Press Report 14th May 2019  

May 142019
 

Lee valley aquathlon
Lee valley white water centre
7th may

Seb parris ventured out to the London Olympics kayak venue on Tuesday evening.  A 500m 2 lap swim of the course in 13 degree calm waters followed by a 2 lap 5.5 km run around royal gunpowder mills park run course.

Seb finished in 31.04 for 2nd v30-39 and  4th place overall. He was only 4 seconds behind 3rd place after running down over a minute deceit that his competitor had on him after exiting the swim leg! Pure racing at its best.

 

Essex County Track and Field Championships
Chelmsford
11th and 12th May

Ilford had a successful two days at the Essex championships at Chelmsford Last weekend.

Day 1, bought 4 gold medals, 2 silver and 4 Bronze medals.  Aaron Samuel retained his U17 1500m title with an excellent tactical race, hitting the front with 2 laps to go he controlled the rest of the race to win by 2 seconds.  His training partner Jak Wright also ran a very clever race to gain a well deserved bronze in a time marginally outside his pb. Bradley Deacon was also in the race and ran very well to take 8th place.  Alex Richards  opened his 800/1500 double attempt  in a very competitive 800 attacking on the home straight bend taking 1st place in1:57:48 from Grange of Havering and Strange of Basildon.

Probably the most unexpected medal for the club came in the masters 3000m for Sam Rahman. In this event for athletes over 35 Sam ran a controlled race  and started towards the back of the field and moved up as other runners tired. By the bell in the 7 1/2 lap race he was with the leaders and with 200m to go he kicked away to take the gold medal and his first county title in 10 mins 00.42 secs
The U20’s were run at the same time as the vets and Mungo Prior set his third pb of the season in taking the bronze medal.

Mario Dobrescu looked very impressive in winning the U17 400m in a time below 50 seconds. Also in the 400m Krystle Balogun took silver in the senior women’s and Gemima Eshimu Massamba took bronze in the U20 women.

In the field events, new member Denise Evi Parker took a very good second in the U20 ladies, Triple jump and her training partner  Esmeralda Mengeyele took the bronze in the U20 ladies long jump.

Outside the medals, producing a pb in the U15 1500m was Ryan Holeyman

Day 2
The weather was much more settled on day 2 and first up in the U17 3000m, was Jak Wright, who was full of confidence after his medal yesterday.  Jak was always well positioned and made a decisive move with 2 laps to go. His victory was not only a Pb, but his first ever individual Essex title.  

Ilford have always been a strong race walking club, and this borne out on Sunday with a clean sweep of the ladies medals,  First home was Emma Dyos in a time of 17.01.3, followed by Rachel Lawless in 18.56 and Lesley Morris in 20.11, both of which were pbs.  Stuart Bennett completed a successful day for the walking section by taking Bronze in the men’s 3000m.

Nat senior who coaches most of Ilford’s younger sprinter and jumpers, dusted off his spikes to great effect to win the senior men’s long jump, it was his first county medal in 10 years.  Jordan Akinpelu, one of athletes that Nat coaches gained a bronze medal in the U20 men’s long jump.

Back on the track Mario Dobrescu returned to action to take silver in the U17 200m, and bronze medals were gained by Farris Patel U17 800, Krystle Balogun senior ladies 200 and Alex Richards senior men 1500m, both Krystle and Alex ran pbs.

Efe Austinz competed in her first County championships, doubling up in the U20W 100m and 200m, setting a PB in the former event.

 

Ipswich Twilight 5km
11th May

The Ipswich Twilight 5km is held on a very fast course around the Ipswich docks, and form part of the England Athletics road 5k championship.
Malcolm Muir of Ilford AC ran a very fast 16 mins 33 secs to place 5th V45 on the day.
The race was won by Nick Goolab of Belgrave Harriers in an incredible time of 13 mins 34 seconds

 

Halstead Marathon
12th May

Steve Parker the sole Ilford A.C. runner competed in the Halstead & Essex Marathon on Sunday. The race was celebrating its twenty-fifth year with 400 runners competing in the warm sunshine.
The undulating course runs through some picturesque Essex villages, along small country roads & even through some fields.

