Sri if you want go faster
Sri if you want go faster
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 13/08/23–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
13 August 2022
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If members fail to pay fees, the cost of the monthly track pass will need to be increased for everyone.
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Even in London, though, there have been chances to run away, in Battersea Park, for example, for the famous Sri Chimnoy race series, named after the South Indian athlete and weightlifter, who looked upon sport as a kind of meditative release:
‘Running offers us the message of transcendence. In our running, every day we are aiming at a new goal….. … every day we are running towards a goal, but when we reach that goal, we want to go still farther. Either we want to improve our timing or increase our distance. There is no end. Running means continual transcendence, and that is also the message of our inner life.’
Sri Chinmoy.
Something to think about while on your holidays.
Our club pin-up this week is Max Harbord, who achieved extraordinary 100m times this weekend despite a month of illness. Many congratulations, Max.
Shout-out, too, to Victoria Cartwright, who ran a hazardous trail race up north while on her hols, and came away battered, and reluctantly sober. Read more in the Results section…
DIARIES OUT
As summer fixtures draw to a close, a reminder of the Final SAL taking place on August 19 in Thurrock. We currently sit 9th in the league and it would be great to push on for a top half finish
Sign up spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZoE0tN7fBcXqPwIIVK73GUvd9ePU4be8M2R9NKKlsHU/edit?usp=drivesdk Speak with Ian or Olivia for more info.
That brings us onto exciting events taking place next month, the club 5000m champs on 14th September as well as our anniversary parkrun takeover on 16th September. Spreadsheets galore below to sign up or to volunteer, so read on, and keep an eye on the WhatsApp groups and future newsletters.
RESULTS THIS WEEK
Newham Open report
This has been a busy weekend of athletics, when several Kent Athletes took a trip to the Olympic Park to compete on the warm up track.
100m
Max Harbord 11.23 and 11.15
Kevin Kalisa 11.91 and 11.94
Ron Amoako 11.91 and 12.15
800m
Ian Ellwood 2.07.70 (pb)
Louis Holly (u15) 2.26.44 (another great 800m from Louis who competed in the KYAL yesterday)
Harry Clough (u15) 2.44.30 (very close to a PB despite being on holiday for the last month and competing yesterday at the KYAL)
300m
Cillian Clough (u13) 55.86 (also competed at KYAL yesterday
1500m
Clare Elms 5.01.85 (Seasons best)
Ian Ellwood 4.24.06
Tallulah Jones (u15) 5.22.71
200m
Zac Banton (time TBA at time of publishing)
On Tuesday, a few of our A-team smashed it out of Battersea Park Sri Chinmoy race with some brisk 5k results:
Clare Elms ran 18:04
Che ran 16:05 and Alex Gillespie ran 18:30
The Friday before, Victoria Cartwright was fourth woman at the Lotherton Hall Trail Race in Yorkshire, where she not only accidentally jumped into a puddle right up to her middle and was still first V40, but also lost her prize bottle of wine to her own father, who quaffed it while she was recovering from her ordeal.
Victoria clutches the wine she never tasted
PARTY, KARAMU, FIESTA, forever…
…come on and dance along.
And celebrate at Kent AC’s 125th Anniversary dinner on the 16th September
It’s a celebration of the club of course, but the club is only made by the people who are in it, and that’s you! So please come along and celebrate yourselves and the contributions you’ve all made over the years, the good times we’ve all had and the lovely running family we’ve built up together.
The tickets are being very kindly subsidised by the club – £42 includes a delicious 3 course meal (veggie and vegan options), table wine & drinks reception on the terrace for speeches and toasts!
Ticket deadline August 31…there are fewer than 40 tickets left
AND THE MORNING AFTER?
What better way to address your slight hangover than to go for a lovely nostalgic run?
It is with this in mind that Len Reilly has decided to lead a Sunday morning run on 17 September to visit places that have been our base over the years. It’ll start at 9.45, to allow for slow starts and anybody involved in junior parkrun, and meet at what is now Ninth Life, as was the Black Horse on Rushey Green, Catford where it all began for us in 1898. It’ll finish at the track. Thanks to Neil Gordon-Orr for the idea and help with the list of places.
ON THE ROAD
Saturday 23rd is the Southern Relays at Aldershot. This is a really big event for us and a major target as we can be competitive in all age groups and categories. It’s also a welcome return to Aldershot. Please give this priority over other attractions. Save the dates:
23rd September – Aldershot
6-stage for men and 4-stage for women
7th October – Sutton Coldfield
6-stage for men and women
Whilst on the subject of road racing and the ballot results all announced for London Marathon 2024, Kent AC will be allocated two club places for next year.
More information on signing up will be provided soon.
DUST OFF THOSE CROSS COUNTRY SPIKES
It may still only be the beginning of August, but the countdown to cross country season is here.
We now have the locations announced so make sure to add those to your diary.
These are not only great club races, but the more Kent AC runners available to score, the better.
Plus all pretty local with South of the Thames junior and Southern XC Champs both at Beckenham Place Park.
Surrey League XC:
14th October – Richmond Park
11th November – Mitcham Common
13th January – Wimbledon Common
10th February – TBD
XC events:
25th November: South of the Thames Junior – Beckenham Place Park
16th December: South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park, Croydon
6th January: Kent County Cross Country – Brands Hatch
27th January: Southern XC Champs – Beckenham Place Park
National Cross Country:
Saturday 24th February – TBD (Midlands)
TOP CHAMPS
We have not one but two club championships. The track 5000m on Thursday September 14 and the road 5kk on Saturday September 16. The sign up sheets for the two are here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FjG3oEg8wYgba1vjqaf1tz26YA5oyzFz-2ydpPiePeA/edit#gid=0
Both are open to all members and there will be awards for all groups and age groups. Both will be used to inform selection for the southern road relays the following week.
