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A trio of Kent AC runners, taking on very different challenges, did the club proud this week. Having mulled over which individual runner should receive top billing in this esteemed organ, we’ve gone with James Boustead, who yesterday completed the Bob Graham Round. This 66-mile circuit requires runners to negotiate 42 peaks in the Lake District over a 66-mile circuit, with 27,000 miles of elevation. Oh, and there’s a 24-hour time limit.

In challenging conditions: low cloud and the first rain for several weeks, Kent AC trail stars James and Ben Clarke started really strongly at 9pm Friday night, descending to Wasdale by 11.30am on the Saturday. Navigation was a challenge; Ben was forced to pull out after an impressive haul of peaks but James ploughed on and unbelievably made it to Moot Hall to claim his beer in 20 hours and 53 minutes. A seriously hardcore performance, ably crewed by a strong Kent AC support team.

After paying due homage to peak-king Boustead we head trackward, to Harry Forman Wilshaw and his extraordinary performance at SAL in Cambridge. He came in first in the 800m – a new club record – and the 1500m, then ran a 4:01 in the mile. An absolutely extraordinary performance from Harry, who at 21 goes from strength to strength, week to week.

Our third star is, of course, Clare Elms. She’s always humble about her incredible achievements, so we know this wonder woman would not want to to dominate the newsletter once again, but just let this sink in: at the Wimbledon Mile Extravaganza on Thursday, Clare beat her own W60 World record in the mile and the 1500 finishing in 5:17.25. She is truly unstoppable.

Other results from Wimbledon:

Kurt Wilkinson 4:14.99 (PB)

Bert Royle U18) 4:46.52

Isaac Parker 4:21.15

Louis Holley 4:43.87

Dee O’Brien 5:58.71

Another fabulous result this weekend comes from the super young talent Derek Olewunne in the U18 200m at the England Championships in Bedford. He ran a big PB: 22.19. Congratulations to Derek!

Lastly, this weekend saw a Kent AC parkrun takeover at bosky Beckenham Place Park, where, incidentally, the last Assembly League of the season will take place in September:

The Event Calendar down below has been updated with 26/27 cross country fixtures as we currently have them – there’s a few TBCs in the listing, but make a note of the dates and we’ll update you as we get into autumn.

The ever-popular Kent AC post-track social will take place this Tuesday, 28 July, and with more hot sunshine forecast, it will be all the more delightful.

Finally, we’re introducing a new regular feature – in the cause of transparency, we have a brief summary of decisions taken at the most recent Committee meeting.

JUNIORS REPORT

Thanks to Graeme Hall for the following report:

Around this time of year, kids across the country line up to compete in their school sports days. It’s a moment when our Kent AC young athletes can show their school friends and teachers exactly what they can do. And they did that in style this year.

Here are some results. Huge congratulations to everyone for some incredible performances.

Jeremy Sharp, Year 7, Prendergast Ladywell School

1st in Long Jump

1st in 4×100 relay

Cecily Moscrop, Year 7, Prendergast Ladywell School

1st in 300m

1st in 4x100m relay

Phoebe Hall, Year 7, Harris Girls Academy East Dulwich

Harris Federation Sports Day – 31 schools competing against each other

4th in Girls 100m, but set fastest time of all students in the heats with 13.62 seconds (PB)

1st in Girls 4x100m relay: 55.59 seconds

Vwede Fydoro-Okiti, Year 7, St Thomas the Apostle

1st in 100m: 12.45 seconds

Evie Atanda, Year 7, Kingsdale Foundation School

1st in 100m

1st in Javelin: 16.7m (PB)

Lealaurel Goode, Year 7, Kingsdale Foundation School

3rd in 100m

Otis Atlee, Year 8, Kingsdale Foundation School

1st in 200m: 25.50 seconds (PB)

1st in Long Jump: 4.60m

Georgia Fox, Year 8, Prendergast Ladywell School

1st in 800m: 2m 54s

Zac Murray, Year 8, Dulwich Prep & Senior

1st in Long Jump: 4.69m

1st in Triple Jump: 9.97m

1st in 300m

2nd in 200m

3rd in 100m

3rd in High Jump

Lily O’Gorman, Year 9, Harris Girls Academy Bromley

Harris Federation Sports Day – 31 schools competing against each other

1st in Girls 800m: 2m 41s

Amalya Hunte, Year 9

1st in Standing Long Jump

1st in Mixed 4x100m relay

1st in Girls 4x100m relay

1st in Girls 100m

and she competed in her first ever 800m.

Academy Trust Sports Day at Central Park, Dartford – 8 schools competing

1st in Triple Jump: 8.59m

2nd in Long Jump: 4.40m

2nd in girls 100m

Vwegba Fydoro-Okiti, Year 10, St Thomas the Apostle

1st in 100m: 11 seconds (although his dad caveats that it was hand-timed!)

And finally, we had some great results for our athletes still in primary school:

Lilly Simpson completed her first ever triathlon (50m swim, 3km bike ride, 1.5km run) in an impressive 24 minutes and 22 seconds.

Clara Delogu took part in the Olimpiadi della Gioventù Italiana (OGI), a youth athletics competition for the Italian community in the UK

1st in U12 400 metres

1st in U12 relay

2nd in U12 800 metres

Well done to all our athletes!

LAST CHANCE TO ASSEMBLE AT VICKY P

Thursday 30 July sees the penultimate Assembly League and the second of the season at Victoria Park, Hackney. Race HQ is at the Victoria Park Harriers Clubhouse (St Augustine’s Hall, Cadogan Terrace, E9 5EG). It’s a fast, flat 3.5mile figures of eight loop around this fine old Victorian Park. The bar is usually open for post race drinks and sandwiches. All you need to do is turn up, grab your number and sign up on the spreadsheet on the day, there’s no fee. 

