Press Report 14th July 2026
NEWMAN 5
Wednesday 8 July
Hainault Forest
The 5th match of this summer’s Elvis series was held on a challenging course on the trails around the Hainault Forest Country Park. As Ilford AC were staging the fixture many of the club members were involved in the running of the event so the club team was smaller than usual but there were still 23 in action, and plenty of achievements on the day
Ilford placed 3 men in the first 4 and 6 in the top 11 in our home fixture.
Shamil Mohamed placed first in the event, coming home in 26:34. In 2nd place and 1st Senior male was Chris Goldsmith in 28:11. In 4th place Philip Ellul in 28:27.
Completing the team of 6 were Tomas Krukauskas in 9th place in 29:58, Samuel Crane in 10th place in 30:05 and Stephen Philcox in 11th place in 30:14. This gave Stephen yet another 1st place in the M60 category for the Elvis season.
In our home fixture the men placed 1st overall and remain 3rd in the top division of the league.
Other age category achievements in the men’s squad included Malcolm Muir who was 2nd VM50 placing 18th in 30:55, Paul Holloway 3rd VM50 in 31:44 for 22nd place and Neil Crisp who placed 3rd VM60 in 35:23 for 43rd place.
Anna Crawley led the women home in 5th place in 34:36. She was followed in by Alison Sale in 19th place in 42:44 which placed her 1st place in the FV60 grouping. Next home for the ladies was Rachel Halpin in 38th place in a time of 47:21.
Completing the team of 6 were Diane Crisp 46th in 49:21, Frieda Keane 58th in 53:09 and Julia Galea 69th in 69:10.
Completing the clean sweep the ladies also placed 1st in the event, and moved up to 2nd place in Division 2 of the Elvis league.
Also running were Dyfan Garmon 31:28, Danny Holeyman 33:12, Steve Chissell 37:11, Stephen Lacey 37:16, Bradley Brown 39:22, Andy Catton 44:24 and Ray Everingham 52:05
Spitfire Scramble 11-12 July
A team of IAC competed for the second consecutive year in this endurance event, running for 24 hours from midday 11 12 July July.
The event is held at Hornchurch Country Park – the site of a WW2 airfield and the reason for the event name.
The 8 strong mixed team consisting of Danny Holeyman, Dyfan Garmon, Alison Sale, Anna Crawley, Sam Rahman, Richard Morris, Tomas Krukauskas and Richard Woolterton faced unprecedented conditions with shade temperatures exceeding 30°C. Consequently the 5.75 mile course was limited to 4.2 miles for the first 9 hours of the race. For the first time the race was suspended for approximately one hour while the fire brigade tackled and controlled forest fires near the course.
The team raced through day and the night, completing 39 laps and a combined distance of 200 miles.
This performance, dedication and true grit earned the team (exhausted and sun exposed) rewarded with 2nd place out of 29 teams.
Saucony London 10k
BILLY GREEN MAKES CAPITAL GAINS
The London 10k is one of the largest 10k’s in Britain attracting over 19,000 runners.
The race takes runners through Central London, traffic free, and takes in Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, The London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
En route the runners pass several bands and large union jacks draping the streets.
Billy Green was Ilford AC’s sole entrant this year, and on a sweltering hot morning, whilst never really troubling the leading pack, he finished in a respectable time of 55 minutes 599 seconds
MASTERS INTERNATIONAL 5km
Shrewsbury
Saturday 11th July
Husband and Wife Dave and Bev Thomas became the latest members of Ilford AC to be selected to run for the England Masters team. They ran in the 5km match featuring runners from Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Armed Forces over 5 laps of the flat, fast road cycling circuit at the Shrewsbury Sports Village.
On a hot afternoon Dave came in 11th in the 65 years and older race in 21 mins 09 secs and was 11th in the M65 age group. Bev finished in 31 mins 31 secs for 45th overall and 14th F65 but lost a couple of minutes as she stopped to help a fallen runner until first aid arrived on the scene
Essex County Track Relay Championships
Ilford AC sent NINE teams to the Essex County Track Relay Championships held at Thurrock Stadium.
Under 14 Boys 4 x 100m squad kicked off proceedings with an impressive run in their first heat, recording 50.60s, which was the second fastest time on the day. Unfortunately, their realistic medal chances evaporated with a dropped baton whilst well placed in the final, which was a great disappointment for the team of AJ Mullings-Roache, Kyelan Brian, Daniel Nzurike and Daniel Okereke.
U16 Girls team finished 5th after making the 4 x 100m final in 53.50s.
Dara Daramola, Gloria Ananwa, Jordan Pellius-Bastien and Sophie Burrow performed really well in a high-standard final.
U16 Boys team of Max Andrews, Toye Oguntoye, Calin Trandafir and Anu Ogunjide finished their heat, but were also disappointed after being disqualified for a dropped baton.
U18 Girls 4 x 100m produced a season’s best performance of 51.8 for a well-earned Bronze medal for the team of Marissa Osas-Bavis, Zahira Campbell-Thomas, Eliora Arthur-Kennedy and Victoria Ananwa.
U18 Men’s 4 x 100m followed suit in a close-fought final, finishing third in a season’s best time of 45.10 and securing an excellent Bronze medal for teammates Joshua Babalola, Matthew Ayers, Donnell Oligie and Lero Adjei.
Next up were the U16 Girls 3 x 800m team of Alicia Adams, Hawaa Patel and Iris Wan, making their Championships debuts. All three girls ran solid, gritty relay legs in very hot conditions and against high-standard opposition to claim a credible 5th place in 8.36.7 mins.
U16 Boys were involved in the race of the day, just narrowly missing out on the Gold medal, with last-leg runner James Houghton running a storming race but just being denied victory by his Havering opponent. Silver medal was a great reward for the team of Zakaria Choudhury, Barney Perkins and James Houghton, with a time of 6.38.10 minutes for the 3 x 800m event.
U18 Men’s team of Luke Thake, Fabio Reina and late replacement Robert Stanciu emulated their teammates with a hard-earned Silver medal in their 3 x 800m race, clocking 7.33.30.
U18 Men’s 4 x 400m team was made up of athletes who specialize in shorter distances, and they found it hard work in the increasingly warmer conditions and against experienced 400m runners. With medals at stake, each athlete ran to their very limit to claim the Silver medal, recording 4.04.20 minutes. Joshua Babalola claimed his second medal of the day with a solid last leg after good runs from teammates Brian Bonsu, Jayden McDermott and Dunsin Daramola.
A really great team effort in difficult hot and breezy conditions, and against very strong competition. Well done to all of the athletes, coaches and supporters.
Special thanks to the parents, officials and volunteers who managed to get our athletes to the event.
U12 athletes Luca Palimaru and Christopher Maidwell competed in the Under 12 Boys 1500m Time Trials championships, and both boys had excellent runs on their championship debuts. Luca ran 2.42 minutes for 5th place in his group. Christopher ran 2.50.8 minutes for 4th place in his group.
Well done to both boys.
