Senior Press Report 29th September 2020  

Sep 292020
 

SENIORS REPORT

The Essex Way

The Essex Way is a 10 stage relay race covering 81 miles through Essex from Epping to Harwich. The last leg finishing at the lighthouse in Harwich is traditionally well attended by Ilford AC members, many of whom have run previous legs, to cheer on the teams last runner.

This year with the actual race cancelled, several  Ilford AC runners ran various legs of the race throughout September, culminating in 10 runners running leg 10 together on the last Sunday of the month.

Setting off at staggered intervals to comply with new racing regulations the team set off from Ramsey to the Harwich Lighthouse on a very blustery morning, so much so that only 400m into the run the athletes had to navigate a tree that had fallen across the narrow path.
Full list of finishers for the 5.5m run were:-

Dennis Briggs 41:08, Jim Tilbrook 44:00, Alison Sale 44:52, Gaye Young 45:11, Hayden Newland 45:15, Mandy Reid 48:33, Julia Galea 50:30, Billy Green 50:32, Anna Crawley 54:20, Sharon Honey 54:21.

 

Previous legs covered during the month:-

Leg 1    7.6 miles Julia Galea 1:19

Leg 3    9.5 miles Tony Young 1:28, Alison Sale 1:29, Frieda Keane 1:35, Billy Green 1:39

Leg 4    9.5 miles Gaye Young 1:32, Dennis Briggs 1:32

Leg 8    8 miles Billy Green 1:03

Leg 9    6 miles Dennis Briggs 46:42, Alison Sale 55:19, Mandy Reid 58:22. 

 

  Martin Etchells RIP 1950-2020  

Sep 282020
 
ILFORD AC LOSS
Former long serving Ilford AC Secretary Martin Etchells has passed on.  Wrote our Essex County AA Chairman : Sad news that former Ilford Athletic Club road, cross-country & steeplechase stalwart, prime instigator of Sportshall athletics and past club General Secretary, Martin Etchells, passed away on Sunday 6th September. Believe that Martin had been battling away against cancer since 2011 – Andy Catton.  Wrote the Director of Competition at the South of England Athletic Association : It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Martin Etchells died after a long illness – Linda Whitehead.  Olympian Roger Mills wrote : Good bloke, another sad loss.  Everyday is a bonus.  Former Southend-on-Sea AC walker June Cork wrote : He was an excellent announcer and on the too-few occasions I had the opportunity to work with him found him very professional and very helpful : I learned a great deal about announcing from him.  I had no idea that he was unwell though we worked together at the SE Indoors last winter and at the SEAA U20 at Lee Valley the previous season.  Other tributes have been received.  Martin was both a Director & Honorary Treasurer of the Amateur Athletic Association of England and a former Sussex Athletics President.  R.I.P.
From Andy Etchells:-
Dear family and friends
There has been a veritable onslaught of tributes to my lovely bother Martin and I am sending this to you as someone who has kindly sent words of sympathy to me and/or Mum and Di. You may not have known him well, or even at all, but I wanted everyone who has been in touch to know what all the “fuss” is about. Not exactly the right word, but you know what I mean.
What I append below started as an obituary written by a third party for the AAA (Amateur Athletic Association) website which I have substantially re-written as it had several errors and made no mention of Martin’s earlier life as an athlete: he was no slouch on the road in his youth. There’s another more “local” obit/appreciation on the Sussex AAA website, complete with a very nice picture of him, and I see this has now been joined by a raft of personal tributes (www.sussexathletics.net).
Nearly every one of these tributes repeats the words lovely, kind, helpful, gentleman and he was all of those things while always being a true professional in his approach to all his activities, honorary and otherwise. From a personal perspective, I can also say that he dealt with a probably tiresome, often bumptious younger sibling in a very gracious way. He was a real big brother to me: he paved the way for my running career; let me join in on training runs with his mates when they could have left me behind; and let me crash on the floor of his digs in Portrush, Co Antrim, while at University and later at his flat in Wanstead when I first moved to London. I bought my first car off him, I was his tenant in his first house in Ilford and I followed him into the welcoming arms of Ilford AC (IAC).
In adult life, we had great fun collaborating on joint projects such as organising the 100 x 1-mile relay at Cricklefields Stadium for IAC and the London Marathon “Recce Runs” which Running Magazine promoted for several years at Martin’s sports centre in Wapping. In 1981, we crossed the finish line of the inaugural London Marathon together; he was rightly proud of breaking three hours in his first attempt at 26.2 miles. In 1983, I  co-opted him briefly onto the Running staff when we took a party of more than 100 runners to the New York Marathon. We took in the sights of the five boroughs and treated our leisurely – for then –  finishing time as less important than simply “hanging out”, as the Americans would say, and having a good time for three-and-a-bit hours. He will be cremated in his NYC Finisher’s T-shirt.
Martin was understated and unshowy and often that can be synonymous for unsung and under-appreciated. I was lucky enough to make a career in athletics, but Martin contributed way more to the sport in myriad ways, all unpaid. People like him are the backbone of much that is good in our society. If you know of someone even remotely like this, please do what you can to let them know they are appreciated: they are not the ones who go looking for plaudits, but they deserve them all the more  –  and best that they hear it from you before it’s too late.
Love from
Andy
 
