Press Report 16th June 2015  

Jun 162015
 

Woodford Green Open Meeting

Ashton Playing Fields
Tuesday 9 June

The first Tuesday Open Meeting staged by Woodford Green was held on a blustery chilly evening and a handful of Ilford endurance runners in action.

In the 800m Sam Rahman placed 3rd in heat 2 with 2 Mins 18.17 secs with Krystle Balogun giving her usual determined performance in 4th with 2m 20.23s

Sam Rahman was back in action in heat 1 of a fast 3000m recording 10m 18.10s for 12th.In heat 2 Steve Philcox placed 2nd with 10m 33.57s and Kevin Wooton next home in 10m 41.51s while Bradley Brown finished in 12m 18.01s in 11th

City of London Mile
St Pauls London
Sunday 14 June

The City of London road mile was held on a drizzly cool morning starting from outside the entrance to St Pauls Cathedral and running past the Bank of England and Guildhall to finish on the North side of Wren’s baroque church.
The race was run in waves and Sam Rahman led the Ilford challenge in 57th spot in a total field of 2470 in a new personal best time of 4m 54.03s. Next home was Tony Hyde in 5m 20.94s with Krystle Balogun recording 5m 31.55s. Neil Crisp finished in 5m 50.70 s and Bradley Brown with 6m 05.33. Jenni Sheehan, the ladies team captain, ran a time of 6m 13.02s and Bree Nordin 6m 24.05. Rob Sargent was next over the line in 6m 53.23s with Dianne Crisp recorded 7m.17.23 s with Doris Gaga 7m 48.35s.

Ilford club junior Arun Manget had a fine run recording 5m 43.52s

Southend Half Marathon

Sunday 14 June

In the Southend half marathon, run on a fast seafront course, Rohan Alexander placed 156th in 1h 35m 20s, a time he was pleased with as he was coming back from injury while Peter Spelman finished in 1h 59m 20s.

Havering 25th Anniversary 10k
Sunday 14 June

On an overcast but ideal day for runners, 175 people toed the line for the ‘Havering 25th Anniversary 10k’ held at Thames chase country park in Upminster.

Ilford were led home by Billy Green in a PB time of 49:28, the first time this athlete has achieved a sub 50min 10k

Watford Open 3rd June

The two Ilford athletes competing at this Open graded meet both retuned Pbs. Tom Gardner with 8-40 & Ahmed Abdulle 8-55 in the 3000m.

Essex Schools Track Champs June 13th Chelmsford.

Ahmed Abdulle representing Redbridge Schools controlled the race from the start to run out a comfortable winner in the 3000m in 9-03. Later he was informed that he has been selected to represent Essex Schools in the English Schools Track & Field Champs at Gateshead.

South of England champs June 13th Lee-Valley

Krystle Bologun did not have the best start with her preparation for this race, but still put in solid 2-19 for the 800 in the heats

  Press Report 8th June 2015  

Jun 082015
 

Orion Forest 5
Chingford
6th June

On a sunny, but windy morning no less than 27 Ilford AC athletes toed the line in the second of the ELvIS series, hosted by Orion Harriers. A record number of ladies were in action, with 12 in total made up of some familiar faces, some new joiners and some new, old faces. On the challenging forest route, which makes up the 1st race in Orion’s Forest 5 series, Jenni Sheehan (37.9) led the ladies home, supported by Breege Nordin (1st 55, 37.31), Dianne Crisp (40.32) and Rachel Halpin (42.1), to bring the team in 3rd position. The Ilford Ladies showed good presence with performances from Nicola Hopkinson (42.31), Victoria Morgan (43.38), Julia Galea (45.59), Doris Gaga (46.54), Nicola Chester (47.2), Natalie Felix (49.52) Pam Jones (51.49) and Kim Baxter (56.38).

In the men’s race the following runners closed the men’s team in 2nd team place Sam Rahman (30.42), Robin McNelis (30.58), Paul Holloway (31.25)

Kevin Wotton (32.9), Stephen Philcox (32.23) and Neil Crisp (33.12), over the challenging 1 lap course which was well supported by mobile marshals and family support. Also out in action were Terry Knightley (33.32), Andy Catton (1st m60, 33.46), Kieran Mckenna (35.33), Bradley Brown (38.8), Declan Cullen (38.36), Billy Green (41.25), Pathrose Louis (42.58), Baldev Singh (45.17), Sukhbindar Jandu (45.45).
In the Elvis team competition Ilford Men were 3rd behind Orion and East London with the ladies 4th in a very close battle with Orion and Eton Manor for 2nd spot.

