It’s almost summer, so it’s track and field season! And trail running season! And we have news of both this weekend.
Yesterday was the first Southern Athletics League fixture of the year, conveniently hosted by Cambridge Harriers at Sutcliffe Park. While we had some absences in key events due to exam schedules, we still managed to put out a large team of enthusiastic athletes, many trying new events for the first time. Partial report below, as we only have provisional results at the moment.
There were runners at two notable half marathons – Chislehurst trail half and Hackney half – report below – and elsewhere. And those running Beckenham Place Park parkrun yesterday had a nice surprise – Dame Kelly Holmes turned up and was not only first female finisher (aged 56) but hung around afterwards for selfies with other runners:
On Wednesday evening this week we have the Beckenham Relays, a fun event that’s always well attended and competed for in Beckenham Place Park. Entries have closed and teams have been selected, but if you’re around in the evening then you can come along to support.
Don’t forget that throught the summer, on the last Tuesday of the month, we have a track social in the kitchen & lounge area at the clubhouse, after the track session. Come along and meet some of your clubmates, with drinks and nibbles! The next one is on Tuesday 26th May.
And finally, entries for the Ron Hale Open on Saturday 5 July open tomorrow. The events will be hurdles (various distances), 100m, 300/400m, 3000m, Long Jump and High Jump. Entries will be available on Roster Athletics here There will be more communication about the event in coming days, but if you’re available to help out then please contact Richard Giles or Dan Ansell.
SAL NEWS
There will be a full report next week on the SAL at Eltham yesterday – final results are not yet available – but provisionally Kent AC came 5th of 6 teams, with weaknesses in some sprint and field events made up for by the usual strong performances in the middle distances, particularly from the women. Notable performers included Lin Skinner, running the 400, 800 and 1500, and Joe Hartley, who managed a 400m relay leg just after winning the steeplechase.
Tom Steadman in the Long Jump
We also had a full complement of officials at the event, which both represented the club and earned us maximum extra points. If you’re available and would like to help out, you don’t need experience or a qualification, contact one of the team managers (Joe Cartledge or Sofia Contino) or Jacqueline Francis, the officials manager.
Bert Royle in the 400m relay
The next event is at Watford on Sunday 21st June – signup sheets will be shared closer to the date. If you’d like to take part and help the team out in a range of events, it’s a fun day out.
NO HALF MEASURES
Kent runners were out and about in two notable halfs today – in Chislehurst there was a trail run, and there was the now well established Hackney Half in East London.
We had 6 finishers in Chislehurst – Matthew Thomas was 5th in 88:35, Pete Lighting finished in 91:24, and several of our women gained age group silverware – Nicola Cartlidge (1st VW45), Suzanne Spalding (3rd VW50), Ivona Gongolova (3rd VW40) and Nicky Hayes (2nd VW60)
In East London we had several finishers – Owen Hind (75:22), Will Brown (85:43), Alec LAuder (89:20), Peter Range (90:54), Rob Wells (1:46:51), Gavin Orr (1:48:45) and Nathan Stephenson (2:05:13)
Much further afield, Ash Green ran the Ultra Trail des Celtes 50k in France near Strasbourg – over 5000ft of climbing – in a bit over 6 hours.
Ash on French hills
In addition to the above, there was a B group outing to the South Downs, and other very long trail runs that were labelled as ‘race recces’ on Strava, which seems a touch of a humblebrag.
And up in Snowdonia Zuzana Nemeckova ran the fearsome UTS 100k in awful conditions which saw her just miss the final time cutoff after 18 hours of running – brutal, and puts everyone else’s efforts in perspective!
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
May 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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
It’s a double bubble newsletter this week, when we cast our minds back to the last Thursday in April and our first open meet of the season, with four events to shine in – 200m, 1500m, shot put and triple jump. It was a fabulous evening of running, jumping, throwing and enthusiastic volunteering from the club: thanks to all who made it happen, more below. Exactly a week later, it was time for the second Assembly League race of the summer, this time in glorious Victoria park, more thirsty Thursday work, also below. Over this weekend Catford parkrun turned blue when Kent AC runners converged on Mountsfield park in another of our Kent AC parkrun takeovers. In terms of impressive individual performances, it’s once again Clare Elms who takes the biscuit with her extraordinary record-breaking performance at Battersea last week (see below for full report). Step up, too, Victoria Cartwright who won the Jane Tomlinson Canal Run last Tuesday evening:
Jane Tomlinson (1964-2007) was the legendary amateur athlete who raised £1.85million for charity while taking part in a series of endurance challenges while suffering from terminal cancer. Vic ran 5k in Jane’s memory in God’s own county, and was first woman home in 19.20. In the picture Vic is flanked by Jane’s husband Mike (on the left) and Jason Westmoreland, the race director from Rothwell Harriers. Also, barely a week goes by without our champion VW50 Lin Skinner proving her strength over a variety of distances. She won first VW50 at the Battersea race (see belowThursday Work #1) then, this weekend, she went west to windswept Devon to represent England Athletics in the hilly Bideford 10K and win bronze in 39.09:
Other stand-out performances in the last fortnight include David Devlin’s great time in the Limerick Marathon, 3:43:27, Che coming fourth in the Ted Pepper 10km at Bromley in 35.40 and Rob Laing coming in sixth in 36:15. This weekend Alec Lauder ran the Copenhagen Marathon in 3:16:00 and Rob Seseman really took off at the Gatwick Half in 70:17.