Martin Etchells Obituary for AAA website
It is with great sadness that the Amateur Athletic Association has to record the death of Martin Etchells who passed away on 6th September 2020 at the age of 69.
As a teenager, Martin was a member of Stretford AC, becoming a proficient middle/long-distance and cross-country runner. At university in Coleraine, while studying for his biology degree, he took a sabbatical year as Secretary of the Athletic Union, the first flowering of his lifelong interest in sports administration and promotion.
After moving to London to become the first Manager of the newly-opened Wapping Sports Centre, he joined Ilford AC and was soon invited on to the Club Committee where he served as Honorary Secretary from 1977 to 1982. Running in Ilford’s colours he posted PBs of 51:18 for 10 miles, 73:25 for the half-marathon and 2:54:06 in the inaugural London Marathon (1981).
It was at Wapping where he first came across  Sportshall Athletics, which he continued to support throughout his life. George Bunner, the inspiration behind Sportshall, has said of him: “He was always a pal and you grabbed hold of him when you needed him. He would take his coat off and get stuck in.”
He left Wapping to take up the role of Leisure Manager for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in charge of everything from leisure centres to libraries to parks.  After moving to Seaford in Sussex in 1991, he took up the post of Head of Leisure Services with Hastings Borough Council (2001-2010). He took early retirement from HBC but devoted ever more time to voluntary work, not just in athletics but also at Eastbourne District General Hospital where he was a presenter (and Hon Treasurer) for the hospital radio station and a stalwart (with his wife, Diane) of the Friends’ shop.
His move to the south coast led to his immersion in athletics at all levels in the county. He became Sussex AAA Hon Treasurer, a post he held for many years and also took on this role for Sussex Schools AAA. From 2014-16 he combined his role as Treasurer with that of President of Sussex AAA.
He became well known as a commentator at national athletic events, including the Special Olympics and Island Games, but always remained willing to help out at children’s events such as Sportshall and the AAA Tom Pink Relays, travelling the length and breadth of the country to do so. He was a “Gamesmaker” at the 2012 London Olympics, working inside the Olympic Stadium, and also officiated at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He played an important role in the London Mini-Marathon for more than a decade.
In 2010 he became Treasurer of the AAA and continued in this post until ill health forced him to retire at the AGM in March this year.
In his last few months, despite undergoing treatment for cancer, Martin did much of the preparatory work for The Athletics Museum’s website, which is now up and running. Jane Ainsworth, the AAA Research Associate said: “His support for the project was inspiring and I will do my level best to make sure that the museum reflects all that is good about the sport to which he contributed so much”.
Martin demonstrated his love for the sport of athletics through a lifetime of volunteering: he has been a loyal, reliable servant to athletics and will be sorely missed.

  Press report 15th September 2020  

Sep 142020
 

Ilford Back on track

Ilford AC Athletes are still scrambling about trying to find track races before Winter sets in 

6th September Newham Sprints Meeting 

Wanya Williams and  Efe Adjarho  both ran 100m races, once again the conditions were very windy a certain times of the day. Wanya ran a wind assisted 11.57 and a legal 11.83, Efe managed 13.54. 

10th September Open Meeting Harrow 

Four athletes made the long journey across to Harrow and they were all rewarded with personal  best times for 3000m. Danny Holeyman ran  10.36.73 knocking 2 seconds off his best.  Joseph Grange ran really to knock 55 seconds off his best with a time of 10.07.45. Inspired by his dad Ryan Holeyman knocked off even more than Joseph with  66 second improvement and a fantastic time of 9.47.32. Running in the final race of the night Ahmed Abdulle  placed 5th in a high quality race in a time of 8.24.87, a pb by 5 seconds 

10th September Open Meeting Aldershot 

Whilst Joseph went to Harrow, Paul and Jak mad the equally long journey to Aldershot for a meeting purely of 1500m races.  Jak was off first and after a slow start, he went to the front and led for most of the race, to be just piped in the last 100m, but was rewarded with a new pb of 4.10.2.  Paul who has been concentrating  on 800m so far this summer stepped up to the 1500m and set his second vets club record of season with fantastic time of 3.58.9.

