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

 

 

  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