Press Report 14th June 2022  

Jun 142022
 

ESSEX 5000m Championship
​Chelmsford
Wednesday 8 June

It was the ladies team of Ilford Ac who fared best for the club at the Essex 5000m championship at the Chelmsford track.

Sameena Ahmed moved up the field as the race unfolded to come home 4th overall in 19 mins 38. secs which placed her second in the F40 category to take the silver county medal.
Joanne Reeves was racing on the track for the first time and recorded a very  creditable 21 mins 39.3 secs coming home 6th and was third in the F40 age grouping taking the bronze championship medal.
Gaye Young won her first county gold in winning the F50 age category in 23 mins 09.2 secs finishing 8th in the ladies race.

There were 3 Ilford men also in action in the meeting. Tom Gardner finished 11th overall in 15 mins 40.1 secs while in heat 3 Ryan Holeyman, still in the u20 age group, finished in 17 mins 25.6 secs for 5in the heat and Sam Rahman ran steadily for 9th with 18mins 01.0 secs

 

Essex Schools Champs
Chelmsford
Saturday June 11th

The Essex Schools 2022 Championships took place at a sunny Chelmsford on Saturday.
The Essex schools is always a key date in the calendar for ambitious athletes as success and fast times can lead to being picked to represent Essex in the English schools.
Ilford AC had 6 representatives competing for their borough in this year’s race , which was a great achievement in the first place.

All of the Ilford stars competed to a very high level but 2 athletes really stood out for their performances at the weekend.
Joseph Grange thought he was doing the 3000m Intermediate boys  at the championships but was informed a few days before the race that he had been entered for the 1500. In a tough race Joseph went with the leader and both pulled away from  the rest of the field  with about a lap to go and Joseph pushed the Woodford boy right through the line. Joseph was rewarded with a well earned silver medal, a massive Personal best of 4.09, a school record and a place in the English schools in his favored 3000 event.

The other outstanding athlete of the day was Oliver Blainey. Oliver was already Essex club champion and is growing with confidence as the season grows.In his Intermediate heat earlier in the morning, Oliver pushed the first 200 in the 400 Heat but then slowed down to conserve energy for the final. In the final Oliver went off quickly to open up a slight lead and powered away in the last 100 to win the Essex Schools 400 title in 50.87, just behind his personal best. 

This performance was good  enough to take Oliver, along with Joseph,  to the English schools to compete against the best athletes in the country in July

In the 800 Junior Boys Heats James Thake was in the second heat of 3 with 2  from each heat to make the final plus 2 fastest losers. In the fastest heat of the 800 James ran superbly to run 2.11 to finish third. James not only made the final as fastest loser he also achieved a personal best of 6 seconds. In the final James was in with a real chance with 300m to go but was unable to duplicate his performance in the heat and came 8th in the final but he should be proud of his performance. 

In the third heat Aaron Hick was up with the leaders to try and get the top 2 finish but was just out sprinted by another athlete to come third. Aaron’s 2.18 time meant he didn’t make the final but Aaron still performed well

In the Junior Boys 1500 Samuel Crane ran very well in a quality 1500 race.Samuel ended up with 4.51, just short of his personal best.Ronan Edwards , who medalled in the Essex club champs ran in the 800m Heats.Ronan, in the middle of exams narrowly missed out on the final and once exams are of the way will return to his best form.

 

BMC 5,000m Track Grand Prix
Watford
11th June 2022

Ahmed Abdulle ran the race of his life at Watford on Saturday night. Always in the front 3 Ahmed kicked on in  the final 400m to finish in first place in 14.18.64 for a new personal best over the distance.

 

Southend Half Marathon
Sunday June 12th

On Sunday in sweltering heat on the seafront a small group of Ilford AC members ran in a huge field of over 1545 runners in the Annual Southend Half-Marathon.

The course was a two lap seafront course 

First Home in 82 Minutes and 28 seconds for 33rd place was the ever reliable Sam Rahman.

