Press Report 12th February 2019  

Feb 112019
 

Hawassa Half Marathon
Ethiopia
Saturday 9th February 2019

Two Ilford athletes, Doris Gaga and Julie Galea traveled to Ethiopia this weekend to take part in the Hawassa Half Marathon.

The race is the brainchild of Ethiopia’s greatest distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, who was in attendance to support the event with all proceeds going towards the conservation of Lake Hawassa and the Hippopotamus which live there.

Both athletes had trained hard for the event, however with an altitude of 1700m above sea level and temperatures hovering above 30 degrees the winter training in Ilford was never going to be able to prepare them fully for the race.

Both runners however thoroughly enjoyed the run, a mixture of road and trail including a loop of Lake Hawassa, and were pleased with their times.
Doris Gaga led the pair home in a time of 2:04:00 which placed her 15th female on the day, with Julia coming in not long after in a time of 2:18:41 which placed her 23rd female finisher.

Both runners were able to grab a couple of photos with racing legends Mo Farah and Haile Gebrselassie

 

Mercury 10
Epping Forest
Saturday 9th February 2019

The Mercury is a tough 10 mile run through Epping Forest containing plenty of hills and mud – not a race for the novice runner.

2 of Ilfords finest runners tackled the race this weekend, both putting in fine performances.
First home was Gary Coombs, showing impressive form after an injury lay off, who came home in 9th place with a time of 1:10:53. This was also good enough to place him 2nd M45 runner on the day.

Gary was followed home by Diamuid MacDonnell who came home in a fine time of 1:20:57 for 26th place on the day.

 

Queen Elizabeth Park Half Marathon
Stratford
Sunday 10th February 2019

Sunday saw the first ever running of the Queen Elizabeth Park Half Marathon.

The closed road route took runners past all the iconic locations situated in the park including the Olympic Stadium, The Copper Box arena, The Aquatics centre and included a lap of the one mile Lee Valley Velopark outdoor circuit before finishing by The ArcelorMittal Orbit.

First home for Ilford on the day, clocking a new pb on the way, was Alison Sale in a time of 2:06:54.

Following Alison was Ilford AC race walking coach Stuart Bennett who switched disciplines for the race to come home in 2:16:15.

Also running was Verna Grant who has recently started training with Ilford. Vernas aim was a sub 3 hour time so she was very pleased with her finish time of 2:54:25

 

  Press Report 5th February 2019  

Feb 052019
 

Essex League Cross Country
Basildon
Saturday 2nd February

JUNIORS

Hick shines in last Essex league race

In the last Essex league X country for 2018/19,Ilford only had 3 younger athletes compete,due to other races and injuries.
However the 3 athletes all competed to a high standard on the day.

First up was 10 year old Aaron Hick ,competing in the U11s race.
Aaron was third in the previous race so had high hopes again to compete well.
About 60 youngsters started the race but Aaron had a very poor start and had to weave himself through the field in the first part of the race to move into the top 10
The Basildon athlete got a great start and was a long way ahead of the field ,but Aaron started to pick off one athlete at a time and caught the leaders with 200 m to go and sprinted past the field to take a great second place,not far behind the winner in the end.

Next up was out 2 U15 athletes Matthew Hick and Ryan Holeyman
Both started well with Matthew with the leaders at the start
Matthew hung onto the leaders and was able  to sprint past a few athletes at the end to come in 12th position,his best performance and placing of the year.
Ryan seem to struggle in the middle part of the race but had a great finish to go past 5 or 6 athletes to come a credible 31st.
Overall in the league based on performances in all races Matthew ended up 16th and Ryan 18th

Although not competing on Saturday Bradley Deacon ended up in 10th place in the season long individual standings for the U17 Men

Well done to all 3 of our youngsters

SENIORS

ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE
Gloucester Park, Basildon
Saturday 2 February

The final match in this winter’s Essex Cross-Country League was held on the hilly Gloucester Park course in Basildon on a chilly afternoon. Ilford AC were in good form for this fixture producing some of their best results of the season.

