Press Report 4th August 2026
ELVIS ROUND 6
This week was a busy one in the Elvis calendar with races 6 and 7 held just 3 days apart.
On Wednesday the squad negotiated the notorious Gallows Corner roadworks to compete in Elvis Round 6, a 5k race at Harold Wood Country park, hosted by Harold Wood Running club.
In the men’s race Ilford AC once again provided the first 2 runners home With Shamil Mohamad a clear winner in 16:27, followed by Chris Goldsmith in 17:53
Next home, and second in the V50 category was Malcolm Muir in 15th place in 19:50.
In 30th place was Danny Holeyman in 21 minutes. Neil Crisp was next home, placing first in the V60 category in 22:27 for 40th place.
The scoring team of 6 was completed by Steve Chissell in 53rd place in 23:45.
Andy Catton, in 86th place in a time of 26:48 placed 2nd in the V70 category.
The men’s team finished 3rd in Div 1 of the men’s league on the day.
First home for the ladies was Natalie Crisp in 8th place and 3rd senior female in 24:29.
Natalie was followed home by Alison Sale who placed 16th and 1st V60 female in 26:38.
Next home in 32nd place was Rachel Halpin in 29:18, followed by Dianne Crisp46th in 31:55, with Frieda Keane completing a team of 5 in 57th place in 35:04.
The ladies finished 2nd on the day in Div 2
Also running were Stephen Lacey 23:59, Bradley Brown 29:08 and Ray Everingham 32:58
ELVIS ROUND 7
On Saturday, a small but perfectly formed squad braved the heat and travelled to Epping Forest for Elvis Round 7, a 5 mile race hosted by Orion Harriers.
Once again, leading the club home in 1st place was Shamil Mohamad in 27:14, closely followed in 3rd place by Chris Goldsmith in 28:25. Next home, and placing 1st in the VM60 grouping was Stephen Philcox in 31:15 for 14th place.
Danny Holeyman placed 33rd in a time of 33:54 and was followed by Neil Crisp, placing 3rd in the VM60 grouping in 47th place for 35:43. Completing the team of 6 was Seb Parris, back after a long injury layoff who placed 51st in 35:53
The men placed 3rd on the day.
Backing up the means team were Bradley Brown 40:49, Tony Young 44:46 and Steve Chissell 49:49
Anna Crawly led the ladies team home, placing 11th in 37:43. She was closely followed by Natalie Crisp in 15th place in 38:14. Next home, and 2nd in the FV60 grouping was Alison Sale placing 33rd in 43:31. The incomplete team of 4 was completed by Dianne Crisp, placing 67th in 53:17
The ladies finished 2nd on the day
This race was the last of 3 in the Orions Forest 5 series, and two Ilford AC runners received series awards with Alison Sale 1st F60 and Danny Holeyman 1st M50 for the series
SOUTHERN ATHLETICS LEAGUE
In the Southern League, Ilford’s athletes came 3rd in a highly successful penultimate meet. Ilford now sits 11th out of 18 teams, a position that if maintained would be our best position in the League since being promoted.
In the 100m A string Leron Adjei came 3rd with a highly competitive time of 11.5. In the women’s A string Elizabeth Tijani-Adeleye did one better, coming 2nd in 13.6, with B string teammate Zahira Campbell-Thomas mirroring this with 2nd in 13.6 too.
In the 200m Krystle Balogun finished a great 2nd in the women’s A string in a time of 26.6, while Elizabeth matched her 100m exploits by finishing 2nd in 27.9. The men’s A string saw Leron continue his strong form with a 23.0 time for 2nd place. Donnell Lemar Lucky-Oligie matched his teammate’s position of 2nd, running a quick 23.7.
For the 400m the ever-helpful James Thake battled hard for 5th in 52.7 in the A string, while Aron Berhe ran a superb 54.1 to come 4th and in the B string. Krystle Balogun came a brilliant 2nd in 60.9 for the women’s A string, and Anna Crawley’s much-lauded ability to cover the full spectrum of track events was reflected in a good 73.4 and for 3rd in the B string.
The 800 saw Anna Crawley and Dianne Crisp put in gutsy performances for 5th and 4th respectively in the A and B strings. In the 1500 the pair lined up again to finish 5th and 4th again. Their sterling efforts are greatly appreciated. In the men’s 800 A string Ronan Edwards ran 1:59.2 in a closely fought A string race, only being overtaken in the final 100m. James Thake in the B string finished a comfortable 2nd in 2:05. In the 1500 Ronan Edward’s returned for 2nd in the A string, in a time of 4:07.6. Samuel Crane ran valiantly in the B string with a time of 4:39.8.
