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Relay tough runs

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 05/10/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
5 October 2025

This season of mists is proving fruitful for our ever-ready racers, who limbered up this weekend with relays in the Midlands, a swift half in Cardiff and the full monty in Chester. Blustery conditions, particularly up north, meant that all our racers had wind resistance to factor into their results.
First, those relays: the ERRA National Autumn Road Relays, to be precise, in Sutton Park, Birmingham. Two women’s teams and the Men’s A runners turned out to represent:

Thanks to coaches Ken and Pete, pictured here with all three teams

The women (above) were represented in the A team by Caitlin Bradley, who ran the first lap in 21:11, handing over to Abigail Nolan (20:36), to Aisling Ahern (21:01) and Alexa Parker ran the final leg in 20:54. That total time of 01:23:43 earned them 20th place.
The Women’s B team were led round by Victoria Buck (22:15) handing over to Fran Buss (21:50), to Elyse Jenkins (22:07) with Victoria Cartwright finishing strongly in 21:56.
The men came 13th in the 6-lap race. First lap was taken on by Cameron Dockerill, (16:35), who handed over to Rob Sesemann (16:41), to Dame Dibaba (17:07), then Nick Ackfield (16:41 then Jonathan Collier ran lap 5 (16:42) with Joe English finishing in 16:58.
There was more good news on the Saturday morning, coming from Dulwich parkrun, where the top end of the results was dominated by super swift Kent AC juniors, who earned third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions out of 710 runners. Absolutely stunning results and such good news for the future of this club. Well done to those juniors and their coaches.
Today, Sunday 5 October, we also saw some fabulous results over longer distances. Ivona Gongolova ran the Cardiff Half in 1:43. Ben Clarke was also in the Welsh capital, and conquered the distance in 69:11.
Rob Elphick, battling the headwind in Chester Marathon, ran a beautiful 2:25:29.

A reminder of the club AGM, taking place at the Blythe Hill Tavern on Tuesday 18th November, after the track session.
Please send any proposed resolutions to the Club Secretary by Wednesday.
The agenda will be distributed two weeks before the meeting.

If you would like to view the newsletter in a separate browser, click the link at the top or go via the website.

SPIKES AT THE READY

The cross-country season kicks off on 11 October for the Surrey League at Hurst Green.

Details will follow for each individual race, but for now please check out the fixtures and start signing up on the spreadsheet. Important note to please make sure that your England Athletics membership is up to date and paid for beforehand.

A reminder also that across the cross country season there are six club championships at stake: male, female, main champs (at South of the Thames on 20th December), Grand Prix and Grand Prix handicap. The Grand Prix and handicap are for the best six performances across the whole 9 races of the XC season. The grand prix rewards the overall best and most loyal performer, whilst the handicap can only be described as a dark art – a handicap using best six performances of the same 9 races.

Last year’s winners were: John Gilbert and Amy Clements for champs, Matt Speed and Aisling Ahern for the Grand Prix, and Calum Fraser and Jo Mott for the handicap. Good luck to all this year!

If you have any questions, please let your XC Captains (Owen, James, Gen, Parris, Jason, Nicky, Jules) know and they’ll gladly help. Spikes at the ready.

AGM NOTICE

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of Kent Athletic Club which will take place at 20:30 on Tuesday 18 November 2025 at the Blythe Hill Tavern.

The meeting will be held in person and via videolink. Refreshments will be provided.

The Agenda for the meeting will be circulated later.
Please also note that all Committee posts are up for election each year. While we no longer have any unfilled posts, any post can be contested at the AGM if properly nominated. A full list of committee members will be circulated two weeks prior to the AGM along with the agenda.

CHILLY WEATHER MERCH

Tis the (XC) season for BIG bobble hats, the essential piece of kit for all that chilly pre-and post-cross country hanging about when the next cup of tea seems very far away.

The hat, and other essential Kent AC merch, is available via the online shop. Message Sarah Young on the WhatsApp group for collection.

EVENT CALENDAR

October
11 – Surrey League XC – Hurst Green

November
15 – Surrey League XC – Beckenham Place Park
18 – AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
22 – South of Thames 5 Mile XC – TBC
22 – Kent County Vets XC – Central Park, Dartford
29 – SEAA Masters XC – Horseden Hill, Greenford

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile XC (including Club XC Champs) – Wimbledon Common

January
10 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern XC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National XC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
26 – London Marathon

IN IT TO WIN IT

In Kent AC lottery news, the bonus ball, drawn last night, netted Richard Jones a tasty £250. If you’re keen to be in with a chance, there are still some numbers available: email

PARTY SEASON INCOMING

Please save the date
The Kent AC Christmas Party will take place on Saturday 6 December. It’s a fantastic way to kick off the festive season and catch up with your club mates. Details and ticket prices will be available soon.

EASYFUNDRAISING

Please remember to use easyfundraising every time you shop online.
Over 7,000 brands pay easyfundraising a commission when you start your shop through their platform, so you can raise FREE donations for us no matter what you’re buying. These donations really help us out, so please sign up if you haven’t yet. It’s easy and FREE! You can get started at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/kentac

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

Track Pass – Juniors
Please purchase your £6.50 junior monthly track pass in advance here. When purchasing the track pass can parents/guardians please enter the athlete’s name when completing the transaction.

The Alex Yee Arena has opening hours dedicated to the public. While during these times the Kent AC track pass is not valid, members can pay for an individual session.

Session times are:
Monday: 07:00 -15:00
Tuesday – Thursday: 1300 -1700
Friday: 07:00 – 15:00
Saturday – Sunday: 09:00-15:00

Price:
Adult resident: £2.70
Adult non resident: £3.00
Junior (U16): £1.30

The Kent AC track pass continues to be required for training on Tues/Thurs evenings and Sunday mornings.

