Press Report 18th June 2019  

Jun 172019
 

Southern Athletics League – Match 3
Parliament Hill, London
Saturday 15th June

Ilford made a short trip across town to Parliament Hill fields for their third Southern League fixture of the season, unfortunately the recent wind and rain prevailed so times were generally slow.

Top performer on the men’s side was recent  new joiner Paul Grange, who firstly came second in a very fast 800m in a time of 1.56.2, this knocked over 10 seconds Ilford’s over 40’s club record, not content with this he came back less than an hour later to come second in the 400m in a time of 52.7, which was again an Ilford vets record. Jak Wright  also did the 400m/800m double and in finishing 2nd in the B string in both events, set two new pbs of 2.05.0 and 56.9.

Despite not training since the last match Dan Wheeler was his usual busy self, with second in the A string 100m, 3rd in the A string 400m hurdles in a pb of 66.8, 3rd in the A sting High Jump, 3rd in the B string shot, before running a leg in the 4x 100 relay. Wanya Williams did both sprints with 3rd in the B string 100m and 4th in 200m, before anchoring the 4x 100 relay team to victory.

The mens middle distance side continues to score excellent points, after having some time off for exams Bradley Deacon took a very good  4th place in the 1500m in a pb time of 4.26.8, with Phil Elull taking 3rd in the B string. Tom Gardner and Sam Rahman took on the longest event of the day the 5000m, and in a high quality field both took 3rd places.  Ilford scored maximum points in the Steeplechase with Mungo Prior running a pb of 6.19.6 and Aaron Samuel winning the B string in his debut over the 2k distance.

Nat Senior took on several events with 4th in the B string high jump, second in the A sting long jump, 4th in the A string shot before running a very good second leg in the 4x 100 relay.  Sam Malekout has been Ilfords top point scorer for the last two seasons and continues to amass points, he started off with 3rd in the Pole Vault, 4th in the A string triple jump, he had a very good throw in the discus of 29 metres for another 3rd place, 4th in the B string Hammer, a good second place in the javelin with a throw of 37.96, before finishing his day with the opening leg of the 4x 100 relay.

Jack Halil has been experimenting with 4oom hurdles this year, he was disappointed with his race, but picked himself to gain valuable points in the long jump where he won the B string in a pb of 5.09, followed by 3rd in the B string triple jump.  Roger Honey has become a valuable member of the team this season picking up points in events where we have struggled in the past, he came second in the B string pole vault, second in the B string discus and 4th in the A string Hammer. Alex Richards who is injured could not run, became a willing victim for the Javelin and threw a very good 25.56 for 3rd place.

The 4x 400 team was made up of middle distance runners, Jak Wright led the team off with 57.4 for 3rd place, Mungo ran second lap and retained 3rd with a leg of 57.6. Aaron run a great 3rd leg of 54.4, but still in 3rd. Paul had his third great run of the day with a split of 51.8 to bring the team home second.

Bradley Brown competed in the non scoring 5000m and 1500m, running times of 22.52.3 and 7.08.3

The women’s side suffered more with the drop outs and were only left with five competitors, all of them put themselves out to try additional and earn valuable points. Krystle Balogun led the way scoring 18.5 including first in the A sting 100, second in the A string 200m, and winning the B string 400m. It was good to see Esmeralda Mengeyele back injury and she was straight into the thick of things, with victory in the A string 100m in 13.0 secs dead, 3rd in the A string Long jump , 5th in the A string shot and 3rd in the A string Javelin.

Both Gemima Eshimu Massamba  and Ayshah Lawrence have been busy with exams over the last few months, but they put the books down for the day to compete, Gemima  won the A sting 400m, before being persuaded to take one throw in the Javelin, which turned to get her second in the B string. Ayshah had a great run the 200m taking in the B string in a pb of 29.0, before then competing in the Long jump and discus.

Nicola Hopkinson was Ilfords only lady middle distance runner and came 4th in the A string 1500m and 5th in the A string 3000m, before also gaining points in the shot and discus.

The 4x 100 team of Gemima, Ayshah, Krystle and Esmeralda  stormed to victory in a very quick time.