The men’s 5000m saw Shamil Mohamad produce one of the finest performances of the day for 2nd, in a time of 15:02.5 in the A string. Samuel Crane ran a strong time of 16:33.4 in the B string, and also finished 2nd. Perennial multi-eventer Anna Crawley was back to run the 3000m women’s A string in 11:26.6, and Pauline Tester joined her to finish 5th in the B string in 15:07.9. The pair returned in the 2000 Steeplechase to secure vital points for Ilford, with Anna running 9:03.4 in the A string and Pauline running 12:13.0 for 3rd and 2nd respectively. For the men, Joshua Adler achieved his 1st A string 1st, with a calm and consistent race being rewarded with a time of 10:32.1. James Thake debuted in the 3000S, running a useful 13:18.5 for 1st B string runner.
The 110 hurdles for men saw Akwasi Nkrumah run bravely for 4th in 24.3 in the A string. In the 400 hurdles he ran well too for 5th in the A string with a time of 74.2. Joshua Adler helped out the team with a 74.6 and 4th in the B string.
The high jump saw men’s A string Troy Harris clear 1.45m and men’s B string Akwasi Nkrumah jump 1.30m for 5th and 6th respectively. In the long jump Elizabeth Tijani-Adeleye managed a good 2.79m in the women’s A string for 5th, a position matched by ever-present Anna Crawley, who jumped 1.45m. For the men Sam Malekout jumped a great 5.18m for 4th A string and Brian Domfe Bonsu cleared an impressive 4.93m for 4th B string. The triple jump was the most successful of the jumps for Ilford, with men’s A string Brian Domfe-Bonsu jumping 11.19m for 2nd, and Akwasi Nkruma’s 10.18m saw him come 1st in the B string.
In the throws there were many excellent performances. The women’s shot put saw A and B strings Ellen Cunningham and Omotola Sadare both come 2nd, with 10.66m and 8.06m thrown respectively. On the men’s side Craig Burrow’s 8.35m saw him finish 5th A string, and Agampreet Mohal threw 8.10m for 4th B string. The men’s discus was even better, with Craig throwing 29.91m for 2nd A string, while Agampreet’s 29.66m gave him 1st B string. The women’s discus too was a high point for Ilford. Omotola threw 31.12m for 1st A string, and Zahira Campbell-Thomas was 1st B string with a throw of 25.94m. The hammer too saw notable performances. Wesley Clarke threw 32.57m for 2nd A string, and Craig Burrow’s 23.30m notched him 2nd B string. The women’s A string saw Omotola throw 26.99m for 4th, while Ellen Cunningham threw 19.57m for 4th in the B string. Omotola and Ellen were also on hand to secure vital points for Ilford in the javelin, with Omotola throwing 16.60m for 5th A string, and Ellen throwing 8.70m for 5th B string. Sam Malekout’s 39.52m saw him finish 2nd in the men’s A string, and Troy Harris’s 34.56m in the B string secured him 2nd as well.
The relays saw many step up who may not have been in their comfort zone. The women’s 4x100m was Ilford’s strongest result, with the team coming 2nd in 55.4. Their 4x400m compatriots finished 6th in 6:58.9. On the men’s side the 4x100m team finished 5th in 46.3, and the 4x400m team came 3rd in 3:37.2.
All athletes who competed for Ilford played their part in an impressive result for the club. The contribution of Ilford’s officials is also much appreciated.
Southern Counties Veterans Athletics Club (SCVAC)
The last match of the vets track and field season was held at the Bannister Outdoor Sports Centre in Harrow on the evening of Monday 27 July.
Due to reduced availability, athletes were covering lower age groups and events they would not normally cover.
The track evening started with 800m.
James Lambden covered V35 placing sixth in 2:57:95. He also ran the 200m as V60 in 32:00 again for sixth. In the long jump his distance of 3m 73 secured fourth V60.
Sam Malekout in the V40 category finished fourth in 2:32:78. In the same category for the 200m he finished third in 26:73 and claimed first in the V35 javelin with 37m 26.
Henry Ricketts in the V50 age group finished fifth over 800m in 2:57:70. In the 200m the time of 31:70 placed him eighth and his javelin of 29m 53 secured fifth.
Steve Chissell as the V60 athlete in the 800m finished in 2:54.95 for sixth. He also ran the 200m as the V35 athlete placing fourth in 35:58 and again as the V35 athlete completed the 3000m in 12:44:17 for sixth.
Andy Catton competed as the V70 athlete. Over 800m he finished second in 3:11:20, fourth in the 200m in 39:48, fourth in the shot with 3m 89 and second in the long jump with 1m 87.
Danny Holeyman covered the 3000m as the V50 athlete finishing in 11:20:85 for third. Neil Crisp ran as the V60 athlete for the same event and crossed the line in 11:46:17 for fourth losing out on third in a dip finish by 1/100th of a second.
Peter Whiting as the V60 shot putter achieved 6m 36 for sixth.
The 4 x 200m relay team of Danny, James, Sam and Henry brought the baton home in 2:05:23 for sixth.
The team finished third on the evening and finished third overall at season end. Full results will be on Power of 10.
Thanks to Claire Levey who also officiated as track judge.
This was the last match being managed by Henry Ricketts who stepped down after the match ended and wanted to thank all those who have come out over the years to compete for the club. Steve Chissell has offered to look after the team from next season to be confirmed in next years AGM.
