41)  Mandy Reid ( 252  25.23)  Batmanader Ramen (294  26.49)  Dianne Crisp ( 314  27.35)  Sharon Honey (318  27.43) Beverley Thomas (321  28.01)  Launa Broadley (362  30.34)  Julia Galea (363  30.30)  Doris Gaga (389  34.01) Wendy Everingham (403  36.38)


Open Track Meeting
Watford

Three of Ilford  younger athletes went to Watford last Wednesday for  the high quality twice monthly open meetings , all three took part in the 1500m

Ryder Islam and Jordan Hinds were in the same heat, and both went with the initial fast pace.  The pace slowed a bit on the second lap, but Jordan was still in touch with the leaders and Ryder a few seconds back.
The first 6 broke clear from the rest of the field with Jordan just hanging on. She pushed down the back straight and crossed the line 6th in a PB time of 4.46.24, her 7th PB of the season.  Her time was the 11th fastest ever by an Ilford lady over 1500m. 

Ryder continued to push on laps 3 and 4 and produced a very good finish to gain 3 places. His finishing time of 4.52.69 was just half a second outside his best, which was set at Watford last month. 

Sam Horsley who has had a great six months since joining the club, was ready to push for a new pb in race 8. The early pace was steady but not too  fast and Sam was nicely positioned.  As the race progressed Sam  was slightly trapped on the inside and missed the big break . However, he was still moving at a fast pace and with a strong finish down the home straight he crossed the  line in 4.22.17. His time was the 3rd fastest ever by an Ilford u15 athlete over 1500m

Orion Forest 5
Saturday 1st July

The Forest 5 is a series of 3 races in Epping Forest, held on the first Saturday in June, July and August, the 3rd of which incorporates the ‘Elvis’ race hosted by Orion Harriers.

The race was held on a warm sunny Saturday morning over a 1 lap 5-mile course which was dry and featured a few climbs.

Ilford AC had 7 runners starting but unfortunately Terry Knightley turned his ankle in the opening minute and was unable to finish.

Steve Philcox was first home for the club with a time of 31:38 which placed him 5th in the race and placed him first in the M50 category. Danny Holeyman came in at 33:33 for 12th place followed by Seb Parris in 19th place in 35:06. 

The men’s squad was completed by Raymond Dzikowski who claimed first place in the M60 category, coming home in 25th place in a time of 36:13.
Both Ilford ladies put in very good performances with Alison Sale coming home in 61st place in a time of 42:37 and Mandy Ried, continuing her fine season, finishing in 73rd place in a time of 45:35

SCVAC
Monday 26th June

A great team performance saw the Men’s Team finish first by 7 points on the evening of Monday 26th June at Stevenage.

Sam Malekout came down an age group competing as V35 on the evening. On the track he placed third in the 200m (25.6s), first in the 800m (2m 21.3s) and in the field second in the long jump (4m 93) and second again in the high jump (1m 45). There was no athlete in the 3000m.

Chris Short debuted in the V40 200m placing fourth in 28.0s. No athlete covered the 800m.

Michael Osunsami debuted in the V50 200m placing seventh in 30.3s. Fabrizio Stefanoni competed over the 800m where his time of 2m 21.0 secured third and he won the 3000m in 10m 36.8. In the field events for the same age category Peter Whiting achieved 18m 03 to earn fifth place. Henry Ricketts covered long jump in 4m 41 for second, discus in 23m 94 for sixth and high jump clearing 1m 30 for third.

In the V60 age group James Lambden earnt fifth place in the 200m with 31.1s and the 800m in 2m 51.4 for fourth. David Butler came down an age group to compete in the 3000m where his time of 11m 34.6 secured second.

Gerald Daniel made a welcome return and now competing as V70 placed third in the 200m with 34.1s. David Butler in his own age group won the 800m in 2m 52.3.

The final event of the evening was the 4 x 400m relay where the team of Michael, Chris, Fabrizio and Sam won a thrilling race with Sam out-dipping the Enfield and Haringey athlete on the line for first place, with both teams given the same time.


