Press Report April 9th 2019  

Apr 092019
 

Rome Marathon
Sunday April 7th

The endurance team from Ilford AC opened their spring marathon season last Sunday.
First at the start was Sam Rahman who took to the streets of Rome for the 25th staging of their city marathon. The route passes many historical buildings including the Colosseum and the Vatican but there are some cobbled sections on the way.
The first half hour of the race was run in pouring rain, however Sam started well reaching the halfway point in 1 hr 26 mins 29 secs.
He found the second half slightly tougher and came home in 143rd place in a field of around 10000 in 2 hrs 59 mins 28 secs., his 7th sub 3 hour marathon.

 

Manchester Marathon
Sunday April 7th

The ASICS Manchester Marathon is billed as the fastest and flattest marathon in the Uk and takes runners from Old Trafford, down to Sale and Altrincham before looping back up through Urmston and Stretford.
If watching local celebrity and Manchester City mayor, Andy Burnham pound the pavements wasn’t exciting enough two of Ilford AC finest donned their white vests to compete.  

Diarmuid MacDonnell and Sebastian Parris joined 13,000 other runners on a warm but cloudy day to hit the ‘classic course’ for the last time.  Next year the marathon will include a ‘city loop’ which will be visually pleasing for runners and attract more spectators.

Diarmund had the run of his life keeping a consistent pace throughout to record his best marathon time for 13 years finishing in 3.08.09 for 1405th spot.  Seb was close behind recording 3.10.42 for 1332nd.

 

Blyth BMAF 10k
Sunday 7th April

Tony Young travelled up to his native North East to take part in the Blyth ‘British Masters Athletics Federation’ 10k.
On a fast course consisting mainly of footpaths and cycle ways, Tony ran an impressive race and finished in a time of 46:45 beating his previous 10k PB by almost a minute.
Tony goes in to the London Marathon in a few weeks time on an impressive run of form.

 

St. Claire Hospice 10k
Harlow
Sunday 7th April

In Harlow this Sunday Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham’ ran the St. Claire Hospice annual charity race which takes place on the grounds of the Hospice in Harlow.

Ray was the second Ilford runner with a 10k PB this weekend with a time of 56:11, his third PB of 2019.

 

Adidas City Run
St Pauls, London
Sunday 7th April

Sunday saw the second staging of the Adidas One-hour city run, where the aim is to run as far as you can in one hour.

The course is a one-mile loop, with timing mats at every 0.1m, starting at St. Pauls Cathedral and taking in St Mary-Le-Bow church (famous for the Bow Bells), Guildhall and Mansion house.
Three Ilford runners who had been out of action for a while took part in the event with Rhoan Gabbidon completing 7.4 miles in the hour, club captain Billy Green 7.3 miles and Brennie Gabbidon completing 4.7 miles.

  Press Report 2nd April 2019  

Apr 022019
 

World Masters Championships
Torun, Poland
24th – 30th March 2019

On the Wednesday of the World Masters Indoor and Road Championship the 10km road race was held. On a bright, sunny but chilly morning the competitors headed out on a fast out and back course. Ilford AC had three ladies wearing the British kit in the event and Nicola Hopkinson showed good form finishing 8th in the F55 age category in 47 mins 19 secs, her best time for 5 years. Julia Galea came home in 15th in the F60 group in 56 mins 15 secs, which is her best for over a year.
Ilford legend Pam Jones completed the trio and took her third championship medal as she came in 3rd in the F80 category with 77 mins 52 secs. In these games Pam has won a silver and 2 bronze medals.

On the last day of the games the half marathon was held on a similar out and back course to the 10km on another bright sunny morning.
There was more success for the Ilford ladies as Nicola Hopkinson was the third placed Great Britain team member in the F55 age category finishing in 1hr 45 mins 04 secs. It was her best time since 2013
Julia Galea was in action again in this race running a steady race to finish in 11th in the F60 age grouping in 2 hrs 02 mins 14 secs

 

Orion 15
Epping Forest
Saturday 30th March.

The Orion 15 is described in Runners World magazine as ‘15 miles of pure old school cross country. A slog through the beautiful Epping Forest which gets tougher as the miles and hills tick by’.
John Crawley was the only Ilford Runner to brave this years run, finishing in 95th place with an excellent time of 2:05:13 for the course

 

Braintree 5
Sunday 31st March

Ilford AC sent a very strong team of twenty seven runners to Braintree for the annual running of the 5 mile race that takes runners on an all road, undulating course, through the town.
This year’s race also incorporated the 2019 Essex Road Championships.
Leading the team home in 9th place, in a field of nearly 500 runners was Tom Gardner in a time of 27:30.
Next home in 20th position was Malcolm Muir in 28:39 which placed him 4th M40 on the day. Following not far behind was Sam Rahman 30th 29:26.
Tom, Malcolm and Sam combined for a team Bronze.

