Ilford AC Press Report 6th December 2021  

Dec 062021
 

ESSEX U13, U15 AND VETERANS CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Writtle College
Saturday 4 December

The Essex Cross Country Championships for U13’s, U15’s and athletes over 40 took place at Writtle college on Saturday 

In the Junior races Ilford had one entrant in both the junior boys races.

The first race of the day was held over a 3k grassland course that was fairly sticky after some overnight rain. Ryder Islam gave a very good account of himself in the U13 boys finishing 19th in 14:26.
Next up was Samuel Crane in the U15 boys race, who continues his fine form finishing in 21st place in a time of 17 mins over the slightly longer 4k course.

The veterans all completed 2 laps of approx. 4k.

In the race for the men between 40 and 49  Malcolm Muir was first home for Ilford AC in 14th place, and 9th in the M45 category, in a good time of 28 mins 32 secs. Next over the line for the club was Fabio Stefanoni with 29m 46s in 25th and Dan Holeyman placed 32nd in 30m 37s.

A great effort from the 3 runners who would surely have received Essex medals had there been another runner to complete a 4 man team.

In the race for men over 50 Terry Knightley impressed coming home in 38th spot, which placed him 5th in the M60 age group, in 32m 34s with Neil Crisp 55th in 34m 20s. Tony Young came home 96th with 38m 35s and Steve Cheal placed 117th in 42m 04s. Ernie Forsyth was 121st in 44m 43s and Rob Sargent 4 places behind in 45m 57s to close the Ilford finishers. In the M60+ team competition the team placed 7th.

The Ilford ladies were led home by Mel Jones in 40th spot in 39m 10s with Alison Sale 50th with 40m 19s. Dianne Crisp placed 81st in 45m 17s and Frieda Keane continued to show improvement in 92nd with 46m 28s. These 4 ladies combined for 3rd place in the F50 category team competition and took home bronze county  medals.
Also in action for the ladies was Julia Galea in 110th and Launa Broadley finishing 116th.

English Schools Cup and Leeds University Relays

Miles apart but with the same competitive drive were the Grange Wright brother competing for their school and University. 

Up first Joseph Grange had his best success to date finishing within the medals at the ESAA English Schools Cross Country Cup. Competing for Coopers Coborn school he ran well in hailstorm and strong winds on a tough hilly course to finish the race which had a stellar field of athletes in 3rd place in a time of 16:37.
Jak Wright, competing for York University, ran the 4th leg for the mixed team at the Leeds University Cross Country relays. Jak ran 10:30 on a course just short of two miles, in tough, proper cross country conditions. The mixed relay team came 2nd on the day, against some of the top universities in the country and abroad.

Podium  5k Leicester 

Mungo Prior, who is in his second season  at Loughborough University, had a  very good run out in the  Podium 5k.  The race was a 5 lap event around a local cycle circuit. Mungo was up and pushing the pace for the first few laps. Before sitting back  on laps 3 and 4. Entering the final lap he pushed to the front again and ended up crossing the line first in a pb of 15.54

Metropolitan League  Uxbridge

Rhys Edwards competed as a guest at the 3rd Metropolitan League match at Uxbridge, its an interesting course that involves a river crossing, Rhys ran well to finish 64th overall  and 11th in the U20 category

Lee Valley Open Meeting 5th December

After a few on hill training over the forest, Oliver Blainey got back on the track on Sunday, with his first ever indoor race.

It was a 300m, which started on the back straight, Oliver ran really well and surged off the final bend to win  in a time of 38.53, whi8ch was faster than he achieved outdoors last year.

 

 

 

  Press Report 30th November 2021  

Nov 302021
 

British Athletes cross country challenge, inc. European trials.
Liverpool
Saturday 27th November

Two of Ilfords athletes took the long journey to Liverpool for the British Athletics Cross Country challenge, which was being used as Cross Country European trials, a major event in the Cross Country calendar.

Mungo Prior was first up in the u/20 race, putting in an excellent performance finishing in 21:59 for 62nd place over the tough 6.7k course.

Ahmed Abdullah ran in the u/23 race which was combined with the Seniors and after a successful London champs recently he continued his impressive comeback with a 23rd place in the u/23 in 30:18 and 59th overall on the day in a field of over 500 runners.

Chingford League
Trent Park
Sunday 28th November

The Chingford League headed over to Trent Park on Saturday for fixture 4 where the junior races had the added interest of being combined with the North West London League. The weather was out in force with strong winds and rain adding to the bitter cold. Perhaps this was why Ilford had just one junior athlete out, Ronan Edwards in the under 17 race.
Ronan started fast, trying to warm up after those minutes waiting on the start line. He had a very solid race finishing in a strong 6th in the race, 2nd Chingford League finisher.

The bitter weather put off all but the most robust of Ilfords senior squad, with just club stalwart and ex England International Andy Catton making the journey to Barnet.
Andy put in a typical gutsy performance on what he described as a ‘traditional’ Cross country course of mud and hills to place 160th and second M60 on the day in a time of 43 minutes over the 8k course.

