Press Report 17th January 2022  

Jan 172022
 

Essex Schools Cross Country Championships 
Writtle University
15/01/2022

Four younger athletes from Ilford AC attended this race all representing different regions of the County.

Best performance of the day came in the Inter Boys event. Joseph Grange representing Havering Schools came 4th in a highly competitive race. His performance backs up his recent good form and even more impressive as he was in the lower age group for the race. He moved through the field following a steady start only losing a couple of places in the last kilometre.
Ronan Edwards representing Waltham Forest followed up his fantastic performance in the county event last week with an equally impressive 9th place. He moved through from 12th at half way to finish strongly.

The above earns both Prestigious Essex vests for future races, Joseph for the English schools and Ronan for South Eastern Inter Counties.

The Club also had two competitors in the Junior Boys Race. Ryder Islam representing Redbridge Schools started cautiously but showed good strength in the later part of race to come through the field finishing 44th.
Samuel Crane representing Mid-Essex Schools looked strong throughout but suffered in the last kilometre finishing 31st.
Both should be proud of the selection for the race and can work towards future county events with fellow athletes from their training group.

Benfleet 15
16/01/2022

Ilford AC fielded 4 runners in the Benfleet 15 held at Hadleigh Downs on Sunday.

The course is a very challenging multi terrain course comprising hard sections of the Canvey Island sea wall contrasting with marshland and the undulating Hadleigh downs.

Starting downhill and finishing on a mile long big climb, the race is not for the faint hearted.

Diarmuid Mac Donnell was first home for the Club in a fantastic time of 1 hours 56 mins 33 seconds for 74th place in a field numbering over 600.

Joel Denning who joined the club this January finished next for Ilford, in 112th place in a time of 2.04.14.

Next home was Anna Crawley in 215th place in 2:14:02 for 30th female, followed by Joanne Reeves who also only joined the club this month in 269th place for a time of 2:20:46 and 48th female

The overall race record is still held by Ilford’s Amin KoiKai who clocked 1.22.17 in the 6th running of the race back in 1996, a time that no runner has recently been able to even approach.

  Press Report. January 8th 2022  

Jan 112022
 

ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Gloucester Park Basildon
Saturday 8th January

 

The 2022 Essex Cross Country Championship took place in a very wet and muddy Gloucester Park on Saturday and Ilford AC had good representation.
The course was over wet parkland and the park’s hills which became more slippery as the meeting progressed.

First race was the U17’s both men and women combined, in which Ilford had 1 runner, Ronan Edwards.
Ronan has been training well this winter, and was up with the leaders as they approached the difficult hill section of the course, including one very slippery downhill section, where everyone seemed to be taking their time. Ronan took advantage of this and raced into the lead. Around the flatter parts of the course the chasing pack closed the gap on Ronan, but he still hung in there and finished in a very creditable 7th place, which hopefully will gain him selection for the inter counties.

Next up were the U20’s in which Ilford had 5 athletes.
In a small field the Ilford guys were always to the fore, with Mungo Prior and Jak Wright in the leading bunch, just behind were Bradley Deacon, Rhys Edwards and Dylan Harrod.
Halfway around the small lap, an unknown athlete from Billericay hit the front where he stayed but Mungo hung in well to secure an Essex individual Silver medal. Not far behind was Jak in 5th, Bradley 13th, Rhys 15th and Dylan 19th. Combined the Ilford U20 team secured first place and Essex County team Gold medals.
This means this group of athletes have now won 4 Essex team titles across three different age groups over the last few years.

Next race was the Senior ladies with the  Ilford ladies led home by young prospect Jordan Hinds in 35th place in 36m 15s for the about 8km course in her first season as a senior.
Next home was Anna Crawley in 36mins 29 secs for 39th with Carlie Qirem 53rd with 38mins 06 secs. The Ilford team scorers were closed out by Bree Nordin in 63rd in a time of 38mins 44 secs. In the team competition Ilford finished 9th in the senior ladies event. One place and 8 seconds behind Nordin was Alison Sale, who is having a good season on the country. Gaye Young was next up in 74th with 41m 19s and Dianne Crisp ran in 95th with 46m 13s. Frieda Keane had a strong run and is improving as the winter progresses in 99th and 47m 09s, while Jul​ia Galea, who is in the F65 age category,  finished 109th in 48m 32s.

