And they’re off
And they’re off
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 09/02/25–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
9 February 2025
Let’s head on over to Sheffield where England’s youngest athletes descended including John Flack, Jack Jones and Tess Hepple.
John competed in the U20M 400m. He did well today in a good quality field with more to give in the bag, plus a great learning experience to compete at these champs. The indoor 400m is a bit of a contact sport, and John is very young in the U20 group, still only 16, but just a couple of days too old for U17.
Tess Hepple ran well to compete in the semi-final for the 60m hurdles too as well as compete in the U17 triple jump.
Jack Jones who is a 2nd claim Kent AC member also competed in the U20 Long jump final, achieving a PB of 6.75m.
Well done to all of our young athletes.
Next up we’re off to the races at Epsom. Place your bets as our runners were chomping at the bit lining up at the gates. Once the race began, they were off like a shot, some taking an early lead while others held their horses to pace themselves. It was neck and neck throughout but every competitor went the distance. Some may have backed the wrong horse with their strategy but all proved they weren’t just one-trick ponies. All showed tremendous horse power on a tough course.
Ok that’s enough with the horse related idioms. See below for the race write up.
Giddy Up – Surrey League Draws to a Close
Surrey League, the Group 1 equivalent of run racing in the region came to an end on Saturday for Season 24-25. 241 senior men and 205 senior women set foot on the historic grounds of Epsom Downs Racecourse for the final match of the Surrey League 24/25 season.
As we traversed to the start line via Tattenham Corner coach Pete Boxhall (fountain of knowledge) pointed out where suffragette Emily Davidson ran out in front of two horses in 1913. The familiar drizzle of the winter cross country season welcomed us. The winds kindly remained calm and we felt just about ok donning only a vest and shorts after a warm up.
Match 4 Team Results
Kent AC Senior Men A 5th
Kent AC Senior Men B 4th (will be revised down as we didn’t have a complete B team)
Kent AC Senior Women A 7th
Kent AC Senior Women B 8th
There were no whips necessary for Amy Clements (16th place) and Cam Dockerill (20th) who stormed home as first runners for Kent AC cementing their strong performances and consistency across the season.
To reach a formidable 5th place the Senior Men point scorers included Noah Armitage-Hookes (23rd), Rob Sesemann (34th), Isaac Parker (43rd), Joe Hartley (49th),Calum Fraser (71st), Barnaby Day (74th), Joe Vis (83rd), Alistair McMaster (94), and Neil Phillips (96th). Noah and Joe were two dark horses of the day improving an impressive 20 places on their previous Surrey League race. The common February cold caused a few drop outs so we didn’t quite manage a complete B team to score but that didn’t stop the rest of the team bringing it home. James Boustead (110th), George Hobhouse (132), George Russell (135), Martin Pollard (145) Fergus Johnson (155), John Gilchrist (157), and Fred U-G (174) gave it their all.
The senior women bolted out of the gates at 3pm, an unusually late start time. Following Amy, Aislin Ahern who only missed one Surrey League this season once again had the blinkers on and finished a strong 38th. Ellie Freedan and Vic Cartwright with a healthy home team rivalry came in 52nd and 53rd respectively with only 4 seconds between them. Always reliable Vic Buck (90) and the ever positive and determined Claire Oxlade (107) completed the scoring team that came in 7th overall. For the B team of scorers, Gen Blanch (111) was closely followed by a team of women who have turned up to almost all races this season come rain hail or shine. This included Nicola Cartlidge (118), Suze Spalding (141). Sarah Young (169), Jo Mott (170), and Jo Wint (172). Special mention to Annabelle Hadlow who finished in a very neat time of 52.52 and Zoë Gaffen who rounded out the team and the season!
Surrey League Season Scores 2024-25
Kent AC Senior Men 4th
Kent AC Senior Women 6th
The Senior men finished in a remarkable 4th place in the Surrey League season club rankings (provisional) and ought to be super proud of themselves. Hercules-Wimbledon came in first, Belgrave second, Thames Hare and Hounds third place.
The Senior Women finished the season in 6th position. The table ended with Belgrave on top, Herne Hill Harriers second and Thames Hare and Hounds third. Individually Annabele Hadlow and Zoë Gaffen were 3rd and 4th fastest women in the 65+ age group, while Clare Elms was the fastest for the 55+ age group. These fantastic results speak to the strength in depth we have at the club.
While the runners put on these outstanding performances, it would be remiss not to thank Pete Boxhall and Ken Pike who sacrificed many Saturdays on top of their weekly track sessions to travel across the region to each race, run around the course to cheer for us and make sure we’ve got pins for our race bibs.
We will see you in a few weeks time when we throw it all out on the line at the final winter mud and hill battle at Nationals Parliament Hill.