For obvious reasons in the 5000m track event we might have to limit numbers, so entries are principally for those who will be competitive in their category; signing up is essential.
The 5k road event will be combined with Dulwich parkrun. It’s a club championship too, in all categories and is open to everybody, in fact the more the better. As you’ll know we’re using that weekend to celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary, and it would be wonderful if 125 (or more) of us could be there that morning. Signing up isn’t essential, but is appreciated so we can warn parkrun in advance. The sign up sheet also has a section for volunteering. Please do so and remember it’s possible to compete and help at the same event.
There is also discussion ongoing on the wisdom of replacing Dulwich parkrun for these takeover events with our home patch, Hillyfields. Feel free to add your two penn’orth.
JUNIOR NEWS
KYAL: Match 4: Saturday August 12, 2023: Central Park Arena: Dartford
‘Yesterday was the last match of our 2nd season in the KYAL, ‘(writes John Barron).
‘Thank you to all the athletes who competed, their parents for supporting each match, the coaches for encouraging everyone and pulling the teams together and finally the officials and parents who made it happen on the day. We pulled it off.
Now for the best part. In year 1 we ended the series in sixth place. This year we came fourth. Don’t forget that we only relaunched the juniors in June 21 so this an amazing result after only two seasons.
Despite so many athletes being unavailable yesterday owing to holidays and injury the team produced some great performances, finishing fifth on the day which would have easily been higher had we been able to assemble relay teams.’
RESULTS
In the u13’ girls Faith continued her winning form in the 70m hurdles (12.1) and 75m sprint (10.7). Congratulations. In his first outing for the club Rubin Richardson (u13 boys) came 3rd in the 100m with 13.9 sec and Sean finishing in 16.1. Both boys then ran in the 200m. Rubin winning in 28.7 followed by Sean in 8th.
Rubin then completed a great outing coming 1st in the high jump with 1.35m. Meanwhile Sean can 3rd in the discuswith a throw of 11.78m. A good finish. Well done.
Cillian was 2nd in 1km walk in 6.56.8– fast becoming the team anchor in this event. Well done. He followed that up with a good long jump result of 3.34m
Sean back in action coming 3rd in the discus with a throw of 11.78m to end a good morning. Zac was in action in the 800m coming 3rd with a time of 2.39.6. Nicely done.
Liam led the u15 boys out for the first event competing in the 100m with an impressive 14.4 sec and then capitalised on a good start in the 200m with 28.9. Well done. Harry Clough also competing in the 200m came a very good 4th in the B string with 32.4.
Harry came 4th in the long jump with 3.63m
Leo Richardson like his brother was also debuting for the club. First up was the 800m.
Louis came 3rd in 2.22.3 with Leo close behind in 2.35.5.
In the javelin Louis came 2nd with a throw of 19:40. Lots to more to come.
Pelaiah got the u15 girls up and running in the 100m with 16.3 sec and coming a very credible 5th in Javelin with a throw of 13.59m
Mei was in action in the 200m coming 3rd in 29.1. Well done and in discus she came 6th with 10.03m.
Beth making her KYAL debut came 5th in the long jump with 3m and in shot put 5th with 4.28m. Great first appearance.
Eliza and Mei completed the day’s action in the 800m coming 3rd and 4th with times of 2.39.7 and 2.48.9. Both have had a great season.
That’s it folks for this year. Hope you all enjoy the remainder of summer.
FUTURE EVENTS
Sarah Crichton will be organising a junior-friendly athletics competition for Kent AC junior members only during evening junior training on 31 August and 5 September.
It will be a friendly track and field competition of a maximum of 6 events, in a round robin style with athletes in groups, going between events.
The full details are to be confirmed, but those who want to volunteer to help Sarah can email on sar.
IN IT TO WIN IT
If you would like the chance of winning cash in our Lottery draw, there are two numbers available at a cost of £6.00 per month. For more info, please contact David here.
SPEAK NOW…IF YOU CAN HELP OUT THE CLUB
Would you like to take a leading role in the club? Are you organised and have an eye for detail? Or do you just want to earn a pint for some volunteering? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have just the ticket for you.
We are looking for a new Track Admin Officer. This is a committee post, which involves technical admin of the track pass app and negotiating hours and rates for the track with GLL and the council.
If you would like to find out more about this, then please contact Amelia.
THE GATE ESCAPE
Gate volunteers form the unsung heroes spine of the club, making sure that our Tuesday and Thursday night sessions can run smoothly and safely. It’s a great way to meet new people and have a chat with friends too, as well as give back a little bit of time to the club. You can sign up here!
LET’S MAKE IT OFFICIAL
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.
Our SAL performances not only need athletes, but also qualified officials – so you can directly contribute to our success! Every qualification counts!
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!
SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE
She writes:
‘Kent AC has been such a big part of our lives (and played a part in getting us together) and we are really going to miss the club. We’ll both be doing Dulwich parkrun next Saturday (19 August) and will stay for coffee afterwards. We’ll also be at the drinks after The Big Half on September 3: it would be great to say goodbye to as many as possible before we go.’
The one with the biggest smile….
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 18:00 – 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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