Ilford ended the match in 4th place.

 

Southern Counties Veterans’ League
Monday 10th June

The Ilford Vets teams braved the wintery and wet conditions of Monday to compete in the second match of 4 in the Herts and North Middlesex League. Another fantastic performance from the Men’s team resulted in another first place on the evening to consolidate the same position from match one.

Sam Malekout in the non-scoring 200m hurdles recorded a new IAC vets record of 28.4s. He followed this up in the V35 category with a first place in the flat 200m in 25.0s.

Sam Rahman in the same age group ran well in the 800m recording 2.16.1 for third and this was followed by 10.02.1 for third in the 3000m. Seb Parris ran as a guest in both races recording 2.28.9 and 10.39.5 in the 800m and 3000m respectively.

Paul Grange who has recently moved to IAC ran a comfortable 800m in 2.11.3 for first place in the V40 category. This was followed by a sharp 24.7s in the 200m again for first place.

Andy Catton came down an age group to finish the 800m in the V50 category for fourth place in a time of 3.04.7. Moving to the V60 age group he ran the 3000m in 13.10.9 again for fourth.

Henry Ricketts covered the V50 sprint running the 200m in 29.1s for sixth. In the discus his distance of 21m 58 secured fourth and coming down to the V40 shot his distance of 7m 71 also placed him fourth.

Steve Chissell debuted for the club in the V50 3000m running 11.59.8 for fifth.

Peter Whiting in the hammer achieved 15m 46 for eighth.

Roger Honey in the V60 sprint placed fourth in 35.0s over 200m. In the shot put his distance of 8m 93 secured first place.

In the closing event of the men’s match the team of Paul, Sam R, Seb and Sam M brought the baton home in the 4 x 400m in first place with a time of 4.07.0.

The Ladies team was represented by 2 athletes in the form of Michaela Davis and Barbara Higgins.

Barbara competed in the V35 high jump clearing 0.90m for equal fifth. In the W50 javelin her distance of 10m 97 also secured fifth. Over the 200m her time of 41.2s placed her third in the W60 age group.

Michaela competed in the W35 javelin throwing 6m 91 for fifth. In the W50 high jump her clearance of 1m 05 placed her fourth and in the same age group her time of 37.5s over 200m also secured fourth.

An admirable position of sixth as a ladies team was achieved.

Woodford Track Open Meeting
Tuesday 11th June

Windy conditions, were the order of the night at the recent open meeting at Woodford, nevertheless there were some fine performances by Ilford Athletes.

First up were the 800m and Veteran athletes Steve Philcox and Bradley Brown ran 2.31.18 and 2.56.93 in their respective races. Ryan Holeyman who has been training really well recently, went off quickly in his race and hit the bell in a 400m pb of 65 secs,  despite slowing on the second lap he produced a new pb of 2.23.3

The 3000m was next and Philip Elull made a positive start an by hitting the front, further back in his second race of the night was Ryan Holeyman, Joseph Grange, Danny Holeyman and Zuzana Sinalova. The wind appeared to be getting stronger as the race went, Phil hanging in well, and Ryan who as well as trying to stay clear of Joseph was also making sure he stayed ahead of Danny his father.

Phil continued to push and eventually came in 6th in a time of 10.46.84, Ryan set his second pb of the night with a time of 10.53.98, with Danny clocking 11.15.96 and Zuzana 12.07.34.

Special mention to young Joseph who in his first track 3000m ran an excellent time of 11.02.41.

ESSEX 5000m Championship
Braintree
Wednesday12 June
On a still night ideal for track distance running the Essex County5000m Championship took place in Braintree. There was a large entry in the senior men’s event of over 60 runners, who were split into 4 races. There were 2 entries from Ilford AC both running in heat 2. Sam Rahman ran his normal steady race gaining places as the race progressed to finish in a good time of 17 mins 08.9 secs, which placed him 34th in the overall standings. Also in action was Seb Parris who attacked the race with the aim of setting a new personal best time. He ran with this goa;ll but kept his pace under control to break 18 minutes for the first time and succeeding at setting a new best time of 17 mins 53.9 secs. He ranked 44th in the results.

