Press Report February 13th 2018  

Feb 132018
 

ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE
Gloucester Park Basildon
Saturday 10 February

 

Ilford had a good day on Saturday at the final fixture in the this winters Essex League with the senior ladies regaining their place in the top division and the senior men finishing 3rd in their match on a muddy Basildon course which took in several climbs over the hill in Gloucester Park.

The men raced over 8km and Alex Richards led the way for the club in an excellent 7th spot in 29m 47s, supported by a good run from Tom Gardner in 11th with 30m 02s.

The ever reliable Malcolm Muir took 18th, and 2nd in the M40 group, in 30m 34s.
Steve Philcox came home 50th in 32m 36s with Seb Parris 60th in 33m 41s and John Crawley closed the team scorers in 74th in a field of 188 finishers with 34m 18s.

Overall Ilford men placed 3rd in this round, their best result for several years, in the 12 team division 1.
In the masters competition the club finished 5th

Dennis Briggs was next home in 38m 19s for 112th place, followed in 117th Andy Catton, who placed 2nd in the M60 category, in38m 43s.
Also in action were Steve Cheal (145th 41.17) Bill Green (166th 43.51) and Satha Alaga (181st 48.50)

 

For the ladies Carlie Qirem continued her fine winter form as she prepares for a spring marathon finishing 43rd in 28m 57s in the 6km race. Nicola Hopkinson was also running well as she finished 1st in the F55 category and 48th overall with 29m 29s and Bree Nordin came home 61st and 2nd in the F55 group despite a heavy cold in 30m 45s.
Anna Crawley completed the scoring Ilford team with 31m 50s for 69th. Frieda Keane finished 99th with 35m 56s and Launa Broadley completed the club squad in 109th with 39m 46s.

The Ilford ladies finished 2nd in their division 2 match and 14th on the masters competition.

For the season they placed 2nd in the second division and have been promoted back to the top tier for next winter, while in the masters section they recorded a 14th place finish

The men finished 7th in the league and hope to improve on that place next winter and were 6th in the masters section.

Over the winter the Ilford club placed well in several individual leagues. These are headed by Nicola Hopkinson winning the F55 section. Malcolm Muir placed 2nd in the M40 age group, Tony Nixon 2nd in the M70 category, Neil crisp 8th in the M50 group and Tom Gardner 5th senior man.

  Press Report 5th February 2018  

Feb 052018
 

SENIORS – ROAD RUNNING

Great Bentley Half Marathon
Sunday 4th February

The Great Bentley Half Marathon is a flat scenic run along country lanes. It is however very exposed and tends to be pretty windy – and this Sunday’s race was no exception.
Ilford athlete John Crawley had been targeting this race for a while, and was therefore pleased with his time of 1:27:30 – a PB by just over 4 minutes for the distance.

Cancer research London Winter run (10k)
Trafalgar Square
Sunday 4th February

On a bitterly cold Sunday morning, Ilford athletes Carlie Qirem and Billy Green lined up alongside 20,000 other runners for the ‘10k London Winter run’ which raises money for cancer research.

The 10k route which starts on Trafalgar Square and passes such iconic London Landmarks as St Pauls Cathedral and St. Mary-le-bow church (home of the famous Bow Bells) before finishing on Whitehall alongside The Cenotaph,  was lined with Polar bears, penguins and yetis – or at least people dressed up as such!
First home for Ilford was Carlie Qirem, who showed how well her London Marathon schedule was going, by knocking 33 seconds off of her previous PB to finish in a time of 48:01.
Carlie was closely followed by club captain Billy Green who was pleased with his time of 48:50

 

SENIORS – INDOOR TRACK RUNNING

Essex and Eastern Counties Indoor champs
Lee Valley Leisure centre
Sunday 4th February

Two senior Ilford athletes had a very successful day at the indoor championships.
Krystle Balogun amassed 4 medals. The first 2 were silver medals, in this combined champs, for the 200m in a time of 27:15 seconds which was an indoor PB for Krystle.
Krystle then changed the colour of her medals for Gold in the 400m in a time of 61:60 seconds.

After negotiating the heats Alex Richards had a tough task in the final. Although not taking the overall title, Alex still took the Essex title and Gold in the 800m with a time of 2:002 minutes.