The race is very well organised with no shortage of encouraging marshals & spectators. Steve found the going a bit tough after running the Virgin London Marathon two weeks before & getting over some recent injuries, however he thoroughly enjoyed the race finishing in 4hrs 20mins

 

Rochford Multi-Terrain 10k
12th May

Terry Knightley of Ilford AC Continued his long slow comeback from a serious career threatening Prolapsed disc in his spine as the sole club representative in the Rochford Multi-Terrain 10K Race on Sunday. Running on a tough mixed terrain course of country roads, farm tracks, grassy footpaths and a riverside embankment bedside the River Crouch, Terry finished in 24th Position from a field of 320.

 

Clocking 44 Minutes exactly he was 6th Male Veteran in the M50-59 age category and also earned a Gold finishers medal for finishing in the top fifty. The next 50 finishers got a Silver finishers medal and the remainder of the field received Bronze Medals.

  Press Report. 7th May 2019  

May 072019
 

ITU world multisport championship
Pontevedra. Spain
2nd May

After a previous run of good aquathlon (swim/run) results last year, Seb Parris was picked by British triathlon to represent the age group team in the recent international triathlon union’s world multisport championship taking place in northern Spain.
Pontevedra played host due to being a training home of current triathlon legend Javier Gomez.
The aquathlon was a mandatory wetsuit swim of 1000m due to the cold atlantic waters reaching just 14 degrees. Seb was out the water lying in 22nd place.
The 5km run was at the other end of the weather scale being 23 degrees with no shade!
After his legs thawed out Seb ran very well on the 2 lap course and moved up 5 places to finish in 40.47 for 17th place in his age group race.

 

AIMSE 5km
Hyde park
Thursday 2 May

Dan Holeyman  of Ilford Ac took part in the AIMSE 5km in Hyde Park on Thursday evening. Still feeling tired from the previous weekend’s London Marathon he posted a good time of 19 mins 22 secs to win the first master V40 trophy

 

Bristol 10k
5th May

The Bristol 10k is a part of the ‘Simplyhealth’ Great run series.
The run starts near Bristol Cathedral and runs parallel to the historic Bristol Harbour before continuing along Avon Gorge and taking in the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Ilfords Malcolm Muir, showing his normal gutsy style, ran the race in a great time of 34:49 for 38th place overall and second in the V45 category.
The race was won by Chris Thompson of Aldershot AC in a time of 29:35

 

WITHAM 10 mile road race
Monday 6 May

The were 13 Ilford AC endurance runners in the May Day 10 mile road race over an undulating but fast course on country roads. It was a successful day out for the club with the runners claiming 5 personal best times, 3 debuts over the distance and 1 top 10 finishers.

First man home from the club was Paul Holloway in 7th spot in a good time of 60 mins 06 secs claiming 2nd place in the M50 age category.
One place and 28 seconds behind was Sam Rahman, with Dan Holeyman coming in with 67 mins 20 secs for 29th overall.  Dennis Briggs was the first to claim a new best time for the distance of 73 mins 13 secs in 57th.

Gaye Young led the Ilford ladies challenge in her first race over the distance recording a creditable 79 mins 30 secs for 93th placed. Another running a 10 miles race for the first time was Rhoan Gabbidon recording 81 mins 01 secs for 100th, while Julia Galea had a good run just 8 days after the London marathon just missing her personal best as she finished 159th in 91 mins 30 secs.
There were  new best times for both Alison Sale in 92 min 29 secs in 164th and Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham’ in 92 mins 55 secs for 166th.
Also setting a new personal best was Frieda Keane in 96 mins 05 secs finishing 194th, just 8 days after running a great time in the London Marathon.
Mandeep Bassi was another distance debutant in 207th with 100 mins 10 secs.
The fifth personal best of the morning was set by Launa Broadley with 1 hr 41 mins 35 secs for 215th and Brennie Gabbidon completed the Ilford squad with 2 hrs 2 mins 16 secs as she raced 10 miles for the first time.