Capel 5m Road Race
Sunday 16th June

Ilford AC Super-Veteran, Terry Knightley, was the sole club representative on Sunday 16th June at the Annual Capel 5 Miles Race around the streets and farm tracks of Capel-St-Mary in Suffolk.

Running on a one lap undulating course, Terry finished in 20th position from a field of 130 Athletes in a time of 33 Minutes and 52 seconds and was 4th in the Male Veteran Over 50 Category.

Also running was Ex-Ilford AC Member Andy Horlock who finished in 52 Minutes 26 seconds.

 

BMAF 5k
Horwich
Sunday 16th June

The British Masters 5km Championship was held once again at Horwich in Lancashire at the town annual festival of racing which includes running, race walking and cycling.  The races are held on a mile circuit of the town centre with a stiff climb on each id the three laps. There were three runners from Ilford Ac in this event, Doris Gaga ran a good race to finish in her second best time ever of 26mins 22secs to take the bronze medal in the F55 age category. There was also a bronze medal for Julia Galea in the F60 age grouping as she finished in 27mins 24 secs. The three Ilford runner was club endurance coach Rob Sargent who raced for the first time this year following a long period on the injured list who recorded 28mins 06secs for 11th in the M65 category.

 

 

  Press Report 11th June 2019  

Jun 102019
 

Havering 5 (ELvIS)
Raphael Park
Tuesday June 4th

There was another impressive turn out of 24 runners from the endurance squad of Ilford AC in the second round of the summer 2018 ELvIS tournament, which also produced 7 pb’s over the distance.
The event was two laps within Raphael park, Romford.
Leading the way for Ilford was Malcolm Muir in an excellent 5th place in 28 mins 17 secs which also placed him 2nd in the M40 category. Malcolm was closely followed by the next 5 male scorers who all finished in the top 30 – Sam Rahman, 12th 30:03, Gary Coombes 14th 30:16, Stephen Philcox 16th 30:35 and 1st M50, John Crawley 29th 31:20 and Diarmuid MacDonnell with the first PB of the day in 30th place for a time of 31:25

Three other men achieved PB’s on the day – William Crossley 35th 31:35, Adam Coals 53rd 33:41 and Eain Begg 100th 37:06.
Terry Knightly placed 3rd M50 for 52nd place  in 33:42 and Alan Pearl placed 3rd M60 in 34:59 for 67th place

In the team match Ilfords men once again finished 2nd and maintain that position in the series.

Ilfords ladies consisted of a small, but perfectly formed squad of 7 runners, all putting in excellent performances.

Leading the squad home was Carlie Qirem in a new PB time of 35:56 for 77th place, which also placed her 3rd senior female on the day. Jenni Sheehan finished 85th in 36:18, closely followed by Anna Crawley who achieved a new PB in a time of 37:08 for 99th place.
Nicola Hopkinson was 126th in 39:23, Gaye Young 130th 39:40, Natalie Crisp 133rd 39:56 with Alison Sale completing the squad in 42:30 for a new PB in 168th place

The ladies also achieved 2nd on the day to maintain 2nd place in the series

Also running on the day was Danny Holeyman 34th 31:37, Dennis Briggs 80th 35:56, Andy Catton 96th 37:08, Rhoan Gabbidon 111th 38:06, Anthony Young 131st 39:46 and Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham 225th 47:22.

2019 Assembly League 5k series.
Leyton
Thursday 6th June

A team of 3 runners from the Ilford squad travelled to Leyton on Thursday for match 3 in the Assembly league.
First home in 35th place was Gary Coombes in 18 minutes exactly

Second home, with a second PB in 2 days was Anna Crawley who with a time of 22.10 took over a minute off of her previous 5k pb  to grab 144th place. Anna was closely followed by Andy Catton who grabbed 149th place with a time of 22:20 which also placed him 3rd M65 on the day.

 

Orion Forest 5 Miles
Chingford
Saturday June 8th

On Saturday morning, 4 Ilford AC athletes were amongst the 210 runners lining up for the first of Orion running clubs 3 race ‘Forest 5’ summer series.