Richmond 10km (incorporating the VAC Championship)
Sunday 25 June

Last Sunday the Richmond 10km took place on a morning when the temperature was already in the high 20s at the 9am start time..
The race is over a two lap course by the River Thames passing Teddington Locks and Ham House.
Ed Skinner, a second claim member of Ilford, came in 413th in 60 mins 38 secs to win the silver medal in the M65 age group in the VAC Championship and club endurance coach finished in 68 mins 06 secs for 443rd and 4th in the same age category.

  Press Report 27th June 2023  

Jun 272023
 
SOUTHERN LEAGUE
June 18th 2023

Ilford AC competed in the 2nd Southern league Match at Cambridge last weekend and there were some outstanding performances to enable the club to come 3rd place overall. With a few more athletes competing, Ilford could have won the competition

Starting with the women’s sprints Toyin Olufemi, Aleena Lawrence, Ayshah Lawrence and Krystle Balogun covered all the sprints, as well as the shot, Javelin and Discus to gain valuable points . The highlight was the 4 x100 relay where they stormed home to win in 53.8.All the girls were in the top 3 across all the events they did

In the men’s sprints once again a small number of men covered all the sprints and once again performed to an excellent level. Oliver Blainey ran a pb in the 100 for 11.4 and Jeremiah Brown, james Thake, Akwasi  Nkrumah  and Oliver ran all the other sprints up to 400 and all athletes were in the top 2 ,registering very good times

The busiest lady of the team was Jordan Hinds, who ran the 400,800 and 1500 and also the Mixed 4 x 400 relay. Jordan ran superbly to win both 800 and 1500 and did a pb in the 400. Krystle joined Jordan in the mixed 4 x 400 with Oliver and Dylan Harrod to once again win the relay. Since the Mixed relay has been introduced Ilford AC have never been beaten

Busiest Men of the day were new members Akwasi and Sam Malekout. Both were outstanding competing in over 5 events each from Pole vault to 100m hurdles and all the throwing events. It’s great to have all rounders like Akwasi and Sam to gain so many points

Youngsters James Thake and Aaron Hick and Samuel Crane are new to the Southern league and have been very useful additions. James had a busy day winning the 800,2nd in the 200 and doing a PB in the long jump as well as the 4 x100 relay .Aaron won the 400 hurdles and jumped well in the long jump and Samuel ran a new PB in the 1500

Dylan, returning from injury ran a great leg in the 4 x 400 and ran really well in the 1500 to come third. Ronan Edwards had a tough day running the 800 and 1500 in  very top class fields. Ronan came second in both races. Rhys Edwards was down for the steeplechase but it was subsequently cancelled so had to settle for doing the triple jump where he competed well

On a hot day the 5000 was a tough race but both Southern league debutants both ran well to gain valuable points for the club.

Veteran Pete Whiting always competes for the club and helps out tremendously by doing a number of throws and once again did well

Highlights of the day was definitely the ladies 4 x 100 and Mixed 4x 400 and watching our great young athletes beat some very good clubs and make the team manager proud

ESSEX 5m ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS
June 23rd 2023

The Essex  5 mile championships were held on a fast two lap course in the picturesque Essex village of Pleshey.
Ilford AC had another successful evening following on from last Fridays 5000m track championship, winning another 7 county medals

First home for the club was Malcom Muir in 21st spot overall in 28 mins 37 secs, just missing out on the medals in 4th in the M45 age category.
There was a solid run from Sam Rahman in 25th place, in 28 mins 50 secs which earned him bronze in the M40 group.
Next in was Steve Philcox in a time of 30 mins 35 secs in 46th place winning the silver medal in the M55 age category.
The club took two medals in the M60 group with Terry Knightley gaining silver in 32 mins 26 secs for 71st place and Neil Crisp bronze in 32 mins 36 secs in 75th.

Andy Catton ran well in his new group winning the M70 silver medal in 37 mins 21 secs in 137th 

For the Ilford ladies Alison Sale was first home, winning a bronze in the F55 category placing 149th overall  in 38 mins 57 secs and Dianne Crisp took the bronze medal in the  F60 category in 45 mins 52 secs finishing 204th overall.

