Press Report 3rd August 2021  

Aug 022021
 

Essex Championships
31st July/1st August

Ilford had a successful day at the rescheduled Essex championships last weekend, these championships usually take place in early May, but due to covid were moved to August.

Ilford came away with  16 Medals, of which 5 were Gold, 6 Silver and 5 Bronze

Day 1 

The first Gold medal of Day 1 was secured by Hakin Mohammed who won the senior 100m in a time of 11.08 despite getting injured late into the race (80m). He has the 55-year old club record of 10.5 in his sights before the season ends. Ahmed Abdulle ran a controlled race to win the senior 3000m, biding his time before unleashing a burst with 600m to go to win in a time of 8m.39s. 
In the final race of the day Paul Grange, who is actually a veteran athlete, beat all the youngsters to finally lift the 800m title, after many years of trying. His winning time was a fantastic 1m.53s.  

Farris Vakil, tried everything he could to get away from Basildon’s under 20 International Olive Lill, but Farris’s efforts were not quite enough and he had to settle for second and the silver, a feat that was also achieved by Jordan Hinds in the senior women’s 800m.  

Gemima Eshimu Massamba had a very good run, to finish 3rd in the senior ladies 400m, in a new personal best despite having to run in a downpour.  In the worst of the weather on Saturday, Mungo Prior got his first ever Essex individual medal when he came 3rd in the U20 3000. Surprise Ilford Medallist of the day was Lucas Emeagi in the U15 300m, who due to injury has hardly trained, but somehow produced a great run to finish in 3rd place. 

Dylan Harrod, finished 4th in the u20, and missed out on breaking 2 mins by the narrowest of margins, his time being 2.00.18. Elijah Mayindu , also narrowly missed out on the medals by finishing 4th in the U20 men’s 100m.  Other Ilford placings, Jacob Emegai  6th in the U17 400. Samuel Crane 8th in his 1500 heat and Efe Adjarho and Aleena Lawrence both ran in the U20 women‘s 100m placing highly in their respective heats and just missing out on advancing to the final. 

Day 2

Paul Grange followed up his 800m win of yesterday, by completing the middle distance double, with a fine win in a very tactical 1500m. Rhys Edwards led the charge on day 2, by taking 2nd place in the U20 men’s 2000s/c .
Fidunu Abidekun took 0.4 off of his pb in placing second in the u20 men’s 200m (21.79). Jak Wright had a great run in the u20 1500m knocking 3 seconds off his pb, but unfortunately had to settle for 2nd place. 

Joseph Grange took 3rd place in a very high standard, under u15 boys 3000m. Ahmed Abdulle won his second medal of the weekend with 3rd in the senior men’s 1500m. 

Krystle Balogun, was unfortunate to miss out in the senior women’s 200m, taking 4th place. Youngsters James Thake and Samuel Crane were 6th and 9th in their 800m heat.  Oliver Blainey ran a pb of 23.80 in the U17 men’s 200m, but this was not enough to see him reach the final. Ellie Wright was 7th in the U20 women’s 200m. Ryder Islam was 6th in the U13 1500m. Bradley Deacon, Mungo Prior and Dylan Harrod, were 5th, 6th and 7th in the u20 men’s 1500m, with Dylan setting his second pb of the weekend. 

WALKERS

ILFORD’s WOMEN GIVE THEM THE OLD 1-2

Essex County Athletic Association held their annual 3,000 Metres’ Walking Championship at Chelmsford’s Melbourne Stadium on Sunday afternoon.  In the women’s race defending champion Melanie Peddle (Loughton AC) was unavailable, so a new name on the trophy was assured.  That honour went to Ilford’s in-form Emma Dyos who sped around the track to break the tape in an unchallenged 16 minutes and 35 seconds.  Claiming the silver medal was club colleague Lesley Morris who clocked 19:44.  Another in-form Ilford walker, Rachael Lawless, gamely lined-up despite being indisposed but sadly was forced into mid-race retirement.  In the men’s race Stephen Crane, better known in Ilford’s colours as a successful runner, race walked it into a bronze medal position with 15:23 on the stopwatch headed only by 2 current internationals.

