Press Report 12th April 2022  

Apr 122022
 

Essex County Relay Championships
Colchester
Sunday 10th April

Ilford ACs U15s road relay team produced an inspired performance in the Essex Road relays on Sunday to win the Bronze medal.

Ilford’s team was made up of Aaron Hick and Samuel Crane, who both have a year left in the age group, as well as Joseph Grange, who has had a great X country season in 2022

Aaron ran a great first leg to come home in 6th and keep the team in contention, with an excellent time for 2.5k of 9.19. Aaron handed over to Samuel ,who as usual gave everything and bring Ilford into 5th position with a time of 9.43. On the last leg Joseph went off at such a pace that he caught up the 4th placed athlete very quickly. At the end of the first lap Joseph was still running at an outstanding pace and passed the Southend boy  with about 800 m to go and eventually brought the team home for a deserved Bronze medal.
Josephs last lap run was given fastest Junior time of the day with a superb time of 7.48 which wins him a Gold medal.
Great performances from the Young Ilford team

In the Men’s Seniors race Paul Grange, Jak Wright, Bradley Deacon and Ahmed Abdulle ran a combined time of 59m 45s for their 4 x 3m efforts. Despite a great effort the team missed out on a Bronze medal by just 11 seconds.
However, Ahmed did secure the fastest Senior lap of the day, making it a double for Ilford in the Juniors and Seniors, completing his 3 miles in an incredible 13 minutes and 36 seconds. Again, this secures him a Gold medal

All other Senior races on the day consisted of teams of three, running 3 miles each.
Ilford MV40 team No1 put in a fine account of themselves with Fabrizio Stefanoni, Richard Woolterton and Gary Coombes scoring 50m 29s for 6th place

Ilford MV40 team No2 was incomplete but both Dennis Briggs and Steve Crane put in good efforts to run anyway and combined for a time of 39m 50s for 6 miles.

Our FV50 ladies consisted of Gaye Young, Frieda Keane and Alison Sale secured a time of 1hr 10m 59s for 4th place, just missing out on a Bronze

Our FV60 ladies were particularly unfortunate. Both Sharon Honey and Diane Crisp ran excellent legs recording 50m 33s between them. Unfortunately for them the lady he was due to run 3rd had to pull out on the morning of the event with Covid, and with her expected time the team would easily have secured Silver and quite possibly Gold.

VAC 5km
Battersea Park
Tuesday 5 April

The first Tuesday night race of the year staged by the Veterans AC in Battersea Park was over 5km on the usual two lap flat course. There were three athletes from Ilford AC in the field with Dan Holeyman showing good form coming home in 17th spot in 17mins 57 secs.
Rob Sargent finished 72nd in 29mins 18 secs with Launa Broadley 74th and 3rd in the W50 age group in 32.11

 

  Ilford AC Press Report. 4th April 2022  

Apr 052022
 

MANCHESTER MARATHON
Sunday 3 April

In the 2022 Manchester Marathon two of Ilfords newer recruits used the club’s structured training to record personal best times for the classic.

The race over a fast flat course from the Old Trafford cricket ground runs into the city for a short loop before heading out to Altrinham and back to the finish at the cricket stadium. This year the event included the England mens and ladies commonwealth Games trial which were won by Jonny Mellor and Becky Briggs respectively, both in course record times.

 Joanne Reeves came home 2585th in a field of over 14000 finishers and 38th in the F45 category in 3 hrs 20 minutes 06 secs, a new personal best by over 10 minutes. This time places her 10th on the Ilford all time list ladies marathon list

 Joel Denning recorded 3 hrs 29 mins 06 secs, also a personal best, finishing 3448th.

 In the same race Amanda Ried, supporting her daughter who ran the Marathon, ran the first leg of a ‘relay team’.  She finished her 6.2 miles in 54 minutes 45 seconds.

Elsewhere another of Ilford’s newer members, Steve Lacey, ran in the Paris Marathon and also achieved a PB finishing in 3 hrs 57 mins 41 secs​, the first time he has got under the 4 hr mark,​ gaining him 1,368th place in a field of over 34,000 runners.

Closer to home Steve Chissell ran the Reading Half Marathon in a time of 1 hr 35 mins 16 secs for 338th place of 3,620 finishers.

  Ilford AC Press Report. March 29th 2022  

Mar 292022
 

Cardiff University Half marathon
Cardiff, Wales
27th March 2022

The Welsh capital had to wait 903 days for the return of the Cardiff University Cardiff Half Marathon, the nation’s largest mass-participation event.
Starting Just outside Cardiff Castle the participants raced through the city centre, past the Principality Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium before crossing the barrage to take in Cardiff Bay. From there they headed for the Roath Park loop before a sprint finish in the heart of the city at the Civic Centre.

