Press Report 17th October 2023  

Oct 172023
 

ESSEX CROSS-COUNTRY LEAGUE
One Tree Hill

The Essex Cross-Country League opened this winter’s fixtures on a warm sunny day at One Tree Hill in Basildon last Saturday.  The races were held over the trials in the country park with the course featuring a couple of stiff climbs on each lap.

Ilford AC were very well represented across all age groups.
We had 10 athletes in our Junior races, which is a testament to our Coaches Ernie, Gary and Wayne, and the hard work they put in to ensure the future of the club is in safe hands.


In the year 5 and 6 grouping the 1st Ilford athlete with a very impressive debut in a high class field was Khalif Ali followed by Arnav Rathi also making an impressive debut .
Next finisher was Elias Furreedan with a really solid performance.
In a very high standard U13 race Barney Perkins finished in 14th place and he will no doubt improve on this performance as he gains more experience.
In the U15 boys race Sam Horsley ran a very impressive race to finish 2nd, and was backed up by good runs from Aaron Berhe in 19th and Luke Thake in 38th.
There were also 3 excellent performances in the U17 Men’s race with Samuel Crane in 9th place, Aaron Hick in 17th and James Thake 21st.

The senior ladies race was over 6.6km and an Ilford team weakened by injuries and non availability put in a good performance to claim 11th spot in their division 1 match.
Alison Sale led the team home in 72nd position in 32 mins 41 secs with support from Pauline Tester in 94th spot and Dianne Crisp in 119th.
Ever reliable Frieda Keane closed the team in 142nd in a large field,

The Ilford AC men had a big turnout of 18 for their 8km race over 2 laps.
First home for the club was Tom Gardner in an excellent 7th place  and 3rd in the M40 category in 27 mins 29 secs. Next over the line in 17th was Alex Richards in 28 mins 21 secs with the ever reliable Malcolm Muir in 42nd  in 30 mins 29 secs and 4th in the M45 age group.
Steve Philcox came in 64th and 2nd in the M55 group and Josh Alder 78th.
Dylan Harrod, who is still in the U20 age group, completed the scoring team in 110th.
This placed the club in 7th in division one of the league.

Neil Crisp was 3rd in M60 category and 125th overall and club stalwart Andy Catton 1st in the M70 grouping.

Backing up the team on the tough course were:  Danny Holeyman  116th   Richard Woolterton   129th   Seb Parris  147th  Ray Dzikowski  160th     Bradley Brown  179th  Steve Crane   189th   Tony Young  44.02  Sean Costello  237th  Rob Sargent  254th  Jim Tilbrook  255th

CHINGFORD LEAGUE 5km
Olympic Velopark

The first fixture of the season in the Chingford League took place under the lights at the Olympic Velopark road circuit in Stratford. Ilford are competing in the second tier of this competition and produced good results on the night.

Off first was the U15/17 race and in a field of 60 runners Ilford had two U15 boys who had great races. Sam Horsley came first in a time of 16:51 followed by Ryder Islam in 8th place in 18:36.

Next off were the Senior women, led home by Gemma Ellender in 23rd place in 21:12. Coming in next was Alison Sale in 23:08 and Pauline Tester in 25:25.
Completing the ladies team were the ever reliable Launa Broadley 172nd 30:32 and Frieda Keane 183rd 32:32.

The ladies finished 6th on the night.

Last race of the day was the Senior men. In a large field of over 300 runners, Ilford AC had 10 runners competing.

First home was Ronan Edwards 14th 16:44, followed by Sam Rahman 34th 17:24.
Next in were 3 within a minute of each other, Danny Holeyman 100th 19:23, Joel Denning 112th 19:38 and Seb Parris 19:59.

The squad were backed up by excellent performances from Nick West 184th 21:43, Stephen Lacey 190th 21:55, Steven Horsley 202nd 22:17, Anthony Young 251st 24:09 and Jim Tilbrook 276th 26:21

Tiptree 10 (10 Miles)

The Tiptree 10 has been awarded ‘the best road race in the Essex AA area’ as voted by running clubs 3 times since 2008 and offers a beautiful scenic course through the Essex village.
This year the race incorporated the Essex 10 Mile championships, and in a large field Ilford AC had 10 athletes representing the club.