A fantastic effort by all athletes representing the club in the Essex Championships

NEWMAN Hilly 5
Hainault Forest
Wednesday July 27 July

The Annul Newman Hilly 5 miles, held in memory of Ilford official Newman Sargent, was held at Hainault Forest over a course which resembled a winter cross-country course following recent heavy rain downpours. The race was the 4th of the 7 rounds of the summer ELvIS league.

The Ilford AC challenge was headed by Malcolm Muir who with his usual all out effort style came through to 5th in 30 mins 31 secs. Steve Philcox had a fine run for 9th with 31 mins 44 secs winning the M50 age category prize, while Dan Holeyman continued his run of fine form in 13th recording 32 mins 19 secs. Will Crossley finished 15th with 32 mins 46 secs and John Crawley came home 21st in 33 mins 35 secs. Diarmuid Mac Donnell was Ilford’s sixth scoring runner in 24th spot with 34 mins 40 secs

This team placed the club 3rd in the match but the club maintain second position in the league

Terry Knightley won the M60 age group prize in 28th with 35 mins 06 secs

Sameena Ahmed finished 2nd in the ladies race in 36 mins 04 secs with support coming from Anna Crawley in 4th in 37 mins 24 secs and Bree Nordin 11th with 39 mins 53 secs. Alison Sale put in a good performance for 17th in 41 mins 33s ecs and Hannah Sheikh was 19th lady in 41 mins 39 secs. Gaye Young closed the team in 25th with 43mins 21 secs.

The ladies team placed 2nd in this match and remain on top of their section of the ELvIS competition.

Also ran (overall place\time):  Steve Crane (39  36.22)  Steve Chissell (47  37.06)  Phil Davies (54  37.27)  Dennis Briggs (55  37.36)  Tony Yong (92  40.54)  Steve Cheal (112  42.24) Bradley Brown (127  43.44)  Sharon Honey (156  46.28) Julia Galea (170  48.13)  Pramila Monro (180  52.16)  Frieda Keane (201  52.52)_ Carol Muir (198  52.16) Ray Everingham (208 55.14)  Karen St John-Kufour (220  61.22)

  Press Report 27th July 2021  

Jul 262021
 
HAVERING 5
Raphaels Park
Tuesday 20 July
On a humid evening in Raphaels Park, Romford the 3rd match of this summers ELvIS competition was held over a two lap course around the park. Ilford AC were once again in form producing a good set of results
The Ilford men were led home by the usual battling performance from Malcolm Muir in 8th spot in 29 mins 31 mins. Dan Holeyman, who is improving with every run, was next home in a new personal best of 30 mins and 7 secs for 14th, while Steve Philcox took the 1st M50 age group prize in 18th with 30 mins 43 secs. Will Crossley had a fine race in 28th with 31mins 44 secs, a new best time for the distance. Diarmuid Mac Donnell also impressed with32 mins 08 secs in 38th. John Crawley was the last of the team scoring 6 for the club in 38th with 32 mins 35secs. The squad were placed second in the match and remain second in the lague.
Terry Knightley was just outside the scorers in 40th winning the trophy for the m60 age category in 33mins 46 secs
Sameena Ahmed led home the Ilford ladies in second spot in 33 mins 47 secs and their were excellent runs from Carlie Qirem in  5th  with  35 mins 45 secs and Anna Crawley 7th with 36 mins 03 secs. Breege Nordin took the 1st FV60 prize in 13th in 37 mins 35 secs and Gaye Young ran well for 18th recording 38 mins 27 secs for a new personal best. Alison sale also set a new best 5 mile time closing the scorers in 40 mins 16 secs in 22nd.
This fine team performance by Ilford won them the match and they take over on top of the ELvIS table.
Also ran (Overall place\time):Dennis Briggs (51  34.27)  Phil Davies (55  35.28)  Adam Coals (54  36.23)  Steve Chissell (71  37.02) Tony Young (80  37.40)  Andy Catton (81  37.35)  Ed Skinner (134  42.37) Julia Galea (167  45.56_  Bradley Brown (169  46.28)  Carol Muir (172  416.44)  Pramila Monro (178  47.31_  Mandy Reid (190  48.52) Frieda Keane (197  49.51)  Ray Everingham (204  51.33) Launa Broadley (210  53.14) Karen St Jean-Kufour (220  61.19

