Hit the road, Kent!
Hit the road, Kent!
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 21/09/25–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
21 September 2025
Rain and high wind heralds the end of the track season and the start of the road season – and what a start we’ve had, with Kent sending several teams to the Southern 4 & 6 stage road relays in Aldershot, plus 8 runners in the Berlin Marathon. Full report on the relays below.
Over in Berlin Jim Goldie (2:49), Luis Hueca Molina (2:55), Kersha Scibor (3:21), Cedric Hauben (3:26 – pacing), Andy Wright (3:29), James Bates (3:30), Beki Hanns (3:39) and James Hilton (4:13) all completed the first major marathon of the autumn season.
And in Belfast Kent AC’s fastest couple Richard Giles and Caoimhe nic Fhogartaigh completed the city’s half marathon in 78:40 and 81:33. Rob Sesemann ran the Ipswich half in 72:39.
Everybody should have received email notification of the AGM, which will be held in the Blythe Hill Tavern on Tuesday 18th November, after the track session. Please send any proposed resolutions to the Club Secretary by September 30th. The agenda will be distributed two weeks before the meeting.
Also, please note the links at the top of the newsletter – the one top right is to the page on the website where the newsletter is posted, so if you’d prefer to read it in a browser, click that (or this)
Kent sent several teams to Aldershot to compete in the shorter road relay event, with 4 stages for the women and 6 for the men, and 3 for juniors. All teams performed creditably, in particular the vets who picked up some silverware.
Our senior men put out 2 teams, the first one comprising Cam Dockerill, Nick Acfield, Olly Buck, Isaac Parker, Owen Hind and Rob Elphick. They battled well to 14th place, guaranteeing a spot in the national relays in 2 weeks time, Owen having the strongest leg of the day, a PB for him of 18:05 on the 6k course. Our B team came 42nd out of 113 teams, with Dame Dibaba our outstanding runner in 18:55.
We had 5 men’s vets teams – three in the V40 category, one in the V50 and one V60. They all did remarkably well, the V40’s coming 1st, 3rd and 11th, the V50s 2nd and the V60s 5th. The gold winning team of Chris Busaileh, Jake Herrera, Patrick Nation and Adam Paterson couldn’t be joined on the podium by our second team as apparently B teams can’t win medals! Our impressive V50 team of Phil Sanders, Chris Greenwood, Will Pitt and Che Compton were beaten by an impressive Guildfod and Godalming crew.
Alexa Parker, women’s road captain writes: The rain held off (mostly) to make it a lovely day out at Aldershot doing what we love most. Despite last minute injury (as ever it seems with the relays) we managed to field three complete women’s teams on the day – one seniors and two vets.
A strong performance was put in by all our women to garner a very respectable set of results – 21st in the senior women’s race and 4th and 12th in the V40s race (despite four of our competitors running down an age category or two!). Notable performances were by the brilliant Amy Clements coming home in 9th on an absolutely stacked first leg and clocking a time in the top 20 fastest legs of the day, and Clare Elms running the 8th fastest leg of all the legs run across both masters’ categories.
Thanks so much to all who came and gave up their weekend time to both run and support. Now on to the nationals!
We also had a few juniors running – in the U17 boys category the team of 14 and 15 year olds in George Searle, Lucas Stickland and Luke Roderick competed well, and will have a couple of seasons of growth in this age category. For the girls, Georgia Fox and Bonnie Gale-Sanders ran in an incomplete team in the U13s, as did Alice Hales and Tallulah Jones in the U17s.
Well done to all the Kent runners who competed yesterday!
The cross-country season kicks off on 15 October for the Surrey League at Hurst Green.
Details will follow for each individual race, but for now please check out the fixtures and start signing up on the spreadsheet. Important note to please make sure that your England Athletics membership is up to date and paid for beforehand.
A reminder also that across the cross country season there are six club championships at stake: male, female, main champs (at South of the Thames on 20th December), Grand Prix and Grand Prix handicap. The Grand Prix and handicap are for the best six performances across the whole 9 races of the XC season. The grand prix rewards the overall best and most loyal performer, whilst the handicap can only be described as a dark art – a handicap using best six performances of the same 9 races.
Last year’s winners were: John Gilbert and Amy Clements for champs, Matt Speed and Aisling Ahern for the Grand Prix, and Calum Fraser and Jo Mott for the handicap. Good luck to all this year!
If you have any questions, please let your XC Captains (Owen, James, Gen, Parris, Jason, Nicky, Jules) know and they’ll gladly help. Spikes at the ready.
Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of Kent Athletic Club which will take place at 2030 on Tuesday 18 November 2025 at the Blythe Hill Tavern.
The meeting will be held in person and via videolink. Refreshments will be provided.
The Agenda for the meeting will be circulated later. Please submit any items for the Agenda to the Club Secretary at by 30 September 2025
Please also note that all Committee posts are up for election each year. While we no longer have any unfilled posts, any post can be contested at the AGM if properly nominated. A full list of committee members will be circulated two weeks prior to the AGM along with the agenda.
The hat, and other essential Kent AC merch, is available via the online shop. Message Sarah Young on the WhatsApp group for collection.
October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays – Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League XC – Hurst Green
November
15 – Surrey League XC – Beckenham Place Park
18 – AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
22 – South of Thames 5 Mile XC – TBC
22 – Kent County Vets XC – Central Park, Dartford
29 – SEAA Masters XC – Horseden Hill, Greenford
December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile XC (including Club XC Champs) – Wimbledon Common
January
10 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern XC – Beckenham Place Park
February
7 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National XC – Sedgefield, County Durham
March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes
April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
26 – London Marathon
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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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