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

  Press Report – Essex County T+F Championships  

May 232022
 

Essex Champs 14th/15th May 2022 

Ilford had  a fine weekend at the Essex champs recently, picking up  11 medals. ( 4 gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze )  Unfortunately a breakdown in the results system meant that a week later some results are still missing.

Day 1 

First Ilford involvement on day one was the heats of the U15 1500m, Samuel Crane was in heat and produced a great run to finish 6th in a pb time of  4.51.88, his time was so good that he qualified for the final later in the day. Ryder Islam was in heat two  and finished in 9th in 5.17.42, which was again a pb.  Later in the day in a very fast starting 1500m final, Samuel worked his way through the field to finish in a very creditable 6th place and ran another pb of 4.49.66. 

Next up were the 100m heats, and this is an area where results are still missing, in the U13 women , both  Laila Charles and Ruby Moffat Virik  ran pbs, but unfortunately did not progress to the final. Jadyn Charles also ran a pb of 14.39 in the U17 women’s heats.  In the U20 women’s heats Alenna Lawrence who picked up an injury mid week, ran a season best of 13.30 but  was clearly hampered. Toyin Olufemi  came 6th in the senior ladies final. 

In the  men’s U15 100m  both Tyran Pabla and Jaydn Kyle Mcdermott secured pbs, both were unfortunate not to progress to the final.  Defending Champion Hakim Mohammed breezed through the heat  and he was joined in the final by training partner Elijah Mayindu.  Unfortunately the final was delayed by over 40 minutes. Both Hakim and Elijah made great starts, but as did Lee Dollard of Basildon, as the race progressed Hakim and the Basildon athlete pulled clear, and the Basildon just got the victory on the dip. Elijah ended up in 5th place. 

In the 300m Krystle Balogun gained an Essex Gold in a time of 42.93 seconds

Oliver Blainey was Ilfords sole 400m runner  and strolled through the heats of the U17 men’s 400m  easing up considerably down the home straight to ease through in 53.08. In the final the same day Oliver went from the off and established a lead which he maintained the whole way to win by a clear second in a PB time of 50.84. 

Farris Vakil completely dominated the U20 men’s 800m, leading from gun to tape to win in a time of 1.58.45 

Day 2

First events on day 2  were the U15 800m, Ilford had runners in both heats. Samuel Crane ran his third pb of the weekend  in placing 5th in heat one. Aaron Hick had a great race in heat 2, clocking a pb time of 2.16.56, but agonisingly missed out on a place in the final by 1/10th of a second.  Ronan Edwards  was Ilford’s only representative in the U17 800m,  and he produced a  pb of 2.03.5 to qualify for the final.  He went even better in the final improving his best again to 2.01.73 in taking a bronze medal. 

Joseph Grange had a great run in a high quality u 17’s 3000m finishing 3rd in a time of 9.06.06. Ryan Holeyman did likewise in the U20 3000m finishing 3rd in 10.07.46. 

Ruby Moffatt Virek improved her pb by over 2 seconds  in the heats  of the u13 girls 200m as did Laila Charles. Reianne Dowdridge had a fine run breaking 30 seconds in her heat of the u13 200 and a feat also achieved by Jadyn Charles in the u17 heats.  In the u15 boys 200m Jaydn  Kyle- Mcdermott ran a fine time of 29.26. In the u17 men Oliver Blainey won his heat in a time of 23.09 and Mohammed Zergouatran a pb of 26. 28 in the same heat. Oliver returned 2 hours later for the final and produced a great run in a PB time of 22.68, to take the silver medal.  Wanya Williams ran 2 seasons bests in making the senior men’s 200m final in which he placed 7th. 

Paul Grange  had a great run in the Vets 1500m, adding the vets title to the senior title he won last year. 

Toyin Olufemi was Ilford’s sole field event competitor  and produced an excellent throw of 9 metres 27 to take 2nd place in the senior ladies shot.

Ilford have a fine history in the walking events and this was continued with Rachel Lawless in  a  comfortable gun-to-tape winner of the 3,000 Metres walk at clocking a respectable 18 minutes and 14 seconds.
In the men’s race over the same distance, Ilford’s 2nd claim member Stephen Crane completed the frame with a spectacular 3rd place finish in a personal best 14.33, with club colleagues John Arthur and Stuart Bennett 4th and 5th respectively timed at 17.52 and 18.04.

Notable performances for some of the youngsters who’s results unfortunately are not yet online – PB’s for U13G Reianne Dowridge 100m, U13G Stacey Amaniampong 100m and U17M Mohamed Zergouat 100m.

Anika Sharma also ran well in the 100 and 200m for the U15 girls