VAC 5000m

Wimbledon Park

Wednesday 21 July

Two runners took part in the London based Masters Club Championship on a hot night in Wimbledon Park. The championship consisted of 4 graded races with the results amalgamated to produced the medal winners in each age category.
Tony Young in his second race in 2 days placed 6th in the M55 category in 23mins 52.72 secs, while Rob Sargent came home 5th in the M65 age grouping with 26mins 08.76secs.

 

 

 

CAPITAL GAINS FOR BILLY

British 10k
Central London
25th July

The British 10k was the largest unrestricted race to happen in Britain since the pandemic began, attracting over 8,000 runners including Ilford AC athlete Billy Green.

The race takes runners through Central London, traffic free, and takes in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.

En route the runners pass several bands and large union jacks draping the streets.

On a very humid morning Billy never really threatened the leading pack, coming home in 52 mins 16 seconds for 2,191st place 

  Press Report 20th July 2021  

Jul 202021
 
VAC 5km
Battersea Park
Wednesday 14 July

There were three members of Ilford AC in action in the recent VAC Masters 5km held over the usual fast two lap course in Battersea Park.

Dan Holeyman set off in the leading group and worked hard throughout the race to finish 15th and 5th in the M45 category in 17 mins 53 secs, just outside his personal best for the distance. Ed Skinner also showed good form coming home in 23 mins 59 secs, his best time for over 3 years, in 58th spot and 5th in M65 category.

In the race walk Lesley Morris finished 4th lady in 33 mins 38 secs, a new personal best by over 30 seconds

Sri Chinmoy 10km
Battersea Park
Saturday 17 July

Dan Holeyman returned to Battersea on Saturday morning to take part in the Sri Chinmoy 10km. The course is also over the fast flat paths within the park and Dan finished 45th in a strong field improving his fastest time for the distance to 37 mins 13 secs

Orion Forest 5
Chingford
Saturday 17th July

On a very warm Saturday morning 4 Ilford AC athletes were amongst the 147 runners lining up for the first in the series of 3 ‘Forest 5’ runs organised by Orion Harriers. 

The race was to be one of the last that was run under Covid restrictions with runners setting off in waves according to their age category.
The course follows a one lap multi terrain route around Epping Forest with plenty of hills to contend with.
First home for the club, and also claiming first M50 on the day was Stephen Philcox in a time of 32m 12s for 15th place. Breege Nordin claimed first W60 in exactly 40 minutes for 48th place. The team were completed with fine runs from Alison Sale in 42m 58s for 71st and Frieda Keane who came in on 51m 27s, despite getting lost on the course, who finished in 108th place.

Caterham Half Marathon
Redhill
Sunday 18th July

The Caterham Half Marathon, incorporating the British Masters Championship, was held on a two lap course over rural roads from Redhill Aerodrome on the hottest day of the year.

The race was won by Scott Overall who represented Great Britain in the marathon at the London 2012 Olympics in an impressive time for the conditions of 69 mins 11 secs.

 Dennis Briggs adapted well to the conditions coming home in 1hr 34m 47s, just over a minute slower than his best, to finish 63rd in the race and place 7th in the M45 British Championship.

