Success in Sutton and Cross Country Ready
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
09 October 2022
From Sutton Coldfield to Cagliari, Kent AC have been on top form this week. Our men’s and women’s road relay teams both placed an excellent 28th on a sunny day in the Midlands, meanwhile Alex Yee claimed the gold medal at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Italy. Huge kudos to everyone who ran the marathon or half marathon at Richmond Run Fest too.
Cross country season is finally here, with the first fixture kicking off in Effingham next weekend.
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SUCCESS IN SUTTON!
A huge well done to our women’s and men’s teams for representing Kent AC at the National Road Relays in Sutton Park yesterday. Both teams placed 28th overall!
The women’s team saw strong performances from Clare Elms, Katie Rowland, and Sarah Hanley, with an especially speedy last leg from Alexa Parker in 15.33 to bring Kent AC home in 28th place.
The men finished a highly creditable 28th (out of 74 finishers) at the National 6 stage relays. Having lost the fastest 3 runners from the Southerns team, the Nationals was always going to be a tough one but those racing stepped up admirably against the best in the country.
Cam Dockerill was handed a baptism of fire on leg 1 for his Sutton Park debut. Whilst finishing further down the field than he no doubt would have liked, Cam’s time of 18.20 was nonetheless a very solid run. Rob Sesemann then ran a superb leg 2, making up several places and running our fastest leg of the day (18.03). Jake Simmonds proved again that he’s a proper relay specialist with an eye catching 18.38 on leg 3, again moving up several places. James Boustead, another Sutton Park debutant, held position on a lonely leg 4 (19.05) handing over to the team manager who partially redeemed himself after a poor run at Aldershot, gaining one spot (18.50) and closing in on a number of teams in front. Dan Pettit took full advantage on the anchor leg, blasting past local rivals Herne Hill and Hercules Wimbledon (alas, B team) on route to a big course pb of 18.36.
Whilst the team has finished higher up, we were only 13 seconds down on last year’s time with a team that, on paper at least, was not as strong. A very positive result then showing good depth and one which bodes well for the 12 stage in the spring.
Special thanks to Pete, Clare and Chris for driving the team there & back, and to Sarah for the picnic!
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CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IS A GO!
It’s time to dig out the XC spikes, because the opening Surrey League fixture of this season will kick off in Effingham next week!
We would love to see as many Kent AC vests out there as possible, so please sign up on the spreadsheet here if you can make it.
The timetable is as follows:
U13G – 11am
U13B – 11:30am
U15/U17G – 12pm
U15/U17B – 12:30pm
Ladies – 1pm
Men – 2pm
There are direct trains from both Waterloo and Clapham Junction, with the course right next to Effingham Junction train station. Specific travel details will be shared later this week, so keep an eye out.
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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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HATS AWAY!
Winter is on its way and XC season is ready to kick off, so a Kent AC bobble hat could be just what you need to keep warm and display club colours. They will cost around £18.
If you would like a hat, then please register your interest using the form here by Sunday 16th October: https://forms.gle/PVM5rsChNGywdWBL7
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CLUB KIT UPDATE
The New Balance kit should have arrived to all those who ordered last week. Please let us know if you haven’t received this.
We are aware that the quality and/or design of some items 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.
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WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY 10TH OCTOBER
Tomorrow, 10th October, marks World Mental Health Day. England Athletics supports the #Runandtalk programme, which aims to get people talking about mental health and to improve mental health through running. The programme is supported by Mind, who offer lots of information and support for those living with mental health problems or those supporting someone who is.
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NEW MEMBERS
Jaki Amos
James Bates
Ben Chatfield
Ben Clarke
Nicholas Griffiths
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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).