Following closely behind was Seb Parris 39th 30:21, Steve Philcox 42nd 30:32 and 4th V50 on the day and Dan Holeyman 49th 30:54 for an incredible 9th consecutive PB in Road races over the season. Just behind Dan with the second pb of the day was Haydn Newland 51st 30:56.

Leading the ladies home, adding another PB to her list of recent achievements, was Carlie Qirem in a time of 36:09 for 151st place, followed closely by Amy Louise who is returning from injury in a time of 36:48 for 166th. Another lady returning from Injury is Gaye Young who impressed with a time of 39:30 for 219th with Sharon Honey Completing the female team in 43:15 for 290th.

Completing the squad was:- Diarmuid MacDonell 62nd 31:30, Terry Knightly 125th 34:55, Alan Pearl 159th 36:32, Andy Catton 160th 36:35, Dennis Briggs 169th 36:56, Steve Parker 184th 37:50, Tony Young 200th 38:34, Ernie Forsyth 206th 38:55, Alison Sale 302nd 44:08, Ray Sparra Everingham 45:52, Freida Keane 337th 46:25, Mandeep Bassi 350th 47:23, Carol Muir 392nd 49:42 and Julie Gillender 422nd 43:32

 

In other news Tony Nixon returned from a long injury lay off to compete in the Felixstowe parkrun. Tony finished in a time of 19:58 which now makes Tony the fastest over 70 athlete in the UK at the distance, topping the UK Over 70 rankings by 20 seconds

 

  Press Report 26th March 2019  

Mar 262019
 

World Masters Championships
Torun, Poland
24th – 30th March 2019

A small squad of runners have travelled out to ‘The 8th World Indoor and road championships’ being held in Torun, Poland, and on the very first day of action Ilford AC picked up a bronze medal. Pam Jones who is representing Great Britain ran the F80 3000m and took the 15 laps at a consistent pace to finish third in 22 mins 13.57 secs

The second day featured the cross country races. The course was tough undulating 2km lap. the first race was for athletes over 75 and was over 3 laps. Pam Jones of Ilford AC was the only British team member in the F80 age category. Looking in better form than in the previous day’s 3000m Pam improved her position to second to take the silver medal in 50 mins 35 secs for the 6k race.Later in the day a second Ilford AC runner was in action. Julia Galea ran the F60 4lap 8km race as the ambient temperature of the day began to fall. Julia came home 21st and fourth Briton in 48 mins 43 secs.

 

Lee Valley Run Fest
24th March

Sunday saw the third running of the ‘Lee Valley Run festival’ consisting of a number of races over different distances.
Ilford AC athlete Alan Pearl opted for the Half Marathon distance, a 2 lap traffic free course along the scenic toe paths and canals that surround the Lee Valley White water centre.
Despite a virus that almost caused Alan to pull out of the race, he ran a very respectable 1 hr 43 mins 14 secs to finish 10th V50 male on the day.

 

Fairlop Waters Charity 5k
24th March

4 Ilford runners were in attendance at the Annual Fairlop Waters Charity 5k race in aid of St. Francis Hospice. The club also volunteered 7 members to assist with the marshalling and timekeeping on the day.

Over 200 runners took part, on what turned out to be a warm spring morning, with many families in attendance and running together for charity

On a scenic 2 lap course around Fairlop Waters, husband and wife team Roger and Sharon Honey led the Ilford contingent home, finishing in 15th and 16th places respectively in times of 26:49 and 27:03.

Third home was Mandeep Bassi in 19th place for a time of 27:56.

Completing the quartet of Ilford runners was Catherine Green who in her first race for a few years finished a respectable 67th place in 41:37.

 

 

  Press Report 19th March 2019  

Mar 192019
 

Essex Road Relays
Harwich
Saturday 16th March 2019

Over 110 teams descended on the quiet sleepy town of Harwich on Saturday morning for the annual running of the Essex Relay Open and Veteran Championships.
Conditions were very challenging with strong coastal winds that were particularly harsh for the runners on the second half of the course.
Despite this the Ilford AC Mens Senior squad all posted some very impressive times to finish 6th overall on the day with all runners finishing under 20 mins on their 5k legs (Amin Koikai 16:43, Alex Richards 16:31, Tom Gardner 17:08 Malcolm Muir 18:26)

In the veterans category the Iford M40 squad finished 16th (Dennis Briggs 22:29, Julian Fabian 20:26, Trevor Robinson 24:41) and the M50 squad came in 14th (Tony Nixon 20:35, Andy Catton 22:49, Ernie Forsyth 24:55).

Although the Ilford ladies were unable to complete a full team, 2 ladies did travel up for the competition and both posted very impressive times in the conditions.
Zuzanna Sinalova ran the first 5k leg in 20:50, handing over to Gaye Young who ran 24:53.

 

Brentwood half Marathon

Sunday 17th March

.

The annual popular Brentwood half marathon  took place last Sunday over a rolling route and had 2360 finishers.