Julia Galea found the going tough coming home in 222nd spot in 2h 20m 23s, which placed her second in the Britain Masters event taking home the silver medal. Her performance also won her the gold in VAC Championship which was also part of the event.

 

  Press Report 13th July 2021  

Jul 132021
 
Southern Counties VAC
Stevenage
Monday 5th July 2021

The first evening match of the Southern Counties VAC league was held on Monday 5th July. All matches are non-scoring this year so an opportunity to assess performance against training or try new events.

A small team travelled to Stevenage to represent Ilford. Results as detailed with positions in brackets:

2000m walk Stuart Bennett M35 (2nd) 12.15.9, Rachel Lawless W35 (2nd) 12.27.2, Lesley Morris W50 (2nd) 12.43.8

100m Sam Malekout 12.5s (guest), Henry Ricketts M50 (4th) 13.5s, Pete Whiting M60 (3rd) 15.2s, Michaela Davis W50 (4th) 20.1s, Barbara Higgins W60 (5th ) 20.1

400m Henry Ricketts M50 (7th) 64.2s

1500m Rob Sargent M50 (11th) 7.11.2, Dave Butler M60 (6th) 5.30.9

Shot Michaela Davis W35 (5th) 5m 77, Barbara Higgins W50 (5th) 5m 95, Sam Malekout M35 (1st) 9m 18, Henry Ricketts M35 guest 7m 77, Pete Whiting M50 (7th) 6m 90

Long Jump Michaela Davis W50 (4th) 2m 80

Discus Michaela Davis W35 (6th) 12m 58, Barbara Higgins W60 (5th) 12m 91

The next match is due to be held on Monday 26th July in Harrow.

Essex 5000m Championships
Chelmsford
Wednesday 7th July 2021

llford athlete Ahmed Abdulla took on a very busy week starting with the Essex 5000m champs.
Running an excellent tactical battle with Adam Hickey of Southend, Ahmed made his move 2 laps out taking the Essex 5000m Champions title in a time of 14m:42s.

Competing in the same race and securing equally impressive times were Tom Gardner in 7th place for 15m 36s and Alex Richards in 11th place for 15m 54s and a new personal best.

Running in the ‘B’ race on the night was Malcolm Muir who came home in 17m 27s for 11th place

 

AFDAC Open Meeting
Aldershot
Wednesday 7th July 2021

Brothers Jak Wright and Joseph Grange travelled to Aldershot on Wednesday evening for the ‘Aldershot, Farnham and District Open Evening. Competing in the 3000m both runners achieved personal bests. Jak came home in fifth place and first U20M in a time of 8m 58.7s and Joseph placed 15th and first U15M in a time of 9m 27.61s. Josephs time broke a 40 year old Ilford AC record for his age group at the distance with ironically the previous record being held by Gary Floate, Joseph’s coach and current Ilford AC President.

Fast Friday Super Elite 10000m (Incorporating the English Athletic champs)
Walthamstow
Friday 9th July 2021

This was Ahmed’s second race in 3 days and his first outing at this distance. 

Starting off steadily, he worked his way through to the leading group, but as the race progressed and his busy week took it toll, he slipped back to 12th place in 30:08 which put him 7th on ilford all time best performance for 10000m

Southern Athletics League 2nd Match
Woodford
Sunday 11th July 2021

In the 2nd SAL league match Ilfords young team competed very well to come a promising 4th place .