The undulating multi-terrain course follows a one lap route around Epping Forest.

First home for Ilford was Gary Coombes, who continues his impressive run of form, in 30:34 for 14th place.
Second Ilford runner home (not often I get to say that) was Billy Green in 40:10 for 73rd place.

First lady home, and placing 3rd in the W60 category was Julia Galea in 46:37 for 120th place.

Mandeep Bassi continues to impress, coming in for a time of 47:19 in 126th place.

Mandeep, like Julia and Billy, used the tough hilly course as a preparation run for the following days Half Marathons!

 

Southend Half Marathon
Sunday June 9th

A small squad of 3 Ilford AC runners travelled down to Southend on Sunday for the Annual Southend Half Marathon which took place on a very warm morning.

The race is mainly flat, apart from some undulations in the last couple of miles, and the middle 8 miles of the course takes you up and down the Southend sea-front twice where you are greeted by large crowds of locals cheering loudly. This also gives you the chance to see club mates passing on the other side of the road a few times so there were many encouraging shouts of “Come on Ilford”.

First home for Ilford (even rarer I get to say that!) was Billy Green in 711th place for a time of 1:55:02. Second home was Alison Sale in 1,258th place for 2:11:02, closely followed by Mandeep Bassi who achieved a new PB at the distance in a time of 2:16:08 for 1,417th place.

St. Albans Half Marathon
Sunday June 9th

Julia Galea was the sole Ilford runner in the scenic but undulating and challenging St. Albans Half Marathon on Sunday.Julia was delighted with her time of 2:06:53 which placed her 1,330 in a field of nearly 2,000 runners.

 

  Press Report 3rd June 2019  

Jun 032019
 

Dagenham 88 5m – Elvis Series Race 1
Eastbrook End Country Park
Wednesday 29th May

The 2019 Elvis series (East London fiVes Interclub series) got off to a good start at Eastbrook End Country Park on an unseasonably chilly Wednesday Evening when Dagenham 88 hosted the first of this years 8 summer races on a 2 lap multi-terrain course of 5 miles.

Ilford AC entered a large squad of 28 runners in the event with Gary Coombes leading the team home in 12th place in 30:39 which also placed him 2nd in the VM40 category. In an epic battle between team-mates Gary was followed very closely by Stephen Philcox in 13th place in 30:55 for 1st VM50 and Seb Parris in 16th place in a time of 31:17 for a course pb.

Not far behind, and 4th scorer for the the club was John Crawley for 26th place in 32:23 followed in 5th place by Terry Knightly for 43rd place and 4th place in the VM50 category.
Completing the scoring for the men’s squad was new member Adam Coals who ran an impressive 35:57 for 49th place.
Just outside the scorers, but finishing 3rd in the VM60 category was Alan Pearl, finishing in a time of 36:03 for 62nd place.

The female squad was lead home by Carlie Qirem, who ran a course pb to finish in 36:54 for 75th place. Just 3 places back in 78th was Jenni Sheehan in 37:04 followed by Anna Crawley who ran an impressive 38:58 for 104th place and a pb at the distance.
Nicola Hopkinson ran well for 110th place in 39:30 which placed her 3rd in the VF50 category.
Natalie Crisp was the next Ilford runner home in 131st place for a time of 40:50 although with 3 vets needed to make the scoring team of 6, Natalie did not feature in the scoring squad.
Next scorer home was Gaye Young who was 137th in a time of 41:25.
Completing the scoring for the ladies squad was Alison Sale who ran a fantastic pb for the distance in a time of 43:07 for 149th place

Finishing outside the scoring squad but securing an impressive VF60 4th place was Sharon Honey who finished in 181st place with a time of 45:57.

