Cantering around the Paddock
Cantering around the Paddock
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 12/03/23–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
12 March 2023
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In other news, we’re asking you to save the date for an exciting track and field open meeting in May hosted by Kent AC at Ladywell Arena, plus a strength and conditioning lecture in March and a top job opportunity for someone who wants to support the club and keep up its impressive growth spurt.
Key club dates:
25 March – Dulwich parkrun ‘takeover’
2 April – Southern 6/12-Stage Relays, Olympic Park
15 April – National 6/12-Stage Relays, Sutton Park
7 May – Kent AC Open Meeting, Ladywell Arena
17 May – Wellbeing Event, St Dunstan’s
20 May – Southern Athletics League Match 1, Hornchurch
16 September – 125 Anniversary Dinner
A VERY FINE HALF INDEED
A great big group of Kent AC men and women turned up for the 33rd Paddock Wood Half Marathon on 12 March. The conditions were perfect: a soft spring day came as a pleasant surprise after the freezing weather earlier in the week, and many of the runners, supposedly saving themselves for the big one on 23 April, couldn’t resist going for the PB.
Too many runners to cite, but a big shout out to top Kent AC performers Jake Simmonds in 69:53 and Genevieve Blanch for the women in 1:32:47.
If you would like a shout out for a race result or want to surprise a fellow Kent runner with a PB in the newsletter, make sure to email us at .
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KENT AT INTERCOUNTIES
Shout out to Cameron Dockerill representing the county of Kent in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships in Loughborough yesterday, rounding out a fine season finishing in 80th place and making the scoring team.
Also, well done to 2nd claimer Olly Buck for being first runner home in the Kent U15 boys team in 19th place!
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STRENGTH & CONDITIONING EVENT
Herne Hill Harriers and Tooting Run Club are hosting an online S&C workshop on 22 March. It’s free to join via Eventbrite so book your place here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/running-strength-conditioning-and-running-form-tickets-575806692317
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LAST CALL FOR SOUTHERN RELAYS
Now road season is upon us, it is time to focus our attention to the upcoming road relays:
12-stage for men, 6-stage for women.
First up is the Southerns on Sunday 2 April at the Olympic Park. With the southern race on our doorstep, we would love to get as many teams out for this and build on our amazing cross country success. The top 25 A teams plus any B teams who finish in front of the 25th A team will qualify for the Nationals. This is at the traditional venue of Sutton Park on Saturday 15 April.
For those who haven’t raced them before, these are the premier club road events in the country. Think Southern and National XC, but with better weather and no mud. As the name suggests though, they’re not individual races but a team effort spread over 12/6 legs. They are therefore a true barometer of a club’s distance running strength. Strength in depth is far more important than individual brilliance (although that helps too).
The relays are a great club event with good support & a fun day out with post-race prosecco 🥂
Sign-up sheet for men is here and for women is here.
If you have any questions then give Chris Busaileh or Katie Rowland a shout.
Deadline to register is 14 March.
Beyond that, save the dates for the upcoming SAL season too! Ian will share more information shortly.
Track – Southern Athletics League
Saturday 20 May – Hornchurch
Sunday 18 June – Mile End
Sunday 9 July – Stevenage
Saturday 19 August – Thurrock
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SHOW TRACK AND FIELD YOUR LOVE
Athletics needs more officials, and volunteering in this way is a wonderful way to give back to the club.
Courses take place on 1 April in Norman Park, and the following are available:
Level 1 Starter/Starters Assistant
Level 1 Track Judge
Level 1 Field Judge
This is a great opportunity 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.
It would be great to see a few more people put their names down to help out!
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KIT DONATIONS FOR JUNIORS
We still have more juniors who would be interested in receiving some kit. Please let Amelia know if you have any running kit (not only New Balance) that could be useful to the juniors.
This doesn’t have to be just Kent AC club kit, all running kit suitable for junior athletes is welcomed. Amelia will be setting up a junior kit swap shop at the open meet on 7 May.
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SITUATION VACANT
Reach out to to find out more.
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CORONATION GAMES ON TRACK
We are delighted to be able to update you on Kent AC’s May 7 ‘Coronation Games’ at The Ladywell Arena (aka The Theatre of Dreams). Held over the (extra) May Bank Holiday, it is an Open event (so open to all) and will incorporate the Kent AC Club Championships for all events listed (so if you’re a member of Kent AC, you’re automatically eligible in your category). The events are (drum roll…) 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, The Gunpowder Mile, Hurdles, Relays, Javelin and Long Jump. There will be a fully licenced bar, a wood-fired pizza van and a coffee hut. We’ve had a word with God and agreed that it will be sunny but not too hot. It will cost £5 to enter the first event and £2 per event thereafter. Spectators pay nothing. We will be opening the entries portal within a couple of weeks and will provide full details on how to enter then. Get training, there’s eight weeks to go.
WELL, WELL, WELL
This time it’s May 17 to go in the diary.
Kent AC’s resident nutritionist, medic, physio, elite runner have all been recruited to take part in our first Athletes Wellbeing event (working title: Performance, Power, Psychology and Pints), to be held at St Dunstan’s
St.Dunstans/Jubilee Sports Ground in Catford.
Keynote speakers will be Jack Green (Olympian and Kent AC alumnus), Dr Kate Williams (health), Zuzana Nemeckova (nutrition), a Physiotherapist of our choice to talk about injury and rehabilitation, Dave Morgan to talk about life after running (yes, there is one).
Be assured that there will be a bar, and tea and coffee and a buffet.
The event will be free though ticketed via EventBrite so we can keep an eye on numbers and promote accordingly.
Watch this space as more speakers are recruited. This event is open to all and is designed to be the perfect club social for runners looking to improve performance and extend their engagement with our wonderful sport.
PARKRUN TAKEOVERS
25 March
is when we’ll get things done.
On 6 May we’re planning another takeover, but where? Suggestions in an email, please.
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
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.
NEW TIMES AHOY!
Thursday track nights will be extended from 1 April:
17:30-20:30pm to mirror Tuesday nights.
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 UPDATED
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