Press Report 13th January 2015  

Jan 132015
 

Essex Cross Country League
Epping Forest, Chingford
Saturday 10 January

There was a good turnout from Ilford AC at the 4th round of this winters Essex Cross-Country League held on the usual tough course set by host club Orion Harriers in Epping Forest at Chingford. This near the conditions were harder than usual as the recent weather meant the course was soon churned into a quagmire.
Four young Ilford athletes took on a very tough and muddy course finding the the going difficult and mainly trying to keep their feet, but still gave a good account for themselves. Matthew Hick placed 5th in the u/11 in 5-24 with sister Isabella Hick 31st u/13 girls 22-50 Manraj Gill was 38th in the u/13 boys (13-24) where Bradley Deacon placed 40th (13-28). Under 17 Usamah Patel is starting to return to full fitness and put in a solid run for 9th place in 27-40.

The senior ladies event was over the same distance and Jenni Sheehan continued her good form on the country and finished in a season high 24th in 32m44s while Bree Nordin was once again the leading F55 in 38th with 37m 42s. Doris Gaga went off course on the 2nd lap of the race but soon corrected herself without losing too much time to finish 82nd. The ladies finished 13th in this match.

There were 12 Ilford vests on the start line of the senior mens 9km race and the team were led home by an excellent run from Tom Gardner in 8th with 29m exactly. Malcom Muir was his normal gritty self to lead home the M40 category in 14th spot overall in 30m 00s, while there was a good run from Steve Philcox for 36th in 32m 15s. Ben Jones recorded 34m 07s in 60th and Neil Crisp placed 77th with 35m 47s. Sam Rahman, racing on his least favourite surface, closed the scoring team in 79th in 35m 57s. The men placed 7th in this match but were 3rd in the veterans match. Andy Catton finished 81st and leading the M60 age group with 36m 03s and Bradley Brown 115th in 40m 16s. There were two runners having their first race of the winter; Mike Horsey (125th 41m 18s) and Matt Maple (140th 45.15) , and completing the line up for the team were Steve Parker (130th 42.18) and Steve Cheal (133rd 42m 57s)

With one match left this season, at Colchester on January 31st, Ilford are 8th in senior mens table and the ladies are also 8th with the u17 men 10th. The mens veterans team are 3rd and the veteran ladies 10th.
On the individual front Tom Gardner is 7th senior man, Malcolm Muir 1st in the M40 group and Steve Philcox 8th in the same category, while Neil Crisp is 5th M50. For the senior ladies Krystle Balogun is in 5th place and Jenni Sheehan 10th. Bree Nordin is leading the F55 group and Usamah Patel is 13th in the u17 men.Andy Catton

South of England Indoor Champs Lee Valley
Saturday 10th January
Running in his first ever 1500m indoor Ahmed Abdulle took a excellent silver medal. With a very slow early pace Ahmed stayed with the lead runner to nearly half way. With two laps to go the leader made his move with Ahmed in chase but had to settle for 2nd place in a time of 4.21.

 

  Press Report 6th January 2015  

Jan 062015
 

Witham Boxing Day 5 Miles

Friday 26 December

While a number of their clubmates were in action in the Annual Boxing day Handicap in Hainault Forest 2 Ilford AC members took to the roads of Witham
Malcom Muir was in good festive season form coming home in 9th spot in 27m 18s to take the M40 category prize. Meanwhile sister Carol placed 277th in a field of 376 in 47m 08s.

Essex Cross-Country Championships
Claybury Park, Woodford
Saturday 3 January

This years Essex Cross-Country Championships were held in the toughest conditions for years as heavy overnight rain turned the course around Claybury Park in Woodford into a muddy quagmire with freezing drizzle persisting throughout the event.