Track staff have encouraged people to double check the opening hours before their training session, as they may occasionally be closed for school sport days and football friendlies. Hours can be checked here. This will likely suit members who can’t make training sessions but would like to train in the morning/lunchtime/evening.

Pay as you go fees can either be paid via cash to the desk or using the Better app (note: staff are working to add the sessions to the app).

KEEP US UPDATED

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

CLUB CONTACTS PAGE

The password for the club contacts page here is kacladywell2022.

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Kent AC · Alex Yee Arena · London · London, London SE6 4QX · United Kingdom

28 September 2025

Vitality weekender

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Vitality weekender

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 28/09/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
28 September 2025

A superb weekend for Kent runners taking part in the Vitality race weekend, with the Westminster Mile taking place yesterday and the London 10,000 this morning.

In the Mile race, Clare Elms and Lin Skinner set the tone, finishing in 5:22 and 5:33 respectively and each winning their age category.
Full results can be found here.

Momentum continued into the 10K today with a string of excellent performances and a lucky few even nabbing a photo with women’s race winner, Eilish McColgan.

Age category highlights:
Nick Torry – 31:54, 1st vm45
Jon Tipper – 33:37, 4th vm45
Vic Cartwright – 39:18, 3rd vw40
Vic Buck – 39:40, 1st vw50
Nesrin Sabanci – 41:21, 10th vw40
Nicky Hayes – 49:36, 9th vw60

Full results can be found here.
Well done to everyone who took part!

Ali Farrall and Sarah Young travelled further afield to compete in the Warsaw marathon, finishing in 3:26:50 and 4:16:16. Enjoy the celebrations in Poland!

Next up, the National Road Relays on Saturday. You’ll find a full race report in the newsletter next weekend.

If you would like to view the newsletter in a separate browser, click the link at the top or go via the website.

SPIKES AT THE READY

The cross-country season kicks off on 15 October for the Surrey League at Hurst Green.

Last year’s winners were: John Gilbert and Amy Clements for champs, Matt Speed and Aisling Ahern for the Grand Prix, and Calum Fraser and Jo Mott for the handicap. Good luck to all this year!

If you have any questions, please let your XC Captains (Owen, James, Gen, Parris, Jason, Nicky, Jules) know and they’ll gladly help. Spikes at the ready.

AGM NOTICE

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of Kent Athletic Club which will take place at 20:30 on Tuesday 18 November 2025 at the Blythe Hill Tavern.

The meeting will be held in person and via videolink. Refreshments will be provided.

The Agenda for the meeting will be circulated later. Please submit any items for the Agenda to the Club Secretary at by 30 September 2025.

Please also note that all Committee posts are up for election each year. While we no longer have any unfilled posts, any post can be contested at the AGM if properly nominated. A full list of committee members will be circulated two weeks prior to the AGM along with the agenda.

CHILLY WEATHER MERCH

Tis the (XC) season for BIG bobble hats, the essential piece of kit for all that chilly pre-and post-cross country hanging about when the next cup of tea seems very far away.

The hat, and other essential Kent AC merch, is available via the online shop. Message Sarah Young on the WhatsApp group for collection.

EVENT CALENDAR

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays – Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League XC – Hurst Green

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile XC (including Club XC Champs) – Wimbledon Common

January
10 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern XC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National XC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
26 – London Marathon

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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21 September 2025

Hit the road, Kent!

Hit the road, Kent!

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 21/09/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
21 September 2025

Rain and high wind heralds the end of the track season and the start of the road season – and what a start we’ve had, with Kent sending several teams to the Southern 4 & 6 stage road relays in Aldershot, plus 8 runners in the Berlin Marathon. Full report on the relays below.

Over in Berlin Jim Goldie (2:49), Luis Hueca Molina (2:55), Kersha Scibor (3:21), Cedric Hauben (3:26 – pacing), Andy Wright (3:29), James Bates (3:30), Beki Hanns (3:39) and James Hilton (4:13) all completed the first major marathon of the autumn season.

And in Belfast Kent AC’s fastest couple Richard Giles and Caoimhe nic Fhogartaigh completed the city’s half marathon in 78:40 and 81:33. Rob Sesemann ran the Ipswich half in 72:39.

Everybody should have received email notification of the AGM, which will be held in the Blythe Hill Tavern on Tuesday 18th November, after the track session. Please send any proposed resolutions to the Club Secretary by September 30th. The agenda will be distributed two weeks before the meeting.

Also, please note the links at the top of the newsletter – the one top right is to the page on the website where the newsletter is posted, so if you’d prefer to read it in a browser, click that (or this)

RELAY SAYING SOMETHING

Kent sent several teams to Aldershot to compete in the shorter road relay event, with 4 stages for the women and 6 for the men, and 3 for juniors. All teams performed creditably, in particular the vets who picked up some silverware.

Our senior men put out 2 teams, the first one comprising Cam Dockerill, Nick Acfield, Olly Buck, Isaac Parker, Owen Hind and Rob Elphick. They battled well to 14th place, guaranteeing a spot in the national relays in 2 weeks time, Owen having the strongest leg of the day, a PB for him of 18:05 on the 6k course. Our B team came 42nd out of 113 teams, with Dame Dibaba our outstanding runner in 18:55.

We had 5 men’s vets teams – three in the V40 category, one in the V50 and one V60. They all did remarkably well, the V40’s coming 1st, 3rd and 11th, the V50s 2nd and the V60s 5th. The gold winning team of Chris Busaileh, Jake Herrera, Patrick Nation and Adam Paterson couldn’t be joined on the podium by our second team as apparently B teams can’t win medals! Our impressive V50 team of Phil Sanders, Chris Greenwood, Will Pitt and Che Compton were beaten by an impressive Guildfod and Godalming crew.