Other Ilford runners, all putting in good performances were Richard Woolterton 55th in 31.23, Diarmuid MacDonnell 64th in 32:01, Stephen Crane 96th in 34:01 and Mandy Reid 189th in 43:41.

Mile of Miles

June 24th 2023

The newly laid track at Chelmsford hosted the annual mile of mile event last Saturday, as an added bonus this year’s races also incorporated the Essex champs. 

U17 Boys

First up for Ilford was Samuel  Crane in a high quality U17 race, the winning time of 4.19 was almost worth a sub 4 minute 1500, which is exceptional for runners of this age.  Samuel worked his way through the final, and passed 1500m close to his best and ended with a fine mile pb of 5.00.92

Men’s C Race

Malcolm Muir was in the Men’s which had various age groups in it. Jonathon Warner of Brentwood Beagles was the early leader; Malcolm was positioned in 4th place. He remained in 4th until unleashing a perfect  kick off the top bend to take a brilliant second place in a time of 4.59.17. This earned him second place in the Essex Champs.

Senior Ladies

Jordan Hinds was in the ladies race and was up against Hannah Irwin who represented England at the last commonwealth games.  Jordan is in the form of her life at the moment, and although unable to go with Hannah she  ran a solo race in second place. Going through 1500m 5, seconds quicker than her current pb and ended up with a time of 5.03.63. Her  5th pb of the current track season .  She also picked up her second Essex medal of the season. 

Mens 50 Race

Fabrizio Stefanoni and Terry Knightley were in the Vet 50 A race. Fabrizio looked good over the first few laps, and was nicely positioned to make a move on the last lap, but  struggled on the last lap and finished 4th in 5.05.28. Terry who does not step on the track often these days found the going tough and finished in 8th in 6.12.16

Under 15 Boys

Sam Horsley was ilfords runner in the under 15 boys race, Freddie Rowe of Havering went straight into the lead and set a pace that he maintained until the end.  Sam went into second place and ran a controlled race, maintaining his distance from everyone behind him. The problem he had was nearly falling off the track whilst looking at his watch. He finished in a time of 4.45.64, and gained his first Essex medal.

 

 

  Press Report 20th June 2023  

Jun 202023
 

ESSEX 5000m CHAMPIONSHIP
Ilford
Friday 16 June

Last Friday Ilford AC, in its centenary year, hosted the Essex 5000m Championships at its home track of Cricklefields,
It was a successful event with 6 medals including two individual County Golds.

For both men and women three titles were contested, the open, and the two masters categories of V40 and V50.

The ladies all ran in one heat; Neringa Masilioniene was first home for the club and first overall in the FV40 category: her time of 18:06.1 is a club all-time best over the distance for a V40 and second best all time time over the distance in Ilford’s 100 year history.
Next up was Jordan Hinds, fourth in the open category, with 18:26.8, a 44-second improvement over the distance. Anna Crawley ran a very good 21:17.6 for fifth in the open group. Jo Reeves came home in 23:29.2, which placed her fifth in the V40 category.

 The club swept the podium in the V50 category: Gaye Young won the race with 23:20.6; Hannah Sheikh was second in 23:54.4 and Pauline Tester earned a bronze medal with a time of 24:08.4.

The Ilford men ran in 3 separate heats and took home two silver medals with Fabrizio Stefanoni running a well judged race to take 2nd in the M50 age group in 17min 50.7secs and Malcolm Muir giving 100% to take second in the M40 age category in 17 mins 01.4 secs.
Tom Gardner ran the fastest time for the club on the day  recording 15 mins 37.7 secs in a very competitive men’s seniors event for 10th place
In the M50 group Steve Philcox finished in 18 mins 13.0 secs for fourth and Richard Woolterton with 19min 05.4secs for fifth.

Overall an excellent evening of sport, and an event very well organized by the club to mark its Centenary year.