Best performance for Ilford AC came from Ahmed Abdulle in the mens u-17 age group where he took the bronze medal. Finding the conditions tough going Ahmed was up with the 2 leaders as they broke away from the pack but slipped back in the closing stages and had to settle for a creditable 3rd place in 19m 23s.
His training partner Usamah Patel steadily worked his way through the field for 8th place in 20m 08s and both of the athletes have now been selected to represent essex. Closing the team was Jack Maher in 32nd place with 23m 47s.
The day started with the 3000m races for the u-13 age groups. In the boys event for Ilford were Manraij Gill in 19th in 13m 37s, Bradley Deacon placed 34th with 14m 43s and Aran Mangel finished 38th in 15m 02s, while the girls were represented by Isabella Hick recording 16m 56s for 36th spot in her first outing in these championships.

The senior ladies raced over a 5 mile 3 lap course and the Ilford team were headed by Krystle Balogun who ran a strong last lap to finished 17th in 35m 43s while Jenni Sheehan showed a big improvement from last year coming home 44th in 39m 10s. Mel Jones gave her usual gritty performance in 52nd with 41m 33s. Bree Nordin closed out the team in 42m 31s for 60th. Ilford were the 8th club to finish a team. Also running were Nicola Hopkinson in 78th with 45m 11s and newcomer to the squad Doris Gaga came home 114th.

The last race of the day was the senior mens championship which was also over 3 laps but the total distance was 7.5 miles, Ilford were led by Malcolm Muir who battled through to place 17th in 42m 26s, closely followed by Tom Gardner in 42m 45s for 19th. Steve Philcox showed good form in 51st with 46m 28s , while Kevin Newell placed 67th in 47m 30s with Paul Holloway next over the line 5 seconds later. Sam Rahman closed the scoring 6 in spot 89th with 49m 26s. It was a good performance from Ilford who were the 4th club to finish a team. Also in action were Neil Crisp (100th 50m 3s) and Terry Knightley (170th 59m 13s)

  Press report 30th December 2014  

Dec 302014
 

Ilford AC had 14 hardy club runners contesting the annual Boxing Day cross country handicap held over 3.3 miles of a very muddy traditional course at Chigwell Row last Friday.
Rachel Halpin, in training for this years London Marathon, showed her intent by running well above expectations heading home the field in a total time of 32.49 ,net 29.49, over a minute ahead of 2nd placer Declan Cullen, 33.50, 27.20. Neil Crisp was 3rd in 34.02, 23.02.
The fastest net time of the day was posted by Ilford’s rising young star Ahmed Abdulle whose 20.42 was achieved in full training attire and 6 seconds faster than mentor Tom Gardner , 20.48, times good enough toplace them 9th and 10th respectively.
Members entered into the xmas spirit of the event with many runners sporting festive garb including reindeer antlers and Santa hats.
Three other club runners, Mel Jones, Natalie Crisp and Rob Sargent also ran the course acting as guides for those unsure of the route.
Other performances were 4th Billy Green 34.33, 29.33, 5th Doris Gaga 34.58, 33.58,6th Julia Galea, 35.01,33.31, 7th Jenni Sheehan 35.05, 26.05, 8th Kevin Newell 35.09,22.09, 11th Paul Emery 36.15, 28.15,12th Di Crisp, 36.15,30.15, 13th Peter Spelman 40.15, 33.15, 14th Pam Jones 40.57, 40.57.

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  Press Report 16th December 2014  

Dec 162014
 

South of England Masters Cross-Country Championships
Horspath, Oxford,Saturday 13th December

A small contingent of Ilford veterans made the trek to a cold but sunny Oxford last Saturday to compete over a tough but very interesting 10k course with a good mix of grassland, farm tracks and calf high mud plus two big hills thrown in for good measure.The 4 entrants each running in different age categories produced some good runs with the following age group results :- Malc Muir 8th M40 Paul Holloway 17th M45 Steve Cheal 56th M50 Andy Catton 5th M60.

More significantly at the other end of the age spectrum Ahmed Abdulle ran brilliantly to finish 3rd in the Southern Inter Counties U17 race. With another year in the age group Ahmed worked his way through to 3rd and only missed out on silver medal by one second.

