Press Report 31st May 2023  

May 312023
 

Southern Counties VAC League

The first match in the Vets season was held at Lee Valley on Monday 

The men’s team finished 3rd and the ladies team of three athletes did well to finish 5th.

The first track event was the 2000m walk where Neringa Aidietyte debuted as a Vet and comfortably won the V35 age group in 10.04.94. Lesley Morris backed this up with another win in the V50 age group in 14.29.59. Stuart Bennett also won the V50 age group in 12.09.98. Unfortunately Steve Crane was disqualified.

In the 100m, Sam Malekout returned to Vets competition and placed 3rd in 12.65 running as a V35. Henry Ricketts placed 5th in V50 with a time of 13.68. James Lambden placed 3rd in V60 timed at 14.8 and Dave Butler placed 4th in 18.74 as V70.

The age groups in the 400m were V35, V40 and V50. Sam Malekout ran really well to hold on for the win in the first age group in 57.61. Berekhet Berakhy debuted in the next age group placing 4th in 64.23. Henry Ricketts placed 8th in the final age group in 70.33.

Neringa was persuaded to run the 400m as a warm up for the middle distance event and won the V35 category in 73.77.

In the 1500m Neringa and Gaye van der Vyver competed as V35 and V50. Neringa topped off her fine evening with another victory in 5.23.79. Gaye battled to 4th place in 6.32.16.

The men had several athletes competing over 1500m but missed a trick in not fielding a V35 – a similar situation over the V40 100m. Danny Holeyman (V40) was pipped at the line to finish 6th in a time of 5.15.17. Berekhet as a non-scoring athlete finished in a time of 4.56.17. Fabrizio Stefanoni won V50 crossing the line in 4.52.67. Neil Crisp competed as V60 placing 3rd in 5.40.34. Dave Butler was a comfortable V70 age group winner in  5.45.55. Richard Woolterton and Andy Catton, both running as non-scoring athletes finished in 5.28.62 and 6.39.33 respectively.

In the field events Akwasi Nkrumah – another debutant – placed 4th with 7m in the V35 shot. Henry Ricketts placed 3rd in the V50 shot with 8m 20. Peter Whiting placed 3rd in the V60 hammer with 18m 99.

Closing the evening the men’s 4 x 100m of Akwasi, Henry, Fabrizio and Sam placed 3rd in 54.45 with Sam running well to hold off London Heathside

Eastern Young Athletes League (EYAL) 

Ilford AC sent a team of 20 young athletes to the second EYAL match of the year in St Albans. Each event had two selected runners scoring points for the team along with races with non-scorers hoping to gain experience.

Three runners competed for in the under 13 girls age group two Neriah Anderson and Nora Nzurike were making their club debuts. Neriah came 3rd in the 100m and 4th in the 200m and 3rd in the Long Jump. She was backed up by B string runner Nayla Mills Ugoh who performed well coming 4th in the 100m in a new personal best, 4th in the 200m and 2nd in the long jump. Finally Nora, whose future may be in slightly longer distances came 5th in the 100m, 2nd in the 200m and also competed in the shot put.

In the under 15 girls we had regulars Kenina Nkurumah and Stacey Amaniampong. Stacey was 6th in the 100m and 5th in the 200m in a new personal best showing the value of her regular attendance over the winter training. She also had a great shot put, throwing 7.26m for second place. Kenina came 5th in the 100m in a new PB and then continued this form in the field jumping 4.14 in the long jump and competing in the Javelin, 6th in the 200m and 4th in the long jump only 2cm from 3rd place.

Finally for the girls was Anika Sharma in the under 17s who achieved new PBs in the 300m and 800m and also competed in the long jump.

The club had only one athlete in the Under 13 boys but he covered two difficult events. On his debut for the club and debut on the track Barney Perkins ran 2.38 for the 800m to finish 3rd and then a few hours later came 4th in the 1500m. Great endurance and great promise for the future.

The under 15 boys were well represented. In the sprints Danthika Hennadigecame 3rd in the 100m and 2nd in the 200m. Jaydan Roberts Edwards showed his speed finishing 4rd in the 100m, 5th in the 200m in a new PB and also jumped 4.66m for a new long jump PB. They were well supported but strong performances from Damien Amaniampong who ran a 100m PB to win the non-scorer race and Jaskirat Singh who on debut came 2nd on the 100m and competed well in the shot put

Jayden Mcdermott and Luke Thake continue to show their range over a number of events. Both ran big PBs in the 800m and performed well in the 300m and shot put.