All squad members put in a fantastic effort on the night and the scoring teams were complemented by Dennis Briggs (37:15 81st), Andy Catton (37:26 84th), Eain Begg (38:06 111th), Rhoan Gabbidon (39:57 116th) Bradley Brown (40:02 118th), Tony Young (43:02 147th), Frieda Keane (50:31 223rd) Launa Broadley (53:02 237th), Carol Muir (53:47 240th) Kim Baxter (54:09 243rd), Sheila Sinclair (55:20 249th), Julie Gillender (55:47 253rd) and Brennie Gabbidon who was another with a course pb in a time of 57:25 for 258th place

 

DORKING 10 MILES
Sunday 2nd June

The 34th Dorking 10 was run over an undulating route loops through scenic countryside with one challenging hill. Five runners from the Ilford endurance squad travelled down to Surrey to compete in the event.
The race also incorporated the VAC 10 mile championship in which Ilford AC won the Gold medal by ‘down ageing’  in the V35 category with the 3 scorers being Malcolm Muir in 59:16 (also claiming Silver V40), Paul Holloway 1:00:24 (Also claiming Bronze V50) and Sam Rahman in 1:02:07 (also claiming Bronze V35 and 1st in the V35 Vets AC category).
Also putting in fine performances on the day were Seb Parris finishing in a time of 1:05:30 and Tony Young, who finished in 1:30:07.

  Press Report 28th May 2019  

May 282019
 

Vitality Westminster Mile
Sunday 26th May

The Vitality Westminster Mile is the world’s biggest timed mile event, with over 9,100 runners setting over in 30 waves over many separate categories.
The men’s race was won by Chris O’Hare in exactly 4 minutes, the fastest in the events 7 year history, whilst the women’s was won by Melissa Courtney in 4:31.

Amongst the runners were 6 juniors and 11 seniors from Ilford AC, with virtually all claiming a PB for the distance.

Fastest Junior on the day was Mungo Prior with 4:38, closely followed by Jak Wright 4:45 and Bradley Deacon 4:56 in the U17 category.

Matthew Hick finished in 5:15 in the U15 category, with brother Aaron Hick finishing in 6:08 in the U11’s.
Only female junior on the day was Jordan Hinds who ran 6:36 in the U20 category.

The Ilford AC Seniors were competing in a variety of waves and categories but in order of time finishes they were led home by Amin Koikai who finished in 18th place of over 9,000 runners in a time of 4:45.
Amin was followed by Sam Rahman 4:55, Steve Philcox 5:20, Krystal Balogun 5:43, Dennis Briggs 6:07, Alan Pearl 6:17, Tony Young 6:50, Julie Gillender 8:47, Carol Muir 9:05, James Hubbart 9:18 and Gaye Young, who ran with her young son Warren finishing jointly on 9:36.

 

Vitality London 10k
Monday 27th May

On Bank holiday Monday over 15,000 runners lined up for the iconic Vitality London 10k, including 24 runners from Ilford AC.

The race starts on the Mall, takes in such landmarks as Trafalgar Square, St Pauls, Horse Guards parade and Parliament Square before finishing in front of Buckingham Palace.

This years race was won by Sir Mo Farah for a 6th successive year in a time of 28 mins 14 seconds, with the ladies race won by Steph Twell in 31:55.

The 9 men and 15 ladies of Ilford AC all put in great performances on a warm day and all did the club proud.
First finisher was Seb Parris in 557th place for a time of 37:!9 and a new PB. Second home for the club was Diarmuid MacDonnell who also claimed a PB for 1015th place in 39:45, followed by Gary Coombes in 40:35 for 1,201st place.

Ilfords males were completed by Philip Davies 42:02, Dennis Briggs 44:29, Rhoan Gabbidon 46:23 PB, Billy Green 50:26, Satha Alaga 53:01 and Peter Spelman 1:03:15.

The ladies were led home by Zuzana Sinalova in 1,564th place for 41:59. Second home for the club was Carlie Qirem in 49:00 closely followed by Gaye Young in 49:23.

Ilfords long list of female runners were completed by Nadia Crellin 53:48 PB, Pauline Tester 54:36, Alison Sale 56:05, Sharon Honey 56:22, Mandy Reid 58:12 PB, Mandeep Bassi 58:35, Frieda Keane 59:53, Launa Broadley 1:03:30, Sheila Sinclair 1:06:57 PB, Karen Kufuor 1:07:36 PB, Verna Grant 1:08:25 and Brennie Gabbidon 1:13:25

 

Hatfield Broad Oak 10km
Monday 27th May

Now in its 34th year, the Hatfield Broad Oak 10K has grown to be one of the largest and most popular road races in the South East, attracting 1500 runners nationwide.