As usual first up was the Sprinters.
In the women’s 100 Efe Adjarifo ran very well for third in 13.2 and Aleena Lawrence came second in a very promising 13.37. Elle Wright and Krystle Balogun ran as non scorers in the 100 and ran a very quick 13.01 and 13.33.Both Krystle and Ellie were back for the 200s and both ran superb for 3rd and 2nd in times of 26.65 and 26.98.Efe and Krystle showed their flexibility by throwing the javelin and shot to gain valuable points for Ilford

All 4 ladies mentioned above came back for the 4 x 100 and all ran great legs to run a very fast 51.53 for 2nd place

In the men’s Sprints Elijah Mayindu came 3rd in 11.36 and Oliver Blainey came 4th in 11.83. Blainey had never beaten 12 seconds before so this was the start of 3 PBs on the day. Oliver ran the 400 30 mins later to break 54 for the first time for 2nd place ie 53.46 and then ran a very fast 200 for 5th in 23.88, breaking the 24 second barrier

Also fellow youngster Jacob Emeagi broke his 200 pb for 5th place with a time of 25.70

 In the women’s 400 and 800 ,Ilford are lucky to have 2 very talented athletes Gemima Eshimu Massamba and Jordan Hinds. Gemima came 2nd in both the 800 in 2.33 and  in   400 in 59.72,close to her best ever and even found time to throw the javelin over 22m for 3rd place. Jordan is also getting back to her best with a 3rd in the 800 in 2.23 and 2nd in the 400 in 63.74

In the women’s 5000 it was great to see Ilford gain maximum points with both Anna Crawley and Amy Bird winning both their races. Ann ran 21.05 and Amy 21.30

In the women’s Discus and Shot, Amie Harrison 6.70 and 13.24 for 4th and 5th position

Back to the men’s results and another up and coming  youngster Dylan Harrod did 3 PBs and seems to get better with every race. He ran the 400m in 53.44 for 3rd place, breaking the 54 second barrier and gets closer every race to beating the 2 min 800   barrier with a time of 2.01 and then did the Triple jump for the first time ever with a respectable 10.13

Fellow youngster Rhys Edwards competed in a number of different events but competed well in all these events  to show his versatility. Rhys ran a PB in the 400 hurdles in 62 seconds for third place ,came second in the 3000 in 9.52 and 5th in the Triple jump with 11.50

Ilford were dominant again in the middle distance races. Paul Grange, who is having an outstanding season across all of the different middle distance events, raced against his training partner Farris Patel. Paul came home first in 1.54.6 with Farris close behind him in 2nd place

In the 1500m Jak Wright and Alex Richards both went to the front from the very start and both ran superb tactical races to get away from a quality field  in the last 600 and come home 1st and 2nd in 4.07 and 4.10 respectively. Jak also did the HJ and came 4th with a height of 1.55

Tom Gardner, in his last race for Ilford , went out with a bang in the 3000m running away from the pack in the last 4 laps in a very fast 8.57. Ilford will miss Toms dedication to the club and wish him success in his next chapter in Australia

Malcolm Muir kindly competed in 2 events where Ilford struggled for points normally .In the 400 hurdles he won the B string and in the 3000 sc he came second in 11.21, providing valuable points.

In the jumps Fidunu Abidekun , back from the English Schools did the High and Long jump. He jumped an excellent 6.38 in the Long and 1.85 in the High jump for first and second position

In the throws once again Ilford are lucky to have Sam Malekout, Pete Whiting , Nat Senior and Jeevakan Sivayogan who between them did all the throws, long jump and pole vault  and bring so many valuable points to Ilford

A great day was hopefully had by all with many personal bests and people doing events they normally would not attempt

Vitality London 10,000
Hatfield
Sunday 11th July 2021

Fun at first in person Vitality London 10,000 since May 2019

After more than a year of virtual races, the Vitality London 10,000 which had been cancelled in May 2020 and postponed in May 2021 finally took place at a new temporary venue in Hertfordshire’s Hatfield Park on Sunday, July 11, with four Ilford Athletic Club members flying the flag for Ilford.

The race took place after the Reunion 5k pilot event in May which provided data for the government’s Events Research Programme, examining how mass-participation events can return safely. 

 Ilford Athletic Club’s Sharon Honey 57:43, Mandy Reid 1:01:48, Launa Broadley 1:09:24 and Sheila Sinclair 1:11:45 completed the chip timed 10km course through scenic countryside and stunning formal gardens. They enjoyed a fun morning and received unique 2021 finishers medals and technical t-shirts.