The next race in the series is at Eton Manor on Tuesday 16th June.

VAC 5 Mile Championships
Battersea Park
Tuesday 4 June

A small squad from Ilford AC took part in the Veterans AC 5 mile road championship held on the fast Battersea Park circuit. The race was over 23/4 laps and Steve Parker headed up the team’s challenge by finishing 7th in 36mins 57secs to win the M55 bronze medal. Close behind and taking the gold in the M0 ws Rob Sargent in 39mins 18 secs.
Heading the ladies was Nicola Hopkinson who won the ladies race and the championship in 41m 19s with Doris Gaga 2nd in the F50 category in 43m 46s. Evergreen Pam Jones set a new championship record for her age group of 48m 27s.
On the racewalking side Peter Ryan won the VAC Championship in 44m 55s

 


  Press Report 2nd June  

Jun 022015
 

Essex County Track & Field Championships
Chelmsford
Saturday / Sunday 23rd / 24th May

Ilford AC Young Athletes produced some inspired performances in the Essex County Track and Field Championships held at the Chelmsford AC track on the recent bank holiday weekend.

Star of the show was Muhammed Weyli who broke the U17 men’s Club record of 50.2, set in 2005 by Gary Smallman, with an excellent time of 49.64, ranking him 5th in the country at U17 level for the distance. Teammate Kelechi Okorie running only his 3rd 400m race placed 2nd with a time of 50.27 just outside the old record.

Another noteworthy performance came from Shane Johnson who competed in three different events earning three medals with three personal bests in the U15 section:-2nd in the long jump with 5.00m, 2nd in the 300m with 39.78s and 3rd in the 200 with 25.15s. The weekend was topped off by Thomas Cooney with his English Schools qualifying time and his National Standard time in the 300m (37.31) and 200m events (23.39 in heat 2), achieving gold in the former. He also ran 5th in in the 100m with 11.72 having done 11.72 in his heat.

Supporting well wereSam Malpass who came 3rd in a strongly contested 400m run (50.38) with Kelly Mavididi also getting 3rd in the under 20s 400m (61.85). Naomi Browne was 2nd in the U17 300m with 42.00. Zehn Ahmed achieved a personal best in his 100m race (12.09 in heat) and his triple jump (3rd in 11.00m). Nathan Meskell earned himself 2 personal bests in the U15 100m (12.37) and triple jump (2nd in 10.57m). He also ran in the 200m clocking 25.74.

On the afternoon of the second day of the same championships Ilford AC were represented by Malcolm Muir in the Masters over 35 1500m. Malcolm kept with the main pack during the first half as the leading two runners, Paul Grange of Havering and Nick Sasha of Orion, pulled away. With 700m to go he made his move and secured third place and the bronze medal in 4 mins 24.00 secs.

Less tan 30 minutes later Muir was in action in the Senior 500m, which was won by Ilford’s Tom Gardner in 15m 22.30s, and placed 7th in a quality field in 16m 18.96s with clubmate Sam Rahman 8th in 17m 31.44s.

Folkestone Coastal 10k
Sunday 31st May

A Gale Force Wind and driving rain greeted the 553 athletes who lined up on Sunday for the 4th Running of The Folkestone Coastal 10K Road Race in Kent.

On A Flat Promenade Seafront Out and Back Course initially into a Gale Force headwind for 5K that literally stopped you in your tracks, and then returning with the wind behind you for the final 5K on the promenade, Ilford AC Club Super-Veteran, Terry Knightley, came 34th Overall in a time of 41 minutes and 28 seconds.

He was followed in 490th Position by new member and Veteran over 55, Kim Baxter, in 68 Minutes and 30 seconds.

The Race was won by local Athlete, Paul Whittaker of Southend Athletic Club.

Kent Road Runner Marathon
Peter Spelman reports that he was the only Ilford competitor in this unique event although club colleague Carol Muir was there to encourage and cajole him during every one of the 17 laps held on an undulating cycle circuit.