Held in the medieval village of Hatfield Broad Oak near Bishop’s Stortford and organised by the local school PTA the race is held on country roads which are fully closed to traffic which gives the race a very special atmosphere as residents and spectators gather to cheer you on as you loop through the village in a figure of eight eventually finishing on the beautiful village green in the heart of the village.

Three Ilford AC runners were in attendance this year and were led home by Sam Rahman who finished 16th place overall in a time of 36:40.
Sam was followed home by Tony Young in 50:59 and Julia Galea in 56:27 for 6th V60 female on the day.

 

  Press Report 21st May 2019  

May 212019
 

Southern Counties Vets Athletics Club (SCVAC)
Lee Valley Sports Centre
Monday 13th May

The first match of the Vets season saw the Men’s team finish the evening in an excellent first place and the Ladies team achieving a creditable fifth.

The match held on Monday 13th May at Lee Valley Sports Centre started with the 2000m walk. Seb Parris achieved a PB finishing first M35 in 9.29.7. He later followed this up with another PB in the 1500m with 4.58.4 for fourth place M35. Steve Uttley won the M50 walk in 11.14.0. In the Ladies walk Emma Dyos came home first W35 in 10.54.5. Rachel Lawless completed the clean sweep of first places with a time of 12.22.3 in the W50 age group.

In the 100m Sam Malekout (M35) was second in 12.3. Due to his versatility he also finished second in 54.9 for the 400m, first in the Pole Vault with 2m 20 and third in the Long Jump with 4m 97. His Shot of 7m 08 secured fifth.

Henry Ricketts came down an age group to finish fourth M40 in 13.4 following this up with fifth in the 400m in 66.9. In the M50 Long Jump the leap of 4m 38 placed him third. A PB in the M50 Shot of 8m 55 secured fourth.

Tony Nixon filled a gap to run the M50 100m easing to fourth place in 23.5. In his more favoured event of 1500m he competed as M60 finishing third in 5.23.3.

Gerald Daniel ran the M60 short sprint finishing third in a split race in a time of 15.4.

David Butler came an age group to run the M50 1500m in 5.23.6 for fourth. Andy Catton ran as a M60 guest coming home sixth in 5.51.9.

In the field events Roger Honey vaulted 2m 00 for third in the M60 category. His M60 throw of 24m 02 in the Hammer placed him second.

Pete Whiting came down a couple of age groups achieving 15m 36 in the M35 Hammer.

In the Ladies 100m Michaela Davis finished fourth W35 in 16.9. Fifth place was secured in the W35 Discus with a distance of 14m 30.

Alison Sale ran the W40 sprints finishing sixth and fourth respectively in 19.1 and 91.9 for the 100m and 400m. She also ran the W40 1500m coming home fourth in 6.56.0.

Nicola Hopkinson ran all the track events in the W50 category. In the 100m, 400m and 1500m her times of 21.5, 90.4 and 6.40.7 placed her sixth, fifth and fourth respectively.

Barbara Higgins as the W60 athlete gained first place in the 100m in 18.9. This was mirrored in the Discus with the distance of 14m 92 also securing first. Barbara then came down an age group to finish fifth W50 in the Shot.

The Mens 4 x 100m of Henry, Gerald, Andy and Sam brought the baton home in 59.6 for 7th and ultimately vital points.

The Ladies 4 x 100m of Alison, Nicola, Barbara and Michaela came home fifth in 79.2.

 

London 5km Festival
Lee Valley Sports Centre
Wednesday 15th May

Sam Rahman followed up his gold medal in the Essex Track and Field Championship with a run at the London 5km Fest at Lee Valley last Wednesday. He ran his usual controlled race but tired a little in the last 2 laps to finish 8th in heat 2 in 17 mins 22.66 secs, his best for a couple of years.