July

28 – Post track social

30 – Assembly League – Victoria Park

August
8 – SAL – Dartford

12 – Social run
23 – KYAL – U12 – Tonbridge

25 – Post track social

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

October

10 – Surrey League xc – Wimbledon

November

14 – Surrey League xc – BPP

17 – AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern

TBC – South of the Thames Junior xc – TBC

28 – SEAA Masters xc – TBC

December

TBC – Kent Vets xc – Dartford

TBC – South of the Thames Senior xc – TBC

January 2027

TBC – Kent County xc – TBC

16 – Surrey League – Guildford

30 – Southern xc Champiosnhips – BPP

February

13 – Surrey League – TBC

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 INFORMED

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

CLUB CONTACTS PAGE

The password for the club contacts page here is kacladywell2022.

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We have a bumper newsletter for you today, with more detailed results from the Assembly League, full results from the Ron Hale Open, plus a number of other races.

Highlights of the week were two runs by Harry Forman Wilshaw in the 800m. Last week at the England Athletic Championships in Bedford he came 4th in the final, running 1:56.59. Then on Saturday at Watford he ran 1:48.51 to win his heat and set a new club record, beating a time set by Jermaine Mays, also at Watford, in 2012! Harry continues to show great improvement, and aged only 21, there’s still more to come!

On Thursday night at the Tracksmith 5000m Open event in Stratford, a number of Kent athletes ran well – of those, the highlights were Kurt WIlkinson running a PB of 14:35, Dave Morgan in 16:00, and Che Compton ran 16:21, winning his race and his age category (VM50)

On Wednesday we participated in the first ever Dino Dash – a fun relay held in Crystal Palace Park, which was sadly not competed for in dinosaur outfits. Jake Simmonds reports below.

On Friday, Alex Yee ran the 5000m in the Diamond League in Monaco. While the conditions were tough and the pace exceeded his current level, he regarded it as another experience worth trying as he builds towards defending his Olympic title in 2028.

The Event Calendar down below has been updated with 26/27 cross country fixtures as we currently have them – there’s a few TBCs in the listing, but make a note of the dates and we’ll update you as we get into autumn.

Please note that the social run planmned for this Wednesday has been cancelled due to a clash with the England match meaning the designated bar is fully booked.

Next Sunday we have the 3rd SAL fixture of the season, in Cambridge. A signup sheet is being circulated on Whatsapp for those who wish to join the team here, plus travel instructions – all are welcome.

Finally, we’re introducing a new regular feature – in the cause of transparency, we have a brief summary of decisions taken at the most recent Committee meeting.

RON HALE OPEN

Last Sunday under blazing sun at the Alex Yee Arena, KAC held its second open event of the year. There were events for all ages and several distances, plus two in the field, many PBs were gained, and one age category world record.

Photos of the event by Laurie Oliver here.

Winners below, with all results by KAC athletes:

SUTCLIFFE ASSEMBLE!

As is usual with the Assembly League, it takes a few days for the full results to be compiled and corrected, so as an update we have them here, with some action pics.

We had over 40 runners out, and managed to win both A and B categories for men and women. Calum Fraser, Joe Vis and Matt Speed were clustered together in 5th, 6th and 7th as our lead runners home, with Amelia Pettitt winning the women’s category, Alexa Parker and Aisling Ahern backing her up.

We also had age category wins for Dave Morgan (VM40), Che Compton (VM50), Lin Skinner (VW50), Jules Gevers (VM55), Roger Beardsworth (VM65) and Miki Jablkowska (VW70)

Full results available here.

Well done to everybody who competed, and we look forward to seeing you at the next race, in Victoria Park on Thursday 30 July.

July
19 – SAL – Cambridge

25 – Beckenham parkrun takeover

28 – Post track social

30 – Assembly League – Victoria Park

August
8 – SAL – Dartford

12 – Social run
23 – KYAL – U12 – Tonbridge

25 – Post track social

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

October

10 – Surrey League xc – Wimbledon

November

14 – Surrey League xc – BPP

17 – AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern

TBC – South of the Thames Junior xc – TBC

28 – SEAA Masters xc – TBC

December

TBC – Kent Vets xc – Dartford

TBC – South of the Thames Senior xc – TBC

January 2027

TBC – Kent County xc – TBC

16 – Surrey League – Guildford

30 – Southern xc Champiosnhips – BPP

February

13 – Surrey League – TBC

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 INFORMED

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

CLUB CONTACTS PAGE

The password for the club contacts page here is kacladywell2022.

View this email in your browser

Wimbledon, Tour de France, World Cup, F1, Challenge Roth… there’s no shortage of sports to be watching this weekend, but Kent AC came out in force to cheer, volunteer, run and jump at the Ron Hale Open at the track today. A full report of all events will follow, but for now to say a massive well done and thank you to everyone who organised it – and everyone who took part too. 

SUPER SUTCLIFFE

As is now tradition for the first Thursday of the month over the summer, this week saw the fourth Assembly League fixture. Sutcliffe Park hosted for a fast and furious three lap course around the park. Our ladies team dominated, with Amelia Pettitt leading the charge home, followed by Alexa Parker, Aisling Ahern and Lin Skinner. Our men’s team had a tight tussle with the Cambridge Harriers team, with Calum Fraser first in for the team, followed by Joe Vis, Matt Speed and Dave Morgan. Thanks to everyone for coming out – see you next month in Victoria Park!

July
19 – SAL – Cambridge
15 – Post-track Social

25 – Beckenham parkrun takeover

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).

KEEP US INFORMED

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

CLUB CONTACTS PAGE

The password for the club contacts page here is kacladywell2022.