Lastly, there are all sorts of Kent AC events to look forward to this summer, not least our fab Wednesday Evening Social run. Meet at 6.50pm at Brockley Brewery (Brockley site) and be ready to run from 7pm. The run is a leisurely route and, here’s the social bit, it’s followed by well-earned drinks. Bags can be left with our friends at the Brewery. Cheers!
THURSDAY WORK #1
Slightly belated, but we held Kent AC’s Early Season Open Event on Thursday 30th April. It was a great evening with more than 190 athletes from clubs across the South of England, competing in 200m, 1500m, Shot-put and Triple Jump. Some amazing results, which are available on Roster
If you want to see the action we had two photographers on the evening their photos are available here and here (use the download pin 9720 for the second batch). Thanks to Suzanne Mitchell (whose photos are used below) and @mphotoe for their expertise.
The images below are from the 1500. In the women, Clare Elms and Lin Skinner slugged it out as usual. Clare won the gold in 5:04:73 and Lin silver in 5:05:39, with Eleanor Davidson taking the bronze in 5:12:58.
The men had an equally thrilling 1500, Kurt Williamson swept round in 4:02:54, closely followed by Olly Buck (pictured) in 4:05:50 with Joe Hartley taking bronze in 4:19:47 Our next event will be the Ron Hale Open on Sunday 5th July. Look out for the entry, which we’re hoping to open in the next few days. These events rely heavily on volunteers and the officials, so thanks to everyone who gave up their evening, if you want to volunteer please let Richard Giles know.
THURSDAY WORK #2
Thursday 7 May was Election Day, and canny Kent AC competitors registered their (apparently Green) votes early doors before donning their blue vests to battle their way up to Victoria Park for the second Assembly League of the summer. It was a great evening and we have all to run for in the June meet. Well done everyone who multitasked last Thursday, especially Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh and Vic Cartwright, who were first and second scorers:
BATTERSEA BRILLIANCE
Clare Elms hit the headlines once again with her extraordinary five miles in 29:53; she was first woman at Battersea Park last Tuesday. With this run she becomes World’s Best over the distance, and she smashed the British Record into the bargain. This race yielded some fab results for other club athletes. Jim Allchin was first in 26:19, Richard Giles, pacing Clare, took tenth place; Lin Skinner was first VW50 in 31:26, Sam Wilcock ran 30:43, Paul McCrone 35:17 and Karen Samuel 42:42.
SUMMER SAL-ING
This year’s Southern Athletics 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.
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
May 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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
On the biggest day of the running year, Kent had over 60 runners out but several times that supporting on the course, on a perfect day for the event. Up at the front of the race, records were set in the men’s and women’s events, while behind them club runners slogged away on a day that started chilly but ended warm. Debuts were made, PBs were achieved, and nobody was broken by it. A fine day out! Report below.
Our juniors were also in action this weekend, inconveniently having a KYAL scheduled for the same day as the mini marathon. Some game juniors (and their parents!) took part in both, a logistical problem given the KYAL was at Medway’s arena in Gillingham. We had fine performances in both, reported below.
Don’t forget that we have our first open meet of the season, on Thursday 30th at the track. Four events – 200m, 1500m, shot put and triple jump. If you’re not competing, come along to watch, support or help out.
LONDON CALLING
On a momentous day in the history of the race, Kent sent out over 60 runners for the London Marathon, including Alex Yee up front pacing the second elite group. Once again, John Gilbert was our star man, setting out at a 2:15 pace and coming home in 2:18, 18th in the mass race and 1st VM45. Amy Clements was our lead woman, for a while looking like she might break a PB she set 9 years and two babies ago, finishing in 2:46, 7th VW40.
Also doing well in their age categories were Chris Busaileh (2:27, 7th VM40), Caoimhe nic Fhogartaigh (2:53, 5th VW45), Victoria Buck (3:04, 10th VW50), and Roger Beardsworth (3:12, 7th VM65)
Our sub 2:30 men included Rhys Doherty (2:25), Alex Hamlet (2:25), Nick Acfield (2:28), Ben Clarke (2:28), Jonathan Collier (2:29) and James Ewing (2:28) The women coming in under 3 hours included Amelia Pettitt ((2C) 2:53), Lara Bromilow ((2C) 2:58) in her first big race since having a baby and Iona Cousland (2:59)
There were many other fine performances yesterday, debut marathons and PBs, including Che Compton (2:39, 13th VM50), Teresa Murphy (3:07) and Kathryn Williams (3:51, 36th VW60)
Kent women relaxing
Special credit to those pacing runners yesterday – George Russell and Jo Wint, who paced blind runners, and Jon Tipper, who set a 3 hour pace for half the race. And to club stalwart Sarah Young, who fulfilled her ambition to run a marathon with her daughter.
And well done to all who ran, and trained for four months to get in shape for it, and thanks to all the coaches and supporters who got them there!
JUNIOR ACTION
There were two big events for the juniors on Saturday – the mini marathon, which required pre-qualification, an event in itself a few weeks ago, and then the 2nd KYAL of the year, this one for U14 and U16 age groups, at the Medway arena in Gillingham.