Next Home and Invited back to race with a free entry from the organizers as a previous Winner of the event in 1998 was Terry Knightley.
Terry finished in 89 Minutes and 49 seconds for 83rd place and was robbed of the 1st MV60 prize despite being given the same time as the first MV60 finisher

Next in was MV50 Stephen Lacey in 1 Hour 52 Minutes and 58 seconds 

Following him home was MV60 Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham in 2 Hours 20 Minutes and 03 seconds finishing together with team mate Rhoan Gabbidon in the MV50 category 

 

Ilford AC Walking Section Press Report

GOOD DAY OUT IN A RURAL SETTING – Saturday 11th June
Ilford’s race walkers contested the 21st Anniversary Moulton Open 5 Miles on a “out-and-back” course through a delightful Suffolk countryside starting and finishing in a village of the same name, 3 miles’ east of Newmarket.  It was a Saturday afternoon of strong sunshine which saw athletic endeavours made easier by an unexpected cooling breeze. 
 
The women’s race was of such high standard that the first 3 home all walked faster than the 2nd in the men’s race!  Ilford’s Emma Dyos, the 2019 women’s event’s winner, showed determination to keep in touch with leaders throughout on an undulating course to place 3rd in an excellent 47 minutes and 42 seconds.  Shaeda Arthur walked consistently to occupy 12th position in 86.51. In the men’s race stalwart Steve Uttley who last made the frame in this event when 2nd in 2009, was again 2nd in 48.34 and well pleased to have made the presentation podium.  5th came John Arthur who improves with every appearance with 6th spot going to Simon Morgan who has always enjoying racing on this particular course. Respectively they were timed at 52.01 and 53.26.  To celebrate the 21st staging of this popular event, all officials, helpers and competitors received a special memento.
 
                                                                                                   Issued by Ilford AC Walking Section (01708-377382)

 

 

 

  Press Report 7th June 2022  

Jun 072022
 
Eastern Young Athletes League.
Chelmsford
5th June 2022

The second Young athletes league match was held at Chelmsford at the weekend. Even though the Jubilee celebrations were taking place all over the country ,the key Ilford AC youngsters turned up at Chelmsford to compete for their club.

With very strong opposition it was a great achievement to see Ilford win 2 of the events in the Mens u17s. Firstly Oliver Blainey maintained his winning record over 400 in the league and Essex Championships this year with a comfortable win in 51.4. Oliver has Essex Schools this weekend where he will need to run a much quicker time to get a spot at the English schools. The other winning run was by Ronan Edwards in the u17S 1500. Ronan ran a very disciplined race and stayed behind the leaders for the first 3 laps and then pushed away from the field to win in a personal best of 4.18. Ronan is also hoping for success at this weekends Essex schools

Joseph Grange came down distances at the league to run both the 800 and 400 and competed to a very  high standard. The 800 was a fast race but as usual Joseph gave his all to come 4th in 2:08. In the 400 Joseph was 3rd in 58.5. Hopefully this speed work will help Joseph in his Essex school race at the weekend

Mohammed Zoumatt ran 12.7 in U17s 100 for 5th place

In the U15s Ilford had 5 Youngsters competing. First up was the 800 and James Thake and Samuel Crane ran well in a very competitive race. James let the leaders get away but rallied at the end for a time of 2.17 for 4th Place. Samuel also ran well to get 2.26 for 5th Place. James returned in the 300 to run 41.7 and 4th place

Aaron Hick decided to  also come down distances and run the 300 and 200 and ended up with 2 big PBs. In the 300 Aaron ran 43.4 for 3rd place and 28.1 in the 200 for 5th place

Ryder Islam ran another big personal best in the U15 B 1500 in 5.11 and a third place finish. He also competed in the long jump with 2.81m and threw the Shot putt 4.26th for 3rd place. Samuel Crane also did the discus with a throw of 11.68

Hatfield Broad Oak 10km
Friday 3 June

The 35th HBO 10km was held on Bank Holiday Friday on a rural rolling figure of 8 course on closed rural roads around the picturesque village of Hatfield Broad Oak as part of their Jubilee Festival. There were 4 runners from Ilford AC in the large field with the club being led home by Joel Denning in 71st place with a creditable time of 42 mins 24 secs. Adam Coals also had a solid run in 76th spot in 43 mins 09 secs. There was an impressive performance by Joanne Reeves who finished 11th in a strong ladies line up and 3rd in the F40 category. Her time of 43 mins 59 secs gave her 97 overall. Club endurance coach Rob Sargent also had a run out recording 57 mins 44 secs for 525th out of the 989 finishers.
For Coals, Reeves and Sargent it was their best time for the distance for 3 years.