Alexa Parker, women’s road captain writes: The rain held off (mostly) to make it a lovely day out at Aldershot doing what we love most. Despite last minute injury (as ever it seems with the relays) we managed to field three complete women’s teams on the day – one seniors and two vets.

A strong performance was put in by all our women to garner a very respectable set of results – 21st in the senior women’s race and 4th and 12th in the V40s race (despite four of our competitors running down an age category or two!). Notable performances were by the brilliant Amy Clements coming home in 9th on an absolutely stacked first leg and clocking a time in the top 20 fastest legs of the day, and Clare Elms running the 8th fastest leg of all the legs run across both masters’ categories.

Thanks so much to all who came and gave up their weekend time to both run and support. Now on to the nationals!

We also had a few juniors running – in the U17 boys category the team of 14 and 15 year olds in George Searle, Lucas Stickland and Luke Roderick competed well, and will have a couple of seasons of growth in this age category. For the girls, Georgia Fox and Bonnie Gale-Sanders ran in an incomplete team in the U13s, as did Alice Hales and Tallulah Jones in the U17s.

Well done to all the Kent runners who competed yesterday!

DID YOU CLEAN YOUR SPIKES?

The cross-country season kicks off on 15 October for the Surrey League at Hurst Green.

Last year’s winners were: John Gilbert and Amy Clements for champs, Matt Speed and Aisling Ahern for the Grand Prix, and Calum Fraser and Jo Mott for the handicap. Good luck to all this year!

If you have any questions, please let your XC Captains (Owen, James, Gen, Parris, Jason, Nicky, Jules) know and they’ll gladly help. Spikes at the ready.

AGM NOTICE

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of Kent Athletic Club which will take place at 2030 on Tuesday 18 November 2025 at the Blythe Hill Tavern.

The meeting will be held in person and via videolink. Refreshments will be provided.

The Agenda for the meeting will be circulated later. Please submit any items for the Agenda to the Club Secretary at by 30 September 2025

WHERE COULD YOU GET THAT HAT?

Tis the (XC) season for BIG bobble hats, the essential piece of kit for all that chilly pre-and post-cross country hanging about when the next cup of tea seems very far away.

The hat, and other essential Kent AC merch, is available via the online shop. Message Sarah Young on the WhatsApp group for collection.

EVENT CALENDAR

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays – Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League XC – Hurst Green

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile XC (including Club XC Champs) – Wimbledon Common

January
10 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern XC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National XC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
26 – London Marathon

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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14 September 2025

Track to track bangers

Track to track bangers

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 14/09/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
14 September 2025

We bade a fond farewell to summer racing on Thursday 11 September when the 5000m championships, as well as 200m, and junior 800m races took place at the Alex Yee arena. Laurie Oliver’s entrancing photos capture the atmosphere: from twilight, when the junior races took place, through to the night-time 5km runs. A selection of images below, and massive congratulations to Alexa and Owen, our 5000m champions:

Other images from that memorable evening:

YOU CAN BET ON OUR VETS

Wednesday 10 September was another red letter day for the phenomenal Clare Elms. After running 38:46:9 at the VAC 10,000m Championships at Battersea she is the proud holder of the British Record. Extraordinary achievement.
Over the weekend (Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September a number of Kent AC’s senior athletes travelled ) to Derby to compete in the BMAFTrack and Field Championships.
Joe Appiah, one of our strongest athletes, won M50 100m hurdles in 14:07.
Lin Skinner ran 5:08:16, a PB for the silver medal in the 1500m:

In her post-race interview, she said
“It was a very tough race: I’d planned to tuck in owning to the wind, not go for a PB and have a fast finall lap. The other athletes ran the whole thing at my PB pace, and I was fourth at the final bend so through to myself ‘ I’ve travelled all this way and I’m not going home without a medal…overtook and sprinted for the line!”
Also up there in Derby was Emily Murray, competing in the triple jump. After a great SAL season she was determined to make the podium, and she did:

Emily, a V45 athlete, jumped 9.33. Having injured her hamstring on Wednesday she only managed one jump in the first of 6 rounds then had to sit out the rest of the rounds. She was beaten to the gold in the final round by 14cm. This was frustrating as at the SAL a couple of weeks ago she had jumped a PB (and a club record) of 9.67m, and came 3rd overall, despite being the only Masters athlete in the competition, and starting the event a year ago.
For now, it’s time for Emily to rehab that hamstring before the European Masters in Madeira next month.

Victoria Buck (VW50) ran the 800m and was just edged out of th bronze medal contention with her fourth place in 2:42:76.
Another of strongest AC veteran, Philip Sanders, was first V50 in the Basildon Half Marathon in 77 minutes. Mark George (V55), who trains with Adrian and Ted’s groups, ran 1:32:27 in the same race.
Late marathon news:
In the Tallin marathon, Alex Morales ran 3:11:53.
In the Vilnius Marathon, Che Compton was first GB runner in a time of 2:50:17.
Meanwhile, when you’re a Kent AC runner and on holiday in Italy it pays to be race ready. Dee O’Brian proved this by popping on her trainers and winning the Arezzo Confartigianato Run, a “spectacular night race of two laps through the streets of the town and a thigh-busting hill to the finish.”
In a nod to her biceps femoris, she was awarded a very large ham, as well as a chunk of parmesan and a tin of cannelloni beans (covering all dietary bases, there).

Congratulations to all.

DID YOU CLEAN YOUR SPIKES?

The cross-country season kicks off on 15 October for the Surrey League at Hurst Green.

A reminder also that across the cross country season there are six club championships at stake: male, female, main champs (at South of the Thames on 20th December), Grand Prix and Grand Prix handicap. The Grand Prix and handicap are for the best six performances across the whole 9 races of the XC season. The grand prix rewards the overall best and most loyal performer, whilst the handicap can only be described as a dark art- a handicap using best six performances of the same 9 races.