In the mini marathon we had lots of good results (probably not comprehensive as the results were not searchable by club):
U12 boys
Oliver Davidson 6th U14 girls
Georgia Fox 112th U16 boys
Ed Pearce 101st
Matteo Mathers 106th
Joel Spencer 115th U16 girls
Ealeanor Davidson 24th
Daria Gilmore 83rd
Martha Parry 100th U18 boys
Bert Royle 44th U18 girls
Elena Oliphant (2C) 30th
Alice Hales 61st
Lexie Walker 78th
The Under-14 boys grasped the chances that the Gillingham meet offered to deliver personal bests in familiar events and try out some new ones.
Stand-out performances included:
a huge new best of 27.02s for Otis Atlee in the 200m
Zac Murray returning to the track with a scorching 13.83s in the 80m hurdles
Mus Senar putting in the hard yards in multiple races from 80m hurdles up to 800m
spirited efforts in the field with Nico and Emerson Hunter Stuart both breaching the 15-metre mark in the discus.
A number of the Under-14 girls hotfooted it from the London Mini-marathon to Gillingham to then hotfoot it round the track.
The small but enthusiastic team covered a range of track and field events between them.
Evie Atanda soared over 75m of hurdles in just 12.86s. In the field Norah Hebditch and Phoebe Hall both smashed the 12-metre mark in discus.
Among the under 16 boys, Mack Atanda (16.63s) and Elyjah Abdoulaye (17.2s) had to contend with racing for the first time over 100m hurdles, a big step up from the 80mH that they competed in at under-15 level.
Zy’Shae Brown-Thomas and Olaoluwa Oladipo were dominant in the A- and B-strong 300m races, respectively, stopping the clock at 37.61s and 38.12s.
The huge team spirt among the under-16 girls paid off richly in the 4x100m relay, where they came in second in a very competitive race. Several PBs were achieved too:
Amalya Hunte had PBs in the 200m 28.25 (by over a second) and in LJ (4.26) while also debuting in the hammer.
Lizzie Brain ran the 200m for the first time, where she ran a really well-fought race to take 2nd in a great 27.55s.
Shekinah Acheampong competed across a wide variety of events and had a great run in the 300m (47.86s).
Lily O’Gorman worked hard in some very tough events, including the hurdles and 800m.
Zoe Folarin had a very speedy run (a PB) in the 300m (45.55) and did really solid work in the HJ and 80m hurdles – despite both events being scheduled for the same time!
KYAL offers athletes a great opportunity to seek new PBs or compete at relatively unfamiliar events in a supportive environment as well as aiding the club in its efforts to maintain its coveted division 1 status. The Junior coaching team also guarantees the same sunny, dry conditions for all the forthcoming fixtures. So take the chance to sign up.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
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:
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
Sutton Coldfield is aptly named if you’re standing around in vest and pants waiting for the gun and fully experiencing this week’s sudden temperature plummet. There was no chance of overheating for any of our plucky racers this weekend, but what a fantastic set of results we can bask in! It all kicked off in the aforementioned Midlands town, about this far away from the Alex Yee stadium: Part of the women’s team, from left to right we have Jemima D’Arcy, Aisling Herne, Molly O’Connor and Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh. Thanks to Coach Pete for the picture.
Full reports from the women’s and men’s teams on the best set of National 12 Stage Road Relay
results in many a long year is in the Results section, below.
We’ve also charged into marathon season all guns blazing this week. Brighton, as usual, steals a march on other big-ticket Spring marathons, but Hannover and Rotterdam get a look-in, too. Then there are little forays to Lincoln and central London for that Landmarks special, and a solid local win for our Amy Clements at Dulwich Park.
A full Juniors report all about the Kent Youth Athletics League (KYAL) comes courtesy of Coach Steve Jones.
We’re now just a few weeks away from the first open meet of the year, so don’t miss the chance to sign up. Details of this, and the New Southern Athletics League (SAL) season, below.
All this talk of racing and inspirational results may have prompted a new spring resolution to get down to some serious training and explorations in efficient running form. If that’s you, sign up for a special Thursday workshop series (see On Form, below)
If you’d like to volunteer for the club while sitting down and letting the legs recover, please join our newsletter team. It would be fun to have some new voices in the comms department, and it’s a satisfying way of seeing all the news from across the club and celebrating everyone. Get in touch if you could help out once every 5 weeks or so.
As we head into some busy weeks of racing and big events, please share your stories, pics and thoughts with us so we can share with the club.
HIGH FIVES ALL ROUND
The weekend’s results
First up, the Stage 12 Relays, and the women’s performance:
‘Competing in a field of 50 of the top clubs in the country, the Kent AC ladies squad delivered an excellent performance at the Spring National Road Relays, climbing steadily through the field to secure a 16th-place finish – one of our best results at the spring nationals ever. The legendary Clare Elms took the high-pressure opening leg. In a typically dense and fast start, Clare clocked a swift 20:16 to hand over in 24th place, perfectly positioning the team for a charge. Aisling took over for the second leg and kept the team in contention while the field was still tightly packed, finishing her leg in 25th place and ensuring the gap to the top 20 remained manageable. Alexa put in a strong performance given her recent return from injury, and she began picking off runners, gaining 3 places to bring the team up to 22nd. Jemima, in her nationals debut for Kent C then gained another spot with a very controlled leg, moving the team into 21st. The biggest move of the day came on the penultimate leg with Caoimhe producing a standout run, slicing through the field to overtake five teams and move into the top 20, handing over in 16th place. Molly was then tasked with defending that hard-earned position on the anchor leg which she did with no problem, crossing the line to secure 16th place, almost two minutes ahead of 17th. Thanks to all the ladies who competed in both the Southerns and the Nationals this spring and who came to support (most notably our fabulous coach Pete!). We’re already looking forward to the next turn around Sutton Park in October.’
