Press Report 15th June 2021  

Jun 152021
 

VAC 5km
Battersea Park
Tuesday 8 June

The second VAC promoted 5km of the summer was held last week on a warm but muggy night. Four runners from Ilford AC travelled to the park to race over the fast flat 2 lap course.

First home for the club was Tony Young, who is currently showing good form, in 43rd spot in 22 mins 07 secs, with Alison Sale producing results showing that she trained well earlier in the year during lockdown recording 23mins 47 secs in 54th  and 5th in the F55 grouping.
Ilford endurance coach Rob Sargent laced them up and came home 62nd and 4th in the M65 age category with 25 mins 35 secs. Ernie Forsyth raced for the first time in two years after breaking his shoulder and despite the injury still causing him a few problems finished in 28 mins 43 secs for 70th and 5th in the M65 age group.

Two race walkers also represented the club on the night in the 5k Race Walk. Stuart Bennett put in a seasons best performance to finish in 4th place and first V60 on the night in a time of 32:07, whilst Lesley Morris was just one second outside her PB finishing in 7th place and second V60 female in a time of 34:12.

Sri Chinmoy 5K
Battersea Park
7th and 14th Jun 21

Sameena Ahmed was the sole Ilford representative in the Sri Chinmoy 5k held at Battersea Park last Monday. 

Sameena ran an excellent time of 19:39 which placed her 4th lady finisher on the night. 
This time was the fastest ever by an Ilford lady over 40, beating the previous record by over a minute, and the 13th fastest ever by an Ilford lady over the distance.

Competing this week, and also Ilfords sole representative was Anna Crawley.
On what was the hottest day of the year Anna produced a fantastic performance to record a personal best over the distance in a time of 20:50

 

 

TRACK NEWS

 

A couple of record breaking runs for Ilford Athletes last week. On Sunday, running as higher claim Athlete for Chelmsford, Paul Grange ran a pb and club Vet record over 800m of 1.53.20. Not only a club vet record, but the 8th fastest ever by an Ilford athlete and the 4th fastest ever 800m run by a uk male over 40. 

 

Jak Wright racing over 800m at a BMC meeting last Wednesday  at Wormwood scrubs, not only won the race, but broke 2 mins for for the first time, in a time of 1.59.64

 

A few of the younger athletes competed in the Essex schools at Chelmsford on Saturday, Joseph Grange ran for Havering in the junior boys 1500m, he ran a very good tactical race and just got caught when the vital break was made with 400m to go. He finished a very good 4th in a pb time of 4.29. 

 

Also running in the junior boys category, over 800m was Lucas Emeagi, more used to run in lanes over shorter sprints, he ran almost the whole of the first lap in lanes before breaking just before the bell. Regardless of this he produced a great performance for 4th place in a time around 2.23. 

In the BMC Grand Prix 5000m at Watford, Ahmed Abdulle ran in the B race putting in another excellent performance taking 28 seconds of his previous 5000m pb for a time of 14:21:36 

  Press Report 7th June 2021  

Jun 072021
 

Conquer 24, Powderham Castle

3 Ilford athletes experienced success in the inaugural Conquer24 endurance race at Powderham Castle near Exeter.
Aaron Browne, Craig Livermore and Diarmuid Mac Donnell from Ilford AC were part of a team of 7 local runners taking part in the mixed team relay over 24 hours 
The race lap was just under 5 miles of mostly undulating trails with spectacular scenery. Camping facilities and catering were on the castle grounds.
Going down with no real expectations, the team found themselves among the leaders going into the night. Strong running overnight saw them take the lead which they managed to hold on to till the end, running approximately 163 miles (33 laps) in just over 24 hours.
The Ilford men were joined by Alexandra Rutishauser and Jacob Stevens from ELR as well as Nils Hollman and Lee Duggan from Dagenham 88 who was running on a broken toe!
The event was very well organised and attracted a large number of teams competing in various categories.
It should grow into a popular fixture over the next couple of years.

 

 

 

Dagenham ELvIS  5 miles
Central Park Dagenham
Wednesday 2 June

 

The first round of the 2021 ELvIS series was held over a mixed terrain 2  lap course around Central Park and the Fels Field area of the Eastbrook End Country Park. Ilford AC fielded a team 31 runners and, who showed that training over the lockdown year has gone well. The team enjoyed a very successful evening, with4 runners beating their best times on a road course: Gary Coombes, Dan Holeyman, Gaye Yong and Alison Sale.

Paul Grange was in good form winning the race outright in 27 mins 28 secs, with Coombes third just 20 seconds behind. Holeyman came home 15 in 30mins 13secs, with Steve Philcox one place back in 30 mins 24 secs winning the 1st M50 age category trophy.John Crawley recorded 32mins 05 secs for 30th while Terry Knightley closed the scoring team in 34th taking the M60age group honours in 32 mins 32 secs. The club finished second in the team contest behind East London

Sameena Ahmed won the ladies race to complete a double for Ilford in 33 mins 39 secs and there was a good performance from Anna Crawley in4th spot in 35 mins 12 secs. Bree Nordin took the F60 category prize with 37 mins 39 secs finishing 9th lady on the night. Carlie Qirem placed 11th in 37mins 55 secs with Gaye Young recording 39mins 17 secs for 17th.Alison Sale kept up her recent good form in 23rd spot as she closed the teams scorers in 40 mins 18 secs. The ladies won the match in a close contest with East London y 2 points.

