A Surrey League of Their Own
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
15 JANUARY 2023
Podiums, PBs and plastered with mud… that’s how to sum up a brilliant weekend of racing in Beckenham, Lee Valley and Valencia! After a golden day for both the women’s and men’s teams at the Surrey League, it’s now almost time to turn our attention to the Nationals- important payment info below. Congrats to Rob Sesemann for scoring a 10km PB of 31.27 in sunny Valencia, and to all who raced indoors and outdoors in a grey and drizzly London without letting the weather dampen any spirits.
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BECK ON WINNING FORM AT THE SURREY LEAGUE!
The only thing better than a team win is two team wins. And that’s what we achieved yesterday at Beckenham, where, for the first time in the club’s history, both the men’s and the women’s team won their Surrey League matches, and it was amazing to watch.
What struck me was the individual effort so many people put in to help make it happen. Cedric travelled from Belgium, John from Manchester, Caoimhe turned out despite landing at Heathrow only hours earlier- to name a few.
The men were buoyed by having Max making his first outing of the season. He slotted straight back into his usual quality leading us home in 6th immediately followed by John in 7th. Cam in 18th was followed by what seemed two eras merging with the younger Isaac getting the better of a much fitter, much faster than November but slightly less young Chris Greenwood in 22nd and 25th respectively.
James B, Matt Speed and Rob D, Dan and Cedric mixed race experience with newer enthusiasm to make the scoring 10.
Despite not scoring, the next 5 runners of Neil, Barnaby, Jonathan, Sean and Pete are all nailed on top 10 runners in future races.
There were a few nerves pre race on the women, having lost some certain scorers to work or sunshine. But thanks to another barnstorming team effort in a season full of big performances, the scoring 5 closed in 24 for the win. Amelia in 2nd, Lucy in 11th, Sarah 14th, Kent XC debut Iona in 15th and Closed by Clare in 24th. The final match is a 3 way title fight and it will come down to the 5th runner. Nails at the ready.
Lastly, a huge shout out to all the time keepers, marshals, funnel callers, tent erecters, number collectors, course walkers, council liasers and on it goes. They stood for hours in rain and wind to make yesterday happen. The level of work required to put on these events is massive for which we are very grateful.
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SUPER SOUTHERNS
We had a good team of 6 athletes out at the U13/U15/U17 Southern Indoor Championships at Lee Valley this weekend.
U15
Elena Oliphant showed great form to win silver in the 800m, narrowly missing out on the win having qualified fastest for the final (running 2:17 in both races). Elsewhere, Siv Eliassen and Tess Hepple both opened their indoor seasons, achieving 3.79 in the long jump and 10.24 in the 60m hurdles.
U17
Sophia Sahai and Clio Parkes had great runs in their heats to qualify for the semis in the 200m, in 26.94 and 26.80, respectively. Both girls competed well in the semis but did not qualify for the final, however, very promising as first-year U17s. Both girls also competed in the 60m the day before but did not make it through the heats.
In the 800m, Jasper Jones was unlucky with his heat draw but fought valiantly to a 2:10.80 after being isolated from halfway. Jasper is also a 1st year U17.
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NATIONAL XC
TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION PAYMENTS DUE
With the National Cross Country Championships fast approaching on 25th February, it’s now time to confirm your spot for the trip to Cheshire.
Please purchase the relevant travel and accommodation package here by 22nd January.
It will cost £40, which will include travel to and from Euston, coach travel to and from the race, and a stay over in Chester on Saturday night after the race. There is also a £20 option for those who would like to travel back on Saturday and not stay overnight.
Please note that once you have paid, this will be non-refundable, given the sunk costs involved.
If you are travelling from elsewhere, XC Captains will follow up with you separately.
Further information regarding juniors will be sent separately too.
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MUD, DAMN MUD AND STATISTICS
There has been a lot of XC action of late, so handicap results are in following the 3rd Surrey League match!
As a reminder these are calculated as a performance against your handicap, adjusted for the number of Kent finishers in that race.
For example, if your handicap was 5 and you were 4th Kent finisher on that day (in an average sized field), then your resulting score would be -1.
Across the winter it’s your best/lowest five scores that contribute overall (out of the 4 Surrey Leagues, 2 SoT races, Kent County, Southerns & Nationals).
Current Standings 🥇
Women
1) Lucy Elms
2) Nesrin Sabanci
3) Anabelle Hadlow
Men
1) Isaac Maxwell
2) Cameron Dockerill
3) John Gilchrist
The season is not over, still all to play for! 💪🏻
Full results from all fixtures so far are here: women’s handicap scores and men’s handicap scores.
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KEY CLUB RACING DATES
Lots of cross country racing over the next couple of weeks.
You can keep track of the dates using club racing calendar – HERE
Cross Country
Saturday 28th Jan – Southern XC Champs, Beckenham (entry closed)
Saturday 11th Feb – Surrey league match 4, Lloyd Park
Saturday 18th Feb – Dulwich parkrun takeover
Saturday 25th Feb – National XC Champs, Bolesworth, Cheshire
Saturday 18th March – BMAF XC Champs, Newcastle
BMAF XC
Sunday 18th March – Newcastle. This will likely require overnight travel, which the club will support. Team categories are V35, V45, V55, V65. If you are potentially interested, please sign up here.
Road Relays
Sunday 2nd April – Southern Road Relays, TBC
Saturday 15th April – National Road Relays, Sutton Coldfield
Track *new*
SAL dates for 2023:
Saturday 20th May – Hornchurch
Sunday 18th June – Mile End
Sunday 9th July – Stevenage
Saturday 19th August – Thurrock
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LADYWELL OPEN TRACK EVENT: SAVE THE DATE
Further details to follow but please put Sunday 7th May in your diaries!
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OFFICIALS OFFICIALLY NEEDED
This is a great opportunity to give something back into the club, and sport, as well as to help get club events’ results on Power of 10. And it’s fun.
It’s a straightforward process that the club will pay for, with more detail here.
https://www.kentac.org.uk/membership/get-involved-volunteer/becoming-an-athletics-official/
Please contact Len Reilly for more info.
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WE CAME, WE SOAR VESTS, WE CONQUERED
If anyone would like to be added to the order, then please fill in this form.
Thanks to Lucy and Clare Elms for organising! Please get in touch with them if you have any questions.
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CLUB 250 DRAW
Kent AC has a monthly Club Draw, based on the bonus ball drawn in the national lottery on the first Saturday of each month.
Whoever owns the winning number receives a prize of £250.00. The cost of entry is £6.00 per month.
Some of these coveted numbers will become available from 1st February 2023. If you are interested in joining, please email David at and you can be added to a list which we will draw names from.
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NEW MEMBERS
A warm welcome to those who have joined Kent AC this week:
Andy Wright
Jonny McCaig
Alistair Bishop
We look forward to seeing you at training or races soon!
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EASYFUNDRAISING
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
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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).
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KEEP US INFORMED
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