JUNIORS – CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING

South East Schools Championships – Cross Country
Newbury Showground
Saturday 3rd February

After a great run at the recent Essex Schools, Jordan Hinds was rewarded with a run for Essex in the Southern Inter Counties match which was held at Newbury on Saturday.
The match is made up of several southern area counties, and Jordan was part of a strong Essex team.
Conditions underfoot were very slippy following the heavy recent rain and Jordan found it difficult to begin with. However by the half way stage Jordan was in full flow and was moving steadily through the field to eventually finish a very impressive 49th place in a very large field.

SENIORS – INDOOR RACE WALKING.

Essex and Eastern Counties Senior Mens Indoor 1 mile Champs
Lee Valley Arena
Saturday 3rd February

DOUBLE GOLD FOR BENNETT

Ilford’s former Scottish International race walker Stuart Bennett won both the Eastern Counties and the Essex County Senior Men’s Indoor 1 Mile Championship (held in conjunction) which were held at Lee Valley Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Awards were presented by Essex County Athletics Association President Diane Wooller.
The overall race was won by talented Under 17 prospect George Wilkinson (Enfield & Haringey AC) in an untroubled 8 minutes and 24 seconds.  However a race for 2nd overall and therefore first Senior Man was white hot.
Bennett tucked himself just off the pace and after 4 of 8 track circuits completed, began to close the gap on last year’s winner, Adam Hills (Bedford Harriers).   By the bell Bennett was ahead, and from bell-to-tape a large crowd were well entertained by ever-changing fortunes for both athletes.  Hills got the better on the back straight before Bennett took control around the bends managing to hold his rival off.   Into the home straight Hills edged ahead until 10 metres from the line when Bennett’s final surge saw him successful by a fraction of a second.   As well as winning the Eastern Counties Senior men’s title, he was also victorious in the Essex Championship, which was held in conjunction.
To add to this serious competition, Essex County’s leading lady walker Melanie Peddle (Loughton AC) was breathing down both their necks.    Bennett’s time was 9.04.05, Hills 9.04.09 & Peddle 9.05.54.   Phew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Press Report. 29th January 2018  

Jan 292018
 

South of England XC Championships 
Stanmer Park, Brighton
Saturday 27th January

The South of England Cross-Country Championship was held at Stanmer Park Brighton on a cold, wet day on a muddy course which was very slippery as the mud had a solid base of hard chalk underneath.

Along with the Youngsters a few seniors also made the trip to the south coast.

Dianne Crisp, although short on training at the moment, and a fall towards the end, acquitted herself well over a two lap course [5 miles] which was becoming very testing as the rain started to fall over the second lap. She started steady and finished 295th [351 finishers] in 47:35.

Neil Crisp and Seb Parris were next up in the Senior Men’s race held over a testing 3 lap course [9 miles] with the rain very heavy now both paced their efforts and whilst Seb had a fall both were pleased with their runs with Neil [479th 71:29] just finishing ahead of Seb [532nd 73:28] in a field of 740.

A special thanks to Paul Holloway for his support in pretty horrendous conditions!!

INDOOR TRACK EVENTS

Two Ilford athlete’s Jack Maer and Krystle Bolagun took to the indoors at the weekend.
Jack who is based in Leeds travelled to the Sheffield indoor festival competing in the 800m, recording 2:02:4

Krystle competing at the other end of the country in the London game’s at Lee Valley finished 4th in the 400m in a season best of 61 seconds

RACE WALKING

Steyning AC Open 15k
Saturday 27th January

UNEXPECTED PRIZE FOR ILFORD WALKER

Saturday afternoon saw Ed Shillabeer wearing Ilford’s vest at a poorly supported annual Steyning AC Open 15K.
The race, held in the rural West Sussex countryside, got much worse for participants as the afternoon wore on, as light rain became heavier, leaving large puddles on the roads, and there was an ever-increasing southerly wind.
Nobody, bar Shillabeer, managed to maintain their pace throughout the distance.
There was a prize for the competitor having the closest times for their 1st and 2nd halves of the race – which Shillabeer won, being surprised to do so.
Overall he was 7th in 114 minutes and 1 second (57.36 at halfway).
It was Ed’s return to action after a longish injury setback.