Last year’s winners were: John Gilbert and Amy Clements for champs, Matt Speed and Aisling Ahern for the Grand Prix, and Calum Fraser and Jo Mott for the handicap. Good luck to all this year!

If you have any questions, please let your XC Captains (Owen, James, Gen, Parris, Jason, Nicky, Jules) know and they’ll gladly help. Spikes at the ready.

YOUTHFUL TALENT

Huge congratulations to Auberon Dragten (U17) on being selected for the 2025-27 England Athletics Youth Talent Programme (YTP).
The YTP is a highly selective 2-year programme, open to the very best 16-18 year-old athletes and para-athletes in England. It provides specialist support — from nutrition and psychology to physiotherapy — and helps athletes develop both on the track and in education. Those completing the linked DiSE qualification also gain 64 UCAS points. Auberon is the first from our Juniors section to be chosen, thanks to his superb 400 m PB of 48.56. A reminder of the potential amongst our young athletes. With commitment, and the right support from the whole Kent AC “village” he won’t be the last — whether through the YTP or, for our U20/U23 athletes, the Talent Development Programme, which is the next step on the England Athletics pathway. The talent is there.

COMMITTEE POSTS – WHATCHA WAITING FOR?

The club’s AGM is scheduled for Thursday 18th November at the Blythe Hill Tavern – all members are welcome and encouraged to attend. More information will be sent closer to the date.

At the AGM all committe posts are open to election. If you’re interested in a role then please contact the President or Secretary to find out more information. Email addresses can be found here here or email for further information.

In particular, we have vacancies for the Club Secretary and Coaching Secretary. If you have the interest and time available for either of these roles, please do conact us for a job description and to discuss it with the current incumbents.

WHERE COULD YOU GET THAT HAT?

Tis the (XC) season for BIG bobble hats, the essential piece of kit for all that chilly pre-and post-cross country hanging about when the next cup of tea seems very far away.
The hat, and other essential Kent AC mercy, is available via the online shop. Message Sarah Young on the WhatsApp group for collection.

IN IT TO WIN IT…

…this month was Bernie Hutchinson with a bonus ball of 24 in the Kent AC national lottery draw was 24. There are still numbers available. If you’re interested in joining please email

EVENT CALENDAR

September
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays – Aldershot

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays – Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League XC – Hurst Green

November
15 – Surrey League XC – Beckenham Place Park
22 – South of Thames 5 Mile XC – TBC
22 – Kent County Vets XC – Central Park, Dartford
29 – SEAA Masters XC – Horseden Hill, Greenford

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile XC (including Club XC Champs) – Wimbledon Common

January
10 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern XC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National XC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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7 September 2025

Big: halves, wins, and news

Big: halves, wins, and news

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 07/09/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
7 September 2025

Back to school for some, back to winning form for all! It’s been quite the week for Kent AC, starting on Tuesday night where 2024 club champions and best performers were awarded their rightful metalware. Thursday night saw the grand finale of this year’s Assembly League at Beckenham Place Park… more below, but the TL:DR version is that we swept up both the individual and team awards, which is testament to the brilliant turnout from all across the six races this season.

Today then saw a swarm of navy blue traversing both sides of the river and hurtling towards Greenwich in the Big Half. 81 runners took to the streets and braved the September sun during today’s Big Half. Amongst these, Ben Hope was 1st VM45, Vic Cartwright was 4th VW40, and Miki Jablkowska was 4th VW70. Well done to everyone who ran and to all who drank and ate at SALT afterwards- with thanks to Ellie for organising that all-important decanter.

Autumn evenings may be drawing in, but the fun is well and truly just beginning. We have our 5000m championships, 200m, and junior 800m races at Ladywell this Thursday – enter here whilst you still can as entries close later tonight! There will be races for all times so give it a go!

Details of this year’s cross country season are here now too, so please read carefully, put the dates in your diary, clean last year’s mud off your spikes, and get those hill reps in.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

Since April, Kent AC have been taking part in the monthly Assembly League series – six races across Beckenham Place, Victoria Park, Crystal Palace, Sutcliffe, and then back to Victoria Park, and culminating back at Beckenham Place. Across this season, we have seen a brilliant turnout at all races with our club consistently having several dozen runners out.

Firstly, and most importantly, a huge thank you to Richard Elliot for organising and sorting out our entries and numbers this year- no mean feat but carried out admirably and with much patience!

Thursday saw the final one for this year and after the heavens had opened throughout the day, the early evening settled into perfect temperatures and beautifully blue sky. Winning conditions indeed. The race against the daylight was on as runners took on the two lap course through the woods, getting that taste back for the hills and underfoot mud of the upcoming cross country season.

Kent AC came in HOT – with Matt Speed coming second overall, just ahead of Olly Buck and Jim Allchin. Half of the top 20 men were Kent AC. On the women’s side, Ellie Freeden led the way, coming first, with Caitlin Bradley just behind. Seven of the top eight women were Kent!

This set us up for what can only be described as a clean sweep for the overall season awards…

Kent AC men’s and women’s won the league – and even better, our B teams both won too, showing that breadth, depth, consistency and commitment to show up really did count for a lot! Glad to keep those trophies in our hands for another year!

On the individual and age group front, a huge congratulations goes to Ellie Freeden and Jim Allchin for winning their respective titles. The successes don’t stop there – Lin Skinner, Vic Cartwright, Rob Laing and Samuel Taylor won their age categories too. There were a LOT of medals handed out on Thursday!

See you all next April to do it all again!

THROWBACK SUNDAY: 2024 CHAMPS

On Tuesday night, our last summer social of the year combined with an awards evening to celebrate the successes of the past year.