Over to the blokes:
Bags, gentlemen, please
Rob 1: Elphick Rob 2: Sesemann
Report from the men’s team
‘Kent AC came a fantastic fourth in the country at the annual 12 stage relays yesterday. Although we have come third before, that team included two Olympians. So yesterday – with a team of Kent AC bread-and-butter runners who turn up at 7am to Dulwich Park and 7pm at Ladywell, or nail fartlek sessions with a laptop in the rucksack on the way to office, was arguably the better result. Punchy
Man of the match performance to Owen Hind who ran the 11th leg completely isolated, setting off 90 seconds behind a bunched 6th, 5th and 4th place. Closing the gap by 40 seconds setting up young gun Joe English to chase them down. Joe then subsequently ran the quickest leg for Kent of the day, overtaking all three to haul us into fourth. While this 1-2 finishing sucker punch takes the newsletter’s sub headlines, all 24 runners of the two travelling teams ran superbly. No-beer Street
The B team came 25th on the day, and were 2nd B team: 25th in the country, as a B team. Think about that for a moment – by definition, missing the club’s 12 best runners. In recent years the slow train home from Litchfield Trent Valley has been akin to a party bus, but not a beer was consumed yesterday such was the effort put into each runners’ performance. Gregg’s steak bakes and recovery carbs were the order of the day. Shout out to Rob Elphick for running quickly enough in the B team to justify an A team selection another year. To Jonathan Collier for the biggest number of places gained (13) of the two teams and Ben Clarke for racing despite working triple back to back shifts keeping our night time economy functioning. And of course to team captain and organiser Chris Busaileh.
Sunday Running
Now to those marathons. We had a large Kent AC presence in Brighton, which, as well as hosting the beloved Road marathon, also found space for the Maverick Trail Marathon. In fact the two came together for the last 5km, which must’ve been hard work for those in their trail shoes, such as Laura McCrave, who ran 4:44:37 to be tenth woman and Ash Green, who ran 4:25:30.
The road runners were plentiful and impressive, led in by Barnaby Day in 2:39:29
Harry Massingham 2:49:00 PB
Henry Court 2:59:14
Marcus Grima 3:07:25
Rupert Bedford 3:07:16 PB
Chris Hardy 3:11:16 PB
Abdullah Kizito 3:22:27
James Hilton 3:27:10
Lee Buchanan 3:44:41
Jaqueline Phillips Owen 4:27:35 (PB-first marathon)
Sharon Stanley 4:27:35
In Germany, Karina Box took on the Hannover Marathon and PBed in 3:36:13, and Ben Race went to Rotterdam to run the 26.2 in 2:42.
Well done the marathoners!
In other distances, Patrick Nation ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon in 78:30 and Sean Fitzpatrick ran the Lincoln 10K in 34:16.
Amy Clements, meanwhile, popped over to Dulwich Park for her Sunday run before taking on London Marathon again in a fortnight, and just happened to be first woman in the Run Through 10K:
HIGH FIVES ALL ROUND – JUNIOR VERSION
Would that be lower fives all round? The youngsters excelled themselves this weekend over at Dartford Central Park Arena in the Kent Youth Athletics League leg 1 on Sat 11 April.
Saturday saw the first ever KYAL event for U12s following the reclassification of junior age groups this year, and Kent AC’s newly formed U12 team made a fearless debut. With a number of athletes competing just a fortnight after trialling for the club and trying events for the first time on the day, they all did the club proud competing across a range of events with spirit and commitment in chilly conditions. Most importantly, they gained experience of competition and came home with some times they can use to measure their own development in the coming weeks and months. Thanks to all the athletes to competed, and parents who came to show support. For the girls, Lily was a one-woman dynamo in a bobble hat – representing the Kent AC girls and racking up an impressive 13 points alone. She displayed great technique to achieve 4.29m in shot put, then ran 2.28.9 in a draining 600m. Soon after she bounced back to run 26.7 seconds in 150m. For the boys, Ollie had an outstanding day, coming first in both his races – 150m (22.3 seconds) and 600m (1:49.3 seconds) and third in long jump, recording a distance of 3.64m. Adam showed great commitment and energy, creating some valuable times which we will no doubt see broken in the coming weeks and months, of 31.3 in 150m. 15 seconds for 75m, and throwing 4.22m in the shot put. Dylan ran an exciting 600m race, pacing sensibly to steal some positions in the final straight and achieve third position with a time of 2:05.5. He also achieved 2.97m in long jump and 3.59m in shot put. Josiah recovered from the cold conditions, gaining experience of throwing discus to run a speedy 75m hurdles – with practice on jumping technique and maintaining speed to the finishing line, his 19.3 will be smashed very quickly. He returned later to show us how it’s done with a 12.6 second time for the 75m sprint. Isaac also cleared the hurdles comfortably in 18.4 seconds, gained his first experience of high jump and threw 5.06 metres in javelin. The boys – Josiah, Adam, Dylan and Ollie – also competed in the 4 x 100m relay, coming 6th overall with a time of 66 seconds – smooth handovers all the way around, what wasn’t bad considering they were coached in how to do it just 30 minutes before the race itself. Overall, our position of 8th reflects the comparatively small squad we fielded on the day, but puts us in a great position to build on for subsequent legs across the U12, U14 and U16 categories in the coming months.
EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL
We can announce that 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:
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
June
4 – Assembly League – Crystal Palace
21 – SAL – Watford 24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
July
2 – Assembly League – Sutcliffe Park
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
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
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
Spring is definitely in the air this week! The clocks going forward brought a welcome return of light track Tuesdays (don’t forget to get your track pass if you want to bask in the newly appearing sunlight!), and a very welcome return of Assembly League on Thursday.
We’re now just a few weeks away from the first open meet of the year, so don’t miss the chance to sign up. Details below.
With new beginnings on the horizon, if you’re also thinking about getting more involved in the club, our comms team would love a couple more pairs of hands to help with these esteemed newsletters. It’s a fun way of seeing all the news from across the club and celebrating everyone – a solid way to spend that much-needed sofa time after a Sunday long run too. Get in touch if you could help out once every 5 weeks or so!
This week, the place to be was Battersea Park, which lived up to its fast and flat reputation…
Tuesday night saw a strong contingent at the Veterans 5km at Battersea Park – well done to Narciso Lopez Guerrero for finishing in 22:31, Robbie Smith in 17:02, Samuel Taylor in 17:54, and Paul McCrone in 20:22.
Then on Saturday, the inimitable Clare Elms ran at the Top Flight 5km, becoming the oldest ever woman to break 18 minutes for the 5km distance, breaking her own W60 World Record to run 17:45 (17:48 gun time). Incredible doesn’t quite do this justice – well done, Clare!
The last (but not least by any stretch) of the Battersea successes came today for Neil Phillips, who ran the half in 79:16!
As we head into some busy weeks of racing and big events, please do share your stories, pics and thoughts with us so we can share with the club!
HOP TO THE TOP FOR ASSEMBLY LEAGUE MATCH 1
What better way to kickstart the long weekend than on Thursday night, when the annual Assembly League summer series of monthly 5km races kicked off. A smiley contingent of Kent AC runners lined up to run two undulating laps of Beckenham Place Park, racing the sunlight and racing to get back to the bar afterwards.
Our first three male scorers were Matt Speed, Joe Vis and Barny Day, coming in 3rd, 4th, and 8th overall and sandwiched amongst some Dulwich Runners. Our first three female scorers were Amelia Pettitt, Molly O’Connor, and Vic Cartwright, who came in a storming 1st, 2nd and 4th women.
Looking forward to next month’s race already on 7th May in Victoria Park. All are welcome to join, all you need to do is turn up on the night and collect a number and register yourself on a spreadsheet that will be shared on WhatsApp groups. It’s super easy, very fun, and incredibly social!
SWAPPING NAVY VESTS FOR TEAM GB KIT!
This week, three Kent AC athletes headed to Poland to compete in the 2026 European Masters Championships. It was hugely exciting to compete on the new track where only the week before we had watched that triple gold moment and the world’s top athletes battling it out.
Joe Appiah MBE (V55) took on the Long Jump, 60m Hurdles and 60m Sprint. He started his campaign by winning a brilliant gold in Long Jump with a British Record distance of 5.87m! He followed this up by winning his 60m semi to make it through to the final. Then to the 60m Hurdles final where he was the clear winner with a time of 8.53s. Another gold! And Joe even found time in his busy medal-winning schedule to help out with officiating the event. Congratulations on your incredible successes Joe!
One-derful golds for Joe!
Joe with the first of two golds!
Emily Murray (V45) competed in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump. Coming back from injury Emily jumped amazingly well in both events, finishing 6th in the Long Jump with a PB of 4:45m, and 4th in the Triple Jump, with a SB of 9:93m, just 4cm off her PB which she set at the end of last year, claiming the Scottish record into the bargain! Emily, who turns 48 this week, is new to athletics, having started training aged 46 and jumping her first ever Triple Jump 18 months ago. So competing against some of the best athletes in Europe, each with decades of experience behind them, was an achievement in itself. She would like to say a huge thank you to Coach Juno, who started her on her athletics journey, and Joe Appiah MBE, with whom she now trains. You can follow Emily at @pinkhouseliving on Instagram, for an inspiring mix of training content plus interior design inspo! Start with this awesome video!
Emily giving meaning to the phrase, jumping for joy
New to the sport, but jumping like a true Master
Lin Skinner (V50) took on 3000m, 5k road, 8km XC and 1500m, which was a bit of a schedule especially after narrowly avoiding having to pull out due to a very bad January illness. Lin’s plan had been to not race all of them, but due to a big rivalry that developed with a German athlete, it became necessary to keep trying for the medals. Lin’s results are:
8km XC – 3rd 🥉 and 2nd 🥈 team (also outsprinted for silver)
1500m – 5th – indoor PB – 5:10 on tired legs (only 3 seconds off 3rd)
Lin’s signature sprint finish!
From Surrey League to GB cross country!
It was great to compete with such a high standard of peers, and to visit the lovely city of Torun. It is quite a big commitment in many ways to take on these events, but really such a great experience, not just competing but watching others, especially the inspiring older athletes and of course representing GB.