Sam Horsley had his debut 1500 and moved to 7th on the all-time list for the club with a fantastic time of 4.26.7 to finish in 2nd place. He was well supported by Aron Berhe and Ryder Islam who also ran PBs for the distance. Sam and Aron also competed in the Javelin with Aron throwing a best of 22.81m

In the under 17s Ian Johnson ran 11.3secs in the 100m and 23.4 in the 200m to win and break his personal best in both events. Like Sam this puts Ian in the top 30 all-time club times for his age group.

James Thake gained further experience over the shorter distances after a busy weekend coming 3rd in the 400m.

Aaron Hick had a really strong race in the 1500m coming second in new personal best after staying with the lead group all the way and showing his customary strong finish. Samuel Crane came 3rd in the B string for this event

Another great day for all the club! Thanks to the coaches, parents and volunteers who help the youngsters to show their best.

  Press Report 23rd May 2023  

May 222023
 
Southern League
20 May 2023
Braintree

Ilford produced a great performance in their opening Southern League Match at Braintree at the weekend, having an all day battle with Harlow, and narrowly missing out on their first league victory in nearly 20 years. Ilford’s team had a mixture of young athletes making their debut, experienced veterans and athletes running from injury.

Star performer of the day was Jordan Hinds. She started off the day, with a comfortable front running win in the 800m, followed an hour later with winning the 400m, less than 1/10th of a second outside pb. Not finished for the day, she ran a perfect tactical 1500m, not only winning, but reducing her pb by 5 seconds with a time of 4.53.1.  She also reluctantly threw the discus which gained 3 more points.

Sam Malekout made a welcome return to the team and had his usual haul of points which included, winning the A string Javelin, second placed in both the Shot and discus and 4th in the pole vault. Akwasi Nkrumah despite an injury was another who took on multiple events, with 2nd places in both the 400m hurdles and flat 400m, and then winning the B string pole vault.  Pete Whiting came out of his winter hibernation to gain valuable events in the field with 2nd places in both the B string Javelin and discus, and then 3rd place in the B sting hammer.  Making up the throwing side of the men’s team was Nat senior who won the A string shot and Wes Clarke who was 3rd in the A string hammer.

On the women’s side the sprinters were very impressive; Ellie Wright continues her great start to the season, by winning the A string 100m, and the B string 200m. With the 100m time being won in a legal Pb of 12.5 seconds. Krystle Balogun continues to rack up the Southern League points for Ilford and this time she won the A string 200m, the non scoring 100m and took  2nd in the A string shot putt. Ayshah Lawrence joined Krystle in the shot and in her first attempt at the discipline, took 2nd in the B string. Prior to this Ayshah, came 3rd in the A string 100m and came second in the non scoring 200m.  Anna crawley made up the women’s team and ran really well in taking 4th in the 3000m and a great 2nd in the B string 1500m, before trying her hand at discus and taking 3rd in the A string.

Ilford also scored valuable points in the men’s sprints. Jordon Duncan took 3rd place in the A string 100m, and 2nd in the A string 200m. Malachi Harley ran his best time for 2 years in winning the B string 100m in 11.6. Wanya Williams was impressive in winning the B string 200m, and ran a pb of 11.4 in the non scoring 100m. These three along with Oliver Blainey were dominate in winning the men’s 4x 100m. Young Jeremiah Brown ran 2 non scoring events running a pb of 11.7 in the 100m. Earlier in the day, he had competed in the High jump for the first time and cleared an impressive 1m 55. Oliver Blainey easily won the A string 400m in a time of 53.6 seconds.

Youngsters James Thake and Aaron Hick both made their league debuts,  James ran a very controlled race to win the A string 800m in 2.07.7, before with a bit of persuading from the team manager he took part in the Long jump and 3rd in the A string. Aaron completed the same double and was second in the B string 800m and 3rd in the B string long jump.

The Edwards brothers Rhys and Ronan also doubled up, their first event being the 1500m, where Ronan won the Edwards brothers champs and took second place in the A string, with Rhys taking 4th in the B string. Rhys got his revenge in the triple jump where he won the A string in 11m 38, not to be out done Ronan won the B string with 9m 38.

