Press Report 26th October 2020  

Oct 262020
 

CHINGFORD LEAGUE
Epping Forest
Saturday 24 October

The first match of this winter’s Chingford League took place in Epping Forest on Saturday and was run under the Covid regulations. This necessitated that the men and women ran in separate races and the races were started in 12 separate waves, with each wave racing one minute after the previous.

Ilford AC competed in the league for the first time and therefore both men and ladies were competing in division 2. The club entered a large team and were rewarded with good results. It was the first time that most had raced since March.

The women’s squad were headed home by Amy-Louise Bird in 24th spot with 37 mins 44 secs for the 2 lap 5.2 mile course. Supporting her were Anna Crawley in 36th with 39 mins 49 secs and Carlie Qirem in 40 mins 08 secs for 39th. Next up were Bree Nordin placing 41st in 40 mins 27 seconds, while Alison Sale finished 54th in 41 mins 57 secs, breaking her 5m pb in the process. Completing the scorers was Gaye Young with a time of 43 mins 20 secs. It was a successful debut for the club in the league as the ladies finished 6th overall and top of the division 2 rankings.

Also running for the club were Mandy Reid (103  48.02)  Julia Galea (109 48.48)  Frieda Keane (118 50.08)  Pramilla Monro (119 50.36) Sharon Honey (121  51.15) and Launa Broadley (123 51.37). There were 130 finishers

 

The mens race featured a strong field and first home for the Ilford team was Gary Coombes in 23rd with 31 mins 12 secs for the 5.2 mile course. Next home were Paul Holloway in 31st with 31.44 and Sam Rahman with 32 mins 31 secs for 37th. Danny Holeyman placed 56th with 33.13 secs and Steve Philcox was 2 places and 11 seconds behind. Closing the scorers was John Crawley in 75th in a time of 34 mins 59 secs. The team were 7th overall and second in the division 2 match behind Woodford Green AC

Also in action were Terry Knightley (89  36.05)  Jim Tilbrook (145  41.31)  Steve Cheal  (150 42.52) Trevor Robinson (153 43:32)  Rob Sargent (155  44.06)  Bradley Brown (166  47.11)  and Sparra Everingham (171  50.34) There were 175 finishers

 

RUN TRACK SERIES
Hexham
Sunday 25 October

Tony Young returned to his native North East at the weekend and took part in a 3000m track race at Hexham. He ran a hard race to finish 6th in his heat in a personal best time of 12 mins 57.7 secs.

  Press Report 20th October 2020  

Oct 192020
 
Woodchurch 5 Mile Road Race
Sunday 18th October 2020

With races in short supply at the present time, two intrepid Ilford AC athletes travelled to a small village near Tunbridge Wells in Kent for the second running of The Woodchurch 5 Miles Road Race.

With a Covid friendly wave start involving a maximum number of 12 runners setting off to run in 5 minute intervals, and Competing against 137 other runners over an unbelievably Hilly course around the village of Woodchurch, Terry Knightley won The Male Veteran Over 60 Category finishing in 23rd place overall in 34 Minutes and 11 seconds. Following him in 129th place and 2nd in the Female Veteran Over 60 position was Kim Baxter finishing in 56 Minutes and 57 Seconds.

  Press Report 6th October 2020  

Oct 052020
 

Open Meeting
Jim Peters Stadium
3rd March 2020 

With gale force winds and rain predicted for the weekend, not much was expected from the open Meeting at the Jim Peters stadium at Barking, last Saturday.

However the young middle distance squad produced some great performances and achieved  8 personal bests 

Joseph Grange was the only member of the group to do a 1500m and he had a very good run to record a time of 4.47.24 a pb by 16seconds. 

Jordan Hinds was feeling ill before her race, but despite this she gave it a go and ran a time of 2.29.36. 

U13’s Ryder Islam, Samuel Crane and Aaron Hick could count on one hand the amount of track races they had run, but all achieved pbs. All three of them went with the very fast first lap and all showed their strength to move through the field in the second lap.  Samuel ran 2.45.85, Ryder 2.43.28 and Aaron a very impressive 2.30.05. 

Bradley Deacon, new member Dylan Harrod and Ryan Holeyman, were all in the same race, which was slow to begin with, Bradley worked his way to the front and set about increasing the pace. He maintained his lead until the finish and crossed the line in 2.04.48 a pb of 6 seconds, Dylan ran 2.09.57 and Ryan ran his third pb of this shortened season a time of 2.14.75.

Jak Wright was up next and like Bradley he did the bulk of the work in his heat, especially on the second lap, he was just piped in the home straight, but a pb of 2.01.03 an improvement of 4 seconds 

The last race of the day involved Aaron Samuel and Paul Grange. Despite being the fastest heat there seemed a reluctance to take the pace and the first lap was fairly slow. It sped up on the second lap, and Paul who was nicely positioned the whole way came in 3rd in a time of 1.55.90, Aaron was 2 places back in a time of 1.56.76, a pb by over 2 seconds. 

