Sun’s Out!

Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 19/04/26–

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KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
19 APRIL 2026

The sun has made an appearance this week, giving us a welcome taste of the summer ahead. A number of Kent athletes took on races across the country this weekend, as things start to heat up as we head in to some busier weeks of racing.

Before we get into results, please note the dates below for some post-track socials over the summer. It would be great to see as many of your faces there as possible!

Tuesday 26th May
Tuesday 30th June 
Tuesday 28th July 
Tuesday 29th September

Finally, a huge good luck to everyone taking on London Marathon next Sunday! We’ll be at The Chandos afterwards for some well-earned celebratory drinks. 

THIS WEEK’S RESULTS

In the Youth Development League today, Olly Buck finished the 1500m in a superb 4:07!

Elsewhere, the standout event this weekend was Manchester Marathon – strong performances across the board. Huge congratulations to all who took part:

Matt Thomas – 2:49:51 (PB!)
Jamie Harvie – 3:07:07
Tom Joslin – 3:07:36
James Royston 3:51:27

Over in Wales, David Morgan finished Newport Marathon in a very impressive 2:37:01.

Lastly, closer to home, Pete Lighting secured 2nd place at Crystal Palace Half, and Lin Skinner was 2nd woman at the Hyde Park 10K in a time of 39:39.  

Lin looking strong!

EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL

The first Kent AC open meet of the year will be on Thursday 30th April, and will involve two track events and two field events. The schedule will be as follows:

1845 Women’s 200m (U10+)
1905 Men’s 200m (U10+)
1930 Women’s 1500m (U12+)
2000 Men’s 1500m (U12+)

1800 Shot Put (U10+)
1920 Triple Jump (U16+)

Exact timings of field events will be dependent upon the number of entrants and age categories required.

All events will be club championships.

If you would like to enter these events please click through here. Registration is now open.

Please also note that we will need several volunteers to help from 5pm. These will be officials to help with the field events – qualifications and experience not required, as long as you can wield a rake or carry a shot – and with setting up, registration and marshalling the track. If you are available and willing to help on the night, please contact Phil Marsden, Dan Ansell or Richard Giles or sign up here.

SUMMER SAL-ING

This year’s Southern Assembly League (SAL) starts locally on Saturday 16th May in Eltham, and it would be great to have a strong turnout from all groups. The league is once a month through the summer, four fixtures in total. The league is free and open to all members, no experience is needed. All dates are listed at the bottom of the newsletter. As your captains for this year (Sofia Contino, Jo Cartledge and Alex Harris) we will be sending out more information on the Whatsapp groups and here soon. Do reach out if you have any questions. Here’s to a great summer of track and field.

CAT-CH US AT CATFORD

The next Kent AC parkrun takeover will be at Catford on Saturday 9th May – see you there for running, walking, jogging, volunteering, cheering and of course the all-important coffee after! All welcome, including buggies and dogs!

ON FORM

Narciso from C Group has proposed a series of form/technique training workshops during June and July. What is being proposed is a training block of sessions to be held on Thursday evenings (same time as usual) focusing on form and technique as a summer camp, for middle distance/endurance runners. If there is sufficient interest – 10-15 people committing to attend regularly – (in order to gain meaningful benefits), coach Ted has kindly agreed to design and run these sessions. There is also an option of running it on Sunday mornings but this can be finalised once we have an indication of interest. People can indicate interest by sending a WhatsApp to Narciso 07476721272. 

EVENT CALENDAR

April
25 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Medway
26 – London Marathon
30 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena

May
7 – Assembly League – Victoria Park
16 – SAL – Eltham
20 – Beckenham Relays
23 – KYAL – U14/16 – Dartford
26 – Post-track Social

June
4 – Assembly League – Crystal Palace
21 – SAL – Watford
24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
30 – Post-track Social

July
2 – Assembly League – Sutcliffe Park
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
28 – Post-track Social

August
6 – Assembly League – Victoria Park
8 – SAL – Dartford
23 – KYAL – U12 – Tonbridge

September
3 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
10 – Late Summer Meet – Alex Yee Arena
29 – Post-track Social

EASYFUNDRAISING

Please remember to use easyfundraising every time you shop online.
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

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:00 – 20:45
Thursday 17:00 – 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.

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).

KEEP US UPDATED

You can have your say about what goes in the newsletter and keep us apprised of your results or running adventures by emailing the comms team directly here.

The password for the club contacts page here is .

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