The long middle distance events were contested by some of Ilford’s older middle distance runners. Tom Gardner ran a very clever tactical race in the 300om, always near the front of the field; he was just out kicked in the final straight, but gained valuable points in 2nd place.  Fabrizio Stefanoni ran well to finish 3rd in the B string 3000m.

Malcolm Muir a survivor from the last time, Ilford came 2nd in a southern League match, had a great run in an eventful steeplechase, leading from the front, his aggressive running made up for his unusual technique. He ran away from the field for a great win. Earlier in the day, he had placed second in the B string 400m hurdles.

The final vent of the day was the men’s 4x 400m and Ilford’s team of James, Jordon, Ronan and Oliver were impressive winners by over 30 seconds. 

Hackney Half Marathon
21st May

The Hackney Half Marathon is one of London’s newest, and largest halves with a record 19,800 athletes congregating on Hackney marshes for the early start.

The route skirts parks and the major roads through Hackney, which are all closed to traffic, before winding its way back to Hackney Marshes.

Despite the early start the heat was intense as the race got going and there were quite a few runners who did not complete the distance

Fortunately Ilford’s sole competitor was made of much sterner stuff, and coming on the back of his recent Manchester Marathon, Dennis Briggs had a very impressive run to complete the course in 1:36:53 which placed him 67th in his age category 

 

Asics Golden run
Sao Paulo

Ilford Veteran Tony Young is currently spending a few weeks in Brazil and whilst out there decided to take in the ‘Asics Golden run’ festival in Sao Paulo.
A range of distances were on offer in the yearly running event and Tony Young took on the 10k distance. In a field of over 2,500 runners Tony, proudly wearing his Ilford AC vest, finished in a time of 49m 20s which placed him 322nd and 6th in his age grading.

  Press Report 16th May  

May 162023
 

Essex Track and Field Championships
Thurrock
13th / 14th May 2023

Ilford produced some impressive performances, in gaining 10 (2 gold 5 silver and 3 Bronze) medals at the Essex County Championships held over two days at Thurrock this weekend.  The weather, although dry, was windy which affected a few of the recorded times.

Ellie Wright who has come through the Ilford junior ranks, won Ilford’s first medal of the weekend, in the senior women’s 100m, a reward for all her hard training this winter. She finished 3rd in a time of 12.48, which would have been a pb, but unfortunately the wind was over the legal limit. Toyin Olufemi also had a good run in the final finishing 6th in a time of 13.20.

Ilford had runners in the Senior Mens 800m, Farris Vakil, Paul Grange, and Alex Richards. All three were content to sit off the early pace set by Jake Hume of Basildon.  Farris moved to the front with 250m to go with Paul close behind, coming around the last bend, Paul drew level, but Farris just held on to win his first senior title in a time of 1.55.89. with Paul 2nd in 1.56.11 and Alex 4th in 1.58.61.

Jordan Hinds made it a 800m Gold double for Ilford by winning the senior women’s 800m in a time of 2.22.09.

It was great to see Farris and Jordan picking up their first outdoor senior titles, both have been with Ilford since the under 15 age group and have trained hard over the years to gain senior county track titles, an achievement not reached by many.

New member Akwasi Nkrumah had a very good run in taking the silver medal in the veterans 300m. In a time of 41.01. Oliver Blainey took 2nd place in the u20 men’s 400m in a season’s best time of 51.60 seconds.

Ilford had three runners in the Veteran men’s 3000m, and Tom Gardner stuck with the leaders until 600m to when he fell off the pace, but still hung on to claim the silver medal in a time of 9.09.25. Malcolm Muir and Sam Rahman had their own personal battle with Malcolm just outsprinting Sam over the last 100m for 4th place and Sam taking 5th

In the U15 100m heats Jayden Roberts Edwards ran an impressive time of 11.98, to finish second in his heat and qualify for the final, in the same heat Danitha Hennadige was 4th place in a time of 12.52. Unfortunately the wind was over the legally permitted speed.

In the Senior Mens 100m both Elijah Mayindu and Jordon Duncan qualified for the final with times of 11.44 and 11.50, the latter being a pb for Jordon. In the final Elijah finished 6th with Jordan close behind in 7th place.  In the women’s U20 100m Aleena Lawrence took a very good 4th place in a time of 13.57.