By Gen and the XC Captains James, Owen and Parris
All smiles at the start
Raring to go
And they’re off
In full support
Kent Women’s at the races
Kent Men’s after an excellent cross country course
Many thanks to Laurie Oliver and Danny Easton for their photos.
Finally, we go over to Farnborough Half Marathon where Ben Clarke ran 71:10, Dave Morgan raced an astonishing 72.58 PB, Matteo Gala with another excellent PB in 73.09 and rounding out the group was Che Compton with a 75.04 run. Well done all! Winter training looks like it is paying off.
It’s the big one: the nationals are being held on 22 February at Parliament Hill, London. After last year’s fiasco of last-minute cancellation, the premier XC race being close to public transport and actual paved car parking means everyone can once again do battle alongside the bravest and best in the country.
If you’re available on 22 February and want to watch the event and contribute, the organisers have a call out for marshalls. Please contact Ben Noad at .
Look out for details about both upcoming races from your cross country captains this coming week and next.
Road Relays Season is fast approaching
Dates for your diaries are:
*Sunday 30 March* for the Southerns in Milton Keynes and
*Saturday 12th April* for the Nationals in Sutton Coldfield.
If you’re interested in running in either (or both!) please add your name to the sign up sheet linked below or
reach out to Alexa Parker for the women and Chris Busaileh for the men. They’re great events and always a lovely day out, especially the Nationals which is always lovely weather (without fail for the last 10 years).
For the women, teams are of 6 and the legs are about 5k in length. For the men, it’s 12 legs; 6 long of around 8k and 6 short which around 5k.
We’d love to take two teams to each event (at least two to the Southerns). The teams do NOT have to be the same teams at both events, so if you are only available for one date that’s fine.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vAoITRlS9VS9GNSEcWv6TyCFh8pNqtCAG1KUFg-Se_4/edit
(please note that the dates marked tbc are provisional)
February
22 – National XC – Parliament Hill
March
30 – 12/6 Stage Southern Road Relay Championships – Milton Keynes
April
3 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
12 – 12/6 National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield
26 – KYAL – Ashford
27 – London Marathon
May
1 – Assembly League – Victoria Park
10 – (provisional date, tbc) Ladywell 10000/100
17 – SAL – Dartford
18 – KYAL – Norman Park (Bromley)
29 – (tbc) Early summer meet
June
5 – Assembly League – Crystal Palace Park
22 – SAL – Woodford Green
July
3 – Assembly League – Sutcliffe Park
5 – KYAL – Medway Park
13 – SAL – Eltham
26 – (tbc) Ron Hale Open
August
7 – Assembly League – Victoria Park
16 – KYAL – Dartford
30 – SAL – Basildon
September
4 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
7 – Big Half – London
11 – (tbc) Late Summer Meet
Our treasurer David notes that there are six numbers still available for the monthly sweepstake – it allocates lottery numbers to participants and costs £6 a month (annual cost £72) with the chance to win £250, the surplus going to held fund the club. Please contact David at if you’d like to join in.
To whet your appetite: the bonus ball last night was No. 2:
£250 on its way to Brian Sanders
The welfare team work hard to build a friendly, supportive atmosphere where everyone feels welcome; with mutual respect and positive communication – whether on the track, during training sessions, on WhatsApp or in person. Let’s keep the positive and competitive vibes going and make sure our club stays a place which everyone enjoys being part of.
A reminder of the Kent AC code of conduct can be found here.
Welfare Team
Over 7,000 brands pay easyfundraising a commission when you start your shop through their platform, so you can raise FREE donations for us no matter what you’re buying. These donations really help us out, so please sign up if you haven’t yet. It’s easy and FREE! You can get started at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/kentac
You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy
Buy your track pass here.
The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30
Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.
Track Pass – Juniors
Please purchase your £5 junior monthly track pass in advance here. When purchasing the track pass can parents/guardians please enter the athlete’s name when completing the transaction
Please see a helpful FAQs guide here
Ladywell Arena has opening hours dedicated to the public. While during these times the Kent AC track pass is not valid, members can pay for an individual session.
Session times are:
Monday: 07:00 -15:00
Tuesday – Thursday: 1300 -1700
Friday: 07:00 – 15:00
Saturday – Sunday: 09:00-15:00
Price:
Adult resident: £2.70
Adult non resident: £3.00
Junior (U16): £1.30
The Kent AC track pass continues to be required for training on Tues/Thurs evenings and Sunday mornings.
Buying your pass in January gives you 11 months for the price of 12.
Track staff have encouraged people to double check the opening hours before their training session, as they may occasionally be closed for school sport days and football friendlies. Hours can be checked here. This will likely suit members who can’t make training sessions but would like to train in the morning/lunchtime/evening.
Pay as you go fees can either be paid via cash to the desk or using the Better app (note: staff are working to add the sessions to the app).
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