In a quality line-up, which included Kadar Omar of Birchfield and the Mohamed brothers from Southampton, Ilfords Ahmed more than held his own on his first attempt at the distance going with the main group at the beginning slipping back to 16th place, but coming back strong in the latter part of the race to finish in 10th in a brilliant time 67minutes dead.
The eventual winner Kadar Omar of Birchfield finished in 62 minutes 46 seconds

LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km
Hyde Park, London
Friday 25 March

On a spring like day two athletes from Ilford AC took part in the lunchtime 5km in Hyde Park over a two lap fast course

There are 2 races, an ‘A’ race for those expecting to finish in under 22 minutes, and a ‘B’ race for all others. Both Ilford runners competed in the ‘A’ race.

Gary Coombes attacked the race and was rewarded with a fast time of 16 mins 38 secs for 14th place. This time places Gary 2nd in the all-time Ilford AC records for a V50 male over the distance.
Dan Holeyman also showed great form for 35th spot in 18 mins 05 secs

Victoria Park 10k
East London
Sunday 27th March

On a cool Sunday Morning Sameena Ahmed of Ilford AC took part in the scenic tree lined Victoria Park 10k in East London.
Getting off to a fast start Sameena held the pace to finish strongly in a time of 39:58 which placed her 7th overall and first female finisher. This time also secured her the fastest time for a F40 athlete over the distance in Ilford AC’s 99 year history.

Alloa Half Marathon
Alloa, Scotland
20th March 2022

Siblings Carol and Malcolm Muir, traveled to Scotland for a weekend of racing. 

They started on Saturday at Linwood parkrun near Glasgow. Malcolm came in 2nd in a time of 17.24 and Carol came home in 94 place in a time of 30mins 47 secs in a field of 134 finishers.

On Sunday they both took part in the 38th running of the Alloa Half Marathon. The course is a fast scenic one, with long flat stretches along the foot of the Ochil Hills, but at 11 miles there is a character building hill to contend with.
Malcolm came home in 23rd place in 1hr 18 mins 10 secs for 9th place in age group 40-49.
Carol finished in 1235th place in 2hrs 31 mins for 89th lady finisher in her age group, In a field of over 1320 finishers.
Also competing in the race was past Ilford AC president Robin Davis’ son Andrew, who is a member of a PH Racing a Scottish athletic club He came home in 10th place in a time of 1hr.14mins 39 secs and was 5th in the 40-49 age group.

  Ilford AC Press Report 21st March 2022  

Mar 212022
 

Ilford AC had representation across the age groups this weekend with good success

English Schools Cross Country
Hop Farm, Kent
Saturday 19th March 

Joseph Grange  rounded off his great cross country season with another fine run at the English Schools Cross Country champs held at Hop Farm in Kent at the weekend .

Joseph was running in the intermediate boys category, which meant he was running against athletes a school year  older than himself, so even making the team was an excellent achievement. 
Not content with just making the team Joseph had a great  run finishing 41st out of  325 runners and he was 3rd man home for Essex, who took an excellent 9th place in the team event. 

Victoria Park Open 5
Victoria Park Hackney
Saturday 19th March

This long established race that takes in a figure of 8 course around Hackney’s Victoria Park was being held for the first time for a couple of years and 135 runners took advantage of the fine weather to celebrate its return. Amongst them was Ilford AC’s Gary Coombes who, taking part in his first Road Race as a V50, celebrated in style with a V50 Gold medal in a time of 27 mins 29 secs to finish 22nd overall.

Before the Seniors race two Junior races were held, and Ilford AC’s foundation group were again out in force accompanied by coach and mentor Ernie Forsyth.

The U11 ‘s raced over 1 mile and was led home by Ernie’s grandson Zac Forsyth (6 yrs old) in 4th place in 9:03. Zac was backed up by (age in brackets) Noah Crawley (8) 6th place 9:13,  Sofia Crane (11) 9th place and 2nd girl 9:48, Jude Crawley (6) 10th place 10:07, Saif Crane (8) 9th place 10:09 and Saavi Saxena (9) 12th place and 3rd girl 10:16.
There were 50 runners.

The U13’s ran over 2.6 miles and were led home by Tyran Pabla (11) in 3rd place in 22:21. He was backed up by Jayden McDermott (12) 24:19 and Anika Sharma (14) 13th and first girl in 22:36.
There were 25 runners.

Brentwood 5k
Sunday 20th March

As  part of the Brentwood half marathon race, a  5km race is also incorporated open to all ages.
With his mum doing the half marathon, 13 year old Ryder Islam elected to take part in the shorter race  and had a great run finishing 3rd overall, in a field of 182 runners,  in a time of 18.29 secs. Nearly 2 minutes faster than when he last ran the course.