Day 2

Day 2 was much brighter, and the wind of Saturday had completely disappeared, first up were the 800m heats, where Ilford had two athletes in both the U15 and U17 races. New member Sam Horsley in only his second race for the club, won his heat in a time of 2.14.10, just outside his pb.  Aron Berakhy came 6th in his heat and missed out on a final place by one spot but was rewarded with a pb of 2.17.66. Three hours later in the final, Sam ran a stunning pb of 2.09.30, but unfortunately had to settle for 4th place.

In the u17 men’s 800m James Thake and Aaron Hick had just moved up to the age group, so it was always going to be tough.  James had a great run in heat 1 setting a new pb of 2.09.98 to finish 4th and qualify for the final.  In heat 2 Aaron was 6th in a time of 2.19.37.  Like Sam in the u15’s James also ran a pb in the final, but again had to settle for 4th place.

Samuel Crane decided to take on the longer 3000m and ran a pb of 10.07.27 to take 5th place in the u17 event.

Several of Ilford new Development Squad were competing in their first County Championship and Kenina Nkrumah acquitted herself well with 4th place in her 200m heat in a time of 30.20, and 9th in the U15 girls long jump with 4m 25. Jayden Roberts Edwards and Danitha Hennadige placed 4th and 5th in their 200m heats, but unfortunately did not progress to the final.

Ian Johnson ran a very impressive pb 23.30 in the U17 200m, but unfortunately was Ilford’s 3rd 4th place athlete on Day 2.

Wanya Williams and Jordon Duncan competed in the heats of the senior men’s 200m, Wanya was unlucky not to make the final placing 4th in his heat in 23.87, whilst Jordon, also placing 4th in his heat progressed to the final where he finished 6th in 23.26, just outside his pb. Oliver Blainey and Jeremiah Brown were in U20 200m and came 2nd in his heat to qualify for the final with Jeremiah 4th in his heat.  Yet again the curse of 4th place struck as Oliver finished just outside the medals in the final.

Ilford had 2 ladies in the senior women’s final with Krystle Balogun stepping down from the veteran category to mix with the youngsters and take yet another medal to her collection with 3rd place. Ayshah Lawrence has battled back from illness over the last few years and was rewarded for all her recent hard work, in both making the final and setting another pb of 28.57, for yet another 4th place.

The 1500s were the final events of the day, with first up the senior men’s, with Alex Richards being Ilford’s Sole competitor, after a 4th place finish in the 800 the day before, Alex made no mistake in the 1500m taking second place in a pb time of 4.02.81.

The final event of the day was the Vets 1500m, in which Ilford had three competitors, the three Ilford athletes had their own personal battle for the medals after John Whittaker broke away early on. At the end Akwasi Nkrumah took the silver medal in a time of 4.40.68, closely followed by Fabrizio Stefanoni in 4.45.08 and then Malcolm Muir, with yet another Ilford 4th place in 4.49.18.

Special mention should be made of Ilford busiest athlete of the weekend Akwasi Nkrumah, who not only gained silver medals in the Veterans 300m and 1500m, but also took silver medals in the senior Long and Triple jumps.  With jumps of 5.42 in the Long and 11.12 in the Triple Jump

Halstead Marathon
14th May

Terry Knightley was the Sole Ilford AC representative and had, in his own words ‘one of those ‘bad’ marathon experiences’ this weekend at The Halstead and Essex Championship Marathon and finished in 3-25-09 but hung on to still Win Essex County MV60 SILVER and County Medal Number 76 in his collection!

He finished in 55th position overall out of around 300 starters over a tough hilly course in conditions that started in cool weather and ended in baking heat.

Vets AC 5m Road Championship
Battersea
The Veterans AC  5-mile road championship was held of 3 ½ laps of the fast flat Battersea Park circuit. Ilford AC had two representatives in the field with both coming 4th in their age groups just missing out of a medal. Sam Rahman attacked the race and was rewarded with a new personal best of 28 mins 14 secs in 16 spot overall, missing third place in the M40 age group by just one second. Ed Skinner ran in the M65 age group and came home in 42 minutes exactly in 84th position.