Orion Harriers Forest Five Series
Epping Forest
Saturday 4th June

The first in the series of three Forest Five mile runs took place on Saturday over a challenging cross country course in Epping Forest.
Competing in his first race for 4 years Ilford’s Declan Cullen put in a solid run to finish 55th in a time of 43:51

 

 

  Press Report 31st May 2022  

May 312022
 

Dagenham 88 ELVIS
Central Park, Dagenham
Wednesday 25 May

The 2023 Summer Elvis league kicked off on an off-road grass and gravel course of just under 5 miles last Wednesday in Central Park Dagenham. Ilford AC had 25 runners in action.

It was a successful start to the competition for Ilford with Paul Grange winning a tactical race in 27 mins 32 secs and his 15-year-old son coming in an excellent 3rd spot just 4 seconds behind.
The club also had two more runners in the top 20 with Steve Philcox placing 16th in 30 mins 16secs and taking the prize for 1st over 50 and Sam Rahman one place behind 30 mins 20 secs. Another of the club’s young athletes Ryan Holeyman came home 21st with 30 mins 48 secs and a good run from Steve Crane in 32 mins 51 secs for 30th closed the scorers for the team.
Ilford placed 2nd in the match behind East London

In the lady’s competition Sameena Ahmed was first home for the club in 2nd place with 32 mins 58 secs with Joanne Reeves 8th in 35 mins 49 secs. The remainder of the Ilford scoring team packed well with Bree Nordin 16th, and 1st in the F60 category, Gaye Young 17th and Alison Sale 18th with times of 38m 48s   38m 57s and 39 mins exactly respectively.
Hannah Sheikh put in a solid run for 20th to close the team in 39m 28 s.
The good team running won Ilford the match in the female section from Eton Manor AC

Other notable performances for the club were Terry Knightley winning the M60 age group trophy, Richard Woolterton placing third in the M50 age group, Gaye Young finishing 2nd in the F50 category with Alison Sale 3rd in the same division and Dianne Crisp 2nd in the F60 grouping

Also in action were:- Joel Denning (36  33.44)  Adam Coals (54  35.04)  Dennis Briggs (70  36.38)  Andy Catton (83  38.18) Bradley Brown (137  43.04)  Mandy Reid (173  45.28)Julia Galea (185  47.48)  Frieda Keane (188  47.48)  Ray Everingham (196  48.38)  Launa Broadley (213  52.41)

  Southern Athletic League Press Report May 30th 2022  

May 302022
 

Ilford AC competed in the first Southern athletic league of the  2022 season  at Lee valley last weekend. Ilford had a small team that turned out but as usual the whole team competed to a high level to finish 4th in the match. With a few more events covered Ilford would have been closer to the leading teams

 

The 6  Ilford AC Ladies had a very successful day. First up as usual was the ever reliable  Krystle Balogun, who came third in the 100 with 13.2 and second in the 200 in a great time of 26.5. Krystle also got good points in the Shot with a throw of 6.98. Backing Krystal up in the sprints was the returning Ayshah Lawrence. Ayshah came third in the 100 and 200  in 14.4 and 30.5

New Ilford Ac member Toyin Olufemi competed in the shot Putt and looked superb with a throw of 9.63 for second place

Moving onto the middle distance and Jordan Hinds had a tough day running the 400,800 and 1500. In the 400m Jordan came 2nd in 63.9,ran a great 800 to win in 2.25 and came back later to come third in the 1500 in 5.28

Our last 2 ladies were both outstanding in the 3000. Sameena Ahmed led from the start to win in 11.27 and Anna Crawley won the B string  in 11.57. Anna came back to come second in the 1500 in 5.32

 

