Ilford AC Press Report. Monday 12th June 2017  

Jun 132017
 

*ILFORD A.C PRESS REPORT. 12th JUNE 2017*

Havering 90 Midweek 5 Miles Tuesday 6th June

The second round of this summer’s popular Elvis series took place on a rainy evening last Tuesday in Romford’s Raphael’s Park.
23 Ilford athletes lined up for The 5 mile course for the pleasant scenic 2 lap course, slightly undulating, with a nice run along the lake to take in and at one point a spectacular rainbow.

The Ilford squad equipped themselves very well in the race being led home by Malcolm Muir in 4th place with 27 mins 20 secs taking the M40 category prize. Next home in 13th place with a time of 29:00 was Stephen Philcox taking the M50 category prize.
Ilford AC mens team finished 2nd on the night with the remaining 4 scorers being Sam Rahman (19th, 30:11), Neil Crisp (22nd and 3rd M50, 30:51), Tony Hyde (24th, 30:55) and Sebastian Parris (25th, 31:04).
The Ilford AC ladies were lead home by Nicola Hopkinson in 110th place with a time of 38:22, closely followed by Dianne Crisp in 130th place with 39:12 and 2nd LV55 category prize.
The ladies team, which finished 5th on the night, was completed by Carlie Qirem (136th, 39:39) and Nicola Chester (179th 43:41).

The other Ilford AC runners on the night, who all put in good performances, were: Andy Catton (69th 35:37, 3rd V60), Dennis Briggs (70th 35:44), Stephen Parker (74th, 36:05), Billy Green (102nd, 37:47), Anthony Young (123rd, 38:44), Rhoan Gabbidon (142nd 40:10), Stuart Bennett (174th, 43:01), Julia Galea (185th, 44:17), Pathrose Louis (206th, 46:21), Carol Muir (213th, 47:29), Nichola Fairbairn (219th, 48:08), Pam Jones (248th, 52:43) and Brennie Gabbidon (264th, 57:27)

Essex Schools Championships Saturday 10th June

Samuels on his way to the English Schools

A number of Ilford AC youngsters competed at the Essex Schools Championship at Chelmsford on Saturday.
The star of the show was Aaron Samuels, running in the Junior boys 1500m.

Conditions were far from ideal with quite a heavy wind so fast times were unlikely. However from the start Aaron took the lead and continued to pull away from the field , winning in a comfortable time of 4.16, nearly 100m ahead of his nearest competitor.
Aaron now hold 4 Essex separate titles in less than a year. He was part of the winning Ilford AC Essex X country relay team, he won the Essex Schools X country champs, he won the Essex Clubs 1500 and at the weekend he won the Schools 1500. As a result of these achievement, he got the call on Sunday night, confirming he had been picked to represent Essex in the
English schools.

Another great performance came from Mario Dobrescu in the Junior boys 200. Mario looked superb in the Heat, running the fastest heat in just over 24.0. Mario continued his fine form to win the final and become Essex champion. Mario still has another year in this age group so Ilford has high hopes going forward

Vignesh Rameshbabu only joined the club earlier in the year and is quite new to athletics.However Vignesh ran the Intermediate boys 400 and improves with every race. On Saturday he smashed his personal best to run an outstanding time of 52.71, coming 5th

Another amazing performance came from Jordan Hinds in the Intermediate Girls 800. Jordan has missed months of  training due to exams, but still showed how much talent she has by coming 5th in the final. Jordan clocked 2.34 , missing out on top 3 by a few seconds.With exams nearly over I am sure Jordan will be back to her best very soon.

Mungo Prior is slowly getting back to the kind of levels he produced last year and came 5th in Intermediate Boys 3000 in 9.50, very close to the bronze medallist.

Ellie Wright competed in her first Essex Schools and ran a very good Intermediate Girls 200 and missed out on the final by one place. Her time of 28 against the wind was a very promising run

…………………………………………….

  Ilford AC Press report. Monday 5th June 2017  

Jun 062017
 

*ILFORD A.C PRESS REPORT 5th JUNE 2017*

*Orion Forest 5. Chingford Saturday 3rd June 2017*

 

On a very warm Saturday morning, 6 Ilford AC athletes were amongst the 177 runners lining up for the first of Orions 3 race ‘Forest 5’ summer series.
The undulating multi-terrain course follows a one lap route around Epping Forest.
Leading the Ilford men home, and placing first in the M50 category was Stephen Philcox with a time of 30:41 for 16th place.
Next home was Dennis Briggs in 67th place in 37:05 with the mens team closed by Billy Green in 103rd place in a time of 41:37.
The women were led by Julia Galea who placed 140th in 47:07 followed closely by Julie Gillender who continues to improve in a time of 53:38.
The ladies team was closed by the ever popular Pam Jones, fittingly wearing the No 1 race number who placed 172nd in a time of 55:20 for 1st W75 placing.
In the 3rd race of this series last year Pam raced on her 80th Birthday, and improved her time by almost a minute this year.