Massive congratulations to:

Sofia for winning the most points across her countless performances at the SAL matches. Fun fact: Sofia is now the proud guardian of the Arthur Twinn trophy, which has not been awarded since 2016 and has been repurposed to now be a mixed trophy… so well done especially to Sofia for seeing out close competition from Alex Harris.

Joe Appiah for the club’s best male performer – with many world rankings and records to his name, especially at the 60m and 100m hurdles.

Clare Elms for the club’s best female performer after also claiming many world rankings and records. In fact, history fans – this cup goes back to 1952, with previous winners including senior internationals such as Averil Usher/Bowring and Bev Panton.

Ellie Freeden for the women’s 5000m club champs, where she topped a podium consisting of Aisling Ahern and Clare Elms too.

LAST CHANCE: LATE SUMMER MEET

Our fourth open meet of the summer will be on Thursday 11th September.

The events taking place are:

200m (11+)
800m (Juniors only, U11 to U17)
5000m (U17+)

There will be prizes in the form of SOAR vouchers for the first 3 finishers in the 5000m, for men and women. All races will be seeded, there will be photo finish and results will be on Power of 10.

If you’re available on the day, we will need volunteers to help out – please contact Rich Giles.

COMMITTEE POSTS – WHATCHA WAITING FOR?

The club’s AGM is scheduled for Thursday 18th November at the Blythe Hill Tavern – all members are welcome and encouraged to attend. More information will be sent closer to the date.

THE LIFE OF A CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER

October is set to be the biggest month of the year. Competing highly against Taylor Swift’s new album release for the event of the year will of course be the start of the cross country season on 15th October for the Surrey League at Hurst Green.

A reminder also that across the cross country season there are six club championships at stake: male, female, main champs (at South of the Thames on 20th December), Grand Prix and Grand Prix handicap. The Grand Prix and handicap are for the best six performances across the whole 9 races of the XC season. The grand prix rewards the overall best and most loyal performer, whilst the handicap can only be described as a dark art- a handicap using best six performances of the same 9 races.

Last year’s winners were: John Gilbert and Amy Clements for champs, Matt Speed and Aisling Ahern for the Grand Prix, and Calum Fraser and Jo Mott for the handicap. Good luck to all this year!

If you have any questions, please let your XC Captains (Owen, James, Gen, Parris, Jason, Nicky, Jules) know and they’ll gladly help. Spikes at the ready.

EVENT CALENDAR

September
11 – Late Summer Meet – Ladywell Arena
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays – Aldershot

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays – Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League XC – Hurst Green

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile XC (including Club XC Champs) – Wimbledon Common

January
10 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern XC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National XC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
11 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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31 August 2025

Sutcliffe Summer SAL

Sutcliffe Summer SAL

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 31/08/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
31 August 2025

The end of summer is approaching, which signals the end of the track season – yesterday we had the final SAL of the season, in a fixture helpfully rearranged from distant Basildon to local Eltham – Sutcliffe Park, where we’d already attended a SAL fixture this season, and which is so convenient we hoped for a strong turnout of our best athletes. Unfortunately holdays (and weddings) deprived us of some talent, but we were still there in numbers against strong opposition, and performed well enough to finish the season in the top half of the table, we believe. Full report below.

There is at least one more track fixture remaining – the 5000m championships at Ladywell on Thursday September 11th. We encourage everybody to enter, races are seeded, and we’d like to put on as many as we can. There are also 800m (juniors) and 200m races. Enter here.

We have a couple of results from midweek – several Kent runners did the Tracksmith 5000 at Highgate, the highlights being Matt Speed (15:41) and Neil Phillips (15:49 PB), and Cam Dockerill won the Herts County 5k Road Champs in a course record 15:06.

Next week is the Big Half and it looks like we may have a record turnout from Kent, over 100 runners. Good luck if you’re running, if not then do try to make it down to the course to cheer on the Kent shirts (and get some pics for our socials!), and there will be drinks and chat afterwards in SALT Deptford from 12pm.

We have a curious feature down below – we received, anonymously, a photograph of a victorious Kent AC team from 1907. Len Reilly, our records secretary, has done some research to find out the history and context of the photo.

Don’t forget the Assembly League at Beckenham Place Park this Thursday – Richard will send round the details later this week, but do note the earlier start of 1910, due to the time of year, so please get to the clubhouse sufficiently early to pick up your number then get to the start, which is 10 minutes away. It’s the last race of the season, and our local one, so let’s have a big turnout!

Finally, our last track social of the year will be after the session on Tuesday. Do turn up to meet and chat with other club members.

SAL AT SUTCLIFFE

The final Southern Athletics League match of the season took place in Eltham on Saturday. Over the past few seasons it has been a challenge for Kent to pull together a team for the August match and, whilst this was once again the case, those that turned out dug deep to produce a very creditable team performance. Kent were fourth out of six on the day but were not competing against Cambridge Harriers so this gets rounded up to third out of five when it comes to league points. This should be sufficient to secure our highest ever league position (probably 6th or 7th out of 18). There were many notable performances on the day, a few are highlighted below.

Firstly, English Schools high jumper, Phoebe Folarin pulled off a SAL grand slam with her 4^th straight A String win, clearing 1.53m. This was our only A string win on the day. There were also B String wins for Calum Fraser in the 3000m, James Bowler in the pole vault and Lin Skinner in the 1500m.

In terms of other notable individual performances, Jim Allchin showed his recovery from illness is now well and truly on track with an impressive sub-9 minute 3000m to finish 3^rd against high quality competition. Joe Appiah leapt 6.15m in the long jump which, incredibly, was only enough to finish 4th. Alice Hales again looked a natural over the steeplechase barriers, running 5:48 to finish 3rd in the 1500m SC. Olly Buck ran an impressive double with 3^rd place in the 1500m in 4:13 followed by 3^rd place in the 2000m steeplechase in 6:45. It was also great to see how well Theo Gaymes has improved at Loughborough University with him running a smart race to finish 2^nd in the 800m in 2:02.