Moving onto the Men’s and once again Ilford had some great performances. Starting with the sprints Abdulhakin Mohamed looked awesome in the 100 winning in 10.80. Much more to come this season from Addulhakin.In the B string new Member Mohamed Zergouat came 4th in the 100 in 12.21 and 5th in the 200 in 26.96. In the 400 , Essex u17 Champion Oliver Blainey ran another Personal best with a time of 50.8. Sub 50 by the end of the season should be achievable .Oliver also did a PB in the High jump with a jump of 1.50

Dylan Harrod, coming back from injury , looks to be getting back to his best, ran the B string 400 and won in 54.2. Dylan also pushed himself to win the 800 B string in 2.04. Dylan also jumped in the triple  jump with a jump of 9 meters

In the A string 800 Ilford ACs young vet Paul Grange seems to get better and better with each year and ran an impressive 1.57 to win. Paul returned later  in the 1500 to race with his own son Joseph. Joseph ran excellently to get a big pb of 4.16 for second place. Paul came second in B string with the same time

In the men’s 5000 it was great to see Tom Gardner back from his short trip to Australia. Tom hadn’t lost any of his fitness and looked impressive winning with 15.46

In the field events it was also great to see Wesley Clark return as an Ilford AC member and throw the Hammer an impressive 33 meters for second place. Also Jeevakan Sivayogan and Pete Whiting definitely need a mention for doing all the other throw events. Jeevakan looked very impressive in the shot putt with a throw of 8.17 for second place

The last race of the day as usual was the men’s 400 and Ilford has a great tradition in 4 x 400 meter running and the team of Paul, Joseph, Oliver and Dylan didn’t let us down and stormed home to first place in 3.39

Great performances and support from the whole team

  Press Report 24th May 2022  

May 242022
 

Summer Ware Cup
Loughton
Thursday 19th May

Ilford had a large youth squad and small Senior squad entered for the Ware Summer Cup on a warm Thursday evening in ideal conditions for racing.

Mohamed Zergout had a great race in the U17’s finishing 2nd on the 5k course in a time of 23:41.

In the U15’s race Samuel Crane really impressed coming home in first place in 20:49 over the 5k course whilst Anika Sharma was 4th girl home in 27:30.
Ilford had 2 boys in the U13 race over 1.5k, Tyran Pabla finishing 12th in 7:44 and Luke Thake 17th in 8:41

Finally in the U11 race, also over 1.5k Sofia Crane came in on 9:33 for 11th followed just 3 seconds later by her brother Saif Crane. Saavi Saenia came in just 3 places later in a time of 9:43

Seb Parris led the Ilford Senior team home in 15th place in a time of 31:19 over the 5 mile course, followed closely by Steve Crane, who had just watched his 3 children compete in the Juniors race, in 25th place for 32:55.

Frieda Keane led the ladies home in 47th place for 48:56.

Hackney Half Marathon
Sunday 22nd May

The Hackney Half Marathon is one of London’s newest, and largest halves with over 13,000 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 through the Olympic park and finishing back on Hackney Marshes.
Despite the early start the heat was intense as the race got going and there were reports of a few people collapsing with heat exhaustion. 

Fortunately Ilford’s contingent of three runners got through unscathed and all posted good results.
Dennis Briggs led the team home in 1:34:48.
Next home was the ever reliable Frieda Keane running in her second race of the week in a time of 2:16:42. Frieda was closely followed by Mandy Reid in a time of 2:17:45. Mandy also competed in the Hackney 5k the day before as part of the Hackney Festival of running. Mandy’s time in the 5k was 27:35.

Kirton Friday 5
Friday 20th May

Part of the Felixstowe Summer 5 series, Malcolm Muir put in his normal gutsy performance to finish 16th and 2nd V45 in a time of 28:48

Great Baddow 10 Miles
Sunday 22nd May

The Great Baddow 10 celebrated its 40th Anniversary on Sunday and probably the hottest in its history.
Amin Koikai of Ilford however defied the undulating conditions and heat to finish in 3rd place overall and 1st M50 in an incredible time of 58 mins 37 seconds