12th September Open Meeting Mayesbrook 

The sprinters were back in action again and the for the third meeting in a row there were wind issues. In the 100m U15 Rhys Ofori ran 11.37 with the wind slightly over the legal limit. Highlight of the 100m was a superb clocking of 10.88 by Abdulhakim Mohamed, his time was the 9th fastest ever by an Ilford athlete. 

On to the 200m where both Findunu Abidekun  and Wanya Williams both set personal bests, Wanya’s time was 23.60 and Findunu a flying 22.37.  Findunu’s time was the third fastest ever by an Ilford U17 athlete. Fresh from picking up multiple  trophies at the club awards night Krystle Balogun was back on the track and ran a seasons best time of 27.12

13th September Open Meeting  Dartford

Jordan Hinds made the journey across to Dartford to race on their lovely Royal Blue track. She finished second in her race in a time of 2.23, which is her fastest time for 2 years and reward for all her recent hard training. 

 

Orion 5.2 Forest run
Chingford
12th September 2020

The experimental 5.2 mile race was run over a multi terrain 2 lap course on a bright sunny morning close to the Orion Elvis course. Ilford AC  athletes Dan Holeyman and Jim Tilbrook represented Ilford AC and both athletes were pleased with their respective runs . Danny ran 33.05 whilst Jim recorded a time of 41.45.
The runners were split into groups based on their predicted times ranging from elite group A to slower group F.  Danny started with elite group A and Jim was in group E.
Each group started 1 minute behind the previous group which appeared to work very well as there didn’t appear to be a lot of overtaking,  although there were places on the course where this could be achieved with correct social distancing.  As an experiment the event  was well organised and the runners all appeared very happy to be competing again.  Well done to the organisers and runners, especially Danny and Jim

Virtual Boston Marathon
London
12th September 2020

Many thanks to Diarmuid for supplying his own, very enjoyable, race report….

Diarmuid MacDonnell First ‘Boston (virtual)
12 September 2020
08:00 

Being the only participant on the start line in South Park didn’t quite have the same pre race buzz as a 40000 mass start.
It was a bit more intimate with Andy holding the START sign and Alex firing her virtual pistol. Many thanks, Andy for turning up and taking care of my bike.
The first K was around the park before heading out onto the road and down towards the A13. The good thing about the A13 is there is a cycle path to run on and there are good long uninterrupted stretches. The bad thing is its a very loud and busy dual carriageway, not very scenic and has some awkward junctions. I was lucky with the junctions, managing to cross without having to stop while Alex was doing her best to keep up! The weather conditions were ideal and the legs felt good. The first 10K were slightly quicker than planned.
The second 10K brought us past Canning Town, Poplar, Limehouse, the cobblestones of Wapping and up to Tower Bridge. The quiet streets and Thames Path gave us serious aural relief. I could hear myself think and more importantly Alex could hear my instructions. Going over Tower Bridge brought me past halfway in just over 1 hour 41 mins. I was still feeling quite good but the legs weren’t as fresh as I was hoping so I stayed on the same pace along Bankside and up to Southbank while my official photographer was doing a valiant job taking some good shots while steering a bike and handing out water and fuel! A job on the Tourde France beckons for an incredible multitasker! It was beautiful running along by the Thames without the throngs and the city looked majestic in the morning sun. We progressed past Lambeth and Vauxhall to Battersea Park which again brought calm and nice long tree–lined roads and paths. I went past the 20 mile mark there and the body was feeling the effort. Alex‘s efforts to lighten the mood with some friendly jokes probably didnt get the response she was expecting! (But they were really good jokes!) We left the park with about 7 K to go. 

The route brought us over Albert Bridge and then back along the river by Chelsea, past the Houses of Parliament to the finish on Birdcage Walk. The last 5K actually felt quite good for the end of a marathon. I had maintained an even pace, the legs were still striding and it felt good to be able to enjoy running up Birdcage Walk with the sunlight shining through the trees. Life was good. I stopped the clock under the Queens gaze.3.22 and change for even splits, which for a solo effort I was very happy with. Recovery was lying on the grass in St James Park and replenishing the soul with an ice cold coke. Life was indeed good. 