 

  Press Report. London Marathon 2019  

Apr 302019
 
LONDON MARATHON
Sunday 28th April
There were 12 runners from Ilford AC among the 42438 finishers in last Sunday‘s London Marathon won by Eluid Kipchoge in a fast 2 hrs 2 mins 39 secs.
Best for the club was Amin Kolkai who finished 200th in 2 hrs 35 mins 06 secs and placed him 10th in the M45 age category.
Next home was Dan Holeyman with a new personal best time of 3 hrs 09 mins 53 secs, while Tom Joy recorded 3 hrs 27 mins 32 secs,.
Carlie Qirem led the ladies challenge for Ilford and also improved her best time by 19 minutes to 3 hrs 39 mins 37 secs.
Steve Parker found the second half of the race tough finishing 3 hrs 55 mins 25 secs, just 6 seconds behind was Anna Crawley who ran a well judged race of 3 h 55 m 31 s.
Bree Nordin was another who had a tough day recording 4 hrs 07 mins 55 secs finishing as the 60th in the F60 grouping.  Julia Galea was also in that category finishing 89th in 4 hrs 19 mins 01 secs, just 30 seconds outside of her personal best.
Tony Young started well but suffered in the second half due to an knee injury and came home with 4 hrs 37 mins 03 secs.
Rachel Halpin finished her first marathon for 4 years in 4 hrs 43 mins 41 secs and Frieda Keane made her debut at the distance in 4 hrs 48 mins 16 secs.
Ilford AC also provided 70 enthusiastic hard working volunteers for the Lucozade station at Mile 19
RACE WALKING
Former Scottish International athlete Stuart Bennett, a London Marathon regular, succeeded in his aim to race walk the event in under 5 hours.
He started well passing 10 miles in good heart, before suffering a dip in form between 12 and 14 miles, after which he rallied and progressed well towards the 21 miles’ mark.
From then on, he “hung on” with determination to cross the line in 4:55.56.
In the closing stages wife Kim was beside the course to give encouragement.

 

 

  Press Report 22nd April 2019  

Apr 222019
 

BOSTON MARATHON
Monday 15 April

The early morning storm past over the 135th Boston Marathon course and at the start the weather conditions were good, warm with a slight tail breeze for this point to point race for Hopkinton to the centre of the city of Boston.
Nicola Hopkinson of Ilford AC was among the 30000 starters and ran her usual steady race to reached halfway in 1 hr 51 mins 33 secs.
The Newton Hills at 20 miles slowed her a little in the second half and Nicola finished 16,312nd and 193rd in her age category in 3 hrs 57 mins 35 secs.

 

VETS AC 5
Battersea
Tuesday 16th April

Tuesday evening saw the Vets Athletic League stage a 5 mile race in Battersea Park.
Brennie Gabbidon in only her second race back from a long lay off put in a very good performance to finish 37th in a time of 59:54.
This was a good enough run to place her 2nd in the W40 category

Crown to Crown 5k
Basildon
Friday 19th April

Four Ilford AC Runners ventured to Langdon Hills in Basildon on Good Friday Morning for the notoriously tough and hilly Crown to Crown 5K Multi-Terrain Race.

Starting and finishing at the Crown Public House on the edge of Westley Heights Woods and running through the woods with 382 other runners, leading the Ilford AC contingent home was Frank McGowan in 24th position and time of 21 minutes and 1 second.
Following him home in 33rd place on yet another comeback was Terry Knightley still recovering from a career threatening prolapsed disc in his spine in 21 minutes 48 seconds.
Next in was Bradley Brown in 23 minutes 49 seconds for 75th place followed by Kim Baxter in 304th position in 34 minutes and 23 seconds.

