Press Report 6th July 2020  

Jul 062020
 

The Essex 6 – 12 stage relays are held every July in various Essex locations, however as with many races this year the event, although cancelled as a mass participation event, went ahead as a virtual event meaning Ilford AC could once again put themselves up against the best runners Essex had to offer

The relay consists of long legs at 5 miles, and short legs of 5k.
A scoring men’s team had to have 6 runners going long and 6 going short, whilst the ladies scoring team consisted of 2 on the long leg and 4 on the short leg.

Ilford AC entered 2 men’s teams and 3 ladies’ teams. The run could be done any time over a 3 day period 2nd – 4th July, although a few runners competed in small handicapped groups over Barking Park on the 4th to recreate a race atmosphere.
Runners then submitted their times to the organisers via either Strava or Garmin apps.

Ilford Ladies ‘A’ team were led home in the short leg by Carlie Qirem 128th 21:24 supported by Jordan Hinds 131st 21:51, Zuzana Sinalova 133rd 21:53 and Breege Nordin 141st in 22:34.
Breege was also 1st FW60 in the competition.
In the long legs team captain on the day Sameena Ahmed led the Ilford ladies team home in 84th for 33:16, a time which placed her 1st W40. She was supported by Amy Bird 107th in 37:01.
The ‘A’ team finished 8th in the competition.

The ladies ‘B’ team had Nadia Crellin first back in the short leg in 171st place for 24:54 supported by Dianne Crisp 173rd 25:14, Mandeep Bassi 187th 29:16 and Frieda Keane 189th in 29:47.
The long leg saw a magnificent run by Alison Sale lead the team home in 124th place in 40:42 which placed her 3rd in her age category in the competition. She was backed up by an equally impressive Mandy Reid in 134th place in 45:35
The ‘B’ team finished 14th in the competition.

Impressively the ladies put together a ‘C’ team which was led home in the 5k leg by Pramila Monro 190th in 30:33 well backed up by Lovedip Dhaliwal 193rd 31:01, Brennie Gabbidon 194th 31:25 and Wendy Everingham 196th 36:38.
The long leg had Julia Galea leading the way in 138th place for 49:34 backed up by Karen Kufuor 141st in 51:51.
Also running, and just 2 seconds outside making the team was Launa Broadley in 142nd place for 51:53
The ‘C’ team finished 17th on the day

In the men’s category  Ilford put out 2 strong teams.
In the ‘A’ team Mungo Prior lead the team home in the 5k leg finishing 10th overall and first U20 male in a very impressive time of 16:45. Mungo was supported by team and track mates Bradley Deacon and Jak Wright finishing in 17th and 25th in the competition with times of 17:01 and 17:17. Bradley was 3rd U17M and Jak 4th in the same category. Gary Coombes recorded an exact same time of 17:17 to finish joint 3rd remarkably Amin Koikai and Malcolm Muir both also recorded the same time of 17:31 to finish joint 35th to complete the 5k leg of the course.
There were some spectacular times recorded in the longer 5m leg for the ‘A’ team
Ahmed Abdulle led the way in 5th place and 3rd Senior male in a time of 25:04 backed up by Blair McWhirter in 8th place for 25:59 and Tom Gardner in 18th place for 26:59. 4th place went to mens captain on the day Paul Grange who finished in 23rd place and first M40 in a time of 27:19 with 5th going to Aaron Samuel who was 1st U17m and 26th overall in a time of 27:28. The team was completed by Alex Richards who was 32nd on the day in a time of 28:10.
The men’s ‘A’ team finished 3rd in the competition.

 

The ‘B’ team was led home on the short leg by Farris Patel 41st in 17:47, closely followed by father and son team Ryan and Danny Holeyman. Ryan was 44th and 2nd U15 on the day in 17:53 grabbing bragging rights over dad Danny who finished in 18:13 for 56th place. Next home was a very impressive run from 13-year-old Joseph Grange in 63th place in 18:35 which also gave him 2nd place in his category. The 5k leg of the team was completed by Oscar Rubio 65th 18:37 and Julian Fabian 82nd in 19:27.
The long leg was led home by John Crawley in 69th place for 32:11, backed up by Seb Parris 77th 32:37 and George Marshall Childs in 98th place for 35:24. George placed 2nd U17M which remarkably gave Ilford AC 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th placings in the U17M category. 4th home in the long leg was Adam Coals 102nd 35:45, 5th was Jim Tilbrook finishing 3rd in his age group for 124th place in 40:25 and completing the team was Adnan Karim in 128th place for 44:12.
The men’s ‘B’ team placed 12th in the competition.

