Relay good to be back
Relay good to be back
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 31/03/25–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
31 March 2025
Apologies for the day’s delay in publishing this week’s newsletter – the results from yesterday’s Southern 12 & 6 stage relays were a bit messy so we held off until they’d been tidied. Results and reports below.
Clare Elms is at it again – she travelled to Florida last week to take part in the World Indoor Masters Championships, and came back with 6 golds! She won the VW60 Cross Country (definitely not indoors) and the VW55 XC team event for GB, the VW60 10k road race (also not indoors) in 41:19 and the VW55 team event in that, plus golds in the VW60 3000m in 10:49, a full minute ahead of 2nd place, and setting a new Championship record by 44s, and the VW60 1500m in 5:14, also a Championship record, by 10s.
Clare on the podium for the 1500m [pic credit Steve Smythe/Athletics Weekly]
Rounding up other results, John Gilchrist brought the good news from Gent to Kent, running the half in Belgium in 82:09. Daisy Noble ran the Gloucester half in 93:13, James Bates ran the Kew Half in a new PB of 93:53, and Tom Webb ran a 10k PB in Battersea Park in 35:38, winning the V55 category.
Amy Clements posted another top 10 parkrun of the week, at Woolwich in 17:25, while much slower than that, double Olympic champion Alex Yee ran the Bromley parkrun with his 93 year old grandad and 4 generations of Yees!
A reminder that this Thursday the first Assembly League race of the season is at Beckenham Place Park. The race starts at 1910, please assemble in the clubhouse at Beckenham Cricket Club (19 Foxgrove Road) 30 minutes early to collect numbers and register on the spreadsheet. And don’t forget your Kent vest! Drinks after the race back at the clubhouse.
Similarly social are the social runs that we’re introducing from next week, every second Wednesday, meet at 7pm at the track, casual pace, about 7k, then drinks afterwards.
A reminder to sign up for the Ladywell 10000 on 10 May. There will be multiple seeded races for all paces, food and music. We also need volunteers to help with registration, pacing, officials and on the bar, so please sign up if you can help out.
Finally, David our treasurer reminds us that there’s a rollover on the prize draw this month, so the pot is £500. Email if you’d like to buy a number, £6 per month.
Our 3 men’s teams came 9th, 26th and 35th out of 47 completed teams, the B team agonisingly close to qualifying for the Nationals, which is open to the top 25 teams.
Chris Busaileh, men’s road captain, commented: it was a fantastic show of depth to get 3 full teams out, there was only one other club that managed it on the day. A massive thanks for all those who turned out. The overall standard was high – our A team was considerably quicker than last year but held the same position. It’s desperately disappointing that we look to have just missed out on getting a B team through to Nationals – again, a sign of the high overall standards. The C team were a very creditable 35th out of 47 overall. There were some very impressive individual results – singling out a few; Joe Hartley bouncing back from a disappointing run at Paddock Wood with the quickest Kent short leg with 15.36. In the B team, Dame Dibaba celebrating Eid and the brilliant news about his asylum case, showed he was back to his very best with a 27.36 long leg. James Boustead also showing a return to form with a 16.23 short leg. In the C team, it was great to see Stuart Beaney back in the fold and young Olly Buck marked his first claim transfer to Kent with a brilliant 15.45 short leg.
For the women’s 6 stage we had one complete team, which came 12th, and a partial team of 4.
Alexa Parker, women’s road captain, said: it was a solid day’s work for the women of Kent AC up in sunny Milton Keynes today, despite being plagued by illness and injury which left them short of a full roster of two teams. Katie Good, Alix Fawcett, Fran Buss and Aisling Ahern all made their road relay debuts for Kent AC in the A team, accompanied by relay veterans Ellie Freeden and Claire Oxlade. Despite Aisling taking a nasty tumble in the final leg, the team showed great strength and depth (and Aisling showing great grit to pick herself back up and carry on running) to come 12th overall. Despite knowing they would have an incomplete team, seasoned relayers Gen Blanch, Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh, Alexa Parker and Vic Buck all put in a shift to finish only 2 minutes behind the A team after 4 legs. A great day was had by all and we very much look forward to the Nationals in two weeks where we hope we’ll have all our runners back at full strength!
For the juniors, the event involved road race championships rather than relays. The standout performance of the day was by Tallulah Jones, who came 4th in the U15 girls race. Alice Hales was 8th. In the U15 boys race, George Searle, Luke Roderick, and Lucas Stickland ran very well to continue on from their great xc seasons.
Lucas, Luke, George, Alice, Tallulah
Well run everybody, and we look forward to the National Relays in 2 weeks time, when our impressive teams should be bolstered by a few who were missing yesterday.
England Athletics recommend that clubs should have both male and female welfare officers, we are looking for an additional welfare officer to work alongside the existing team, led by Sarah Young. The welfare officer role involves taking a lead for safeguarding children and adults at risk (though this is everybody’s responsibility), helping to develop policy and occasionally dealing with concerns. We also have an interest in promoting athletes’ well being more broadly, such as encouraging an understanding of mental health issues.
The role would suit somebody with a children’s services background in education, health or social care though this is not essential. It is a great opportunity to make a difference and also looks good on your CV. Training in the role is offered by England Athletics. If you might interested or would like to find out more please let us know at .
A fantastic opportunity to race and socialise across all groups!
Please only register if you’re sure you can attend either event.
Sign up here.
(please note that the dates marked tbc are provisional)
April
3 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
9 – Kent AC Wednesday social run
12 – 12/6 National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield
26 – KYAL – Ashford
27 – London Marathon
May
1 – Assembly League – Victoria Park
10 – Ladywell 10000/100
14 – Kent AC Wednesday social run
17 – SAL – Dartford
18 – KYAL – Norman Park (Bromley)
21 – Beckenham Relays – Beckenham Place Park
29 – (tbc) Early summer meet
June
5 – Assembly League – Crystal Palace Park
11 – Kent AC Wednesday social run
18 – Dulwich Relays – Dulwich Park
22 – SAL – Woodford Green
July
3 – Assembly League – Sutcliffe Park
5 – KYAL – Medway Park
9 – Kent AC Wednesday social run
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
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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 £6.50 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
The Alex Yee 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.
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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