Footnote: There are various schools of thought on virtual ‘races‘. They are not everyone’s ‘cup of tea‘ and that’s understandable. Is it a race in the truest sense? In my opinion no. Are they worthwhile? My answer is a qualified yes. It really depends on the individual. For some, running solo is a real struggle. Therefore doing 42K with little or no support may not going to be an enjoyable or worthwhile experience.
As it is more a run than a race I would suggest not putting too much pressure on oneself with the emphasis being more on enjoyment than trying to achieve a target. You still want to have a decent run but time shouldnt be the be all. As you are your own run director, there is a bit more planning involved. Be familiar with the route, even if its around a park and do a couple of long runs on it. If youre going to be on the road, be aware of things that could potentially impact your run including the time of day/week. You also need to have a clear plan for your ‘water stations‘. Personally I’m delighted I did it. Deciding to do it gave me something to train for and look forward to in so far as one looks forward to running a marathon and it was good exercise in mental strength. In the current climate I would say it’s one of the best things a runner can do. With the future so uncertain, waiting for things to return to ‘normal‘ could be a long wait. You wont regret doing it. But if you do, don’t blame me.

 

St Clare Hospice 10k
Harlow
13th September 2020

After A 6 Month break from racing and still nursing a knee injury, Terry Knightley of Ilford AC limped back into action at the Annual St Clare Hospice 10K Road Race around the country lanes of Hastingwood in Harlow.

Competing against 210 other runners in hot sunny conditions and with a Socially Distanced ‘Rolling Start’ , Terry finished in a disappointing 42 Minutes and 14 seconds for 29th place and 3rd in the Male Veteran Over 60 Age Group

 

Ilford AC Awards Night
Friday 11th September 2020

Although it has been a strange 2nd half of the athletics season, with races only returning on a limited basis recently after an almost 7 month break, Ilford AC were still able to hold their awards night last Friday to celebrate our athletes success earlier in the season and continued commitment to the club through a difficult period.
Although numbers were limited due to Social distancing restrictions at the venue at Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club there was still a good attendance with colleagues from the club coming to show their support for trophy winners proving that the club is strong throughout and isn’t just about ‘winners’. 
The winners though were all well deserved and the trophy’s for the night went to:-

1. Female Veteran of the year NICOLA 
    HOPKINSON 
2. Male Veteran of the year PAUL GRANGE 
3. Road & Country athlete of the year (male)
    GARY COOMBES 
4. Road & Country athlete of the year (F)
    ANNA CRAWLEY 
5. 1st Ilford AC finisher in Essex 20. (Mills 
    Bowl)  PAUL HOLLOWAY 
6. Winter Trophy winner (male) 
    TOM GARDNER 
7. Winter Trophy winner (female)
    BREEGE NORDIN 
8. Best performance at Essex T&F Champs
    By female  KRYSTLE BALOGUN 
9. Best performance at Essex T&F Champs
    By a male athlete ALEX RICHARDS 
10 U20 Track and Field athlete of the year 
      JORDAN AKINPELU 
11  Field Athlete of the year 
      DENISE EVI PARKER 
12  Most points scored in SAL by U20 (F)
      GEMIMA ESHIMU
13 Most points scored in SAL by U20 male
     DAN WHEELER 
14. Most points scored in SAL by a female 
      KRYSTLE BALOGUN 
15 Most points scored in SAL by a male
     SAM MALEKOUT 
16 Track Athlete of the year PAUL GRANGE 
17 Services to Coaching  WAYNE HICK
18 Endeavour Award for service to Ilford 
     AC  NICOLA HOPKINSON 
19. GRACE AWARD for outstanding 
     Achievement by a female
      FREIDA KEANE
20  GRACE AWARD for outstanding 
      Achievement by a male
     SAM RAHMAN 
21 Athlete of the year  PAUL GRANGE 

  Press Report 7th September 2020  

Sep 072020
 
Back on Track 

With some covid restrictions being slightly lifted a few athletes have finally managed to get in a few races, here is a roundup of what’s been happening.

First out of the blocks was Krystle Balogun who ran a 200m at Lee Valley on 16th August in a time of 27.52 

A week later it was over to Mayesbrook Park for a 100m, unfortunately the wind was very unpredictable, which meant some of the races had a tail wind which was over the allowable limit. Krystle had two runs in 13.04 and 13.17, with the latter, being with a legal wind.
Also taking part were Esmeralda  Mengeyele 12.93 and 13.03 both above limit and Efe Adjarho 13.86 and 13.92.