Ilford had several other runners competing for the males but were unable to make up a 3rd team of 6 No 5K and 6 No 5-mile entrants. These included:-
Long leg – Satha Alaga 133rd and 2nd M60 (on his 60th Birthday) in 45:25
Short leg – Matthew Hick 93rd 19:50, Phil Davies 93rd and also 19:50, Simeon Balson 96th 19:59, James Rigby 107th 20:26, Diarmuird MacDonnell 115th 20:56, Dennis Briggs 121st 21:19, Anthony Young 123rd 21:23, Cliff Warren 137th 22:21, Trevor Robinson 163rd 24:00 and Sparra Everingham 188th 29:46

However, as Ilford had a further 6 runners in the short leg they were able to score a 3rd team in the separate ‘distance categories.
In these categories the 5k Ilford men’s teams finished 6th, 12th and 14th whilst the men’s 5m teams finished 2nd and 16th.
For the ladies the 5k teams finished 8th, 16th and 18th whilst the 5m teams finished 5th, 14th and 17th.

In all a very impressive turnout and performance by Ilford AC which shows how despite a difficult few months for the most part when athletes could only train alone, and even now when we are restricted to maximum groups of 6, the team has stuck together and kept their resolve and love of the sport and more importantly the club.
Well done to all involved.

 

 

 

  Press Report 17th March 2020  

Mar 172020
 

Essex County Relay Championships
Colchester
15th March 2020

A great day for Ilford senior men’s relay team

Over 120 teams descended on Abbey fields in Colchester on Sunday morning for the annual running of the Essex Relay Open and Veteran Championships.

Held in almost ideal conditions for running, Ilford AC ran out Gold medal winners in the Male open event in a combined time of 1 hour 5 minutes and 48 seconds beating their nearest rivals and host club Colchester Harriers by 1 min and 10 seconds for the 4 runners.
Each leg consisted of a 3.2 mile lap and 34 teams competed

Paul Grange on the opening leg had an excellent start for the team chasing home Strange of Basildon in 16:10 placing the team 2nd on lap one.
Although Tom Gardner had some fast runners on leg 2 he ran his normal controlled run and still held 2nd place in 16:58.
Leg 3 Alex Richards who has been nursing an injury started steadily then took the team to the front in 16:49 handing over on leg 4 to Ahmed Abdulle to finish off the exciting team performance running the fastest leg of the day in 15:51.

Ilford females entered a V50 team and put in a fine performance to finish 4th on the day
Pauline Testergot the team started with a fine 25:12 handing over to Alison Salewho ran 25:58 handing over to Diane Crisp to run the final lap in 27:12.

Ilford also entered a M50 and a M60 team in the veterans competition.
Our M50 team took 5th place in the competition. 

Terry Knightley in 19:20, handed over to Neil Crisp on Lap 2 for 20:12 before Steve Philcox finished the team off with a fine 19:01.

Also taking 5th place in the M60 competition were Alan Pearl 21:24, Andy Catton 23:42 and Ernie Forsyth 25:09.

 

BRENTWOOD HALF MARATHON
Sunday 15 March

There were 11 runners from Ilford AC in Sunday’s half marathon held over the usual rolling course.
Gary Coombes led the way in a great time of 1 hour 16 mins 49 secs in 8th spot taking the prize for 1st in the M45 category. Sam Rahman came home 17th in a creditable   1 hr 20 mins 03 secs while Dan Holeyman set a new personal best of 1 hr 22 mins 31 secs in 29th and 2nd in the M45 age group.

Sameena Ahmed was the best of the Ilford ladies in 128th overall as she equalled her personal best of 1 hr 32 mins 17 secs and was the winner of the F40 grouping.
Dennis Briggs set a new personal best, placing 147th in 1 hr 33 mins 22 secs.
Amy-Louise Bird raced the distance for the first time recording 1 hr 33 mins 50 secs  while Tony Young set a new personal best of 1 hr 42 mins 11 secs in 300th. 

Gaye Young ran a fine 1 hr 49 mins 30 secs for 520th for second in the F50 category
Julia Galea was the second in the F60 category with 2 hrs 2 mins 43 secs.
Frieda Keane recorded 2 hrs 17 mins 01 secs and Mandeep Bassi 2 hrs 19 mins 14 secs to complete the Ilford squad.

