We completed a Hat-trick of Team Wins, in all 3 fixtures so far this season, with a demolition of the opposition on Saturday to secure our 7th win in the South of the Thames Team Championship in the last 10 years.

New boy John Gilbert ,in his first Cross Country race in 12 years, had a stunning debut as he challenged all the way and despite clawing back to the leader with a mile to go he was just edged out of the win --but he must be pleased with his Silver medal ! He was backed up well by his Team Manager, James Connor, in 4th place and Team Captain, Rich Munn, in 13th place. After over a year out injured it was great to see Andy Pickett back, running in a Kent AC vest for the first time, and his determination and 9th place were rewarded with a team Gold medal .

With a record turnout of 21 runners not only did we secure the 4 to score competition from Aldershot Farnham & D but we also won the Brent Shield for 8 to score as we closed our scoring 8 in the top 28 places with Michael Claff (16th), Andy Moreton (19th), Phil Sanders (27th) and Lee Haze (28th) completing a great day for the club.
Not to be outdone our Women runners also had a great turnout with 10 runners contesting the race in bright ,brisk weather. Led home by Natasha McKenna in 13th place and well backed up by Sheyle Clark (15th), Ellie Brown (21st) and Katie Ray (24th) they produced their best ever result in this race with a fine 4th place.

Ken.

For this race we have two reports for the price of 1! Here's some words from James...

Well done to everyone who ran on Saturday in the South of Thames team race at Sparrows Den. We won the 4 to score and the 8 to score events very well, which is due to us having 21 people running on the weekend. Performance of the day has got to go to John Gilbert who finished 2nd, taking the Silver medal in the race by beating Will Levitt of Tonbridge, and just missing out on a Gold in the closing stages. John led our team home followed by myself (4th), Andy Pickett (9th) and Rich Munn (13th). Our next 8 runners were all very close with Michael Claff (16th), Andy Moreton (19th), Phil Sanders and Lee Haze (27th and 28th, respectively), Len (33rd), Luke (41st), Graeme (45th) and Rawlston (49th).

To close 12 runners in the top 50 is a great achievement for the club and shows true strength in depth. With the additions of Ian Cardy, Andrew Dunwoody and Andy Farquharson for the South of Thames 7.5 mile race on the 19th Dec, we could be in for a double in the South of the Thames, especially in the 12 to score event!

Well done to all who made the race, and thanks for taking part. A full list of runners and positions below.

2nd John Gilbert
4th James Connor
6th Sam Coombes (guest)
9th Adny Pickett
13th Rich Munn
16th Michael Claff
19th Andy Moreton
27th Phil Sanders
28th Lee Haze
33rd Len Reilly
41st Luke Armitage
45th Graeme Garner
49th Rawlston Morian
74th Peter Clark
89th Quazar Mays
99th Stuart Scott
107th Andy Gardiner
110th Adam Morton
114th Binian Sahele
143rd Adrian Musson
168th Ted Hadlow

190 finishers in total

Also, well done to the Kent AC women who had 10 Ladies out and finished 4th Team

Next races coming up are Surrey Lge at Lloyd Park Croydon on the 12th Dec and the South of Thames 7.5 mile race at Wimbledon Commn on 19th Dec