At your Beck and SAL
At your Beck and SAL
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 21/05/23–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
21 May 2023
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And on top of that, we made two cracking new member signings, both of whom ran last night at Parliament Hill Fields.
Nick Torry may be familiar to many as he occasionally runs (and generally wins) Dulwich or Crystal Palace parkruns. Among his many achievements are the 2nd fastest V40 parkrun time ever (14:33) and the fastest V45 time (14:57) He also has the 2nd fastest British V45 HM time (66:14) and is 4th on the V45 10000m list. He has run for Kent before, in the Surrey League as a second claimer, and has now been persuaded to switch to us as first claim. He ran at Highgate last night in a Kent vest, although was unfortunate to suffer a fall and finished in 32:29.
Marcelo Laguera is a 27 year old Mexican international runner, with PBs of 13:59 in the 5000, 28:05 in the 10000, and 63:07 in the HM. He ran in the Championship race at Highgate last night, finishing in an excellent 28:14. A great addition to the club, and we hope to see him running in our vest soon! Welcome Nick and Marcelo!
A date to note is the Kent AC club run at Dulwich parkrun on 3rd June.
BECKENHAM RELAYS
In the Men’s race it was a reversal of last year’s results. Cameron Dockerill stormed round in the fastest leg of the day in a fantastic 12:37 on leg 1 giving Owen Hind a solo run on leg 2. Owen extended the lead on Dulwich over the hilly 2.6 mile course by running 13:02 and eventually handed over to Rob Sesemann. Rob ran a very controlled 13:04 to break the Kent AC Team record by 35 seconds which was set last year. We believe that Cam broke the individual course record as well as the three breaking the team record. Well done gentlemen we are all very proud of you. A shoutout to the Mens B team of Chris Busaileh, Ben Clarke & Chris Mullin coming 4th, also beating the Dulwich B team.
In the women’s race Bryony Proctor led out the team by running 15:09 which was the fastest female leg of the day coming in 1st after leg 1 with a big gap to the second female. Congratulations Bryony. She was backed up with fantastic runs from teammates Claire Elms (15:57) & Ellie Freeden (16:10) to retain the woman’s title. The women’s B team of Jen Berg, Amy White & Nesrin Sabanci also claimed silver. The woman’s C team of Victoria Buck, Ella Day & Parris Williams came in 4th place beating local rivals Dulwich into 5th. Credit to Pete Boxshall for great coaching on the women’s side.
In the mixed team race, a special shoutout to Victoria Cartwright who ran 1:10 quicker than last years time only 23 days after running the London marathon. Vic was backed up by two more Kent AC runners who also ran the London Marathon to claim a bronze medal in the mixed team category, Jonathan Tipper and George Russell closing out the team running 13:43 & 13:25 respectively.
A big thank you from myself to everyone who wore the mighty blue vest and ran fantastically as always, a quote from Sally Urquhart during the presentations “coming up the last hill I felt awful but I knew I had to fight for every position for the team” which shows team spirit is at its highest. It was a privilege to be the team manager again this year and to come away with 4 team medals across the three categories shows the standard we set at Kent AC.
[Report by team captain Jake Simmonds]
Southern Athletic League – Hornchurch
It was also one of the best sprint turn outs we’ve seen in years thanks to the influx of junior runners eligible this season. There were many PBs today from the sprinters including Clio Parkes, Liv Shortland and Darren Smith who got PB’s in both their 100m and 200m races. A great start to the season for all of them. Max Harbord also ran strongly to come 2nd in the 100m and 200m A races. PB’s also fell for SAL debut runners Azarai and Jacob in their races. The men picked up a 1st and 5 2nd places in the 100, 200 & 400 A and B strings and the women achieved two 1sts and a 2nd place.
It was a great day for Kent distance running. Harry Foreman Wilshaw once again proved his strength with a relaxed looking finish to win the 1500m in 4.09. Dame Dibaba won the B string in 4.11. We are now unbeaten in the A string in this event for 5 matches and have only failed to win the B string once in this time. Claire Elms was also impressive in the women’s 1500m running 5:05 for 5th place.
Other notable distance results include Alexa Parker winning the women’s 3000m, with Dee O’Brien 2nd in the B string. Jake Simmonds was second in the men’s 3000m close behind former Kent AC man James Connor, with Che Compton 3rd in the B string. Jasper Jones came in 4th in the 800m A race as an under 17, with George Russell 3rd in the B race.
