Kent goes to Kent – and return with silverware!
Kent goes to Kent – and return with silverware!
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 07/01/24–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
01 January 2024
For those who couldn’t make the trip, there were parkruns and other races. Quite a few turned up to Hilly Fields, in cross country conditions, where Dame Dibaba, Owen Hind and Ian Ellwood took the podium places – special mention to Joe Hartley pushing a buggy and child up a big muddy hill 3 times for 6th place.
Rowan Crichton, Owen, Dame, Ian and Joe (before the run by the state of the shoes)
Elsewhere, James Bates ran a phenomenal 43 miles in under 8 hours to complete the Country to Capital Ultra, and Matthew Moroney ran the Welwyn Half in 89:19.
And even further afield, some lucky runners have sought winter sun in Spanish training camps – Lara Bromilow and Jake Simmonds were at separate camps in Lanzarote, but met up and had a Kent AC training run together:
Lara and Jake out on Spanish trails
A reminder to those who didn’t get a place for this year’s London Marathon but would like the chance of one, today is your last chance to enter the club draw to win one of two places we have on offer. Email if you’re interested. The draw will be made tomorrow evening.
KENT GOES TO KENT
The Kent AC cross country teams opened up the 2024 XC with the short trip down the A20 to the fabled Brands Hatch for thre Kent County Championships to compete on a course described as many to be emitting ’peculiar conditions’ – no rain, wind below 15mph and fairly firm under foot given last weeks soaking. Let’s talk results, firstly the juniors…
The U15 boys tackled a 4.4K undulating course and it was Dylan Sandhu who was our first Kent AC vest home with an impressive 17th finish overall, George Searle finishing 28th, Lucas Strickland 45th and Harry Clough 48th in what was a very competitive fixture – top work team! In the U17’s Olly Buck (2nd claim) towed the line with another fantastic run, finishing in 8th overall. In the U20s we had Guy Barnett sneaking inside the top 10 with a splendid 9th overall (highest positioning Kent AC vest of the day) and Theo Gaymes with in a solid 20th position. Unfortunately U15 Alice Hales DNS due to illness but in true spirit of the sport made the journey south to support her team mate, U15 Tallulah Jones who unluckily picked up an injury during her warm up, having to cut the race short – rest up ladies!
Now it’s no longer a surprise to see multiple of our senior teams bring home the team silverware at XC…
Both the men’s 6 and 12 to score were home in 2nd place to a dominant Tonbridge, who had a remarkable 5 in the top 6 finishers. Rob Sesemann’s brief altitude spell paid great dividends this season as the first Kent AC vest home in13th place. Rob was kept honest throughout the race by teammate, the elusive Matt Speed, making an exceptional comeback to the mud and finishing in 14th. James Boustead and Ben Clarke were the team’s 3rd and 4th scorers with birthday boy Neil Phillips closely following. But it was down to an epic run from Phillip Sanders that ensured the 6 to score were holding Silver instead of Bronze, finishing in front of Medway by just a single point having held off the Medway runner for the whole of the last lap. He also won the V50 gold. Not bad, not bad indeed.
The men’s 12 to score only emphasises the strength in depth this club possesses with all runners finishing in the top 60. Kudos out to Luke Rowland, Calum Fraser, Ben Mitchell, Matteo Gala, Che Compton and Alex Harris for all making the 12 to score silver. It was a truly excellent effort by all of the participating senior men, all finishing inside the top 100. Chapeau!
For the women, we had a reduced turn out due to injury worries and illness but still managed to sneak the bronze medal in the 3 to score, with Katie Rowland coming 9th, reliable as ever, Clare Elms was 16th (and 1st W60), Nesrin Sebanci finished out the team in 31st and 3rd W40 – tenacious running from all the team! We had 8 women running in total, but are expecting a bigger turn out next week for the Surrey League at Wimbledon Common.
Kent ladies
Team Results:
Men’s 6-to-score – 2nd place
Men’s 12-to score – 2nd place
Women’s 3-to-score – 3rd place
Race report from James Boustead
LONDON MARATHON BALLOT
Club ballot entries are still open for those of you wanting to run the 2024 London Marathon who have failed in the LM ballot. We have two club places to give away.
The criteria are that a) you have competed for Kent AC in an event in 2023 (this includes wearing the Kent vest in a major race), and b) you have applied for and been rejected in the ballot for the 2024 London Marathon (evidence of your rejection will be required before the place is awarded).
Please submit your entry for the club ballot to by 7th January 2024.
The draw will be at the next Committee Meeting on 8th January. Good luck!
2024…LET’S GET BACK ON TRACK
The 2024 annual track pass is available to purchase on the sumup shop.
We are offering 12 months for the price of 11. An ideal seasonal present to yourself.
RACE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
A summary of dates for your diary
2024
January
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP
February
10 – Surrey League XC – West Horsley, Guildford
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire
March
16 – British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales
24 – Southern Relays – Milton Keynes
April
6 – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield
21 – London Marathon
ADMIN ON TRACK
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.
MEET YOU AT THE GATE
Gate volunteers form the unsung heroes 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 Jacqueline Francis for more info.
It would be great to see a few more people put their names down to help out!
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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