 

Kosice peace marathon 2020
Kosice, Slovakia
4th october 2020

Established in 1924, the Kosice Peace Marathon is the oldest marathon in Europe and the sixth-oldest in the world.
Normally consisting of two laps in the historic city center of Košice, Slovakia, this year because of social distancing they had to change the course so ran 10 laps of 4,2km.
Zuzana Sinalova was the sole Ilford AC member running the race, in her first ever marathon.
Zuzana has previously spent many years living in London, where she became a popular member of the club and has decided to retain her membership since moving back and proudly ran in the Ilford AC vest. She finished in a time of 3 hours, 39 minutes and 41 seconds and was the 13th female to finish.

Virtual London Marathon
Various locations
4th October 2020

45,000 runners from around the world took part in this year’s Virtual London Marathon, including 7 from Ilford AC. Entrants had to run the 26.2 miles in the 24 hour period on the day the actual event was due to take place.

First to finish, mainly because they set off at 1am to avoid traffic and pedestrians were husband and wife team Rhoan and Brennie Gabbidon. Both have spent the previous months battling illness and injury so were delighted to complete their marathon journey, Rhoan in 6:59 and Brennie in 7:24.

Setting off at 7:15 and taking in several local parks were Launa Broadley and Karen Kufuor. Both had worked so hard in their marathon journey and enjoyed the support of many of their colleagues en-route and can be rightly proud of their achievements. Both finished in a time of 5:47.

Another who has worked very hard in his marathon journey has been Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham.
No one has been more meticulous in their marathon preparations, or more supportive of others than Sparra, and with tremendous support on the day from family, friends and club colleagues he was delighted with his time of 5:29.
Sparra also managed to raise a magnificent £3,015 for the National Deaf Children’s Society.

Lovedip Dhaliwal entered the race late when it re-opened as a virtual marathon, and despite very little training was pleased with her time of 5.22

Fastest Ilford Marathoner was Sam Rahman. Sam set off from Barking Park at 9am and had awful weather conditions to endure as he aimed to complete 17 laps of the park to rack up the 26.2 miles. Despite the weather Sam’s partner and son stayed to cheer every lap, and various club mates joined in at various points to offer support and encouragement along the way.
Sam was delighted with his time of 3 hours and one minute which placed him 670th overall in the field of 45,000.

2 Mile Handicap
Barking Park
3rd October 2020

With Road Races still in short supply, Ilford continued with their monthly handicap races over Barking Park, this month’s race was over 2 miles. 

Storm Alex deterred a few of the runners, but 27 hearty soles toed the line.  The start was staggered with 9 mins between the first and last runners. 

Having been out a few months with injury, Gaye Young was using this as a test of her fitness, which on the evidence of Saturday is pretty good, as she splashed her way through the puddles to finish in an impressive 15.22.

Second home was Jim Tilbrook who was also on the comeback trail, he finished 15 seconds behind Gaye in a time of 14.37.  Freida Keane made up the top three with a time of 17 minutes, just piping birthday boy Ernie Forsyth. 

Gary Coombes was the fastest of the male runners in 5th place with a time of 11.06, Anna crawley was the fastest lady in a time of 14.16 for 18th place. 

As well as the runners some of Ilford’s walking section took part and first to cross the line was Emma Dyos in a time of 18.16.

Full results 

1 Gaye Young 18.22 3 15.22

2 Jim Tilbrook 18.37 4 14.37

3 Freida Keane 19.00 2 17.00

4 Ernie Forsyth 19.06 3 16.06

5 Gary Coombes 19.06 8 11.06

6 Sharon Honey 19.21 1 18.21

7 Steve Philcox 19.22 8 11.22

8 Alex ELR 19.29 1 18.29

9 Mandy Reid 19.32 3 16.32

10 Alison Sale 19.40 5 14.40

11 Jodie Pattison 19.41 2 17.41

12 Terry Knightley 19.42 7 12.42

13 Kim Baxter 20.02 1 19.02

14 Julia Galea 20.03 3 17.03

15 Diarmuid Macdonnell 20.11 8 12.11

16 Merci Luyengi 20.14 8 12.14

17 Emma Dyos 20.16 2 18.16

18 Anna Crawley 20.16 6 14.16

19 Carol Muir 20.27 3 17.27

20 Mel Peddle 20.28 1.5 18.58

21 Andy Catton 20.32 6 14.32

22 Simon Morgan 20.39 0.5 20.09

23 Rachel Lawless 20.48 1 19.48

24 Dave Butler 20.52 9 11.52

25 Danny Holeyman 20.53 9 11.53

26 Stuart Bennett 21.02 0 21.02

27 Lesley Morgan 21.03 0 21.03

 

 

 

 

 

  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.