The Ilford men were led home by the reliable Tom Gardner in the senior men’s 8km race in 21st with 30 mins 39 secs, while Seb Parris gave his best performance of the winter for 25th with 31 mins 11 secs. Sam Rahman was next home with an improved run for 67th in 34 mins 02 secs. Dan Holeyman came in 74th in 35 ins exactly and Phil Davies recorded 35 mins 37 secs for 79th. Diarmuid Mac Donnell closed the scorers in 85th with 36 mins 03 secs.

Tony Nixon showed again that age is not a problem as the first in the M70 group to finish in 96th with 36 mins 55 secs

Also in action for the Ilford club were: Alan Pearl (133rd  40.10) Tony Young (144th 41.32) Henry Ricketts (172nd 48.10)  Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham (180th 53.59) Jim Huddart (182nd 59.43)

In this match the club finished 6th, equalling their best position of the season.

The senior ladies raced over 7km and the Ilford team were led by Bree Nordin in 39th, and 1st in the F55 category, in 28 mins 49 secs. One place behind was Carlie Qirem with 28 mins 56 secs, while new signing Linda Day made an impressive club debut in 51st with 29 mins 56 secs. Nicola Hopkinson closed the team in 60th in 30 mins 35 secs.

Jenni Sheehan gave a creditable performance with 30 mins 37 secs for 61st and Gaye Young recorded 31 mins 20 secs for 69th.
The club had another six women in action:- Sharon Honey (85th  33.10) Pauline Tester (87th 33.26) Alison Sale (96th 34.27) Frieda Keane (101st  35.34) Pramilla Monro (111th 38.53) Launa Broadley (114th 45.17)

The team finished 6th in the match, their best result for the season.

Overall the senior men finished 6th in division of the Essex League and the women 9th , also in division one of the ladies competition
Individually  Bree Nordin won the F55 category with Nicola Hopkinson 3rd in the same group and Jim Huddart was second in the Mens M70 category

Essex County & Eastern Indoor Championships
Lee Valley
2nd and 3rd February

Ilford Athletes impress at Essex Indoor Championships:

The weekend just gone (2nd/3rd February) saw several Ilford AC athletes compete in the Essex County & Eastern AA Indoor Championships.

Day 1:

Esmeralda Mengeyele got the Ilford action started with a big improvement on her PB in the U20W 60m with an impressive clocking of 8.09 seconds which saw her miss out on a spot in the final by one place.

 

Next up was Mario Dobrescu who had an outing over a shorter distance than usual. He progressed through the rounds very well to make the final, and a late-race surge saw him capture a well-earned Silver medal.

 

In the Senior Men’s 60m, Miles Levy made a return to the track after having been out of action on and off since making his Ilford debut last summer in the Southern League.
Despite ideal preparation, this powerhouse of a sprinter captured the Silver medal in a new club record of 7.02 seconds.

Day 2:

Competition started early on Day 2 with Esmeralda Mengeyele finishing a creditable 5th place in the Long Jump despite having technical issues. She claimed a Bronze at last year’s Outdoor championship and will be looking to improve upon that form going forward.

 

Krystle Balogun claimed an excellent Bronze medal in a fast Senior Women’s 200m final and in doing so smashed her PB by a huge 0.30 seconds (26.78). It proved a great piece of preparation for the 400m later on in the day which saw her win a Silver medal with another Indoor PB (1:00.40).

 

Jordan Akinpelu proved a real championship performer in setting an impressive new outright PB in the U20 Men’s Long Jump of 6.33m in coming 4th. In three consecutive Essex Champs now he has finished 4th, 5th, and 4th respectively and surely is due a medal soon!!

 

Distance runner Jordan Hinds won a superb Bronze medal in the U20 Women’s 800m in what was her inaugural indoor outing over her specialist distance. The performance bodes well for her as she moves towards the 2019 Outdoor campaign.