The rest of the team were: (overall position \time)    Diarmuid Mac donnell ( 45  33.32)  Phil Davies (53  34.51)  Craig Livermore (59  34.57)  Dennis Briggs ( 60  34.57)Adam Coals (62  34.59)  Steve Crane ( 69  35.28)  Tony Young (125  39.33)  Rob Sargent (159  42.45)  Bradley Brown (177  44.1)  Sharon Honey (185  44.59)  Julia Galea (197  46.1)  Pramilla Munro (204  46.1)  Nicola Chester (222  48.46) Mandy Reid (230  50.35)  Frieda Keane (231  50.35) Launa Broadley (240  52.18)  Ray Everingham (245  53.33)  Karen St Jean-Kufor (251  58.02)  Wendy Everingham (240  63.40)

Report by the Man in the Bushes

  Press Report 1st June 2021  

Jun 012021
 

Track Academy Open Series
Mayesbrook Park, Dagenham
29th May 2021

Ilford AC Sprinters finally competed in some favourable weather at this
weekend’s open meeting in Mayesbrook Park Dagenham.
Fidunu Abidekun ran a fast 10.8 in the 100m and looks set to close in on
the club’s long standing U20M 100m record of 10.6.
Newcomer to Ilford, Elijah Mayindu, ran a swift 11.1 to break his PB by
0.4.
When the Southern League arrives, the Sprint squad looks to take aim at the
club’s SM 4x100m relay record of 42.9.
On the Women’s side, Krystle Balogun continued her progress this season
with a 200m of 26.24 and looks set to break into the 25 second region
before summer’s end.
Ellie Wright ran a legal 200m PB (27.03) despite carrying a knee injury, so
when she is fully healthy looks set to smash her PB.
The Sprinters and Jumpers look forward to competing in the Southern League
fixtures from June onwards.

Ilford’s middle distance athletes were also in action.

In the 300 metres, the Emeagi brothers went head to head over the long
sprint finishing 1st and 2nd in their race; Jacob with 40.72 and Lucas with
41.56.

The 800m competition saw Samuel Crane finish 2nd place in race 1, with a
time of 2:34:89 and Ryder Islam finish 7th in 2:46:96.

Joseph Grange, son of 800m specialist Paul Grange, ran his first ever
competitive 800m – testing himself over a new distance. Battling with
training partner Frabrizio and jostling for positions,he enjoyed the hustle
and bustle of the new event and finished 8th in 2:13.76, with Fabrizio
right on his tail in 2:14.73

Dylan Harrod was the star of the meeting over 800m with a mature and
controlled race, leading from the first lap and showing strength to extend
his lead from the rest of the field in the second. Finishing with a time of
2:05:41 – not a PB, but a very respectable time considering his dominance
of the a race and the blustery conditions.

Last up was the no.1 seeded 1500m race with 4 IAC athletes finishing in the
top 5; all running PBs for the distance – even 42 year old club veteran
Paul Grange who led from the first bend.

Paul said that he was surprised to run a PB considering all the races he
has run throughout his years as a competitive track athlete.

Paul said the plan was to run at 4 minute pace to help his fellow team
mates (Jak Wright, Bradley Deacon and Farris Patel) run fast times and see
what was possible for all of them over the last section of the race.

Jak, Paul’s son, says that at about 700m to go Dad started to develop a gap
on the second place Cambridge athlete, so he took the split decision to
overtake and try to continue drafting behind his dad. Jak kept this up till
about 100m to go when he felt fatigue set in, while the more experienced
Cambridge athlete moved back into 2nd place.

Jak pushed towards the line and was closely followed by his teammates
Bradley Deacon and Farris Patel. IAC placings and times were: Paul Grange
1st 3:57:41, Jak Wright 3rd 4:03:44, Bradley Deacon 4th 4:04:64, Farris
Patel 5th 4:04:90.

  Press Report 25th May 2021  

May 252021
 

TRACK

A number of Ilford Ac athletes ran across 3 venues on Saturday and all of them achieved Personal Bests.
At Bromley both Farris Patel and Dylan Harrod ran an 800m.
Farris hadn’t ran on the track for over  a year and was against some high quality athletes. The leaders actually went through the bell in 52 seconds and Farris ended up 4th in a massive personal best of 1.53.56. Not only does this rank Farris in the top 15 U20 800m runners in the UK, but the time he ran makes him the second fastest U20 800M runner of all time at Ilford and in the top 10 of Ilfords all time 800m athletes

Dylan Harrod, who recently joined Ilford ,has trained really well over the last winter and we  have high hopes for him over 800m. In another high quality race Dylan came 5th and also improved his PB considerably with an outstanding time of 2.02.91. I am sure he can achieve an aim of breaking 2 mins by the end of the season

At Woodford, Ilford had  5 youngsters competing, 2 of them for the first time on a track for Ilford.