*Moulton Open 5 Mile race walk Saturday 3rd June 2017*

*ILFORD WELCOME BACK FORMER STAR*

Ilford AC contested the annual Moulton Open 5 Miles’ Walk on an out-and-back course in the quiet Suffolk countryside on a hot Saturday afternoon.
Pride of place for the Cricklefields-based Club was recent signing Mark Culshaw who finished 4th in good class 51 strong field, clocking 47 minutes and 47 seconds.
Ilford’s next finisher, in 15th position, was former President Brian Armstrong who became the youngest holder of this office when aged only 29 in 1977. Now a veteran who has recently retired and moved to Frinton-on-Sea, Armstrong appeared for his first walking race in over 5 years, having done some training along the seafront at his new location.
He was rewarded with an excellent time 51.52, which drew praise from colleagues and rivals alike.
In 17th spot came Kevin Marshall with 52.18 on the stopwatch. Currently the UK’s No.2 walker over 100 miles, a mere 5 miles was well below his best distance!
The team were closed in by stalwart Bob Dobson in 58.32.

 

  Ilford AC Press Report. Monday 29th May 2017  

May 302017
 

*ILFORD AC PRESS REPORT. MAY 29th 2017 *

*Southern Counties Vets Athletics meeting Monday 22nd May 2017*

The Vets team travelled to a warm and sunny Stevenage on 22nd May for match 2 of the Track and Field program.
Cliff Warren covering the M35 200m and 800m finished 5th and 4th respectively in times of 28.1 and 2.35.2.
Andy Catton came down several age groups to cover the 3000m in the M35 finishing 6th in a time of 12.47.4. He also competed as a non-scorer on the 800m in a time of 2.55.8.
Henry Ricketts covered the M40 200m and 800m finishing 7th and 5th respectively in 30.0 and 2.53.9.
Tony Young ran the M50 200m finishing 7th in 33.6. Rob Sargent covering the M50 800m finished 7th in 3.21.2.
John Batchelor ran in the M50 3000m placing 7th in 12.37.9. He then moved up to the M60 800m finishing 3rd in 2.47.7.
Gerald Daniel placed 5th in the M60 200m.
In the field events Peter Whiting competed in the M40 shot achieving 6m 75 for 5th. He also finished 4th in the M50 hammer with a distance of 20m 29.
Henry finished 4th in the M50 discus with a distance of 24m 12.
Brian Meadows competed in the M60 shot reaching 7m 27 for 4th place.
The team of Henry, Tony, Cliff and Gerald closed the evening with the 4 x 400m relay coming home 6th in 4.57.1.

The team finished a credible 5th on the evening.

*Last Friday of the Month 5k. Hyde Park Friday 26th May 2017 *

On a very hot friday afternoon, 4 Ilford athletes lined up for the last Friday of the month 5k in Hyde Park.
Steve Philcox led the Ilford quartet home in 17:46, followed very closely by Sam Rahman in 17:59.
Two of Ilfords super vets made up the team, with John Batchelor coming in at 22:03 and Peter Ryan in 27:00

*Kent Circuit Marathon Saturday 27th May 2017*

The inaugural Kent Circuit Marathon, which takes in 21 laps of the Kent Cyclopark was held on Saturday in scorching heat with no shade. The temperature was such a concern that next years event has been moved to March.
Peter Spelman was Ilfords sole representative in this race and finished in a very credible 4:49 for 151st place.

*Folkestone Coastal 10k Sunday 28th May 2017 *

Terry Knightley was the sole Ilford AC representative at the 6th Annual Folkestone Coastal 10K Road Race on Sunday.
Held over a flat promenade seafront course in blistering heat and sunshine, Knightley produced a seasons best time of 39 Minutes and 9 seconds to place 26th position in a field of Well over 600 runners !
This performance was good enough to win the Male Veteran Over 55 Trophy which he was defending from last years race.

*Nottingham 10k Sunday 28th May 2017.*

Whilst other Ilford runners were braving the weekend heat, club captain Billy Green travelled up to Nottingham for the Nottingham 10k, which took place in windy overcast conditions.
The race started and finished on Lady Bay Bridge, just outside the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest Football club.
Billy ran a relaxed 55:35, a time which he beat by over 6 minutes the following day in the London 10k.