Leading the team home in an incredible sub 60 minutes was Malcolm Muir in 59:41 for 15th place. Just one place behind was Sam Rahman winning an Essex Silver VM40 medal in a time of 1:00:07. Sam was followed by Stephen Philcox who gained a VM55 Gold medal with a time of 1:04:20. Our other medallist on the day was Alison Sale with a well deserved Essex Silver in the VF55 grouping with a time of 1:24:22 for 186th place.

Backing up the medallists, all with great performances of their own were :- Danny Holeyman 46th 1:05:45, Richard Woolterton 61st 1:07:09, Terry Knightley 87th 1:12:17 Nick West 161st 1:21:04, Hannah Sheikh 241st 1:30:43 and Launa Broadley 349th 1:44:04

Essex Grand Prix

At the end of the Essex Road Championships season the top 3 runners in each age category are awarded prizes based on their season’s performances.

Ilford are proud to announce that Sam Rahman won a Gold medal in the MV40 grouping, whilst Terry Knightley added Essex County medal No 80 to his collection with a Silver medal in the MV60 grouping.

  Press Report 10th October 2023  

Oct 102023
 

Chicago Marathon

On a sunny cold day in Chicago two runners from Ilford AC tackled the Chicago Marathon. The course around the Windy City is fast and flat and very popular with over 40,000 runners.

This year was a special one for all competing as the World Record was broken on the day by Kelvin Kiptum from Kenya in a time of 2 hours 35 seconds.

Husband and wife team Carlie and Tarik Qirem both ran excellent races finishing together in 3:32:27, which was a Person best for Tarik by over 14 minutes.


Essex 10k Road Championships
Southend

The Essex 10k Road Championships were held this year in Southend

The course is a flat, out and back, traffic- free course along Southend seafront, also incorporating a section on the wide footpaths of Gunners Park.

Ilford AC sent 13 athletes to the Championships with great success.

Winning the race outright and first Gold medal of the morning was Jack Nixon

Jack is the nephew of club veteran Tony Nixon, who has been at the club over 50 years. He recently joined the club as second claim to compete in the Essex Championship series and marked his debut with a time of 31 mins 11 secs.
Next home was Tom Gardner, picking up a Silver medal in his age cat in a time of 32:59 for 10th place. Fabrizio Stefanoni picked up a Bronze medal in his age grouping coming home in 50th place in 36:20. Stephen Philcox continued his great season with an Essex Gold in his grouping, coming home in 64th place in 37:35. Ilfords fifth medal of a successful morning was a Silver for Andy Catton in the v70 grouping who came home in 428th place in 50:24.

Special mentions go to three of our athletes who continued their fine form with personal bests over the distance, Jordan Hinds 39:43 Joel Denning 39:59.and Tarik Qirem 47:00

Also running and putting in fine performances were:- Neil Crisp 41:12, Danny Holeyman 41:22, Steve Chissell 42:28, Joanne Reeves 45:40, Carlie Qirem 47:02, and Julie Gillender 1:11:16


Chester Marathon

Sunday 8 October

The 13th Chester Marathon was run over the usual challenging course, which runs into Wales for 6 miles on hot sunny autumn day, with a field of over 4000 starters. Ilford AC were represented by Dennis Briggs who started out on a controlled run reaching 20km (almost half way) in 94 mins 27 secs. However Dennis has been suffering from a heavy cold recently which took its toll in the stretch after 30km and Dennis came home in 3hrs 43 mins 37 secs for 962nd position, his second best time for the distance.

Royal Parks Half Marathon

This stunning central London Half Marathon, takes in some of the capital’s world-famous landmarks on closed roads, and four of London’s eight Royal Parks – Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.

Ilford AC had 1 runner taking part this year,,

Batmanaden Ramen finished in 2 hrs 10 mins, beating his previous best time over the distance by 23 minutes

European Masters 10Km Road Championships

Pescara Italy

The 10km road race at the European Masters Athletics Championship was held on a hot sunny afternoon on a 2 lap twisty turning course with several hairpin turnarounds on each lap. There were three members of Ilford Ac in the British team. Julia Galea was the pick of the bunch coming 10th in the F65 age category in 65 mins 47 secs for 10th and a scoring spot on the British team earning her a silver medal in the team race for that age group. Rob Sargent had a controlled run in the heat finishing 22nd in the M65 age group in 62 mins 32 secs and Doris Gaga came home 16th in the F55 age category

  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