Also running his first ever Half Marathon was Ivan Fernandes who has been training with the club for a few months. Ivan was pleased with his time of 2 hrs 9 mins 57.

 

Bath Half Marathon
15th March 2020

Over 15,000 runners set off for the 2 lap course of Bath Town centre, including Ilfords Malcolm Muir who put in his usual gutsy performance to finish in a time of 1 hr 18 mins 59 secs for 152nd place

 

BMAF Cross Country Championships
Corwen, North Wales
15th March 2020

Ilford AC veteran Dave Butler travelled for this well organised BMAF Cross Country Championship race, a proper cross country course with a few hills, some mud, a stream and a strong wind to contend with on parts of the course.

Dave started off strongly close to the leading ladies then finding himself clear of the other male runners decided to keep pushing.

He found it hard going against the wind in the second half of the first long lap, then downhill through the stream and back round for the second and final long lap. 

Building up a good lead Dave pushed on keeping the pace constant to win Gold medal in the M65 category in a time of 23:46, over a minute clear of the runner in second place.

 

Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon
15th March 2020

Despite advice for the elderly to stay indoors King Henry VIII defied his 528 years and came out to support Ilford AC club captain Billy Green in the Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon.
Celebrity West Ham fan Henry, who bought his second wife Ann Boleyn a castle near the old ground, even posed for the crossed Hammers salute with Billy pre race and said he was relieved that it looked like relegation would be avoided this season.

The Hampton Court Palace is the only race to start and finish on the grounds of a Royal Palace
The course itself is popular in that it is one of the flattest Half Marathons in the country and takes runners along the gravel paths of the River Thames, out into the town of East Molesey for 2 laps before the final two miles which are run in the gardens of the Historic Palace, finishing behind the main Palace building.
Billy, who hasn’t raced for a while and hadn’t raced a Half Marathon for over two years, was very pleased with his time of 1 hour 50 minutes and 44 seconds

 

  Press Report 10th March 2020  

Mar 102020
 

CAU Inter County Championships (Inc British Athletics Cross Challenge)
Loughborough
7th March 2020

Six Ilford athletes had qualified to represent Essex in the UK inter county cross country championships held at Loughborough on Saturday, however due to injuries and University pressures only three were available to travel on the day.

All three though performed well and did their County and club proud.

The first 2 Ilford runners off were in the 6k U17 men’s race and Bradley Deacon, representing his county for the first time ran a tremendous 24 minutes 35 seconds to place 163rd, and was very closely followed by team mate Jak Grange-Wright who placed 173rd in a time of 24 minutes 43 seconds.

Next up in the 3.5k U13 men’s race was in form Joseph Grange who was also making his debut in an Essex county vest. Joseph ran an excellent race to finish 50th, in a time of 14 minutes 19 seconds which helped his team to second place and earned him a county silver medal

 

Roding Valley Half Marathon
Woodford
8th March 2020

Now in its 40th year, the Roding Valley Half Marathon continues to be a very popular local race.
It has a challenging hilly route, with a mixture of residential and main roads, finishing with a lap of the athletics track at Ashton playing fields.

Two Ilford runners represented the club Steve Philcox and Frieda Keane.
Steve spent all the race challenging the leaders and was pleased with his 9th place finish, which also gained him 2nd place in his age category in a time of 1 hour 26 minutes and 29 seconds.
Ever reliable Frieda found the race a challenge after a recent lay off for emergency dental work, but dug deep to finish in 2 hours 24 minutes 28 seconds to place 10th in her age category.

  Press Report 2nd March 2020  

Mar 022020
 

Essex 20
Rochford
Sunday 1st March

The Essex 20 mile championship was held on a sunny but breezy Sunday morning over a 3 lap course.
There was a squad from Ilford Ac in action as part of their preparations for the forthcoming spring marathons. With an inter-counties match between 10 southern counties incorporated in the event the racing was of a high standard.

Paul Holloway led the way for the club taking the county title and gold medal in the M50 category  in a new personal best time of 2 hrs 4 mins 28 secs for 28th overall.
He was supported by Sam Rahman who showed he is on target for a good run in the London Marathon in 34th  spot with a new best time for the distance of 2 hrs 05 mins 27 secs.
Terry Knightley rolled back the years with a fine time of 2 hrs 15 mins 42 secs to place 4th in the M55 age group and 64th overall. 