We also fielded a team for every relay race available, men’s and women’s, which just goes to show the calibre of sprinters we have in the club. The men’s 4 x 100m was unlucky to be disqualified and will definitely grow through the season.
Those competing in multiple events are particularly vital in building points. Alex Harris proved a great signing and the former 1.95 high jumper scored us valuable points in the HJ, TJ and discus. Most impressively he teamed up with Ellis Metzger and they both cleared 2m in the Pole vault. Ian Ellwood competed in 5 events, and Gen Blanche was also a strong multi-eventer getting points in the triple jump, long jump, 400m, 800m and 1500m. Sofia Contino competed in the LJ, hammer, 400 and 800.
Field eventers of note include Archie Harper, who produced an excellent high jump of 1.70 to come second overall as well as a second place in the A string 400m. Lara Ellis competed well in several of the throwing events. Jack Jones and Micah Payne Cook came third in the A and B string long jump with both going well over 5m.
Ian Ellwood and Joe Hartley renewed their rivalry in the 110mh and steeplechase with Ian proving dominant once again over the high hurdles but Joe lasting the distance in the steeplechase. Ian also won the B string 400h in 66.5s.
Final results:
1 Havering 341
2 Dartford Harriers 328
3 Thurrock Harriers 267
4 Kent AC 211
5 Serpentine RC 171
6 Highgate Harriers/Mornington Chasers 161
Well done to everyone who competed, and a big thank you to everyone who volunteered to officiate as well. Phil Marsden, Kehinde Duada, Jacqueline Francis, Pete Boxshall, Ed and Annabelle Hadlow, these events really couldn’t happen without you.
If you fancy competing please do contact Ian Ellwood – the next fixture is at the slightly more convenient Mile End. We’re particularly keen if you have experience with jumps or throws, as this is where other teams often have an advantage on us.
Finally a quick note on signing up for the SAL. We do understand if you are unable to make it, but please do let one of us know or remove your name from the spreadsheet, particularly if you are down as an A or B scorer.
[Report by SAL team captains Ian Ellwood and Olivia Shortland]
Other Results
In addition to Nick and Marcelo mentioned above, Chris Greenwood ran the Highgate 10000m last night, inching under 31 minutes in 30:59.
In the popular Hackney Half Owen Hind came 5th in 71:35. James Bates ran a PB of 97:30, just ahead of Ivona Gongolova in 1:40. Jo Wint ran 1:54 a few days after running a hard leg in Beckenham.
In nearby Chislehurst there were 5 Kent runners in the half marathon – Phil Sanders was 7th overall and 1st V50 in 83:18. Amy Clements was 17th and 3rd woman runner (88:01), Katie Rowland was 25th and 4th woman (91:14), Victoria Buck 47th, 5th woman and 1st VW45 (98:11) and Jen Berg 55th (99:54) Kent women also won the team prize.
Kent’s victorious women
SUMMER TRACK SOCIALS
With the evenings getting lighter and warmer and the promise of more sunshine, we’re excited to announce the return of the summer track socials.
Starting next week, Tuesday 30th May and taking place on the last Tuesday of every month from May to August. Drinks and nibbles will be provided by the club at Ladywell Track in the clubroom. Starting after your warm down until 9pm.
SUMMER FORWARD LOOK
Make sure to add these events to your diary!
30 May – Track social
1 June – Assembly League TBC
3 June – Kent AC parkrun at Dulwich
21 June – Dulwich relays
18 June – SAL, Mile End
27 June – Track social
6 July – Assembly League TBC
9 July – SAL, Stevenage
25 July – Track social
3 August – Assembly League, Victoria Park
19 August – SAL, Thurrock
29 August – Track Social
7 September – Assembly League, BPP
16 September – 125th Anniversary Dinner
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.
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 on available courses here.
Please contact Len Reilly for more info.
It would be great to see a few more people put their names down to help out!
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY VACANCY
We would love to find someone who is:
– Diligent with an attention to detail
– Proactive in dealing with queries
– Computer literate
– Familiar with online payment systems
– Able to attend regular meetings and/or submit reports
If this is you and you want to give a little back to the club, then please reach out to Bernie Hutchison to find out more.
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 or Laurie
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.
TRACK, TRACK, TRACK
Buy your track pass here.
The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:30
Thursday 17:30 – 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.
Track Pass – Juniors
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 here. 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).
KEEP US UPDATED
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