The course was made even tougher by 3 significant inclines on the circuit comprising 51 hills in total but these did not phase the Ilford man who finished in a time of 4.26.46 being rewarded by a finishers medal described by the race organiser as probably the biggest in Europe!

SCVAC League Match 2
Stevenage
18th May

The team of 5 athletes competed admirably to finish a creditable 4th in match 2 of the SCVAC League held at Stevenage & North Herts AC on 18th May.

Henry Ricketts competed in the 35 age group covering the 200m (29.2), 800m (2.45.7), 3000m (13.48.5) and hammer (8m 66cm) with a best placing of 4th ironically in his least favourite distance of the 3000m.

Malcolm Muir covered the 40 age group in the 200m (29.4), 800m (2.17.7) and 3000m (9.35.2) winning the longest track distance on the evening.

Peter Whiting in the age 50 category covered the 800m (3.23.7), 3000m (15.53.9) and hammer (19m 38cm) which gave him his best position of 2nd.

Gerald Daniel came down to the 50 age group to compete in the 200m (31.7) for 5th.

Andy Catton showed a return to track form competing over 800m (2.45.8) and 3000m (11.46.4) in the 60 age group finishing 2nd and 1st respectively.

The evening finished with the 4 x 400 relay where the team of Henry, Malcolm, Andy and Gerald finished 5th in 5.07.7 even though Gerald picked up a hamstring strain while catching the 4th placed athlete.

The team now move onto match 3 at Barnet Copthall on 15th June where Peter Whiting will be looking after the team.

Other Races

Meanwhile the Ilford’s superveterans have been doing the Club proud on both road and track in the over 60s category. On Tuesday night Tony Nixon ran 19.32.03 in the 2nd of the 5 race Harwich 5k series to record the fastest age graded time of the night equating to an incredible 14.44.88. Not bad for a 67 year old. This was matched by club stalwart Andy Catton who recorded 19.28.9 to take the SCVAC track gold at Ashford on Saturday morning to add to the 10 miler he won earlier in the year.

  Press Report 26th May 2015  

May 262015
 

Essex Track and Field Championships – Days 1 & 2
May 23 – 24 May
Chelmsford

Ilford AC’s Tom Gardner on the County’s endurance track events, the 3000m & 5000m over the 2 days. The 3000m which was run at snails pace at times with some big kickers biding their time and consequently Tom had to settle 4th place in 9-04-62 .However In the 5000m the next day he had a outstanding performance and with a solid pace being set from the start he stayed with the leaders when the experienced Adrian Mussett of Colchester decided to pick up the pace. The Ilford man sat in just behind judging his effort to perfection kicking away at 100m out to cross the line in 1st place for the gold medal in a personal best of 15-22.

Ilfords young athlete section also gave a good account of themselves in their first county champs, with Chloe Chapman 100m in 15-05 Pb 200m in 30-26 Pb, Ellie Wright 100m in 14-32 Pb 800m 2-56-36, Isabella Hick 800m in 2-58 Bradley Deacon 1500m in 5-32 Pb.

Ahmed Abdulle took on the 1500m & 3000m in the u/17 over the 2 days.On a slow run 1500m Ahmed got caught for speed & had to settle for 2nd place & silver medal in 4-19. In the 3000m the next day he made sure he did not get caught putting in a fast last 400m taking 1st place & gold medal in 9-1.

Krystle Balogun improving with every race had a excellent run for 2nd place & silver medal in the 800m in 2-19 Pb.

[shashin type=”album” id=”149″ size=”medium” crop=”n” columns=”max” caption=”n” order=”date” position=”center”]

BUPA 10k
25 May
London

Ilford AC had 13 runners in the mass event field of Bank Holiday Monday’s prestigious BUPA 10k, the culmination of a 2 day festival of running centred around London’s St James’ Park

The Race starts on The Mall and finishes opposite Buckingham Palace with runners following a clockwise route around the City of Westminster and the City of London, passing many of London’s iconic sights including St Paul’s Cathedral the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The event included were the UKA 10k championships so it was also a chance to rub shoulders with the elite with Andy Vernon of Aldershot Farnham & District smashing his PB to win the men’s race in 28.38 and European 10000m champion Jo Pavey recovering from illness to take the women’s title in 32.56.
Ilford runners with their times were Malcolm Muir 33:53,Stephen Philcox 39:39, Iain Knight 40:10, Breege Nordin 45:13, Billy Green 50:44, Nicola Hopkinson 50:46, Doris Gaga 53:08, Kevin Wotton 53:44, Sukhbindar Jandu 53:56, Nicola Chester 57:46, Pam Jones 62:08, Carol Muir 63:26, Satha Alaganandasundaram 67:43.