There were also vital contributions from our multi-eventers with Alex Harris competing in 9 events, James Bowler in 6, Stan FW in 5, Calum Fraser in 5, Vic Buck in 5 and Jo Mott in 5.

In addition, a shout out must go to our loyal team of officials: Pete Boxshall, Jacqueline Francis, Len Reilly, Phil Marsden, Kehinde Dauda and Laura Seabright.

COMMITTEE POSTS

The club’s AGM is scheduled for Thursday 18th November at the Blythe Hill Tavern – all members are welcome and encouraged to attend. More information will be sent closer to the date.

LATE SUMMER MEET – 5000m CHAMPS

Our fourth open meet of the summer will be on Thursday 11th September.

The events taking place are:

200m (11+)
800m (Juniors only, U11 to U17)
5000m (U17+)

There will be prizes in the form of SOAR vouchers for the first 3 finishers in the 5000m, for men and women. All races will be seeded, there will be photo finish and results will be on Power of 10.

If you’re available on the day, we will need volunteers to help out – please contact Rich Giles.

ARCHIVE CORNER

The club has recently received a fine and original photo from 1907 showing proud members in club kit as victors in the 1907 South of the Thames cross country championship.

This was the club’s first victory and stayed as such for another 108 years. The 1907 victory was a close one, our 97 points to Cambridge’s 98. We also had the individual winner, J Keywood and third placer, J Satch. It was 97 years until we had another individual winner, Jermaine Mays in 2004. The 1907 event had been held somewhere in Bromley over seven miles, with a winning time of 42 minutes.

The photo doesn’t give names, but other photos we have from 1913 and 1920 do, and so it’s possible to identify A Elliot in civvies (and oven gloves) back left, Keywood front left and Satch front right. Keywood had been an active member for a few years before and continued into the 1920s. Satch had previously placed second in the SoT and won our club championships leading up to the war, but isn’t heard of thereafter. The club kit is of interest: utterly uniform (shorts too); pristine, perhaps ceremonial rather than for use in competition; however white isn’t such a surprise as other images from around then show the same.

The trophy is the one still in use: the Sir Thomas Dewar challenge shield – Dewar of whisky renown. It was donated to the association in 1905 so was virtually box fresh.

The SoT as an association was established in 1888. It was originally south London only and its affiliates were minor clubs, such as ours, made up of aspiring athletes of lower social status, excluded by the socially superior and longer-established outfits such as Thames Hare and Hounds and Blackheath. It ran one championship until 1910 when the so called junior, (by standard) event was introduced. Women’s championships didn’t start until 2001. The association expanded geographically and socially and today ranges as far east as Ashford and west as Bournemouth.

The photo came by post sent to the track, but with no clue as to the sender, so if they are reading this on our website, many thanks indeed.

EVENT CALENDAR

September
2 – Track Social
4 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
7 – Big Half – London
11 – Late Summer Meet
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays – Aldershot

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays at Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League CC – Hurst Green

November
15 – Surrey League CC – Beckenham Place Park
22 – South of Thames 5 Mile xc
22 – Kent County Vets CC – TBC
22 – Kent County Vets CC – Central Park, Dartford
29 – SEAA Masters CC – Horseden Hill, Greenford

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile xc (including Club CC Champs) – Wimledon Common

January
10 – Kent County CC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League CC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern CC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League CC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National CC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
29 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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25 August 2025

South London Track

South London Track

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 25/08/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
24 August 2025

Welcome to another addition of the Newsletter. Below we have some information on committee posts, The Ladywell Late Summer Meet, an updated calendar for the months ahead. Please note that there are some clashes with dates.

First of all, we kick off with 3000m and 5000m PBs in South London.

TRACK TRACK TRACK

Track season is in full swing as competitors raced the 3000m at Tooting BMC and the Peckham Pacers 5000 this week.
Cameron Dockerill clocked himself an well-earned 8:34 in the 3000m on Wednesday night. This was his first run in the event since 2022 and saw him achieve a 23 second PB.
Owen Hind also raced in the night’s A heat: clocking an impressive 8:35. Well done both.

Two days later many of our racers were racing a few miles north east Southwark. See the race report of the Peckham Pacers 5000 written up by Jake Simmonds below.

22nd of August saw 16 Kent AC athletes represent the mighty blue vest over at Southwark Park for the second edition of the Peckham Pacers 5000 event.

Race 1 kicked off at 18:25 with Jo Wint running a 5000m PB on the track. Jo has ran quicker on the road, but this was her first 5000m race on the track. Well done, Jo!

Race 2 featured just one Kent AC athlete again – Andy Wright – also running his first 5000m on the track.

Race 4 of the evening saw Amelia and John battle hard in their respective races. Amelia clocked a season’s best, her fourth time under 18 minutes, while John Gilchrist recorded a 14-second improvement to his track PB. Well done, both!

Race 5 had a strong B group presence, with five blue vests on the start line. Calum showed intent early, putting himself in the front group. Matteo followed, closely tracked by Amy Clements, with both working well together until Matteo pulled away slightly in the final 2000m. Alex Clarkson stayed committed with his group to finish with a 7-second PB and his second time under 17 minutes. Joshua and Kieran showed great Kent AC spirit, battling hard in the second half of the race.