Emily, Lin and Joe showing how to work hard, play hard!
The next European Masters Championships is Glasgow 2028, starting 23rd of March. It would be wonderful to have a team of Kent AC masters competing if anyone else would like to give it a try. It is a bit more accessible than Poland.
(Thanks to Lin for kindly writing this report and bringing us all up to speed on the action!)
EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL
We can announce that 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:
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 put these events on. 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.
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!
EVENT CALENDAR
April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
11 – KYAL – U12 – Dartford
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
June
4 – Assembly League – Crystal Palace
21 – SAL – Watford 24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
July
2 – Assembly League – Sutcliffe Park
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
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
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
We’re getting into the business part of the road season now, and today was one of the highlights – the SEAA Road Relay Championships in Milton Keynes, 12 stage for men and 6 stage for women. We sent up 2 men’s teams and one women’s, plus some juniors, and had some very good results – the men finished 7th and 26th, the women 13th. Best of all, the U17 team of 3 juniors came 2nd! Full report below.
The performances today bode well for the National Relays in two weeks time. Meanwhile, many Kent members were doing their longest run of the training block, although some had races. Tim Sharp ran Gent marathon in 2:59:08, Nicky Hayes ran Monsal half, a hilly Peak District trail run, in 1:51 (1st VW60), Jeremias Kempke ran Berlin half in 74:37 with Ivona Gongolova running 1:43:23 in the same race, in which our ex-member Phil Sesemann ran a one second PB in 61:21.
Over in Poland, a few of our older athletes have taken over from the World performers last weekend at the European Indoors Masters championships. Events are continuing all week, so we’re only reporting halfway through their action, but Joe Appiah won the M55 Long Jump with a British record of 5.87m. He’s also in the 60m final and has the 60m hurdles to come. Emily Murray came 6th in the W45 LJ with a PB of 4.45m, and has the TJ to come, and Lin Skinner came 4th in the W50 5k with 18:52 and 4th in the W50 3000m with 10:52.34. She has the cross country and 1500m to come.
Emily, Lin and Joe in Poland
This week the main event is the Assembly League on Thursday 2nd, at our local venue of Beckenham Place Park, so no excuses for not making it (unless you’ve already headed off for an Easter break) Mails and Whatsapp messages have been sent round, if you haven’t done it before just turn up (30 mins before the start of 1915, the clubhouse is a 10 minute walk to the start line), grab a number and enter it on the online spreadsheet which will be available on the night.
It’s membership renewal time, about half of you have renewed already, which means that half haven’t. Please do so and lessen the stress for our hardworking membership secretaries!
Also, a reminder that we are hosting an open meet on Thursday 30 April, do enter if you can, but also please volunteer to help out, the event can’t happen without officals and helpers.
SEAA RELAYS MILTON KEYNES
Kent sent over 30 runners up to Milton Keynes, where the main team objective was to qualify for the Nationals in 2 weeks time. The men’s A team, short of several of our top stars, came 7th, while the B team came an agonising 26th, out of a 43 complete teams, with 25 teams to qualify automatically for the Nationals. Last year we were in a similar position and had two men’s teams invited, so fingers crossed we make the cut.
Chris Busaileh, the men’s road captain, writes:
Kent’s men came an impressive 7th at the Southern 12 stage championships in Milton Keynes, improving on the 9th place from the past 2 years. Whilst we are more than capable of medalling at this level, with a number of athletes debuting at the relays and with 7 fast guys to come in for the Nationals, it showcased the depth the club has. The team were around 2 minutes quicker than last year in windy and increasingly wet (and cold) conditions.
Special mention to Noah Armitage Hookes who was (by some distance) our fastest long leg of the day with 26.12. To put that into context, no Kent man has run as quick on that course. At the time of writing, the list of fastest legs hadn’t been published but there only look to be a handful who ran quicker on the day.
Massive thank you to those who turned out and shout out to Josh Correia who stepped in at the last minute to ensure we closed out a B team.
The women’s team was made up of Molly O’Connor, Katie Good, Florence Ingram, Aisling Ahern, Jemima D’Arcy and Alexa Parker, who came 13th out of 33 teams. As the women don’t need to qualify for the Nationals, they will be doing it all again in a fortnight.
In the U17 3 stage 5k team event, Kent boys gained a silver medal, with Bert Royle running a tremendous 15:53, George Searle 16:49 and Louis Holley 18:19. With several others in this age group also showing great improvement this season, the next generation is highly promising.
EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL
We can announce that 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:
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 put these events on. 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.
EVENT CALENDAR
April
2 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
11 – KYAL – U12 – Dartford
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
June
4 – Assembly League – Crystal Palace
21 – SAL – Watford 24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
July
2 – Assembly League – Sutcliffe Park
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
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
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
The spring equinox has seen a flurry of activity among the club’s runners over all distances and terrains.
This weekend was the two-day Lee Valley extravaganza that was the Tri Counties Indoor Championships. In the great outdoors, though, the sun was breaking through, so a fine day for the club to take over Hillyfields parkrun: A rather more exotic parkrun to run, in Torún, north central Poland, played host to Mark George, who’d been representing Kent AC in the vets’ 3000m in the World Indoors Champs. After all that I imagine he needed some of the famous gingerbread: Out in Surrey it was trails and trials for Ash Green in the deep, dark Alice Holt forest. He took part in the Backyard Ultra based there… …and realised how cold the nights can be, even when it’s meteorological spring. He ran an incredible 73.7km (11 loops) before frostbite threatened to set in …well done Ash!