 

Alex Richards coming of the winter season opened his account at these indoor champs. Starting of steadily in the Senior mens 800m race, he came through to take 2nd and silver medal in 1:58:89 to event winner Stephen Strange of Basildon 1:56:89

 

As the afternoon began to round off, Mario Dobrescu claimed the Gold medal in a thrilling U17 Men’s 200m race against training partner Joel Pascal of Newham. Mario was a few metres down coming off the final bend but dug deep to claim the Gold medal in a new indoor PB and CBP of 22.24 seconds which shattered the previous CBP of 22.77.

Mario heads to Sheffield in a few weeks time for the England Athletics Indoor National Age Group Championships which sees him competing in the U17 Men’s 400m which he goes into with the leading time in the country.

 

Ending a great day’s action was Gemima Massamba. Having recently dabbled in Cross Country at the Essex Schools Championships, she returned back to the track to tackle the U20 Women’s 400m.
In the Heat she ran the first 280m of the race in the outside lane (Lane 6) which meant she ran 30m more (4 seconds) than she had to do, much to the avail of her coach Nat Senior who watched with his head in hands!

Following the race the officials told her of this, and at the behest of her coach, she sought to be more aware of where and when to make the break for the inside lane in the final. Going out aggressively she established a good lead at the bell before extending it down the backstraight and winning the Gold Medal comfortably in an outright PB (Indoors or Outdoors) of 59.34.

She has set a goal of making the English Schools Championships in her final year of eligibility and another performance in this mould at the Outdoor version of the Essex Championships she may should secure her place on the Essex team.

 

A strong outing for the Ilford AC Team saw them leave the meeting having claimed an excellent haul of 2 Gold, 3 Silver, and 2 Bronze medals and 1 Club Record. The Athletes will look to take this momentum into the 2019 Outdoor Season.

Falola Dream Mile
Lee Valley
Wednesday 30 January

At the Falola Dream Mile meet at the Lee Valley indoor track Ilford AC’s Sam Rahman ran his first indoor race for three years in heat 2 of the mile. Sam was always up in the leading group and finished 4th in 5 mins 04.26 secs.

Earlier in the evening Bradley Brown ran in heat 3 of the 3000m recording 14 mins 24.77secs for 11th spot

 

Forfar Half Marathon
Forfar, Scotland
3rd February

Brother and Sister act Malcolm and Carol Muir travelled up to Scotland for the Multi terrain Forfar Half Marathon.
The route consists of a mixture of running surfaces from Country Park paths, tarmac, farm tracks fields and bogs and is described as a race ‘not for the novice’.

The course wasn’t helped by a snow covered course.
Malcolm ran his usual strong race and finished in 1st place in a time of 1:21:46, with Carol also putting in a fine performance for a 168th place finish in 2:45:22



WALKING SECTION REPORT

BENNETT RETAINS TITLES

Ilford’s former Scottish International Stuart Bennett easily retained his Essex County and Eastern Counties Indoor Men’s 1 Mile Championship titles on Saturday afternoon at Lee Valley Arena clocking 9 minutes and 2 seconds.  

Both Championships were held in conjunction.  

For Bennett it was a quick return to domestic competition as just 6 days’ earlier he’d lined up with over 10,000 runners contesting the Dubai 10K road run.  

Bennett chose to race walk it – his 62 minutes’ timing securing a top third finish!   

Also on the Lee Valley podium was Rachael Lawless who came 2nd in both Championships in the Women’s section, beaten only by Essex Champion Melanie Peddle (Loughton AC).   

Her time of 9.55 was a first under 10 minutes and reflects hard work put in by both athlete and coach – Ilford walker Mark Culshaw.

  Press Report 28th January 2019  

Jan 282019
 

2019 Southern Cross Country Championships
Parliament Hill
Saturday 26th January

The 2019 Southern Cross_country Championship were held last weekend at Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath, considered to be the home of English Cross-Country.
The mass start up the hill is exhilarating for athletes and spectators alike with all the hallmarks of a charge into battle  and the crush at the top of that first hill is a welcome break for the runners legs

The challenging course was firmer than usual due to the  dry weather this winter which led to some good racing, although the course was not without its mud baths in places.
After a hard battle with the hills that Parliament hill is famous for, the runners get to fly down the finishing bend, sprinting as hard as they can on heavy legs to the line accompanied by loud cheering from the massed crowd of running clubs all cheering their runners home.