*Vitality London 10k Monday 29th May 2017 *

14 Ilford athletes lined up for the annual London 10k this Bank Holiday Monday.
This iconic race which starts on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, and takes in such landmarks as Trafalgar Square, St Pauls Cathedral and Guildhall, was today held in particularly muggy conditions. Large crowds however and en-route showers and water stations ensured that the race was an enjoyable event.
Leading the men home was Amin Koikai with 33:14, followed closely by Malcolm Muir with 34:06.
The mens team was completed with Stephen Philcox 37:26, Dennis Briggs 44:08, Stephen Parker 45:35, Satha Alaga 48:54, Billy Green 49:17 and Ernie Forsyth 49:54.
Breege Nordin continues her good form by leading the women home with 44:37, closely followed by Zuzana Sinalova on 44:46. The ladies team was completed with Carlie Qirem 50:25, Nicola Chester 58:09, Carol Muir 1:00:51 and Julie Gillender 1:03:03.

*Hatfield Broad Oak 10k Sunday 29th May 2017*

Declan Cullen ran a good solid run to finish 176th of over 1200 runners for
a time of 45:03 in the Hatfield Broad Oak 10k, a race that takes runners
through the traffic free country lanes of Hatfield starting and finishing
on the Village Green.




  Ilford AC Press Report 23rd May 2017  

May 232017
 

*PRESS REPORT 23rd MAY 2017*

*Dagenham 5 Miles (Elvis Series)Wednesday 17th May 2017*

The 2017 Elvis series (East London fiVes Interclub series) got off to a good start at Eastbrook End Country Park on Wednesday Evening when Dagenham 88 hosted the first of this years 7 summer races with their 5 mile event.
27 Ilford AC runners lined up at the start, including 5 members having their first ever race for the club
Heavy rain had settled in for the evening and on a course full of twists and turns on grass and trail paths, the rain ensured there was plenty of mud and slippery slopes to contend with.
Nevertheless the Ilford AC squad put in a very good performance with the mens team providing the first 3 V50 runners with Stephen Philcox, Tony Hyde and Neil Crisp, and Dianne Crisp being the first female V55 runner home.

*Mens results:-*
9th Stephen Philcox 29:32, 14th Sam Rahman 30:51, 15th Seb Parris 31:30, 21st Tony Hyde 32:05, 25th Neil Crisp 32:24, 51st Dennis Briggs 36:00, 54th Andy Catton 36:25, 65th Declan Cullen 37:11, 66th Stephen Parker 37:17, 73rd Bradley Brown 37:32, 93rd Adnan Karim 39:05, 109th Ernie Forsyth 40:15, 117th Billy Green 40:45, 123rd Anthony Young 41:22, 127th Rhoan Gabbidon 41:38, 143rd Stuart Bennett 43:28.

*Ladies results:-*
96th Nicola Hopkinson 39:30, 116th Dianne Crisp 40:45, 174th Julia Galea 46:39, 178th Nichola Fairbairn, 181st Nicola Chester 46:59, 184th Frieda Keane 47:26, 193rd Natasha Mansouri 48:28, 210th Carol Muir 50:12, 227th Julie Gillender 53:10, 238th Pam Jones 56:40, 250th Brennie Gabbidon 1:06:59

*Southern League Athletics Meeting. Woodford Saturday 20th May 2017*

Woodford was the setting for the second southern league match last Saturday, it is a venue which is normally windy, but this time the athletes and officials had to also put up with several downpours. It was a tough match again with the top two teams from the first round matches Woodford and Orion, as well as Newham & Essex Beagles, Braintree and Colchester

Anthony George produced the star individual performance of the day for Ilford, firstly he produced a personal best of 5 metres 50 to win the B string long jump, but his Triple jump was even better with a leap of 12metres 94 which was another personal best and currently ranks him 8th best jumper in the country for his age. To cap his day off he also ran in both relays. Anthony was joined in the jumps by his Simeon Stuart who out jumped is athlete in the Long jump with 5m 73 for 5th in the A string and
then 9m 54 for 6th place in the B string Triple Jump.
Sam Malekout and Mungo Prior competed in the High Jump with Sam clearing 1metre 50 for 5th in the A and Mungo 1m 45 for 3rd in the B string, Mungo went on to compete in the 1500 where he came 5th in the A string in 4.35.
Sam had his usual busy day competing in the Shot, Discus, Javelin and stepping in at the last minute to place second in the B string 400m
Pete Whiting and Neil Johnstone covered the remaining throws between them, and managed to secure 14 valuable points.

Vignesh Rameshbabu was making his league debut and ran an impressive 400m of 54.54, before running an equally good relay leg. Temi Adeoshun covered the shorter sprints running an impressive 11.53 in the 100m, but unfortunately the wind was over the allowable limit. After doing the 800m Jack Halil stepped into the 100m B string and looked very good in running 13.21 for 5th place. Unfortunately later in the afternoon he was injured running the opening leg of 4x 400m.