  Press Report 3rd May 2022  

May 032023
 

Eastern Young Athletes League (EYAL)

Ilford AC sent a team of 18 young athletes to the first EYAL match of the year in Ware, Hertfordshire. Each event had two selected runners scoring points for the team along with races with non-scorers hoping to gain experience.

Two runners competed for in the under 13 girl’s age group. Ruby Moffat Virak came 5th in the 100m and 6th in the 200m and Long Jump. She was backed up by B string runner Nayla Mills Ugoh who performed well coming 6th in the 100m and 5th in the 200m and the long jump.

In the under 15 girls we had newcomer Kenina Nkurumah and returning Stacey Amaniampong. Stacey was 5th in the 100m, 4th in the 200m and competed in the long jump as a non-scorer. Kenina came 5th in the 100m, 6th in the 200m and 4th in the long jump only 2cm from 3rd place.

Busiest athlete of the weekend was Anika Sharma in the under 17 women grouping after competing in the mini marathon the day before. Showing her promise in a range of events she came 4th in 300m and 5th in the 800m breaking the 3 minute barrier for the first time. She then competed in the long jump as a non-scorer.

Zane Kiyani and Ibrahim Khan in the u13 boys competed on the track for the club for the first time. Zane was 4th in the 100m, 6th in the 1500m and also competed in the long jump. Ibrahim ran as a non-scorer in the 100m and was 5th in the 1500m and 6th in the long jump. A great range of events showing promise for the future!

The standout performances of the day were in the under 15 boys. Sam Horsley won the 800m in a new personal best and came 5th in the 300m. Aron Berhe also ran a new personal best to come 2nd in the B string and 4th in the 300m.

In the sprints Danika Hennadige had a great run to come second in the B 200m after running and falling in the 100m and also competing in the long jump. Jaydan Roberts Edwards showed his speed finishing 3rd in the 100m, 4th in the 200m and competing in the long jump

Jaydon Mcdermott and Luke Thake also showed their range over a number of events after competing in a recent pentathlon. Both had strong performances in the 100m, 1500 and shot. 

Unlucky on the day was Damien Amaniampong who suffered an injury in the 100m preventing him competing in other events, however he showed great promise for the future finishing in a time of just over 13 seconds.

The second and third victory of the day came in the b string sprints where Ian Johnson ran 11.8secs in the 100m and 23.5 in the 200m. He was backed up by Mohammed Zergouat, who was 5th in the 100m and 6th in the 200m.

Finally, in the middle distance races, further PBs were gained for James Thake (4th in the 800m and 300m) and Samuel Crane 6th in the 1500m

A great day for all the club!


WITHAM MAY DAY 10

The annual May day Bank Holiday 10 mile road race attracted over 230 entrants and was run on the usual undulating but fast rural course  from Witham Rugby Club

There were three runners from Ilford AC on the start line and Diarmuid Mac Donnell started the summer well with a personal best of 65 mins 28 secs for 32nd place. This result won him first placing in the M50 age group trophy. Alson Sale was the best of the Ilford ladies in 134th spot overall in 86 mins 26 secs while Julia Galea placed 204th with 1hr 42mins 07 secs


Track Tuesday

Ilford AC train at Cricklefield Stadium in Ilford every Tuesday, starting at 6:45pm and welcome anyone interested in taking their running to the next level to come along and try out a session on the track.

Sessions are taken by qualified running coaches who offer a structured training session and are on hand for any advice.

The club take part in various Track, Road and Cross Country events throughout the year and cater for all abilities

2 weeks ago we had 10 runners representing the club at the London Marathon including Sean Costello and Batmanaden Ramen who proudly showed off their medals at this weeks Track Tuesday