Diarmuid MacDonnell raced the distance for the first time recording 2 hrs 19 mins 25 secs for 81st.
Dennis Briggs took 9 minutes off of his personal best with 2 hrs 33 mins 42 secs in 125th, while Carlie Qirem improved her best time for the distance by over 10 minutes to place 15th in the ladies championship in 2 hrs 34 mins 45 secs.
Tony Young was another with a new personal best in the event of 2 hrs 53 mins 53 secs for place 194.

The team was completed by four runners all of who were running the distance for the first time as they train for marathon debuts. Gaye Young recorded 3 hrs 3 mins 23 secs and finished 7th in the F50 category, Alison Sale came home in 3 hrs 19 mins 30 secs, Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham 3 hrs 27 mins 25 secs and Mandeep Bassi 3 hrs 41 mins 52 secs.

 

Vitality Big Half Marathon
Sunday 1st March 

The Vitality ‘Big Half’ takes runners on a fully closed route through Central London.
The run starts at Tower Bridge, making its way through Canary Wharf before heading back with a finish by The Cutty Sark.

This years winner, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele broke Mo Farah’s course record with a time of one hour and 22 seconds.
Ilford AC had 5 runners in the event, all of whom did the club credit.

First Ilford runner home was Amin Koikai who finished in a remarkable 1 hour 15 mins and 36 seconds to place him 112th, and 3rd V50. This time also means that Amin is now the fastest ever V50 for Ilford AC for the Half Marathon.
Next home for the club was Steve Chissell in a time of 1 hour 36 minutes 10 seconds, closely followed by Alan Pearl who put in a great performance to achieve a PB time of 1 hour 38 minutes exactly.
Ilfords 2 ladies also did the club proud. Lovedip Dhaliwal put in a solid performance to finish in 2 hours 22 minutes and 32 seconds, whilst Brennie Gabbidon took 4 minutes off of her previous pb with a time of 2 hours 28 minutes 31 seconds to show that the hard work she is putting in for this years London Marathon is paying dividends.

 

 

Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5k
Friday 28th February

The Serpentine Last Friday of the month 5k takes place at Midday at London’s Hyde Park and always attracts a high quality field of 200+ runners.
Ilford AC had 2 runners at the race.
Gary Coombes led the team home in 12th place, which also earned him 1st place in the M45 category in a time of 16 mins 58 seconds.
Adam Coals was pleased with his time of 19 mins 51 secs for 81st place. 

 

 

 

  Press Report. 25th February 2020  

Feb 252020
 

National Cross Country Champs
Nottingham
22nd February 2020

The National cross country championships, held by the English Cross Country Association was held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham, on Saturday.

Pitting himself against the finest athletes in the country was Ilford’s sole entrant Trevor Robinson.
Recent weather meant that the course was less than ideal, with even the elite runners in the country struggling to maintain any kind of speed in the thick mud.

Over a very demanding and hilly 12.k course Trevor gave a very good account of himself however, finishing in a time of 1:26 which placed him in 1,679th  place.

 

BMC Indoor track meeting
Lee Valley
19th February 2020


The BMC is one of the premier middle distance athletics clubs in the country, with athletes having to achieve target times to be granted entry.
On Wednesdays open meet Ilfords Paul Grange came 4th in the 800m event with a time of 1:55:68

 

Lee Valley Open meeting
19th February 2020

On the same evening Lee Valley sports centre also held an ‘open event’ for local athletes to test their speed on the track, and with many races cancelled over the last couple of weeks, two Ilford AC athletes took up the opportunity to race.
Sam Rahman  ran in heat 3 of the 1500m and ran in the leading positions throughout the 7 1/2 laps of the 200m indoor track finishing 2nd in 4 mins 40.60 secs showing his marathon preparations are on target.
Farris Patel had a similarly excellent race competing in the 800m. Always in contention Farris just missed out on 1st place in the final few yards but was pleased with a Seasons best time of 2 mins 1.28 seconds for second place

 

Lee Valley U13 / U15 Open meeting
22nd February 2020

Three Ilford youngsters had a successful track meet at the U13/U15 Open meeting on Saturday, with all three achieving PB’s .
First off was Lucas Emeagi who ran 28.39 seconds for the 200m and 5th place.
Following Lucas was older brother Jacob Emeagi who ran 47.57 seconds for the 300m and 4th place.
Finally Aaron Hick ran a great 800m to finish in 3rd place with a time of 2 mins 41.36 seconds