Final race of the day was the Senior men. First home for Ilford was Ahmed Abdulle who ran a very strong race to take the bronze medal, despite taking a couple of falls over the 10km course, in a time of 32 mins 51 secs.
The ever reliable Malcom Muir came home 32nd with 36mins 06 secs while John Crawley was 111th with 42​m​ 47s and Diarmuid Mac Donnell recorded a creditable 43m 31s for 117th. One place and 13 seconds behind was Terry Knightley . Neil Crisp was the clubs sixth scorer closing the team  in 125th place with 44m 15s. Ilford men recorded 10th place on the day

Backing up the team with strong runs over the challenging course were; Steve Crane in 131st (44.32) and Tony Young 184th (51m 48s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Press Report 27th December 2021  

Dec 272021
 

Witham (Not on) Boxing Day 5

On Bank Holiday Monday Four Intrepid Ilford AC athletes tackled The Annual Witham Boxing Day Five Miles Road Race which this year was held on the Bank Holiday Monday.

Running amongst a field of 264 other athletes around the one lap undulating country lane course in damp conditions Malcolm Muir was first home for the club in 14th position in 29 Minutes and 12 Seconds for 3rd Male Veteran Over 45.
Next home in 22nd place and smashing his personal best was Danny Holeyman in 30 Minutes and 25 Seconds and 5th Male Veteran Over 45.
Following him home and Winning The First Male Veteran Over 60 Trophy was Terry Knightley in 31 Minutes and 53 Seconds for 32nd Place.

The fourth Ilford AC Athlete to finish was Female Veteran Over 50 Carol Muir in 217th place for 48 Minutes and 34 Seconds.

All Finishers received a festive Snood/Face Mask for their efforts.

Ilford AC Boxing Day Handicap

A field of 11 runners brushed off the Turkey and Christmas hangover to toe the line for the 12th annual Ilford AC Boxing day handicap.

The route is 3.3 miles through the hills and mud of Hainault Forest and forms one lap of the clubs own 10 mile championships

This year’s winner was Aaron Hick meaning a member of the Hick family has now won the title 5 times in the last six years.

Aaron finished in a time of 37:02 off of a 13 min handicap,  just 4 seconds in front of Steven Philcox. Steven however had the honour of completing the course in the fastest NETT time completing the 3.3 mile course in 22:06 off of a 15 min handicap.

First lady home was Julia Galea running a nett time of 36:51, with her 5 min handicap giving her a time of 41:51

FULL RESULTS

                                          Handicap time     Handicap            Nett time

1 Aaron Hick                           37 02                     13                    24 02

2 Steve Philcox                       37 06                     15                     22 06

3 Wayne Hick                         37 57                     12                     25 57

4 Steve Crane                        38 05                     12                      26 05

5 Rhys Edwards                     39 01                    16                      23 01

6 Jim Tilbrook                        41 25                     0                      41 25

7 Denis Briggs                        41 37                    13                     28 37

8 Julia Galea                         41 51                     5                          36 51

9 Billy Green                        41 52                       5                        36 52

10 Gaye Young                   43 00                        9                        34 00

11 Danny Holeyman              43 50                    18                        25 50

  Press Report 21st December 2021  

Dec 212021
 

ESSEX CROSS-COUNTRY LEAGUE
Great Notley Country Park, Braintree
Saturday 18th December

The third round of the Essex Cross-Country League was held in Great Notley Country Park in Braintree. The course featured several hills including a long climb at the end of each lap and was on slippy muddy grassland and trials.

First to compete in Ilford Colours on the day was Ryder Islam in the U13’s race. Ryder continues to improve with each race and battled through the field for a 21st position in 12:37 over the 3k course.

Next up in the U15’s boys race Ilford had 3 athletes, who all performed well. If we had a 4th athlete Ilford would have been in the top 3 team events so hopefully we can achieve that at the next match

The first Ilford athlete home was Joseph Grange, who is running at a very high level in all races at the moment. The field quickly narrowed down to 3 athletes, including Joseph. On the last hill Joseph was in 2nd place, close to the Colchester boy , with the Chelmsford boy further behind. Joseph eventually finished third in a very exciting race in a time of 14:01 over the 4k course.