In the first 300m of the day,both Oliver Blainey and Jacob Emeagi, who are both first year u17B, raced against some quality senior athletes.Oliver, in his first race, ran an outstanding 39.33 to come 4th and Jacob came 6th in an impressive 41.35. Both will look to improve these times over the next few months

Next up was Jacob’s Brother Lucas. Lucas ,u15 ,started extremely fast and maintained his form to run 41.00,showing how much potential he has

In the 600m race Aaron Hick, U15B started really quickly and went through the first 400 in 70 seconds and maintained his form to win the race  very impressively , with a  large PB of 1.46.

In the 1500m Eva Whalley, was running her first ever race on the track .Her aim was to run under 6 mins and easily achieved her target by  running 5.49 and coming 7th place. With her first race out of the way we expect Eva to improve her times considerably

Ilford Ac also had 2 senior athletes competing at Woodford. In the 300m Krystle Balogun, ran 42.71 to come 3rd and in the First 1500m race , recently joined Fabrizio Stefanoni ran an excellent 4.35 for 4th place

Over at Milton Keynes, Ahmed Abdulla competed in the Soar Mk 3000m Pb special on the track. In this graded meeting Ahmed Abdulla was seeded in the A race, finishing with a excellent Pb of 8:14:84 for 10th  place


ROAD

VAC 5km
Tuesday 18 May
Battersea Park

Three athletes from Ilford Ac traveled up to Battersea Park for the first VAC race of the summer in Battersea Park. A heavy shower just before the start did not dampen the spirit of the 90 plus runners as they set off on the fast flat 2 lap course.

Alison Sale was the first Ilford runner home in a new personal best time of 23 mins 37 secs in 49th place, 6th in the F55 age category.

Two of the club’s older athletes also performed well with Ed Skinner recording his best time for 3 years with 24m 40s for 56th, with Rob Sargent two places back in 25m 23sec, his best for 5 years. They finished 4th and 5th respectively in the M65 age group.

The same venue also hosted a 5k race walk which saw two of Ilfords finest, Stuart Bennett and Lesley Morris, competing.
Stuart finished 6th in a time of 32:19 with Lesley finishing 9th in a time of 34:11


The Little Bromley 10k
Manningtree
Sunday 23rd May

On Sunday Two intrepid Ilford AC members travelled to Manningtree in West Essex to Run the new country lane course of The Little Bromley 10K Road Race organised by Harwich Runners. The One Lap course in windy conditions provided some fast times for the athletes.

With the usual Covid safe wave start For the 326 runners competing, Terry Knightley ran well to finish in 39 Minutes and 46 seconds for 46th position overall and 2nd Male Veteran Over 60.

His time was good enough to put him in 2nd place in the All Time Male Over 60 Ilford AC Club Records for 10K.

Following him home was Kim Baxter, still recovering from an ankle injury, in 73 Minutes and 48 seconds and 12th Female Veteran Over 60.

All Finishers received a quality Harwich Runners Back Pack and Cloth Snood/Face Mask

  Press Report 18th May 2021  

May 182021
 
Reunion 5k
Kempton Park
Saturday 15th May

Saturday’s event was part of the Governments Events Research Programme aimed at kick starting the return of mass participation events. All runners and spectators had to take a lateral flow test 2 days before the event, as well as a PCR test on the morning of the event and another the day after.

3 Ilford AC athletes took part in the 5k race at Kempton Park racecourse, where the going was good to firm.

First past the post for the trio was Dennis Briggs who galloped home in a time of 20:37 for a personal best. Gaye Young also had a good run finishing just 3 seconds outside her PB with a time of 22:52. Nicola Chester had a very stable run finishing in 26:31, which was her fastest 5k for 10 years.

PB5K
Ardingly Showground
Wednesday 12th May

The PB5K is a brand new event series featuring a seeded race format, run over across the flat and spacious Ardingly Showground.

Five Ilford athletes took up the challenge of recording a 5k PB, and all succeeded.

First home was Paul Grange in a time of 15:25, which also placed him 1st in the V40 category.

Next home, and 11th Senior male on the day was Alex Richards in 15:39. Next home and placing 3rd in the V35 category was Tom Gardner in 15:52.

Jak Wright placed 8th in the U20’s in a time of 16:20, and completing the line up was Joseph Grange in a time of 16:28 to place him 2nd in the U15 category

A great days racing by all

Betteshanger 10 Mile Road Race
Deal, Kent
Sunday 16th May

On Sunday in windy and rainy conditions sole Ilford AC Runner Terry Knightley travelled south of the water to compete in the Betteshanger Country Park 10 Miles Road Race at Deal in Kent !

The race comprised of 5 Laps of 2 Miles on an enclosed cycle path that unfortunately was over distance by almost a quarter of a mile – which was a real shame as it was a fast traffic free course and this obviously affected finish times.

Knightley took this minor setback in his Stride and ran hard finishing in 13th place out of 133 runners Winning The 1st Male Veteran Over 60 Trophy in 66 minutes and 34 seconds.

There was an accompanying 5 Mile Race as well and all finishers received a quality medal.