On the men’s side Wanya Williams ran 11.70, with the wind above the allowable limit and the same for Fidunu Abidekun with times of 11.04 and 11.08 

Great times with a legal wind were achieved by Abdulhakim Mohamed 11.04/ 11.09 and by Rhys Ofori  11.38/11.44w. The 11.38 by Rhys is the second fastest by any Ilford under 15 athlete. 

Special mention also for coach Nat Senior who has coached Joel Pascall Menzie to the final of the senior UK 100m championships where he came 5th as an under 20 . Although Joel is a member of Newham & Essex Beagles he frequently trains at Ilford under Nats supervision 

On the middle distance Paul Grange has run two very fast 800m in 1.54.59 and 1.54.73 to firmly establish himself as fastest over 40 800m runner in the country

Jak Wright ran within a second of his best 1500m time with 4.12.7 at the Lee Valley BMC Meeting in August and followed that up with at 9.22 3000m this weekend.

Finally Jordan Hinds ran her fastest 800m in 2 years with a time of 2.26.41 at Lee Valley last weekend. 

 

5k handicap race
Barking Park
5th September 2020

After the success of the clubs 5k championships last month, Ilford AC held a 5k handicap race in Barking Park last Saturday.
In his first run for the club ‘Sat Rana’ was the first home in 32:40, running off an 8m handicap.
Fastest runner on the day was Tom Gardner, who ran 16:12.

First female home was Mandy Reid in 33:09 running of a 7 minute handicap, whilst the fastest female on the day was Bree Nordin who ran 21:42

Full list of runners, with finish time / handicap (in mins) and actual time :-

1 Sat Rana 32.4 8 24.4

2 Steve Philcox 33.04 14 19.04

3 Diarmuid Macdonnell 33.09 14 19.09

4 Mandy Reid 33.09 7 26.09

5 Mel Peddle 33.1 4 29.1

6 Phil Davies 33.11 14 19.11

7 Rachel Lawless 33.2 2 31.2

8 Danny Holeyman 33.29 15 18.29

9 Dave Butler 33.32 15 18.32

10 Merci 33.32 14 19.32

11 Tony Young 33.35 12 21.35

12 Samuel Crane 33.36 11 22.36

13 Jodie Pattison 33.4 5 28.4

14 Bre Nordin 33.42 12 21.42

15 Aaron Hick 33.42 13 20.42

16 Ryder Islam 33.43 13 20.43

17 Emma Dyos 33.45 5 28.45

18 Ryan Holeyman 33.47 16 17.47

19 Alison Sale 33.5 10 23.5

20 Simon Morgan 33.51 2 31.51

21 Sam Rahman 33.53 16 17.53

22 Julia Galea 33.53 7 26.53

23 Bradley Deacon 33.54 17 16.54

24 George Marshall Childs 34.03 13 21.03

25 Stuart Bennett 34.07 2 32.07

26 Joseph Grange 34.1 16 18.1

27 Andy Catton 34.1 11 23.1

28 Tom Gardner 34.12 18 16.12

29 Anna Crawley 34.14 11 23.14

30 Cliff Warren 34.18 12 22.18

31 Carol Muir 34.21 7 27.21

32 Warren Ibrahim 34.35 15 19.35

33 Freida Keane 34.42 6 28.42

34 Dylan Harrord 35.02 16 19.02

35 Kim Baxter 35.41 5 30.41

  Press Report August 11th 2020  

Aug 112020
 

The Chelmsford ‘Mile of Miles’ which is normally held on the track was held this year in a completely different format due to the ongoing covid restrictions.
The event was held at Writtle college on a multi terrain course which allowed for social distancing.

The races were spread out over the course of five hours with each race consisting of 6 athletes going off at 6 minute intervals. 

It was an Impressive day for the Grange Wrights as they picked up three wins. 

The first race for the three was Joseph Grange’s(13) who ran in the U15s race. He won in 5:26 leveling his PB. 

Next was Jak Wright who attacked his over 20 race strategically, going of slow to out sprint the opposition on the final straight. This led to a time of 4:49
Shortly afterwards came Paul Grange’s race. The B race of the mens!
Paul stayed on the shoulder of the early leader Zach Bridgland (Chelmsford) for most of the race until 500m were he kicked right to the finish creating a respectable lead. He finished in 4:39. 

This completed the amazing family treble.

Also representing Ilford AC was Adam Coals who ran an impressive 6:19 to finish 23rd vet on the day 

 

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