 

BRENTWOOD HALF MARATHON
Sunday 20 March

The 40th anniversary Brentwood half marathon was held on fine sunny morning on the usual route from Brentwood town centre on an undulating course in the Essex countryside before returning to the town. This poplar race had over 1500 finishers this year

The first runner home from Ilford Ac was Diarmuid Mac Donnell in 94th place in a new personal best time of 1hr 27mins 50secs. he placed 8th in the M50 category and looks on target for a good time in the upcoming Boston marathon. He was followed home by Steve Chissell who showed improved form finishing in 1 hour 33 mins 37secs  for 167th and 6th in the M55 age group. Adam Coals also ran a new best time for the distance of 1hr 38 mins 01 secs for 263th. Bre Nordin recorded 1hr 40 mins 28secs in 326th .  She placed 38th in the female race and was the first home in the F65 category. Finishing 3rd in the same grouping was Julia  Galea  in 2hrs 13 mins 23 secs.

 

 

British Trail Running Championship – Short course
Forest of Dean
Sun 20th March

This was the first time the trail championships has been held since the covid 19 pandemic. The short race is a standard half marathon in distance and is backed up by further trail championships to a distance of 86 miles (ultra championship later in the year).

The short distance championship was run in conjunction with the forest of dean trail half marathon. Starting on the road adjacent to the Speech House Hotel in the heart of the forest, the course then leaves the road to follow a loop of forest trails (with inclines) before eventually leading back to the Speech House Hotel for the finish.

Ilford AC’s senior team athlete, Sebastian Parris, took part in the British championships finishing in 19th place from a field of 1149. He Recorded a time of 1 hour 24 mins 21 seconds. The Top 50 finishers took home a t-shirt.

Fun fact…the winner, Ben Robinson, holds the world record for fastest canicross 5km (that’s strapped to a dog) clocking 12 minutes!

  Press Report 14th March 2022  

Mar 142022
 

2022 National InterCounties XC Champs
Prestwold Hall in Loughborough
Saturday 12 March

It was a windy and muddy course that greeted athletes at Loughborough for the National Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.
Ilford AC provided one runner on the day, Joseph Grange who was representing Essex in the U15 Boys squad, who raced over 4k.

Joseph had a great race finishing 18th on the day in a time of 14:40 and finishing in the scoring team which helped ESSEX to a Gold medal.

Later in the day Ronan Edwards represented Essex in the U17’s race and ran well in the first time he had been selected for the County for a time of 26:56 over the 6k distance

 

BMAF CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Tonbridge
Saturday 12 March

The British Masters Cross Country Championship was held of a challenging grassland course which was a rolling 3000m lap featuring a 50m long steep climb, Ilford Ac had a good turn out of 13 athletes in the event

The race for the men 35-64 was over 8000m

Sam Rahman was in the M35 age group placing 115th with 37m 59s. 

Malcolm Muir racing in the M45 section was the fastest Ilford runner in action on the day recording 32m 25s  for 34th spot.
Also in this age category was Dan Holeyman  in 92nd with 36m 29s and Trevor Robinson173rd  in 58:54

The best performance for the club came in the M50 age category where Gary Coombes  came home 52nd and  4th in his age category with  33 mins 55 secs. In the same age group Richard Woolterton placed 121st  with 38m 28 and Diarmuid Mac Donnell 129th in 39m 11s. 

There were two Ilford athletes in the M60 group with Terry Knightley coming home 125th in 38m 48s and Steve Cheal 170th with 47m 54s.

In the team events Ilford placed 6th in the M35-44 category and 5th in the M45-54

The men over 65 and ladies raced 6000m with long time club  member Andy Catton coming home 63rd with 31m 34s. He was supported by Ernie Forsyth  with 37m 42m for 108th and Rob Sargent in 122nd  with 42:34.
 In the M65 team standings Ilford placed 6th.

There were also 2 Ilford ladies in action with Carlie Qirem finishing 66th in 31m 5 and Gaye Young recorded 34m 51s for 91st

RACE WALKING
A WEEKEND OF TWO PERSONAL BESTS
Ilford AC contested Race 3 in the 2022 Enfield Walking League on Saturday morning, held over 5 x 1 mile circuits inside Enfield’s King George V Playing Fields.
It proved a red letter day for recent signing John Arthur who continued his improving form by claiming a personal best time of 50 minutes and 31 seconds for a 5 miles’ journey, which secured him, 8th position in a good standard men’s race.
Just a position behind in 9th spot was Walking Section coach Stuart Bennett, who clocked 52.01 but was keeping his power dry for an event the following day.   
In a ladies 4miles’ race Shaeda Arthur completed this distance for a first time with 69.11 on the stopwatch.
 
On Sunday an Inter-Area Representative Match was held at Lee Valley Indoor Arena, which saw an Ilford AC double 2nd as Rachel Lawless filled that place in the Women’s 50 age group 2,000 metres’ walk clocking a personal best 11 minutes and 56 seconds.  Also placed 2nd, in the men’s 50 age group and over the same distance, Bennett was timed at 11.46.