Southend 5 mileRudolph Run
Sunday 14th December
3 Hardy souls from Ilford Athletic Club braved the crisp, cold, windy conditions on Southend Sea Front to compete in the 4th Staging of The Southend Five Mile Rudolph Run. In a field of well over 300 runners, some decked out as Santas and Elves in keeping with the festive nature of the event.
Terry Knightley, winner of the original inaugural race, finished this year in11th place overall to win the First Male  Veteran Over 50 Prize in a time of 33 Minutes and 30 seconds.Next home for the club in 18th
position and winning the First Male Veteran Over 40 prize was Bradley Brown in35 Minutes and 6 seconds.
Female Over 40 Veteran, Carol Muir, finished next in 138th Position in 45 Minutes and 37 seconds and 8th in her age category.All Finishers of the race were awarded Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies
along with their medals and prizes !

  Press Report 9th December 2014  

Dec 092014
 

Essex Cross-Country League

Great Notley Country Park, Braintree
Saturday 6 December

The third round of this winter’s Essex Cross-Country League was held at Great Notley Country Park, Braintree on Saturday and Ilford AC produced their best results of the season.

The u-13 boys raced over 3000m on the grassland course which featured one tough climb. Arun Manget headed the squad in15th spot in 10 mins 39 secs, with Manraj Gill 2th with 11m 04s and Bradley Deacon 34th in 11m 10s. Together the boys placed 8th in the team competition.

The u17 men gave the team their best results of the afternoon with an excellent run by Ahmed Abdulle coming 2nd in 18m 26s for the 6km course with took the hill in twice with Usamah Patel supporting well in 9th with 19m 31s. In this category Ilford were 8th team.

The women raced on the same course and Krystle Balogun produced her best ever run on the country to take 9th spot in 22m 43s, while Jenni Sheehan continued to show good form in 26th in 24m 02s. Bree Nordin continued her dominance of the F55 category in 36th with 25m 48s and Nicola Hopkinson closed the team with 49th place in 27m 11s. Dianne Crisp returned to the team following illness recording 30m06s in 67th and Doris Gaga in her first season on the country came home 82nd in 32m 56s. The team finished in a superb 5th spot.

The senior men also ran over 2 laps but their distance was 7.5km. Malcom Muir headed up the squad in 9th with 24m 44s and was the first M40 to finish. Tom Gardner was next home in 25m 31s for 15th and Kevin Newell put in a spirited run for 50th with 27m 36s. Sam Rahman showed good form in 57th in 27m 59m and Paul Holloway was next over the line for 59th in 28m 00s.Kevin Wotton placed 64th with 28m 10s and closed the team while Neil Crisp was 7th M50 and 78th overall in 29m 05s. Also in action were Steve Cheal (142nd 36m 34s) and Rob Sargent (145th 6th M60 38m 19s). The team were placed 7th in the match.

Bedford Half Marathon
Sunday 7 December
Kevin Newell followed the Essex League match with a run out in the annual Bedford
Half Marathon. A a cold blustery Sunday morning with the onset of rain gretted the athletes as they stood at
the start line. Newell made a steady start, tackling tough hills at 6 and 9 miles,
with strong cross winds also making it tough for the runners. This was followed by an easier
downhill section before a slight climb in the last mile. The Ilford man finished ina
creditable 79.59 which gave him 13th place out of 957 runners.
Last Friday of the Month Serpentine 5k
Hyde Park
Friday 28th November
Two of the oldest active Ilford AC members took part in a field of 264 runners. John Batchelor at 73 years young placed 86th and leading M70 in a time of 21:05, just four seconds faster than in the October race while Pam Jones, now 78, managed 255th in 30:46, still showing a fair few runners a clean pair of heels.Conditions this time however were cold and breezy, in contrast to warm sunny weather for the previous race. Carol Muir (FV40) was 220th in 26:40.