Cross Country Countdown…
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
24 October 2021
FIXTURE SIGN UP
Cross country races will be coming thick and fast over the coming months, so make sure you keep the dates free below for more great racing.
All male members are asked to fill in their availability for the upcoming championship races using this link. Sarah will be in touch via the Kent AC Female email list with further details about these races in the next few weeks.
A reminder of the upcoming XC fixtures:
Saturday 13th November Surrey Cross Country League 2 Wimbledon Common
Sunday 21st November South of Thames Team Race location TBC
Saturday 18th December South of Thames Championship Race Beckenham Place Park
Saturday 8 January Kent County Champs Brands Hatch
Saturday 15th January Surrey Cross Country League 3 Mitcham Common
Saturday 29 January Southern Champs, location TBC
Saturday 19th February Surrey Cross Country League 4 Effingham Common
Saturday 26 February The National Championships Parliament Hill
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MEN’S SIX STAGE REVIEW
Saturday 9th October saw a welcome return to Sutton Park for the nations best club runners as they attempted to do battle over 6 legs of 5847m of the undulating and notoriously difficult course to judge of Sutton Park in North Birmingham. Kent AC had qualified two team’s courtesy of the performance from the Southern 6 Stage in 2019 following this year’s unacceptable debacle and subsequent cancellation of the Southern 6 Stage by the SEAA.
Overcast, but incredibly still weather greeted the runners as 79 teams toed the start line for leg1. Honours for the A teams first leg fell to club stalwart Ben Harding who lined up alongside one of the club’s traditional ‘modest’ starters Dame Dibaba who was running leg1 for the B team. Thankfully Dame ran a measured first mile as Derby’s Hugo Milner pushed the pace hard early on up the first hill. Ben – a veteran of Sutton Park was perhaps a little more enthusiastic early on than was good for him, leading to a tough 2nd half, but Ben still finished with a credible 18:28 in 47th place with Dame a little further back in 65th in 19:09.
Ben handed over to Sean Fitzpatrick who is really starting to mature into a reliable and strong relay runner. Despite Sean not feeling 100%, he lifted the A team 8 places into 40th clocking 18:18, a big pb on this course for Sean which may be pushing him towards a long leg for the 12 Stage in the spring. Taking over from Dame, was Rob Sesemann, who was making his debut for Kent AC. Rob clocked a very good 19:02, lifting the B team 9 places up to 56th to round out what had been a good week running-wise for the Sesemann brothers!
Taking on the mantle of leg 3 for the A team was Chris Busaileh. Chris knows his way around Sutton Park very well and ran a well judged leg looking as smooth as he has done in a while as he bounced his way around, promoting the team 7 places up to 33rd clocking 18:30 for his troubles. In the B team another Sutton Park debutant was donning the Kent AC vest in form of George Russell. George acquitted himself well holding the Kent AC ship steady in 56th place despite carrying an injury which is very difficult to pronounce and even harder to spell.
Leg 4 for the A team fell to Owen Hind; following a disrupted summer it was good to see Owen approaching the level we know Owen can run at as he floated around the park and clocked the quickest Kent AC leg of the day with 18:12, climbing 6 places in the process and catapulting the club into the top 30 with 27th place at the handover. For the B team it was good to see Anthony Johnson running following the disappointment of his spring marathon. Anthony used his knowledge and experience of Sutton Park to clock 19:32 to maintain the B team in 56th place overall. Hopefully Anthony will continue his rapid return to fitness as the club will need him over the winter.
Leg 5 saw Russ Bentley in unfamiliar territory for not being either on leg1 or in the mountains; as many of you know Russ has recently finished runner up in the Dragons Back Race, but on this occasion Russ had to move a little more rapidly and managed a fantastic 18:46 lifting the club a further 2 places into 25th position. This is no mean feat considering his body is still recovering and he was conceding an inch in height to most competitors due to his old-fashioned choice in footwear. Leg 5 seemed to be the place where team management had placed the runners convalescing, this was the case for the B team where Rob Laing bravely took over having only finishing the London Marathon 6 days previously. Rob clocked 20:29 and lifted the B team 2 places to 54th place.
The anchor legs fell to Dan Pettitt and Mark Hall respectively. Dan had a solid run maintaining the teams 25th place with a time just over 19 mins which was also a course PB for him, although Dan confided he was a little disappointed with the time and felt a bit flat during his run. Mark Hall has missed much of the summer through injury but is a natural talent and barely looked to be breathing as he passed myself and Ken near Keepers Pool in the latter stage. Mark recorded 20:05 and lifted the B team a further two places to 52nd place.
Whilst by the club’s high standard this wasn’t one of our best ever performances at these relays, we still got two strong and committed teams out for the event. The teams were named two weeks in advance and held together with no dropouts which is fantastic from a team management perspective. It was also good to see the likes of Owen and Anthony moving in the right direction in terms of their respective running fitness and everyone looking like they were enjoying their running and the day. The good debut of Rob Sesemann into the club was most welcome too. Our B team was also 11th B team on the day which bodes well for the 12 Stage where traditionally we are stronger, fitter and more focussed.
Result:
2 Leeds City AC ‘A’ 1:43:47
3 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1:44:06
25 Kent Ac ‘A’ 1:51:19
1 Ben Harding (48) 18:28
2 Sean Fitzpatrick (40) 18:18
3 Chris Busaileh (33) 18:30
4 Owen Hind (27) 18:08
5 Russell Bentley (25) 18:46
6 Daniel Pettitt (25) 19:09
52 Kent Ac ‘B’ 1:58:03
1 Dame Dibaba (65) 19:09
2 Robert Sesemann (56) 19:02
3 George Russell (56) 19:46
4 Anthony Johnson (56) 19:32
5 Robert Laing (54) 20:29
6 Mark Hall (52) 20:05
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BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Jay first came down to the Ladywell Arena as 13 year old having competed in a Lewisham Schools meeting having shown some throwing talent. A late season competitive debut in a U15 pentathlon at Watford went so well that Jay managed to win the shot put competition by 5m, setting the 2nd best distance (15.65m) by an under-15 athlete that year.
Jay benefitted from learning from some good throwing coaches at Ladywell in John Hillier and Albert Johnson, and was quickly smashing age group records the following season in the shot put; winning age group titles at the AAAs and English Schools, whilst also competing with talent in the 100m. Needless to say, Jay still holds all the club age group records for the shot as well as a couple for discus.
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JUNIOR NEWS
On Sunday 31st October we are holding an event at Ladywell Arena for prospective new junior members from 9am to 12.30pm
A few places remain so if you have family or friends interested in joining the club this is a great opportunity for them to experience what we have to offer.
To register please follow the link: https://forms.gle/q7CnqigBvzthuwnT9
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED BEING A JUNIOR’S COACH?
We currently have 78 junior members with another intake early next month. To coach run, jump and throw activities we need a large team of volunteers.
The club will fund the cost of qualifications but we need regular commitment to coaching. Our coaches are friendly and encouraging so you will have lots of support.
Contact Hassan on Tuesday’s or Thursday’s at the track to learn more or
TRACK
Tuesday 17:45 – 20:45
Thursday 18:30 – 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 track pass system remains in place, so please purchase your October track pass here
To make life easier for parents/guardians we have a 2021 track pass option. One single payment for the remainder of the year is now available.
Please purchase your Ladywell 2021 or October £5 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.
Please see a helpful FAQs guide here
Registering for a session
Group spreadsheets to register for sessions (links for payment this month and FAQs also here):
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NEW MEMBERS
Joseph Wilkes
Joshua Mancini Lanzi
Greg Dunning
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