Brading 10k

Prior to Malcolm’s excellent Silver in the Essex 5000m Champs he had ran in the Brading 10k the previous weekend and recorded an excellent time of 36 mins 32 secs to take 2nd place in the M40 category 


Lap of the Gap Marathon

Over the weekend Diarmuid MacDonnell ran the ‘Lap of the Gap’ Marathon in Wicklow Eire.

Starting in Glendalough and heading on through the Wicklow Mountains, the race has over 800m of elevation.
Diarmuid was pleased with his time of 3 hours 21 minutes which placed him 9th out of 140 finishers

 

 

  Press Report 13th June 2023  

Jun 132023
 
HAVERING 5
Raphael Park Romford
Tuesday 6 June

There was a large turn out of 35 runners  from Ilford AC in the Havering 5 mile, the second race of this summer’s Elvis competition, held on a fast 2 lap course in Raphael Park Romford.

Ilford were led home by Malcolm Muir in his usual all action style in 7th place and second in the M40 age category with a time of 28 mins 38 secs. Backing him up in 14th with a new personal best of 29 mins 51 secs for 14th was Berekhet Berakhy and Steve Philcox  in 19th with 30 mins 07 secs for 2nd in the M50 grouping. Dan Holeyman came home 23rd with 31 mins 22 secs, while Richard Woolterton finished 31st in 31 mins 47 secs. Diarmuid Mac Donnell completed the scoring 6 with 32 mins 14 secs in 34th.
In the match the Ilford team was 3rd, the same as in the first fixture.

Making her debut for the club and finishing in 72nd place and 3rd female with a time of 35 mins 11 secs was Gemma Ellender.

Next home for the club were 4 Ilford ladies all finishing as a group within 5 seconds of each other.

Bree Nordin was the first of the group finishing 91st place in 37 mins 06 sec followed by Hannah Sheikh 92nd 37:08, Carlie Qirem 93rd 37:10 and Joanne Reeves 94th 37:11. The group were 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th females overall with Bree picking up 2nd in the FV60 category and Hannah 1st FV50

 Alison Sale came in 115th and 23rd  female in 38 mins 51 secs to close the team.

Like the men, the Ilford Ladies repeated their place from the first match placing second.

Jenni Sheehan ran well in her return to competitive running in 41 mins 26 secs for 149th place. 

Neil Crisp won the M60 category award in 32 mins 52 secs and Nick West made his club debut finishing in a time of 36 mins 22 secs.

Also competing well in club colours outside of the scoring positions were:-

Men –  Steve Crane (  51  33.58)  Dennis Briggs (74  35.28)  Adam Coals ( 77  35.51)   Dave Thomas (81  36.10)  Steve Horsley (98  37.29)  Joel Denning (105  37.49)  Tony Young (121  39.22)  Sean Costello (136  40.22)  Batmanader Ramen (180  43.56) Sparra Everingham (242  52.09) Bradley Brown (260)

Ladies   Mandy Reid (167  42.47) Dianne Crisp (192  44.55)  Rachel Halpin (202  46.16)  Beverley Thomas (220  48.09)  Frieda Keane (228  49.47)  Julia Galea ( 230  49.47)  Launa Broadley (235  50.50)  Carol Muir (244  53.34)  Doris Gaga (248  56.15)

Southend Half
Sunday 11 June

A Dynamic Duo of Ilford AC members braved Hot sweltering conditions to race the Annual Southend Half-Marathon on Sunday !

In a West Ham field ‘(Massive’) of over 1,500 runners on a seafront course the two battled bravely against the elements with an out and back course adjacent to the seafront causing some runners to pass out in the oven-like conditions !

First home for the club was Terry Knightley in 86th Position for 93 Minutes and 29 Seconds and 2nd Male Veteran Over 60 

Following him home was Adam Coals in 315th Place in 1 Hour 48 Minutes and 44 Seconds and 90th in the Male Veterans Over 40 category

All finishers received a wooden eco-friendly medal 

Track

In a  high quality British Milers Club Grand prix at Loughborough on Saturday night Essex Champion  Farris  Vakil ran in heat D of the 800m finishing 4th in a new personal best of  1 min 53.09 secs