Also trail-y, but more home-y, there was the Bromley Vets five-mile cross country race in West Wickham this morning (Sunday). Sarah Parry (pictured below) and Sam Wilcock turned up in bobble hat and gloves and left, lightly sweating, in vest and pants. That’s early spring for you. Both ran great times (though taking a tumble over a pesky tree root may have slowed Sarah down a bit). She’s happy enough here, though: In the Forest of Dean, Chris Greenwood and Alex Hamlet took part in a fast and furious TRA short trail championships. Fantastic result for Alex: he came fourth in 1:12:30 and scored a PB. Chris Greenwood was second in his age category with 1:17:27. On the city streets – of Madrid – Nicholas Griffiths ran a personal best of 1:36:13. I bet he didn’t need a bobble hat at any point, lucky thing.
In other news; we have plenty to train for: the Early Summer meet coming up soon, as well as all those Thursday 5kms courtesy of the Assembly League. It’s also the time of year when our memberships are up for renewal, so don’t forget to pay up: you know it makes sense.
TRI COUNTIES RESULTS
We had a number of athletes compete over at Lee Valley Indoor Athletics Centre. Well done to all those who took part and those who made the pilgrimage to support our athletes.
For the juniors, Cheryl Adjadi (200m), Zy’shae Brown Thomas (200m), Mack Imole Atanda (60m hurdles), Shamariah Notice (60m) and Derek Olewunne (200m) ran and jumped well, with Derek coming fourth in the U17m 200.
In the women’s 1500m Clare Elms ran a resounding 5:02, just three seconds off her 4:59 from a couple of weeks ago and four seconds off the World Record. We salute you, Clare.
ASSEMBLY POINT
We can officially look forward to light summer evenings and sweaty Thursday 5k races in such glamorous places as Hackney, Beckenham and Crystal Palace, with mellow pub chat afterwards. Yes, it’s the Assembly League, back for another year. Lovably chaotic, always fun. Clear your Thursdays after work. The first one is on Maundy Thursday.
April 2 Beckenham Place Park, 7.15pm
May 7 Victoria Park 7.30pm
June 4 Crystal Palace Park 7.30pm
July 2 Sutcliffe Park time tbc
August 6 Victoria Park 7.30pm
September 3 Beckenham Place Park 7.15pm
EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL
We can announce that 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:
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 put these events on. 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.
A GREAT INVESTMENT
Please renew your membership if you haven’t done so already. Go to the website for information about the easiest way to do this. You also need to add EA membership if you want compete for the club. Membership gives you the winter wonderland that is cross country and the sunny delight that is Assembly League, and the kudos of being a member of the best athletics club in the south-east, obvs.
SAFE, INCLUSIVE, EQUITABLE
Committee update.
The club’s inclusion policy has now been formally adopted.
Kent Athletics Club embraces diversity and difference and is committed to providing opportunities that are safe, inclusive, accessible, and equitable. We want our club to be equally accessible to all members of society, whatever their age, disability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or social/economic status. Inclusion – Kent AC
CLUB 250 DRAW
For many years the club has run a draw based on the National Lottery, which serves as a club fundraiser as well as a bit of entertainment for members.
There are 59 numbers in the draw, each one costs £6 per month or £72 per annum.
On the first Saturday of every month, the bonus ball drawn in the National Lottery serves as the winning number for the Club Draw. The winner gets £250. The most recent winners were Ian Ellwood and Luke Armitage.
We currently have 10 numbers available. If you would like to take part, please contact Phil Marsden at
April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
11 – KYAL – U12 – Dartford
25 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Medway
26 – London Marathon
30 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena
May 16 – SAL – Eltham 20 – Beckenham Relays
23 – KYAL – U14/16 – Dartford 29 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena
June
21 – SAL – Watford 24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
July
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
August
8 – SAL – Dartford
23 – KYAL – U12 – Tonbridge
September
10 – Late Summer Meet – Alex Yee Arena
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
It’s been a quiet weekend for Kent AC, in the gap between cross country and marathon seasons, with relays around the corner. There were lots of long runs done in sharp spring weather, but a few had
The highlight was the Podium 5k event in Leicester yesterday. We only had two athletes up there, fewer than last year, but they acquitted themselves very well.
Owen Hind, two weeks after breaking 14 minutes for the first time in 7 years, did it again with a PB of 13:55. Ross Braden ran 14:25, just outside his PB. Performances that bode well for our relay team.
Nick Acfield ran the Bath Half in 70:15, in which Phil Sesemann, ex KAC and friend of the club came 2nd ahead of his London challenge.
Further afield, Joe English ran in the World University XC championships in Cassino in Italy, and came 33rd in the men’s race. Having run 14:11 in the FNUL race two weeks ago, Joe is another KAC athlete in great form.
We had a few juniors running indoors this weekend – Jeffrey Senoo ran 7.56 in the U20 60m at the Surrey Indoor Championships in Carshalton, and there were several at the Sutcliffe 60s – Andrew Caiquo (7.49 & 7.53), Cheryl Adjadi (8.84 & 8.70), Gabriella Adejumo (8.24), Oghenekevwe Makelemi (7.82 & 7.89), Olaoluwa Oladipo (7.42 & 7.45) and Shekinah Acheampong (8.62)
Note that the entries are open for the first open meet of the season, on 30 April, see below. Also, we will need volunteers to put this on successfully, so if you;re available, please do get in touch.
