KENT AC NEWSLETTER

7 JUNE 2026

Ah the great British summertime! Rain may have made for some miserable track nights this week, but the weather cleared for long enough for 51 Kent AC runners to charge around this month’s Assembly League race at Crystal Palace, with some terrific runs to boot! Well done to Calum Fraser for being first Kent man home, with Joe Vis hot on his heels and Daniel Steel as third scorer… with Kent making up 8 of the top 12! First woman home was Amelia Pettitt, and then Iona Cousland – both showing that hills are no match for their marathon-fresh legs – with Alexa Parker rounding up to come in third. Thanks as ever to Richard Elliot for organising everyone and helping to rectify the results afterwards too. See you next month for Sutcliffe!

This week also saw the Veterans AC Championships at Battersea, with Clare Elms not only winning the women’s race, but lowering her own 5km W60 World Record to an absolutely incredible 17:45!

Showing that winter miles really do make for summer smiles, Vic Cartwright  showed that it’s not just cross-country hills where she thrives – in the Methley canal race series, Vic came First first lady and set a huge and well-deserved (but not surprising!) 5km PB of 19:02! 

Rounding out the weekend, today saw Che Compton finish the Swansea Half Marathon in 74:03, coming 2nd V50. In Dorking, Chris Busaileh came 5th in the 10 miler in 54:17.

ONE MONTH TO GO – RON HALE OPEN

The annual Ron Hale Open will be held at the Alex Yee Arena on Sunday 5 July. We will have 100m, 300m (juniors only), 400m, 3000m and hurdles, plus high jump and long jump.
Do enter if you want to compete, try an event, or just set a good time or mark.
Entries are open now, sign up here

We will need lots of volunteers to put this on, helping with putting out hurdles, crowd control, registration, lap counting, pit raking, and plenty more. If you’re available on the day, please contact Richard Giles or Dan Ansell to offer your services.

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

June
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

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

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).