Race 6 could’ve been mistaken for a club champs, with nine Kent AC athletes occupying the start line. Owen Hind and Harry Tivnan were on pace duties. A few tactical discussions took place during the warm-up on race order to maximise fast times. Owen led consistent laps, followed by Joe, Jake, Ben, and Nick in that order. At 3000m, Joe made his move, pushing up to the next group ahead. Andrew and Jim worked well with their packs, while Mikhail also ran strongly. Joe finished with a new track PB of 14:40, placing 2nd in the race. Jake improving by 8 seconds, and Nick clocking a new track PB of 14:46. The talk of the race: Ben Clarke finally dipped under 15 minutes for the very first time – 14:57. It’s taken a few attempts, but he’s done it! New recruit Andrew Barrington smashed a 28-second track PB. Jim Allchin, the current senior men’s Assembly League leader, returned to form with his fastest 5000m of the year. Mikhail Krivomazov also ran a massive track PB, believed to be 15:49.

Great work everyone!

Joe English – 14:40

Jake Simmonds – 14:45

Nick Acfield – 14:46

Ben Clarke – 14:57

Andrew Barrington – 15:08

Jim Allchin – 15:22

Mikhail Krivomazov – 15:49

Calum Fraser – 15:52

Matteo Gala – 16:22

Alex Clarkson – 16:51

Amy Clements – 16:59

Joshua Lennard-Jones – 17:32

Kieran Fitzpatrick – 18:01

John Gilchrist – 17:48

Amelia Pettitt – 17:58

Andy Wright – 19:53

Jo Wint – 23:19

COMMITTEE POSTS

The club’s AGM is scheduled for Thursday 18th November at the Blythe Hill Tavern – all members are welcome and encouraged to attend. More information will be sent closer to the date.

T-18 DAYS UNTIL THE LATE SUMMER MEET

Our fourth open meet of the summer will be on Thursday 11th September.

The events taking place are:

200m (11+)
800m (Juniors only, U11 to U17)
5000m (U17+)

There will be prizes in the form of SOAR vouchers for the first 3 finishers in the 5000m, for men and women. All races will be seeded, there will be photo finish and results will be on Power of 10.

If you’re available on the day, we will need volunteers to help out – please contact Rich Giles.

BIG HALF, FULL PINTS

With many of the club taking part in the Big Half on 7 September, post-race refreshments will be top of mind! We’ll have a spot at SALT Deptford for drinks and pizza from 12:00. All welcome, whether runners, spectators or if you just fancy a natter and some drinks! Thanks to Ellie for arranging!

EVENT CALENDAR

August
30 – SAL – Sutcliffe Park

September
2 – Track Social
4 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
7 – Big Half – London
11 – Late Summer Meet
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays – Aldershot

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays at Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League CC – Hurst Green

December
20 – South of Thames Senior Champs 7.5 mile xc (including Club CC Champs) – Wimledon Common

January
10 – Kent County CC – Brands Hatch
10 – Surrey League CC – Mitcham Common
24 – Southern CC – Beckenham Place Park

February
7 – Surrey League CC – Wimbledon Common
21 – National CC – Sedgefield, County Durham

March
29 – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay – Milton Keynes

April
29 – National 12 Stage Road Relay – Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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17 August 2025

Lapping up the club records!

Lapping up the club records!

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 17/08/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
17 August 2025

The end of the summer era is almost upon us, but don’t worry, track fans, there are still some important opportunities for PBs and to contribute to the club’s success! Read on for details of the Late Summer Meet on 11th September, and don’t forget about the SAL on 30th August, which will now be taking place just down the road at Sutcliffe Park.

The big and impressively exciting news this week is that yesterday’s KYAL saw the 4 x 100m U15 boys break Kent AC’s club record, which has been held since 2003! They came first in the race, beating second placers Cambridge Harriers by 0.02 seconds! Well done to Zy’shae, Ola, Oghenekevwe (David) and Vwegba for smashing it in 47.18. Thanks to this and other brilliant performances throughout the day, the juniors secured their Division 1 status for next year.

Further afield, and taking a trip down memory lane, past Kent AC members from the 1980’s, last week met up in Logrono, Northern Spain. Phillip Towndrow, who now divides his time between Singapore and Northern Spain and blogs about hiking the various Camino routes and hiking in general (YouTube @PhillipATowndrowHikes) and Neil Luxford () who lives in Perth, Western Australia and just about manages to still ‘run’ a couple of times a week. Phillip and Neil send their best wishes to Kent AC members present and past – they both still follow the club’s fortunes closely and in their own words find it remarkable how the club has turned around from the handful of us in the 1980’s to the strength and depth of today. What a brilliant story and thank you to Neil for sharing this with us! Both pictured below:

As ever, if you have news or a story to share with the club then don’t be shy and let us know so we can share and sing it from the rooftops!

T-25 DAYS UNTIL THE LATE SUMMER MEET

Our fourth open meet of the summer will be on Thursday 11th September.

The events taking place are:

200m (11+)
800m (Juniors only, U11 to U17)
5000m (U17+)

There will be prizes in the form of SOAR vouchers for the first 3 finishers in the 5000m, for men and women. All races will be seeded, there will be photo finish and results will be on Power of 10.

If you’re available on the day, we will need volunteers to help out – please contact Rich Giles.

BIG HALF, FULL PINTS

EVENT CALENDAR

August
30 – SAL – Sutcliffe Park

September
2 – Track Social
4 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
7 – Big Half – London
11 – Late Summer Meet
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays @TBC

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays at Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League xc – Hurst Green

November
15 – Surrey League xc – Beckenham Place Park

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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10 August 2025

Talent on track

Talent on track

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 10/08/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
10 August 2025

It has been a busy week of superb racing and fantastic results.

Firstly, throwing it back to last weekend, Samuel Evans took on the Bedford Autodrome marathon, taking the win in 2:44:59.

We had three Kent runners head to Battersea Park on Tuesday evening for the summer Sri Chinmoy 5k.
Thomas O’Neill was top of the podium, finishing in 15:18, followed by Sam Taylor in 17:38 and Alex Gillespie in 18:49.