Ilford struggled to get runners out in the middle distance events, but Moaad Zaahri had a very good run in the 3000m for 3rd place in the A string 3000m in a time of 9.55.73.
Tony Nixon who approaching 70 turned up to rake the Long Jump pit, but ended up running the B string 3000m and took 4th
place in the B string. At the other end of the age scale young Mario Dobrescu ran in both relays, with a very opening leg in the 4x 100.
The women’s section is beginning to grow in size and there were some great individual performances, together with two great relays
Two athlete managed personal bests first up was Ellie Wright who ran the 200m in the worst of the days conditions, but managed to break 28 seconds for the first time in clocking 27.86 for 5th place in the 200m. Also running a personal best was Zuzana Sinalova who had a great race in the 1500m, in which she took the lead with 500m to go; but was narrowly beaten
by the Orion athlete. However she was rewarded with a new best time of 5.34.36.

Krystle Balogun​ continued her impressive record in the southern league by again winning both the 400m and 800m in 61.29 and 2.27.20 and new member Efemena Adjarifo was impressive in taking 5th in the A sting 100m and 4th in the B sting 200m, in times of 13.36 and 28.97.
The 4x 100 saw Krystle actually being given a rest, as Isabella Hick made a great start, before handing over to Efemena who maintained the teams position, Ayeshah Lawrence ran a great third leg and moved the team up to 3rd place, which Ellie maintained to the finish.

Krystle was back for the 4x 400 and ran the opening leg and established the team in second, Ayshah was nervous of running the 400m but after receiving her instruction from Ellie, she ran exactly to plan and maintained second place. Isabella also not used to running 400m ran another great leg which just left Ellie to bring the team home second.
Ilford ended the match in 6th place, but the 128 match points they received is the second highest they have achieved since re-joining the league two years ago.

*Stirling Marathon Sunday 21st May 2017*

2 Ilford AC runners made their way North of the border for The Stirling Scottish Marathon, the latest addition to the Scottish running calendar.
The predominantly fast and flat course, held in the spectacular and historic setting of Stirlingshire, provided an awe-inspiring experience for experienced and first time marathoners alike.
Both runners had a fantastic race with Malcolm Muir finishing 7th in 2:43:04 and Robin McNelis coming in 49th in a time of 2:57:34

 

  Ilford A.C Press Report Part 2. SCVAC Monday 15th May  

May 162017
 

Completing a busy week for Ilford A.C, please find below details of the SCVAC (Southern Counties Veterans Athletic Club) league match from Monday 15th May

*PRESS REPORT No 2. TUESDAY 16th MAY 2017*

*​*
*SCVAC LEAGUE.*

*Lee Valley.Monday 8th May 2017​*

On a bitterly cold evening on 8th May the Vets team put in a fantastic performance to finish a magnificent second of ten teams​.

The match was delayed due to transport problems but the team was still not able to fill the second walker spot for the first event.
Stuart Bennett came away with a win in the M35 2000m walk in 11.28.5.
With the team not having any athletes in the aged 35-49, the group pulled together to cover the remaining events.
Henry Ricketts returning from injury covered the M53 100m in 13.1 for 4th, M35 Long Jump 4m 39 for 4th​,​ and M50 400m in 69.9 for 5th.
Ton Young debuting for Ilford competed in the M40 100m in 16.4 for 6th, M40 400m in 80.5 for 6th​,​ and 1500m in 6.29.9 for 7th.
Cliff Warren also debuting for the club ran the M50 100m in 13.6 for 5th, M35 400m in 64.6 and leapt 4m 50 in the M50 Long Jump for 1st.
Wesley Clarke made a welcome appearance launching the hammer 39m 05 for 3rd in the M35 age category.
Pete Whiting also competed as a non-scorer in the M35 category achieving 17m 01 for 8th and in the M35 shot achieved 6m 50 for 7th.
Andy Catton came down an age group to cover the M50 1500m finishing 9th in 6.00.5.
Gerald Daniel also came down an age group to compete in the shot finishing 2nd in the M50 event with 8m 06, then moved back to the M60 100m to finish 6th in 14.8.
Ted Skinner ran as a non-scorer in the 400m finishing in 81.5. He then covered the M35 1500m placing in 6.12.7.
The evergreen John Batchelor covered the M60 1500m finishing in 5.51.7 for 1st.
Brian Meadows also made a return to the Vets arena launching the shot 15m 28 for 5th in the M60 hammer.
The 4 x 100m relay team of Tony, Henry, Cliff and Warren brought the baton home in 59.0s for 6th.
The team now move on to match 2 in Stevenage next Monday 22nd May.