Injury and studying for exams, meant that Ilford only had four young athletes on show.
All four athletes were in the men’s U17 category which started around midday just as the weather began to get really cold. The race started in the traditional position which meant the first half mile was straight uphill, and then onto the mud. The course was meant to be one small lap followed by a large lap, but somehow they ended up running the large lap first.

Mungo Prior was the first up the hill for Ilford, followed by Jak Wright, with Bradley Deacon close behind and Farris Patel making up the Ilford quartet.  Mungo continued to make good progress during the now extended first lap and was always moving forward. Jak and Bradley were still pretty close to each other and also making good progress. Farris is never entirely happy on the mud, but was hanging in there and gaining valuable places for the team.

The finish to the race is a long downhill stretch and Mungo finished really well to lead the team home in 58th place. Jak and Bradley continued their race long personal battle with Jak just coming out on top by 1 second in 121st with Bradley 122nd. Farris managed to gather himself for a sprint at the end and finished a very good 149th.

Ilford finished 11th in the team event, just behind local rivals woodford.

Ilford Senior ladies turned out a full team  led by Anna Crawley in 579th in a large field with 44 mins 39 secs for the 8km race.
Next home was Julia Galea 650th in 49 mins 18 secs and Frieda Keane was 3 places back in 49 mins 46 secs.
Launa Broadley finished strongly for 691st with 56 mins 32 secs. In the Southern Team Championships Ilford ladies finished 71st.


There were strong results from the senior men of Ilford Ac with Alex Richards particularly impressive coming home 154th in the 15km event in 53 minutes 06 secs. Next home was Seb Parris, who is improving with each outing over the country, in 356th with 57 mins 23 secs. John Crawley finished a fine 600th in 61 mins 31 secs with Diarmuid Mac Donnell also looking good in 699th with  a time of 63 mins 32 secs.

 

SEAA Round-up:

The first big Indoor championships of 2019 came at Lee Valley in the form of the South of England AA Championships.
First up on the weekend of 12-13th January, Mario Dobrescu competed in the U17M 60m and set a personal best of 7.11 seconds in reaching the final. He backed up his performance in the shorter sprint with a dominant display in winning the U17M 400m Gold Medal with a national age-group leading performance of 49.82 which is his first sub-50 clocking on British soil.
The following weekend (19-20th January) Ilford had a few more athletes out in force competing in the South of England AA Championships forU20/Senior athletes. Esmeralda Mengeyele set a personal record of 8.09 seconds in the U20 Women’s 60m event, and backed this up with a very creditable 7th place finish in the Long Jump against what was basically a national final quality field which saw 5 of the top 8 in the nation competing. Efe Austinz competed in the 60m and 200m, and performed creditably in her first big championships as an U20 athlete with good placings in her heats and a personal best of 8.25 seconds in the 60m event.
Krystle Balogun was the solo Senior entry for Ilford in this meeting with her first indoor outing over 400m of the year. A solid run with a time close to her indoor personal best bodes well for the upcoming Essex Indoor Championships.

Ilford AC will have 7 athletes competing in the Essex Indoor Championships which takes place over the weekend of 2-3rd February with high expectations from the Sprints and Jumps coach Nat Senior that the squad will achieve a healthy medal haul.

 

  Press Report 21st January 2019  

Jan 212019
 

Veterans AC Masters
Wimbledon Common
Saturday 19th January 2019

The Veterans Masters Cross Country Championships took place last Saturday on a 2 lap course compromising gravel tracks and playing fields at Wimbledon Common.

Held over a distance of 4.5 miles Ilfords one representative was Trevor Robinson.
Trevor finished in 35th place in a time of 35:40 which gave him a Bronze medal in the V45 category

Benfleet 15
Sunday 20th January 2019

Ilford AC fielded 2 runners in the Benfleet 15 held at Hadleigh Downs on Sunday.

The course is a very challenging multi terrain course comprising hard sections of the Canvey Island sea wall contrasting with marshland and the undulating Hadleigh downs.

