Country. Crossed
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
16 October 2022
It’s another good news week for Kent AC. Our runners and racers, from the hills of Surrey to the dales of Yorkshire (with a little Dutch courage thrown in), have run strong and logged some inspirational results. As autumn chills nicely and we frantically look for those running gloves we’re sure we bought in Decathlon last year, we’re also gaining momentum in the cross country season, and the mud bath that will no doubt ensue as winter sets in.
XC: SURREY NOT SORRY
Our women’s and men’s teams stepped up to the trails, representing Kent AC at the first cross country fixture in Effingham, Surrey yesterday (Saturday 15 October). The women (A team) came in third as did the B team, and in a lovely piece of symmetry, our Amelia Pettitt was third woman. Brilliant running, see below
A fuller report on Saturday’s achievements by Owen Hind below:
Racing in September and October can sometimes feel a little relentless, with hardly a breath to pause between the final track events, road relays, covid adjusted marathons and the traditional beginning of the cross country season.
It’s hard to continuously place highly in each event when there is little time for recovery, training or juggling life events.
That backdrop made yesterday’s women’s team result even better. Placing their best ever result in the Surrey League for third and within touching distance of Herne Hill and Thames ahead of them. The result has been years in the making as a core group training together was improved with smart signings. Amelia led the team home placing 3rd, well backed up by Katie, Alexa and Lucy closely packing between 13th and 20th. With a quite outstanding debut from Caoimhe to close out the team and secure the podium position. It’s unlikely other teams will be as strong in the coming matches, so there is real hope we can enjoy a title push as the season unfolds.
For every success, there is a separate pause for thought and so it proved for the men. Numbers were always looking tight with a number of usual Surrey League stalwarts missing from the team sheet. The men finished 6th in what was admittedly an already reduced field. Real kudos to Cam for leading the team home for the first time, chased right to the line by Rob and Dan. It’s been fantastic to see their rivalry push each other in races and training. The trio led home what is hopefully the future core of runners we can build success around. With James Bousted’s debut sandwiched between best ever results for Isaac and George. The team was rounded out by familiar names Ben, Ian, Joe and Will.
In veterans’ cross country news:
Racing for VAC in Surrey League yesterday @ Reigate on a tough course John Barron was 3rd of 10 in his age category and 5th overall in Div3/Div4.
To read all about how the younger members of Kent AC fared in their cross country, see Junior News, below.
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MORE RESULTS
We’re also proud to report that Neil Philips qualified for England Masters (V40)
In marathon news, the C Group marathon training WhatsApp was all aglow with Nicola Cartlidge’s excellent marathon result in Yorkshire today (Sunday 16 October). She clocked 3:38:30 in her first ever attempt at the 26.2.
James Royston, meanwhile, ran Amsterdam marathon in 3:15.22.
For any beginner marathon runners starting out on their Kent AC training journey, looking for impetus to try for marathon distance, we would like to highlight an honest and wise report by Martha Greeks about training and how a club like Kent AC can push you to greater running ambition. Read it here
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KENT XC HANDICAP COMPETITION
Every winter, Kent AC runners battle for glory in fields of mud, woods, trails and hills. To make things even more interesting, we run a club handicap competition!
How it works:
1. Runners are given an initial handicap score, which is an estimate of how you might place in a competition against other Kent runners.
2. Every match, we track how runners performed against their handicap (this involves some maths – if you’re interested get in touch!).
3. The match performances contribute to an overall Handicap Score.
4. Runners who have completed 5 matches in any of the leagues we are in (Surrey League, South of the Thames, Kent Champs, Southern Champs, Nationals) will be in contention to be winners of the coveted Handicap and Grand Prix competitions.
If you ran last year or have signed up for fixtures this year, we have allocated you a handicap score, which you can see in the links here: women’s handicap scores and men’s handicap scores.
It’s not too late to join in! If your name is not on the handicap list and you would like to be allocated a handicap (or if you have any questions or queries), then please contact Dan Pettitt (), Sarah Hanley () or Iago Martinez (), who will gladly help you out.
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CLUB KIT RAGE?
We are aware that the quality and/or design of some items in the New Balance kit range were not as expected. We are currently discussing this with New Balance. Please let Amelia know if you have any feedback (positive or negative) about the kit.
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CHRISTMAS PARTY
Saturday 10 December
@ Ninth Life, Catford
Look out for more details very soon. For now, please save the date!
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PARKRUN SOCIALS
29th October – Hilly Fields
19th November – Peckham Rye
10th December – TBC
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CLUB AGM – 2ND NOV
Please save the date. All members welcome.
JUNIOR NEWS
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Results: Cross Country: Match 1: Effingham Common: Saturday 15th October
Nine juniors competed in the first cross country race of the season.
Tallulah Jones (u13) and Mei Eden-Green (u15) came 36th and 32nd in their races getting us off to a strong start.
In the u13 boys race George Searle, Zac Cunningham and Lucas Stickland turned in a great team result coming 9 out of 14 teams and 33rd/35th and 44threspectively. A club milestone – our first u13 boys XC team.
The u15/u17 team performance was our strongest finishing 11/16 teams. Theo Gaymes 43rd, Jasper Jones 48th, Guy Barnett 58th and Harry Clough 80th disguising a great run that contained a many more older runners.
A great start for us. Well done everyone.
WIN A TRACK PASS
To be added to the rota simply email Jacqueline/Laurie at ( /
).
We only need each track attendee to volunteer a couple of times a year to spread the responsibility fairly.
T&Cs for the track pass draw:
All volunteers for the current month will be added into the hat for a draw each month.
The winner will win a free pass for the next calendar month.
Names will be automatically drawn from https://namepicker.net/ (or similar alternative)
The winner can either chose to:
use their free pass within a calendar year
allow their free pass to roll down to another volunteer
annual pass holders can nominate another club member if they cannot make use of the pass themselves
No refunds/discounts will be provided in place of the free monthly pass.
Volunteers will only be eligible to win a pass once every three months.
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TRACK, TRACK, TRACK
Buy your track pass here.
The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:15 – 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.
Please purchase your £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
Ladywell Arena now has new 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 at https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/lewisham/ladywell-arena. 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).
NEW MEMBERS
Lee Davies
Jack Eaton
Luke Overett Somnier
Looking forward to running with you.