10ks and Surrey League prep
10ks and Surrey League prep
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 04/02/24–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
28 January 2024
On Saturday morning, Lin Skinner ran elsewhere to her usual Crystal Palace Parkrun stomping ground to secure 3rd on the podium in Regent Park’s 10k. The race was wet, windy and very well organised paving the way for a strong 41:52 but alas no PB for Lin who continues her drive to break that 40 minute hurdle.
Lin with another podium finish for Kent
From one 10k to another we find ourselves in the Chichester 10k at Goodwood Motor Circuit for some driven performances from duo Nicola Cartlidge and Suzanne Spalding. Another consistent Parkrunner, Nicola, donned the vest and achieved a massive 2 minute 23 second PB with a chip time of 43:57 coming 11th in the FM45 category. Suzanne was caught in her draft not far behind taking an even bigger 3 minute 24 second chunk from her PB with a solid 44:31 running to 8th in her FM50 category. Congratulations for both!
Big PBs for Suzanne and Nicola
Notable performances elsewhere:
Kent had a surprisingly strong showing at Crystal Palace Parkrun with Jake Simmonds 15:54 and Nicolas Tory 15:56 battling it out for first place; both breaking the notoriously difficult 16 minute barrier at hilly Crystal Palace Parkrun. They were followed closely by Ladywell regular (but not Kent AC member) Mike Cummings, Sean Fitzpatrick and Che Compton to round off the top 5.
On even hillier runs, we go to Hilly Fields where Jonathan Tipper won with 17:23. Those lonely marathon sessions around Ladywell Arena are clearly paying off! Katie Lang also continued her upward trajectory to achieve a Hill Fields Parkrun PB of 24:53.
Ellie Freeden dodged and swerved around 700+ runners to narrowly miss out on a pb at Dulwich Parkrun with 19:13.
Nick and Jake will be receiving speeding fines by post sometime before the National Cross Country
That’s all from races this week. Remember to post to the Kent AC Group Competition Chat on Whatsapp if you have any races, photos or news to share. See below for updates on SAL fixtures and a final call out for the Surrey League.
Plus a reminder that the 2024 annual track pass is available to purchase on the sumsup shop.
SURREY LEAGUE FINAL
This is it; the final of the series of races across the muddiest, wettest and hilliest fields that Surrey has to offer.
We are taken to West Horsley Place in Guildford which is another agreeable one for timings and race start location.
Men’s race start: 13:00
Women’s race start: 14:00
The race is approximately 1.5 miles from Horsley Train Station (approx. 30 minutes walking), which can be accessed on the Waterloo to Guildford line with services every 30 minutes.
Men to get the train 10:33 from London Waterloo (10:42 from Clapham Junction) which arrives at Horsley at 11:22.
Women to get the train 11:33 from London Waterloo (11:42 from Clapham Junction) which arrives at Horsley at 12:22.
With Kent traditionally improving from strength to strength over the course of the league, it would be amazing to get as many people out for the last fixture as possible. The Surrey League is a fun, tough event which sets you up well for upcoming road racing and usually ends in a debrief in the local pub. If you’re interested then contact our cross country captains – James, Owen, Gen or Sarah.
Only a narrow margin of 2 points sits between Kent and Belgrave B for 4th place in the Women’s League.
Kent’s Men are in the top 3 but nothing is secure and with a strong turnout that could easily be changed.
JOIN THE CREW
* 17th February – a volunteering take-over of Hilly Fields parkrun. Pink hi-vis is the new navy blue.
* 2nd March – pacing at Dulwich parkrun to reap a raft of PBs.
If you’re happy to volunteer and/or pace, could you please complete this sheet with your name, email, and parkrun barcode number.
For the pacing please add the fastest and slowest times you’d be happy to pace – they’re looking for a wide range of abilities (down to around 36 minutes), so more the merrier!
For more information, contact Richard Giles.
RACE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
We look forward to the last Surrey League race on Sunday 10th February, at West Horsley, Guildford. Let’s get around it!
A summary of dates for your diary
2024
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
May
18 – Southern Athletics League – Dartford
June
15 – Southern Athletics League – Thurrock
July
14 – Southern Athletics League – St Albans
August
3- 10k Sri Chimnoy Battersea Park (club champs)
17 – Southern Athletics League – Ware
September
1 – Big Half (club champs)
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
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
–