European Master Road Running Championship
May 15 -17
Grosseto. Italy

Ilford AC endurance coach Rob Sargent travelled to Grosseto on the wst coast of Italy to compete in the European Masters Road Running Championship and took part in 2 races.

On Friday Rob ran in the 10km race, which was divided into 3 sections. He ran in the mens M55+ race, which was held on a flat one lap course on a humid Friday afternoon. Rob ran a controlled race to finish in 51m 27s in 123rd and was placed 31st in the M60 category.

On Sunday morning the half marathon was held. It was a 3 lap course around the old city starting outside the 15th century Cathedral of St Lawrence and then finishing at the athletics stadium a short distance from the city. At the 9.30am start time the temperature was already at 25C and continued to rise to over 32C by the time most competitors were completing the course. Rob, along with a number of runners, suffered in the heat and crossed the line in 1h 59m 47s for 28th in the M60 group and 318th overall out of 371 finishers, although there were a number who dropped out or withdrew before the start.

Hatfield Broad Oak 10km
May 25

The 30th Hatfield Broad Oak 10km was held on its traditional Bank Holiday Monday date on a new faster course from the picturesque village.

Heading the Ilford challenge was Ben Jones in 31st spot in 37m 37s. Andy Catton was next home in 84th with 40m 49s, finishing 3rd in the M60 category, with Steve Parker recording 45m 09s in 232nd. The club’s only female entrant Jenni Sheehan recorded 45m 29s for 245th and the team was complted by Rob Sargent in 49m 23s for 433rd out of the 1253 finishers.

  Press Report 19th May 2015  

May 192015
 

No less than 26 athletes from Ilford AC took to the paths of Havering’s Raphael’s Park last Tuesday to compete in the 1st leg of the very popular East London Five Interclub Series (Elvis) hosted by Havering 90 Joggers.

Despite a very strong contingent from East London Runners Ilford Club Captain Malcolm Muir proved too good for all his rivals leading a field of over 200 runners home in a time of 27.03. He was well supported by Sam Rahman (13th) who still ran 29.36 despite still having tired legs from the marathon, Iain Knight (25th) 32.06, Neil Crisp (27th) 32.18, Terry Knightley (30th) 32.27 and Rohan Alexander(43rd) in 33.12 who were the scorers in the 6 man Elvis Team. Ilford also scooped all 3 male veteran prizes with Malcolm Muir, Neil Crisp  and Peter Ryan (59th) in 35.09 all placing 1st in their respective age categories,
In the Womens Race Ilford were once again up against superior numbers from the East London squad but nevertheless ladies captain Jenni Sheehan marshalled the troops well and leading them home in 65th place overall with 35.33. The other 3 scoring runners in the Elvis competition were Mel Jones (84th) in 37.32, Dianne Crisp (110th) in 39.07 and Rachel Halpin (122nd) in 40.38.
Both the Men’s and ladies teams had key personnel missing but battled valiantly to finish 2nd in both competitions.
Other Ilford runners acquitting themselves well with good times were Declan Cullen 36.32, Kevin Wotton (injured) 38.00, John Mackenzie 37.55,Nicola Hopkinson 40.56, Billy Green 41.02, Peter Spelman 43.02, Baldev Singh 43.06, Stuart Bennett 43.07, Doris Gaga 43.15, Suki Jandhu 43.40, Pathrose Louis 44.03, Julia Galea 45.24, Nicola Chester 46.02, Carol Muir 48.30, Pam Jones 49.24.[shashin type=”album” id=”148″ size=”medium” crop=”n” columns=”max” caption=”n” order=”date” position=”center”]

Malcolm Muir and Sam Rahman then went on to compete in the England Athletics 10,000m championships & Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs on Saturday at the Parliament Hill track.Sam competed in the E race which was first and finished 10th in 36:33 still feeling tired from the London Marathon. Malcolm was in the next race (D) and finished 7th in 33:23 .