Finally, there’s a KAC parkrun takeover at Hilly Fields next Saturday.
EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL
We can announce that 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:
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 put these events on. 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.
CLUB 250 DRAW
For many years the club has run a draw based on the National Lottery, which serves as a club fundraiser as well as a bit of entertainment for members.
There are 59 numbers in the draw, each one costs £6 per month or £72 per annum.
On the first Saturday of every month, the bonus ball drawn in the National Lottery serves as the winning number for the Club Draw. The winner gets £250. The most recent winners were Ian Ellwood and Luke Armitage.
We currently have 10 numbers available. If you would like to take part, please contact Phil Marsden at
April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
11 – KYAL – U12 – Dartford
25 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Medway
26 – London Marathon
30 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena
May 16 – SAL – Eltham 20 – Beckenham Relays
23 – KYAL – U14/16 – Dartford 29 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena
June
21 – SAL – Watford 24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
July
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
August
8 – SAL – Dartford
23 – KYAL – U12 – Tonbridge
September
10 – Late Summer Meet – Alex Yee Arena
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
It was one of the big days out for Kent AC – the Paddock Wood half marathon, where those in the middle of their London training block headed down to Kent for a flat, fast course, then beer.
We had 50 finishers in the race this year, and won both the men’s and women’s team events, with multiple individual achievements and PBs.
Ben Clarke was our first man home, in 8th place with 67:27 (PB), followed by our men’s road captain Chris Busaileh with 69:11 in 14th (1st VM40) and Matteo Gala 24th in 70:26.
Amy Clements was 2nd woman in 75:22, with Hayley Cherry in 83:48 and Caoimhe nic Fhorgataigh in 83:50 completing our gold medal winning team.
Behind these there were plenty of good performances, with top 5 age group finishes for Dave Morgan (VM40), Che Compton (VM50) and Roger Beardsworth (VM60), and multiple PBs, including Alex Robbins paced to a 3 minute PB in 85 minutes by a man dressed as a bone!
By reports the race was enjoyed by all, as was the post-race debrief in the pub. For those interested in doing it next year, note that it’s become incredibly popular and now sells out in early January, so be alert for race information.
In other events this weekend, Iona Cousland won the Victoria Park 10k in 37:34, a big PB, and the indomitable Clare Elms tried to reclaim her V60 indoor 1500m world record at Lee Valley. She didn’t quite manage it, running 4:59.63, but it was still a good performance.
Also in Lee Valley at the London Masters International yesterday were Joe Appiah, running the 60mh (8.50 & 8.58) and 60m (7.80) and Lin Skinner (800m 2:33 1st VW50, 3000m 11:05 2nd VW50) and Claudia Rigby (60mh 10.30 PB)
Also at Lee Valley, today some of our juniors were sprinting in the BFTTA Open – Jeffrey Senoo ran 24.53 in the 200m, Vwede Fyodoro-Okiti ran 13.56 & 13.78 in the U13 100m, and Vwegba Fyodoro-Okiti ran 12.06 & 12.22 in the U17 100m
Last Sunday, in the Sutcliffe 60s we had good results among the women with Gabriella Adejumo (8.35), Amalya Hunte (8.41 & 8.47), Shekinah Acheampong (8.63 & 8.61) and Claudia Rigby (8.91 & 8.93) and among the men with John Flack (7.55), Vwegba Fyodoro-Okiti (7.56 & 7.61), Vwede Fyodor-Okiti (8.45 & 8.45) and Otis Atlee (8.75 & 8.86)
Below we have notification of the details of the first Ladywell open meet of the year, on 30th April, which will involve 200m & 1500m races and triple jump and shot put.
EARLY SUMMER MEET 30 APRIL
We can announce that 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:
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 will be open on Monday 9th March.
Please also note that we will need several volunteers to help put these events on. 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.
CLUB 250 DRAW
For many years the club has run a draw based on the National Lottery, which serves as a club fundraiser as well as a bit of entertainment for members.
There are 59 numbers in the draw, each one costs £6 per month or £72 per annum.
On the first Saturday of every month, the bonus ball drawn in the National Lottery serves as the winning number for the Club Draw. The winner gets £250. The most recent winners were Ian Ellwood and Luke Armitage.
We currently have 10 numbers available. If you would like to take part, please contact Phil Marsden at
April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
11 – KYAL – U12 – Dartford
25 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Medway
26 – London Marathon
30 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena
May 16 – SAL – Eltham 20 – Beckenham Relays
23 – KYAL – U14/16 – Dartford 29 – Open Meet – Alex Yee Arena
June
21 – SAL – Watford 24 – Dulwich Relays
27 – KYAL – U14/U16 – Dartford
July
5 – ROn Hale Open – Alex Yee Arena
19 – SAL – Cambridge
August
8 – SAL – Dartford
23 – KYAL – U12 – Tonbridge
September
10 – Late Summer Meet – Alex Yee Arena
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
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.
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.
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
The password for the club contacts page hereis kacladywell2022.
Rob 1: Elphick
Rob 2: Sesemann