Samuel Crane and Aaron Hick also competed and ran together for the first part of the race. Samuel used his strength in the second part of the race to pass a number of athletes to come   19th  in 15:53 and Aaron sprinted well over last 200 m to position well in 24th position in 16:18

Next up were the Seniors who ran over a 3k course with the ladies completing 2 laps and the men 3
Jordan Hinds led home the Ilford ladies in 24th spot in 28 mins 18 secs. Anna Crawley was next home for the club after a solid run in 35th place with 29 mins 28 secs. Alison Sale impressed as 1st lady in the F55 category and 47th overall in 31m 14s, while Hannah Sheikh finished 53rd after a sprint finish with 31m 57s. 

The Ilford team won the division 2 match on the day and sit top of the league and are favourites for promotion to the top division. 
Frieda Keane came home 78th with 37m 59s and Julia Galea recorded 38m 20s for 81st and 2nd in the F65 grouping. Launa Broadley completed the Ilford team in 94th.

The men were led home by Paul Grange in 21st with 32m 57s, while Jak Wright gave a stellar performance in his first senior cross-country in 28th and 4th in the U20 age group with 33m 46s. Seb Parris looked in good off road form in 67th in 36m 48s while another of the club’s young prospects Dylann Harrod finished 84th with 37m 56s. Dan Holeyman came home 93rd with 38m 23s and John Crawley completed the scorers in 95th recording 38m 35s.
In the match Ilford finished 7th and currently sit 5th in division 1 for the season.

Terry Knightley was 113rd and 3rd in the M60 category with 40m 17s and Andy Catton was 157th and 2nd in the M65 age category with 46m 19s. 

Also in action for the club were: Steve Crane 134th,  42.58 and Tony Young 161st in 46.58

After 3 matches several Ilford runners are featuring in the individual age group tables; Alison Sale is leading the F55 and Terry Knightley the M60. Dan Holeyman is placed 3rd in the m45 And Hannah sheikh 7th in the F45

Southend Rudolph Run 5
Sunday 19th December

One day after tackling the Brutal Course of the Essex League Cross-Country race at Great Notley Country Park, Terry Knightley, was the sole Ilford AC entrant at the Southend 5 Miles Rudolph Run.
Held over a fast and flat accurately measured seafront course against 429 other runners many of  whom had dressed festively for the race as Santas and Elves.
Knightley, who won the inaugural race outright ten years ago back in 2011, this year finished in 15th position overall in 30 Minutes 53 seconds and was 2nd MV60.

All finishers received a themed Christmas Medal and mince Pie for their efforts !

  Press Report 14th December 2021  

Dec 142021
 

Ware Cup
Loughton
11th December 2021

Loughton AC hosted the annual Ware Cup championship at Roding Valley on 11 December 2021. 

Although late notice of the event meant that usual entrants from IAC were depleted, three athletes from IAC made the journey to compete.
A challenging course of 4.8 miles of undulating ground soft with surface water and mud awaited Frieda Keane, Seb Parris and Danny Holeyman. The three entrants equipped themselves well with Seb Parris completing the course in a very respectable time of 30.52 in 13th place, Danny Holeyman in 23rd place in 31.53 and Frieda Keane completing the course in 47.41 in 102nd place.

South of England Masters Cross Country Champs
Croydon
11th December 2021

On Saturday Terry Knightley travelled South of The River to compete as the sole Ilford AC representative at The South Of England ‘Masters’ Cross-Country Championships.
The event was held over a very challenging 10Km course at an incredibly muddy and boggy Lloyd Park in Croydon.
Although cross country is not to his liking he battled the conditions well and finished in 44 Minutes 07 seconds to place 147th in a field of around 300 plus athletes.

SEAA Inter County Cross Country Championships

Croydon
11th December 2021

After his successful run for Ilford in the recent Cross Country Championships, Joseph Grange was selected to represent Essex in the Inter County Cross Country Championships at the weekend.

On a muddy 4k course Joseph put in a great performance to finish 11th in a time of 14:01 which helped to secure the Bronze medal for Essex on the day

TELFORD 10km
12th December 2021

Three members of Ilford AC were amongst the finishers of a large quality field for the Telford Ac, a race that included the England 10km Championship, last Sunday.
The race was held on a two lap course in Telford Town Park and Tony Young was the leading Ilford runner finishing in 45 mins 50 sec in 639th place. Second claim member Ed Skinner was next over the line in 86th and 1st in the M65 category, with 51 mins 37 secs, while club endurance coach Rob Sargent was hampered by a hip problem and recorded 58mins 05 secs