  Press Report 25th April 2023  

Apr 252023
 

LONDON MARATHON
Sunday 23 April

Among the almost 48600 finishers in this year’s London Marathon were 11 runners from Ilford AC.
Leading the way for the club was Paul Holloway who cruised to halfway in 1 hour 24 minutes and kept his pace steady in the second half to finish in an excellent 2 hrs 52 mins 50 secs which placed him 15th in the M55 age group.
Double Olympic walker Neringa Masilioniene has successfully changed code to running over the last few years for the club and ran an excellent 2 hrs 53 mins 10 secs for 75th in the female race, which also placed her as the 3rd fastest ever female athlete over the distance for Ilford AC.
Richard Woolterton and Danny Holeyman finished close together both running personal bests with 3 hrs 8 mins 28 secs and 3 hrs 8 mins 53 secs respectively.
The club had three runners taking part in their first ever marathon; Sean Costello ran 4 hrs 17 mins 40 secs, Mandy Reid 4 hrs 45 mins 08 secs and Batmanadan Ramen 4 hrs 50 mins 09 secs.
Joel Denning in 4 hrs 35 mins 28 secs and Tony Young with 4 hrs 43 mins 16 secs both had to deal with in race injuries and found the going tough as they progressed to the finish.
Stuart Bennett race walked the 26.2 miles in 5 hrs 33 mins 07 specs and Edmund Shillabber, who is in the M80 age group, finished in 7 hrs 36 mins 09 secs.

The club also had over 60 members staffing the Lucozade drinks station at Mile 9, and the Ilford ladies celebrated their 100th Birthday, having been officially recognised by the club in April 1923, with a team photo.

Mini Marathon

Ilford continued the club’s improved participation in top quality events over the last few months by sending 10 young athletes to the mini marathon, the highest number from the club in recent memory.
This is a series of races for youngsters up to 17 years of age, traditionally held before the senior event giving them an inspiring opportunity to run on the last part of the marathon course.
The athletes were all selected by their respective boroughs and places given below are from the borough challenge.

First out for the club was Ronan Edwards in the under 17 event.
Representing Waltham Forest, Ronan finished in 27th place.

Six of the junior middle-distance squad gained places in the U15 race.
Sam Horsley had a great run and was first for the club in 34th place and was part of the winning Havering team.
He was followed in by James Thake in 49th, Aaron Hick in 50th, Samuel Crane 65th, Ryder Islam 93rd and Aron Berhe 96th .

James and Samuel fell at the start but got going again to come through strongly.

Finally, three athletes from the thriving development group were also selected.
Leila Lauder in her first mini marathon ran brilliantly to finish 86th in the girls under 15 race and she was well backed up by Anika Sharma in 177th.
Luke Thake also ran in his first mini marathon in the under 13’s. Usually stronger over the sprints Luke found new strength to complete the course in 141st place.

 

 Essex County Relays

Last weekend Ilford sent out a strong squad for the Essex County Relay Championships

The weather was good, if a little windy, and the long day was made easier by a large enthusiastic group of supporters who made their way up the A12 to cheer on the teams.

First race of the day was the U15 boys consisting of Sam Horsley, Aaron Hick and Samuel Crane. The boys put in a fine performance and were just outside the medals spot with 4th place on the day.

Next up was the open and Vet women race in which Ilford AC entered 3 teams.

The ‘open’ category team consisted of Jordan Hinds, who ran the 6th fastest leg of any female on the day, with Zuzana Sinalova and Anna Crawley who both ran PB’s over the distance. The team finished 8th but were just a minute and a half outside the medal places.

The V50 category consisted of Alison Sale, Frieda Keane and Pauline Tester who came in 7th place.

The V60 women brought home the first silverware of the day with a silver medal going to Julia Gallea, Sharon Honey and Dianne Crisp.

Next up were the men, in which Ilford AC entered a team in the ‘open’ category and three veterans’ teams.

The ‘Open’ men category had 4 runners and Dylan Harrod, Tom Gardner, Alex Richards and Malcolm Muir gave a very good account of themselves to finish 7th place against very strong opposition.

The Vet 40 team of Berekhet Berakhy, Danny Holeman and Steve Crane ran well for 9th place.

The Vet 50 team brought home the second medal of the day with Stephen Philcox, Diarmuid MacDonnel and Fabrizio Stefanoni all running really well to bring home a Bronze medal.

The Vet 60 team also brought home Bronze. Both Terry Knightley and Andy Catton ran great legs before handing over to Neil Crisp who pipped the Thurrock runner on the line to earn the medals.

All in all, a successful day for the club

Loughborough Open
22/04/23

Ilford’s Mungo Prior, currently at university in Loughborough ran a season track opener over 3000m.

He finished the race in a time of 8:44.15 a PB by over 15 seconds, moving him close to the top 30 on the clubs all-time list for the distance.