.

 

  Press Report 16th April 2019  

Apr 162019
 

Southern Athletics League
Watford
Saturday 13th April.

The first Southern Track League competition took place at Watford on Saturday produced some stunning performances and team spirit. Ilford ended up second overall, which is the best performance for many year and gives us confidence that Ilford are going to have a good year on the track.

Amie Harrison, making her debut for Ilford got the team off to a good start with a  4th in the Women’s 400M hurdles. Dan Wheeler did the Mens 400 hurdles for a credible second, considering he was also competing in the High Jump(He came first),Shot Putt(4th) and 100m(4th)  nearly all at the same time

It was also great to see the Sprinters coach Nat  Senior ,making his comeback and showing the youngsters he’s still got it. Nat not only won the B string 100 in 12.0, but won the Long Jump in 6.15, Triple jump B in 10.76, as well as second in Shot Putt B string. Even better he ran a great leg in the Men’s 4×100 to beat Local rivals Essex Beagles

In the other sprints Youngsters Jordan Akinpelu came 5th and Wanya Williams came 3rd in quality 200m Races

In the women’s events , Esmeralda Mengeyele had a busy day across a number of events. She came 2nd in the 100m, won the long jump, 5th in the shot putt, 3rd in the javelin and was part of the Women’s 4×100 Relay team. Efe Austinz also had a busy day coming 3rd in the 100 and 4th in the javelin but also running a great leg in the 4 x 100 relay.

Krystle Balogun,always reliable, won the 200m A string and 2nd in the 400m and was also in the winning 4 x 100 .  Sisters Ayshe and Aleena Lawrence did well in the sprints, discuss and relays.Denise Evi Parker, making her debut for Ilford performed well coming 2nd in both Long and Triple jump

Ilfords Middle distance team showed they have all had a good winter by dominating all the events from 400m Upwards. Both Alex Richards and Farris Patel battled in the 800 for a first and second place , with Farris just winning. They both came back in the 400 with Alex just getting beat and Farris winning comfortably. The 1500m was an Ilford procession with Aaron Samuel and Jak Wright winning both A and B String.Tom Gardner, the old man of the Middle distance group, ran a great sub 16 ,5000 to win comfortably and Haydn Newland, making his debut as well coming home 2nd in the B string.  Mungo Prior ran a superb 2000 Steeplechase to run one of the fastest times of the year in that event for u 20.

Along  with Jordan , the middle distance team ran the 4 x 400 , which Ilford Comfortably won

Ever reliant Sam Malekout did all the Throws and added a lot of points winning the  Javelin, and placing in the Hammer and Discus. Pete Whiting also did well in all the throws to gain Ilford more points as did Zuzana Sinalova and Launa Broadley picking up valuable points in the 3000m. Finally Youngster  Fidunu Abidekin jumped very well to win the High Jump and second in the Triple Jump with great efforts and Jak Halil in the 400m hurdles and Triple jump

Overall great  performance by all Ilford  athletes and officials

 

Paris Marathon
Sunday 14th April

Over 48,000 runners lined up for the Paris Marathon on Sunday, including Marathon veteran ‘Peter Spelman’ of Ilford AC.
The course is one of the most scenic marathons to run and starts at the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysees and ends at the Arc de Triomphe after winding along the banks of the Seine River and some of the city’s most beloved sites including Notre Dame Cathedral, which just days later was to be devastated by fire.
Peter went in to the race with a sore knee and had contemplated pulling out, but went on to run a credible 5 hours 3 mins 5 seconds which he was pleased with under the circumstances.

 

Little Bromley 10k
Sunday 14th April

Ilford Super-Vet Tony Nixon was one of over 500 runners lining up on Sunday for the Little Bromley 10k.

Unbelievably this was only the 6th competitive 10k Tony has done in his long running career, and he finished in an amazing 40 mins 0 secs. This time broke the club V70 record by over a minute and also places him at the top of the UK rankings by 46 seconds.