 

Southern League
Sandy
Saturday 18th May

Ilford ACs Track Team Maintain their good start to the season

Ilford AC travelled to Sandy on Saturday for the second Southern league race of the season.Due to exam season Ilford were missing a number of its youngsters but the team still maintained some great performances.Special mention must go to the 4 ladies in the team, who covered a lot of different events during the day, acted as officials  and amassed a large amount of points, to enable Ilford to come a great third position. These ladies were Krystle Balogun,Gemima Massamba,Nicola Hopkinson and Launa Broadley

Krystle and Gemima both won their 200 and 400m events in great times , came 4th and 3rd in the 100m respectively and both ran a leg of the Mixed 4 x 400m . This is the first time the league had held a mixed 4 x 400m and it was good to see Ilford win this first ever relay by a very long way

Launa and Nicola, Officiated the Discus and Shot put,as well as competing in those events. They both ran the 1500 and both came 3rd and Nicola even found some effort to also come third in the womens 300m

In the Mens events , Ilford started well with a second in the 400M hurdles for Sam Malekout , with 62 seconds and a second for Dan Wheeler in 70 seconds. Dan won the High Jump in 1.85, a PB and also came third in the Shot, as well as running a superb 100m  in 11.70, which meant he finished 2nd. As for Sam, he came 4th in the pole vault with over 2 metres ,3rd in the Shot Putt and also 3rd in the javelin and 6th in the Discus

In the mens 200 Marion Dobrescu won the A string  in 22.50 and Wayna Williams ran a great race to win the B string in 24.Wayna also came third in the 100m B string. Mario also won the Long jump in 6.26 and was part of both winning relay teams. The winning 4 x 100m relay team was Dan, Wanya, Daniel and Mario in 45.1

Jordan Akinpelu was drafted into the 400m and ran a stunning race to win in 53.50, Jordan also won the Javelin and Long Jump B string , so had a great day of performances.

One of the busiest athletes of the day was Alex Richards, who amassed a large  amount of wins and points for the club. He started with winning the 800m in 1.59, won the B string 400 , beat a very classy 1500m field in 4.07 and ran a great leg in the mixed 4x 400. Philip Ellul, in his first ever scoring race for Ilford did well for 2nd in the 1500m in a  time of 4.30

In the mens 3000m both Ilford athletes Mungo Prior and Tom Gardner took the lead from the start and went away from the field. Mungos aim was to break 9 mins for the first time but just fell short at 9.05. Tom , as usual ran well to win the B string. Other athletes to mention was Seb Parris , who ran a PB in B string 800 in 2.30 and Fidunu Abideku, who won B string High Jump and 3rd in the Triple jump. Finally Roger Honey came 5th in the Hammer and 3rd in the Pole Vault and Pete whiting did well in the Discus, Hammer and Triple jump.

 

Hackney Half Marathon
Sunday 20th May

The Hackney Half Marathon is one of London’s newest, and largest halves with over 13,000 athletes congregating on Hackney marshes for the early start.

The route skirts parks and the major roads through Hackney, which are all closed to traffic, before winding its way through the Olympic park and finishing back on Hackney Marshes.

Amongst the large group of runners was Rhoan Gabbidon from Ilford AC competing in his first ever Half Marathon and finishing in a very creditable time of 1 hour 49 minutes and 52 seconds.

Also running was Verna Grant who trains with Ilfords Wednesday night Harriers group in Valentines Park on Wednesday nights. Verna finished in a time of 2 hours 35 minutes and 51 seconds, an improvement of 20 minutes on her last Half Marathon.

 

Colchester Stampede 10k
Colchester Zoo
Sunday 20th May

An Emusing review

Sunday saw the second running of the Colchester 10k stampede which starts and finishes within the grounds of Colchester Zoo.

After a mass warm up where Ilford AC captain Billy Green proved he still has ‘the moves like Jaguar’ the runners were led into the Zoo grounds for the start. With so many runners in a congested space the first half a mile or so was Pandamonium but after Bearing with it the runners headed out into the Colchester countryside and hills.
Billy started off at a steady pace as the race description promised some steep hills, and they weren’t Lion.
As the race progressed Billy picked up the pace and finished in a time of 49 minutes 40 seconds, which he was pleased with, as he had set out to Seal a sub 50 minute run after a long layoff from racing