Ilford AC had 10 entries and were led home by Dan Holeyman, who has shown much improved form over the winter in 50th spot with a new personal best time of 1hr 25 mins 18 secs. Next in for the club was the ever reliable Bree Nordin in 1hr 38 mins 07 secs to place 26th lady and win the F60 age category. Alan pearl also ran a personal best time of 1 hr 39 mins 48 secs in 375th  and Tony Young was another to improve his best time for the distance with 1 hr 46 mins 15 secs for 612th. Rachel Halpin was 1302nd with 2 hrs 1 min 50 secs, while Julia Galea recorded 2 hrs 1 min 20 secs as 295th lady and 3rd in the F60 grouping.
Ray ‘Sparra’ Everingham ran the distance for the first time to finish in 1588th with 2 hrs 09 mins 53 secs while Frieda Keane came home 1686th in 2 hrs 10 mins 34 secs.
Stuart Bennett race walked the event recording 2 hrs 14 mins 50s ecs and the team was completed by Mandeep Bassi in 2 hrs 26 mins 56 secs.

 

Colchester 15

Sunday 17th March

 

The Colchester 15 mile is a two lap road race around the quiet countryside of Essex around the villages of Langham and Boxted. The openness of the course resulted in the runners being exposed to a chilly stiff breeze which took the edge off of the finishing times. The two runners from Ilford Ac were running this rare distance for the first time. and produced noteworthy results. Sam Rahman came in 10th in 1hr 35 mins 32 secs and Nicola Hopkinson crossed the line in 2 hrs 6 mins 40 secs in 73th spot, 14th female and finished runner up in the F55 age category to take home a trophy

 

Fleet Half Marathon

Sunday 17th March

 

Sunday saw the 38th running of the Fleet Half Marathon which featured 3 runners from Ilford AC.

Much like all races this weekend the race had runners battling the wind as well as the course on the day.

First home for Ilford, fresh from his performance in the Essex Championships only the day before, was Malcolm Muir posting a time of 1:17:48 for 69th place.

Malcolm was followed by Paul Holloway who impressed with a time of 1:22:18 for 164th place after a long lay off from injury.

Completing the Ilford trio was Carol Muir who was pleased with her time of 2:31:17

 

  Press Report 12th March 2019  

Mar 112019
 

British Masters Cross Country Championships
Belfast
March 9th 2019

The British masters cross country championships returned to Northern Ireland for the first time in 9 years.

The race was held on a 2km grass loop on the rolling grounds of the storming estate.
Julia Galea of Ilford AC took part in the 3lap 6km ladies race which also featured the men over 65. Galea had an inspiring run to finish 42nd overall in a time of 37.13 to place 2nd in the F60 age category and take the Silver British medal

 

Hillingdon 20
March 10th 2019

The Hillingdon 20 is a new race to the racing Calendar and is ideal preparation for those runners preparing for a Spring Marathon.

What wasn’t ideal though was the blustery winds which seemed to be blowing into the runners faces for most of the 4 lap 20 mile course.
Ilford AC had one runner in attendance, Danny Holeyman, who is running his first London Marathon in Ilford colours in April.
Danny has enjoyed a very successful preparation for his marathon, achieving PB’s at 6 different distances over the last 6 months
Danny overcome the conditions on the day to run a remarkable 2 hours 20 mins and 07 seconds for 38th place in his debut at the distance, a performance he was very pleased with and one that holds him in good stead for next months London Marathon.

 

Surrey Half Marathon
Woking
March 10th 2019

The Surrey Half Marathon boasts a scenic single lap course and follows a fully road closed route out from Woking town into the rural delights of the nearby quaint villages.
Aditya Patil was the only Ilford runner in attendance and was very pleased with his time of 1 hour 47 mins and 55 seconds in what was his debut run over the distance.

 

The Vitality Big Half
Central London
March 10th 2019

 

The Vitality ‘Big Half’ is a well organised Half Marathon taking 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 was Sir Mo Farah and whilst none of the 5 Ilford runners in attendance were able to beat Mo, all put in very good performances that they can be proud of.

First Ilford runner home was Amin Koikai who finished in a remarkable 1 hour 14 mins and 57 seconds to place him 158th, and 6th in his age category, in a field of over 12,000.

Next home was a new member to the club Steve Chissell who also impressed with a time of 1 hour 32 mins 8 seconds.

First Ilford female home was Zuzana Sinalova who was pleased with her time of 1 hour 33 mins 44 seconds for her debut at the distance.

Next home was Peter Spelman who continues to do numerous Half and full marathons every year with a time of 2 hours 3 minutes and 54 seconds.

Completing the Ilford contingent was Karen Kufuor who had put a lot of training into her first half marathon, and was delighted with her time of 2 hours 29 mins 10 secs

 

Finally a very big well done to 2 Ilford Runners who completed parkrun milestones at the weekend.
Carol Muir completed her 400th parkrun, whilst Sheila Sinclair completed her 250th on the same day. Both milestones were completed at Valentines Park with a large crowd of teammates in attendance to cheer them on.