“We’ve really enjoyed maintaining our physical and mental health over the last year and it was fantastic to be a part of this first in-person event representing our club”, said Sheila, 56.

With an offer of a socially distanced race or mass start, it was the first in-person mass participation race by London Marathon Events (LME) since the pandemic began. 

Westminster Mile
Hatfield
Sunday 11th July 2021

At the same location as the Vitality 10,000 the postponed ‘Westminster Mile’ took place.

Ilford Athlete Alan Pearl ran a fantastic time of 6m 21s which placed him 31st overall on the day and 1st in the Vet 60-64 category 

Alan is pictured with Dunstan Creavalle,  a former Essex 800m champion during his spell with the club in the 1980’s and 90’s. Dunstan ran the mile in 6m 09s.

 

  Press Report 6th July 2021  

Jul 062021
 

Eastern Young Athletics League
Thurrock
Sunday 4th July 2021

Youngsters compete in Eastern Young athletes league

Ilford AC have not been in a position for many years to compete in the Young athletes league, due to lack of athletes, coaches and officials. However last year  Ilford approached Orion Athletic club to ask whether they would like to join up and enter a joint team. Therefore last weekend, Ilfords talented u17’s athletes were able to wear the Ilford colours in the Eastern young athletes league for the first time in decades.

First up for Ilford on the day was U15 James Thake, who was racing for Ilford for the first time. James was outstanding on the day and ran a very impressive 2.23 for 4th in the 800 against a very classy field. James powered past a few athletes down the home straight ,proving he has much more to come.
He also ran an excellent 43.6 for the 300 for 3rd.
Even more impressive was the fact that James had never done a High jump in his life and with 1 training session on the day before, he jumped 1.35 for 4th place and ran the 1st  leg of the 4 x100 to bring the team home in 4th place

Equally impressive as usual was Joseph Grange in the U15 1500. Joseph was up against the winner of the recent Essex Schools. Joseph ran a near perfect race pushing the Chelmsford boy as much as he could and even though Joseph ended up 2nd, he was much closer to his rival. Joseph ran 4.31.4,just outside his best

 In the 1500s U13s  Ryder Islam battled round to 4th place in a time of 5.52. Samuel Crane ran the U15S 1500 and once against battled round in windy conditions for 5.26.Samuel also agreed to throw the discus for points and came second with a distance of 9.96m

Aaron Hick ran the U15s 800 in 2.37 and 300 in 48.1 for 3rd and 4th  respectively and also got points for throwing the U15s Hammer

In the U17s  Ilford provide 3 athletes who all did a lot of events

Oliver Blainey ran an impressive 12.3 in the 100 and 24.6 in the 200 for 4th and 2nd  against the wind and i am sure sub 12 and sub 24 is just around the corner. He also jumped 4.86 in the Long Jump and ran the last leg of the 4 x100.His training partner Jacob Emeagi ran 13.3 and 27.0 for 5th position and 4.88 long jump and also ran in the 4x 100 relay. Finally first time competing on the track was Dieumerci Luyengi , who came 4th in the 800 in 2.17, through the shot putt 8.66 for 4th and also ran the 4 x100 relay

The team came a very credible 5th place

It was great to see our youngsters back on the track but special mention must go to our officials Ernie Forsythe and Nicola Hopkinson. We wouldn’t be able to enter teams without their support

 

 

Ware 10 mile
Sunday 4th July 2021

 

On a morning that brought both heavy downpours and bright sunshine, Julia Galea was Ilfords sole runner in the Ware 10 mile race.  It was a race she had been postponed from its original 2021 date .

The route was a closed road event, offering a couple of challenging climbs and an enjoyable section running alongside the River Lea.
Julia ran 1 hr 39m 49s and in doing so claimed 1st prize in the FV65 category and a nice trophy to add to her collection.