  Press Report 22nd January 2018  

Jan 222018
 

SENIORS

FARNBOROUGH HALF MARATHON
Sunday 22 January

This years Farnborough half marathon was held on a cold morning in falling snow.
The race, interestingly, starts and finishes in a disused airship hanger and runs a relatively flat course around the outside of the airport.
Carlie Qirem of Ilford AC showed that her winter training is going well finishing 464th overall out of a field of 1608 finishers in a new personal best time of 1 hour 44 minute 50 seconds, which was nearly a 5 minute improvement on her previous best.

 

RACE WALKERS

ENFIELD RACE WALKING LEAGUE
Saturday 21st January

A new year and a revitalised Ilford walking team took to the Parklands of the Queen Elizabeth 2nd playing fields in Enfield for the opening fixture of the Enfield Race walking league.
In dismal conditions 12 Ilford walkers hit the start line, including five novices.
Sebastian Parris lead the team home in 5th place in a new personal best of 42.14 for the 5 mile distance.
Reigning men’s league champion of 2017, Mark Culshaw, walked confidently in this new season for 8th place in 48.17.
Later in the day Mark was awarded his trophy to rapturous applause.
The inspiring team coach, Stuart Bennett, fresh from a great winter’s training with the group, walked bang on 50.00 for a very confident 14th place.
The ever reliable Dave Kates backed him up in 15th place with 52.13 while club newcomers Jan Bentley-Pearson (23rd 56.15) and Keith Shurlock (25th 56.57) broke the hour impressively on their debuts.
Hot on their heels and walking very well were Ladies team new comers Rachel lawless (26th 60.02), Anne Scurfield (29th 63.35) and Lesley Morris (30th 63.35).
Centurion walkers Mick Barnbrook (56.11) and Dave Ainsworth (56.20) opted for the 4 mile circuit and put in fine times so early on in the season, while Edward trotter (42.51) took the 5km in his stride to finish just outside 40mins.

 

The Club put out its biggest team for years and is hoping to capitalise on last years 2nd place in the league table.

  Press Report 15th January 2018  

Jan 152018
 

ESSEX CROSS-COUNTRY LEAGUE MATCH 3
Writtle
Saturday 13 January

The third leg of this winters Essex League was held in the grounds of Writtle College near Chelmsford. The course was mainly soft grass which caused some runners problems in the sticky muddy sections.
The senior ladies race was over 6 km and leading the challenge for Ilford Ac was Nicola Hopkinson in 46th place in 30 mins 16 secs, which ranked top of the F55 category.
Close behind in 49th was the improving Carlie Qirem with 30 mins 42 secs, while Anna Crawley placed 77th in 33 mins 11 secs.
Closing the teams scorers was Julia Galea with 36 mins 39 secs for 101th and 4th in the F55 grouping. Sharon Honey was 109th in 38 mins 01 secs and Launa Broadley, who finishes higher in each round in 114th and 40 mins 28 secs were the other Ilford team members.

Ilford ladies finished up as the 3rd division 2 team in this fixture and with one match remaining are still top of the table and are aiming for promotion back to the top tier. The club are also doing well in the individual rankings in the F55 category with Nicola Hopkinson 1st, Dianne Crisp 2nd and Julia Galea 4th.

 

The senior mens race was a 8km event and the ever reliable Malcom Muir led the way for the Ilford squad in 23rd spot, and 3rd M40 age group runner to finish in 30 mins 50secs. Paul Holloway showed great form in 30th with 31m 23s and was placed 4th in the M40 category despite being at the top end of the age group. Sam Rahman came home in 33m 17s for 68th with Neil Crisp two places behind in 33m 39s.John Crawley finished 73rd with 34m 01s and the last Ilford scorer was Seb Parris, just back in action following a hernia operation in 90th with 35 mins 16 secs.

In the match the mens team placed 8th in division one and are 7th in the table for the overall season.

Tony Nixon rolled back the years to be the top M70 in action in 107th with 36 mins 16 secs.

Also representing the club were: Dennis Briggs (141st 39.25) Steve Cheal (162nd 41.13) Tony Young (165th  42.01) Bill Green (181  43.51) and Satha Alaga (193rd 45.40)