Ilford AC now find themselves in the relegation positions for both the mens and ladies senior teams

 

  Press Report 23rd November 2021  

Nov 222021
 
Evensplit 5k
Friday 19th November  

Friday night saw Jak Wright open his winter season with the EvenSplit 5k in York, representing Ilford up north.
Despite the wind Jak ran a new PB of 16:03, an improvement of 17 seconds from his previous best, placing 8th overall and 3rd from the University of York.

London Cross Country Championships
Parliament Hill
Saturday 20th November

After setbacks with Injuries Ilfords Ahmed Abdulle had set his comeback for this, the London Cross Country Championships. After a measured start Ahmed fought his way to catch the lead group which very early on turned into a battle between himself and Sayed Chafari of Highgate Harriers with both runners well clear of the chasing pack.

Ahmed attacked with 1k to go but just lost out by 6 seconds to his rival, finishing in 34:03, however he was delighted to receive a silver medal in such a high standard race

His next race is the highly acclaimed cross challenge in Liverpool where his aim is to qualify for the European championships.

Also representing Ilford was Seb Parris who ran a strong race to finish in a time of 44:20

London Youth Games
Parliament Hill
Saturday 20th November

Ilford youngsters were out in force at the London Youth Games on Saturday, competing for various London Boroughs.
Resolute Ryder’s racing resolve saw him compete after not making training on Thursday but bravely wanting to still race with no power in his legs. He managed to finish a credible 183rd in the U13 age category.

Sofia Crane, a member of the newly formed  development squad, represented Redbridge and was running in her first competitive race (u11). She ran strongly for 145th place.

In the U15s category Samuel Crane, running for Redbridge, came through the field to finish 88th. He was pleased with his position. 

The outstanding performance of the day saw Joseph Grange  representing Havering win bronze.  After being pushed over at the start and being one of the last runners to make it to the top of the famous first hill (Parliament hill), he battled hard to eventually catch the leaders. As Joseph slipped his way into 2nd spot, it was unfortunately too little too late and he was out-sprinted on the last bend to finish a very commendable 3rd place, securing him a podium finish  position in a championship race.

In the U17s category we had Ronan Edwards who got out well, tackling the iconic hills strongly. He lost a few places on the second lap , pulling a few back on the downhill run into the finish to come 40th out of 117 ,his best London Youth Games result yet.

London Universities Indoor Champs
Lee Valley
Saturday 20th November 

Jordan Hinds, who is now in her last year at Queen Mary University, entered the London Universities championship last weekend. 

Jordan’s entry for the race had been handled by her university, and they forgot to put her time down, which meant she was seeded 11th of the 12 entered athletes, and had to run in the slower second heat.  The first became a battle between 3 athletes and the winning time was 2.24.19. 

Jordan went straight to the front in heat two and by the end of the first 200m lap in 34 seconds she was well clear, she continued to work from the front reaching 400m in 70 seconds  and 600m in 1 minute 45 seconds. Having been in front the whole race, Jordan began to tire a bit on the last lap, but crossed the line in 2.24.11 an indoor pb by more than 7 seconds and more significantly faster than the first heat. After a long wait she was finally handed the gold medal, and this became her second indoor title, after previously winning the Essex U20 800m in 2019

 

Chelmsford 10k Road Race (incorporating the Essex 10k Championship)
Sunday 21st November 

On Sunday in extremely Windy and Blustery conditions over an undulating Single Lap Country Lane  Course a Small contingent of Ilford AC runners ran the Annual Chelmsford 10Km Road Race which Incorporated The Essex County Championships.

The club was led home by the dependable Malcolm Muir in 31st place in a time of 35:46. Chasing Malcolm all the way and finishing with a big PB of 36:18 was 16 year old Ryan Holeyman in 34th place. Ryan had bragging rights at home that evening as his dad, Danny, was the next Ilford runner home in 47th place in 37:15.

Just one second and one place behind Danny Holeyman was Stephen Philcox who grabbed himself an Essex Bronze medal in the M50 Category

Next home, continuing his remarkable medal winning season was Terry Knightley in 62nd place for 38:12. Terry not only secured another Essex Gold v60 medal but also won the Essex County road running Grand Prix prize for 2021. A remarkable achievement in its own right but it also means that Terry has now won the Essex County Road Running Grand Prix Series in all the age Categories as a Senior Male, MV40, MV50 and Now as a MV60.

Next two Ilford runners home were John Crawley (79th 39:42) and Adam Coals (111th 43:16) who both had great races.

Sharon Honey, finishing in 240th place in a time of 53:25 picked up her first Essex County medal for over 25 years winning Bronze in the F60 category – a remarkable achievement.

Carol Muir completed the squad finishing 312th in a time of 1:00:37

BMAF 10km Championships
Gravesend Cyclopark
Sunday 22 November

On a crisp Sunday morning the British Master 10km Championships took place over a rolling but fast 4 lap course at the Gravesend Cyclopath in Kent.
Ilford AC had 10 athletes in the field and they were led home by Carlie Qirem who finished 89th in the field setting a new best time for the distance by nearly 2 minutes of 42m 19s. This performance earned her the national bronze medal for 3rd spot.