Clare Elms rewrote more history on Wednesday, beating her own 1500m VW60 world record at the Tonbridge AC Open. Clare clocked a sensational time of 4:56.85!

Over at the Wimbledon 5000 yesterday evening, Jake Simmonds put in a serious shift on pacing duty whilst several of our boys headed down to compete.

Results:
Owen Hind – 14:29
Noah Armitage-Hookes – 14:48
Nick Acfield – 15:08
Ben Clarke – 15:15
Isaac Parker – 15:26
Rhys Doherty – 15:58

Well done lads

Meanwhile, at the Oordegem 5000m in Belgium, Alex Yee switched codes again and ran a 13:13 PB, beating several of Britain’s top track specialists.

This weekend, some of our top junior athletes starred in the England Athletics Age Group Championships and produced outstanding performances.
You can track the results and watch the live stream from the event here.

Also, a shout-out to Molly O’Connor and Claire Oxlade who took part in the T100 Triathlon in London today. Results are still due to be published, however, fantastic efforts, with Molly qualifying for the 2026 European Championships!

Before you read on…

A reminder that our next social run will take place on Wednesday evening. Meet at the track for 7pm and come ready to run!

We also need support on the night of our next open meet on Thursday 11th September. If you can help, please contact Rich Giles. Volunteers are what make this club the community it is today.
You can still enter a race and volunteer too.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Our fourth open meet of the summer will be on Thursday 11th September.

The events taking place are:

200m (11+)
800m (Juniors only, U11 to U17)
5000m (U17+)

There will be prizes in the form of SOAR vouchers for the first 3 finishers in the 5000m, for men and women. All races will be seeded, there will be photo finish and results will be on Power of 10.

If you’re available on the day, we will need volunteers to help out – please contact Rich Giles.

EVENT CALENDAR

August
10 – Social run
16 – KYAL – Dartford
30 – SAL – Basildon

September
2 – Track Social
4 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
7 – Big Half – London
11 – Late Summer Meet
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays @TBC

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays at Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League xc – Hurst Green

November
15 – Surrey League xc – Beckenham Place Park

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.

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

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 here is kacladywell2022.

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3 August 2025

Another riotous assembly

Another riotous assembly

<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 03/08/25<!–

KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
3 August 2025

Confusingly, the last Assembly league of this season, the August one, was held on 31 July at Victoria Park, the long one (3.5miles). The confusion carried on from there, with almost every runner, according to the published results, scoring an impressive PB. Would that it had been so. Some sort of spreadsheet shift data transfer thingy knocked the results out of kilter, but hey! It made everyone happy, as does this wonderful summer 5k series, free to enter, a devil of a thing to organise, and a joy to run. Keep on keeping on, Assembly League.
As the results stand (while the last meet is sorted out, results wise), we have a very good showing at this year’s Assembly League, with Kent AC in pole position in almost every age category. Congratulations to Rob Laing, Matt Speed, Ellie Freeden. Claire Oxlade, Lin Skinner, Victoria Cartwright and Nicola Cartlidge for reaching the top of their respective age categories across the first four races. Even if some of theses are haunted by doppelgängers, according to the chaotic results list….

In other news, there was what must be one of the most scenic marathons in the world this weekend, and our Nicola Cartlidge took part. Today (Sunday) three Kent AC 10k runners went east for the Run Through race at the London Stadium.

Also, after track this Tuesday, there’s this:

Post-track Summer Social
Which will include informal trophy presentations for club champions, with refreshments and nibbles to celebrate.

We have another request from the club’s hardworking Welfare Team: they have a vacant position for welfare officer to join the team. This is a crucial role at the club, which is essential for the well being of its members, Please consider taking on a voluntary role in this capacity.

THE WEEKEND’S RACES

Our picture postcard run of the week was the Jersey Round the Rock Marathon, as you can see. Nicola Cartlidge ran it with her sister, and describes the experience as ‘5:32 of beautiful trails, stunning coastal paths, turquoise sea, and such a pleasure to run with my sister (we’re still talking!).’

Cooler conditions on Sunday were welcomed by those running the Run Through 10K at the London Stadium: Sarah, Narciso and Sam Wilcock went east for that, with Sam dipping under 40mins (39.50) for the first time in five years.

SIGN UP! SIGN UP!

Our fourth open event of the year is on Thursday 11 September – there will be 200m, junior 800m and 5000m races. If you’d like to race, please sign up below, but if you can’t race, please consider volunteering – events only happen with your help!Our 4th open meet of the summer will be on Thursday 11th September. The events will be:

200m (11+)
800m (Juniors only, U11 to U17)
5000m (U17+)

There will be prizes in the form of SOAR vouchers for the first 3 finishers in the 5000m, for men and women. All races will be seeded, there will be photo finish and results will be on Power of 10.

If you would like to enter, you can do so here.

If you’re available on the day, we will need volunteers to help out – please contact Richard Giles.

HE WAS IN IT, HE WON IT

In the Kent AC Lottery this week’s bonus ball was 56 last night, which means Alf Regan wins the rollover of £500.
There are still 7 numbers available – if anyone wants one, to help raise funds for the club and potentially win £250, it’s £6/month to choose your numbers for the lottery, email

EVENT CALENDAR

August
5 – Track social
16 – KYAL – Dartford
30 – SAL – Basildon

September
2 – Track Social
4 – Assembly League – Beckenham Place Park
7 – Big Half – London
11 – Late Summer Meet
20 – SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays @TBC

October
4 – ERRA 6/4 Stage Relays at Sutton Park
11 – Surrey League xc – Hurst Green

November
15 – Surrey League xc – Beckenham Place Park

EASYFUNDRAISING

You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy

TRACK, TRACK, TRACK

Buy your track pass here.

The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:45
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30

Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.