Starting downhill and finishing on a mile long big climb, the race is not for the faint hearted.
John Crawley was first home for the Club in a fantastic time of 1 hours 49 mins 47 seconds for 55th place in a field numbering over 800.

Only 9 places behind John, in 64th place, was Diamuid MacDonnell in a time of 1:51:32 which was a pb for himself on the course
The overall race record is still held by Ilford’s Amin KoiKai who clocked 1.22.17 in the 6th running of the race back in 1996, a time that no runner has recently been able to even approach.

 

 

  Press Report 14th January 2019  

Jan 142019
 

ESSEX CROSS-COUNTRY LEAGUE
Epping Forest
Saturday 12 January

Ilford AC were represented across the age groups in the penultimate race of the Cross Country season in the Essex League.
The race was held in Epping Forest over the usual challenging course that, although firmer and drier than usual, still had its difficult muddy moments to contend with.

First race of the day was the U13’s held over 3km
Ilfords sole representative was Joseph Grange who ran an impressive 12:10 for 14 place in a field of 40.

Next up was the U15’s held over 4km
Ilford had 2 runners in this race, both putting in fine performances.
Matthew Hick came in on 17:02 for 21st place, followed very closely by Ryan Holeyman in 17:27 for 24th place.

It was then the turn of the U17’s competing on a course of 6.6km
Again Ilford had 2 runners representing the club. Jak Wright impressed with an 8th place finish in a time of 25:47. Jak was followed very closely by Bradley Deacon who continues to improve, in 10th place with a time of 26:16.


The final 2 races of the day were the Senior ladies followed by the men, where the club fielded an excellent turn out off 33 runners combined.

The 14 Ilford ladies were led home over the 6.6km course by Bree Nordin in 40th spot and 1st in the F55 age grouping in 32 mins 46 secs. Next up was Nicola Hopkinson in 56th, and 3rd in the F55 category, with 35mins 03 secs and Jenni Sheehan with 35 mins 34 secs for 60th.
Closing the scoring team was Anna Crawley in 64th in 36 mins 08 secs.
Doris Gaga showed good form for 67th with 36mins 16 secs and Alison Sale had a good run for 77th in 37 mins 50 secs. A couple of ladies who turned out over the country for the first time for the club were Pramila Monro in 98th (42.42) and Mandeep Bassi with 103rd (45.14).
Also in action were: Pauline Tester (80th 38.31)  Sharon Honey (87th 39.57) Frieda Keane (90th 40.54) Julia Galea (91st  40.59) Launa Broadley (106th 47.36) and Sheila Sinclair (108th 49.47)

In the match the Ilford ladies  came 8th in division one and hold 9th spot for the season with one match left at Basildon.


There was an 19 strong Ilford team in the senior mens race over 7.6 km.
First home for the club was Alex Richardson in a fine 10th position in 28 mins 16 secs with Tom Gardner close behind in 19th with 29 mins exactly. Malcolm Muir with his all action style came home 34th in 29 mins 51 secs and 4th in the M4 age category. Seb Parris showed his form is improving with each race as he came home in 52nd spot with 30 mins 43 secs. John Crawley finished 78th in 32 mins 14 secs and Steve Philcox closed the scorers in 81st, and 4th in the M50  grouping, in 32 mins 23 secs.
Sam Rahman  finished 91st with 33 mins 08 secs with young Philip Ellul  one place behind in 33 mins 16 secs.
Phil Davies was next home in 34 mins 56 secs for 115th and Andy Catton 126th with 36 mins 12 secs. Tony Nixon was the second over 70 to finished in 171st with 38 mins 06 secs.

Also in action were: Alan Pearl (151st  37.55) Tony Young (171st 40.24) Trevor Robinson (178th  41.18) Ernie Forsyth (191st 43.00) Henry Ricketts (203rd  46.47) Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham (212th 54:02) Peter Spelman (213th 58:07)  and James Huddart (215th 63:13)

In the match Ilford gave a good showing to finish 6th in division one and are in the same position for the season going in to the last match