The next four Ilfprd athletes also set new personal bests with Dennis Briggs 96th in 43m 05s, Tony Young recorded 45m 25s in 114th,   Gaye Young 130in 47m 27s, with  Hannah Sheikh was one place behind with 47m 40s 

Julia Galea was 4th in the F45 category in 60m 20s while Launa Broadley came home 172nd with 64m 28s

Three of the club’s more senior  athletes combined to take the bronze team medal in the M65 age group. Andy Catton led the team in 129th overall with 47m 20s and was supported by Ernie Forsyth in 165th in 56m 28s with Rob Sargent following him over the line with 58m 01s,

A good mornings work for Ilford AC

 

Eastern Counties Cross Country Championships
Horseheath Cambridge
Saturday 20th November

Trevor Robinson was Ilfords only entrant at the Eastern Counties Cross Country Champs on Saturday. On a bitterly cold morning and a horrendously hilly 7.5 mile course which included a river that had to be crossed, Trevor gave a good account of himself to finish in a time of 73 minutes

 

 

 

  Press Report 16th November 2021  

Nov 152021
 

STEBBING 10
Sunday 14 November

The Stebbing 10 took place over a rolling course from the picturesque village of Stebbing on an unseasonably mild November morning..

The race started just after 11 o’clock and a short Remembrance Sunday service. It was a good day for Ilford Ac with 7 Essex medals and 6 personal best times.

The race incorporated the Essex 10 mile championship and the Ilford AC challenge was headed by Malcolm Muir who is in excellent form at the moment coming home in 15th place overall in a time of 59:53. Malcolm was closely followed by Danny Holeyman 24th place in 1:02:02 who attained a new PB over the distance.
Next home, and continuing to add to his V60 achievements was Terry Knightley in 30th place 62:55, a time that broke his own V60 club record and secured him an Essex V60 Silver medal.

This completed the team of 3 which finished in 5th place.
Backing up the team with excellent performances were Stephen Philcox 34th 1:03:48 for a Silver V55 medal, Dennis Briggs 95th 1:11:34 with an impressive PB and Tony Young who also secured a PB for 160th position in a time of 1:17:28

Leading the ladies home, continuing her fine form with a new PB was Carlie Qirem in 87th place in 1:10:50. Gaye Young was next home securing the first of 5 ladies Essex medals with a Bronze V50 medal for 180th place in 1:19:44. Completing the ladies scoring team was Hannah Sheikh who earned a Bronze V45 medal to finish 183rd in a time of 1:20:25.

The ladies secured 4th place on the day.

The team were excellently backed up by Alison Sale and Freida Keane who took Silver and Bronze in the V55 category in 305th and 361st positions in times of 1:30:34 and 1:35:40. These were followed by Julia Galea in 388th in 1:39:37 for a Silver V65 medal and Carol Muir in 423rd in a time of 1:43:18

  Press Report 9th November 2021  

Nov 092021
 

Interclub Vets Race
Loughton
Saturday 6th November

Four male vets ventured across town to the home of Loughton AC to compete in their annual Interclub vets race at Loughton. Reigning male team champions IAC were slightly depleted in numbers due to very late notification of the event being received but they equipped themselves well finishing third overall on the day in a strong field comprising 7 teams.
Gary Coombes had a fantastic run on the undulating 5.2 mile 3 lap course  finishing 2nd overall in a time of 31.15. He was closely followed by Ilford debutant Fabrizio Stefanoni in 7th place (33.36) with Danny Holeyman finishing in 11th spot (33.59) with Diarmuid McDonnell in 20th place (36.19) making up the team.

Billericay 10k
Sunday 7th November

On Sunday Two intrepid Ilford AC athletes travelled to the Essex Town of Billericay to compete in the 25th Annual Billericay Striders 10Km Road Race.
In ideal weather over a one lap rural course and against a huge field of over 600 athletes the two Ilford Runners did the club proud.

First home in 24th position and winning the First Male Veteran Over 60 prize was Terry Knightley in a season’s best time of 38 Minutes and 6 seconds. Knightley had won the race outright back in 1998.

Following him home in 97th place was the ever dependable Adam Coals who clocked 43 Minutes and 52 seconds.

All finishers received a commemorative medal and Mars Bar.


Roding Valley Half Marathon
Sunday 7th November 

Starting and finishing at Ashton playing fields in Woodford, the Roding Valley Half Marathon follows one small lap of approx. 1m before looping out along two longer laps of approx. 6 miles each.
This year in it’s 37th running the race had 2 Ilford entrants, Alison Sale and Frieda Keane.

Alison, who had been chasing a sub 2 hour half marathon for a while, was delighted with her PB time of 1:56:21 to finish in 94th place. Frieda was equally pleased with her time of 2:08:43 which was just 1 second outside her best time for the distance and placed her 126th


British Masters 5km Championship
Barrowford, Lancs
Sunday 7th November

Rob Sargent of Ilford AC travelled north again, this time to compete in the British Masters 5k Championships. The event was held on an overcast breezy Sunday morning over 4 1/2 laps at the fast flat cycling circuit in Barrowfield, near Burnley in Lancashire.
Rob ran a steady race throughout to finish 14th in the M65 age category in 27 mins 14 secs.