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Alan Curtis

About Alan Curtis

http://www.kentac.org.uk

Posts by Alan Curtis:

Welcome Return of Kent AC “Champs” – 1500m and 200m

1500m and 200m Race Report - Sutcliffe Park

Club racing returns! Sadly at Sutcliffe Park as Ladywell Arena remains closed – come on Lewisham Council & GLL! Thanks to Shanice at GLL and the KAC volunteers, for making it a great event, brilliant to see a sea of blue vests back on a track. Report from Ben Cook

…big thanks to everyone that made this great evening happen, Rob Laing, John Barron, Dan Pettitt, Len, Heather, Dave, Simon, Kate, Rowan and everyone else that helped out in this really odd year.

 
Now on to the races, the results are attached but as always, these only tell half a story. Race 1 was very exciting and saw lots of new club members running. Timothy Ssali took the race out hard and had the handful of spectators wondering whether he was going to be able to hold on to the end and Gary Sullivan, always a canny racer, seemed to smell blood in the water. However after a dip in the third lap Timo managed to find a strong last lap for the win, closely followed by new club American import Louis Wampler with Gary just behind him.
 
The race also saw some great performances from Susie Fairbrass to run a PB and Nicky Hayes who ran in her first ever 1500m with a performance that will see her go 7th in the UK in her category.
 
The second race was just as exciting, Sarah Hanley took the race on and looked like she was going to win, however Laurie Garrett ran an incredibly strong last lap to win with Sarah just behind him. This race was the battle of Kent AC’s v50 men with Paul Crompton showing utter disdain for rank and coming in 6 seconds ahead of our illustrious president Alan Curtis who in turn got the better of Paul McCrone. There were two other notable performances in this race, Dee O’Brian’s run will put her in 7th place on the all important Power of 10 rankings and Jo Mott who turned up late for the first race and ran in the second race running a whole minute faster than her predicted time.
 
The final race of the evening was an absolute peach with Joe Hartley taking it out hard, leaving us all wondering if he would be able to hold off Chris McGurk who was fresh off a 10k PB last Sunday, however, reminiscent of Timothy Cheruiyot in Monaco the other week, Joe managed to find the strength to hold Chris off for a fantastic win. Another notable performance from Clare Elms to be crowned club champion with her time fractionally faster than Sarah Hanley’s.
 
Finally, at the end of the evening we had two 200m races with Nathan Stevens really showing us what proper sprinting looks like, but there were also notable performances from Louis Wampler and Joseph Yee. Finally, Dee O’Brian, who had decided to enter at the last minute ran 33.3 to become club champion and put herself just outside the top 20 on Po10.
 
Ben Cook & Rob Laing
 

1500m Results

Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time
R1 1 Timothy Ssali Kent AC SEN 05:26.9
R1 2 Louis Wampler Kent AC SEN 05:29.5
R1 3 Gary Sullivan Kent AC v60 05:32.4
R1 4 Susie Fairbrass Kent AC F SEN 05:44.3
R1 5 Joe Daniel Kent AC v40 05:49.5
R1 6 Neil Gordon-Orr Kent AC v55 05:56.6
R1 7 Nicky Hayes Kent AC F v55 06:02.9

Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time
R2 1 Laurie Garrett Kent AC SEN 05:02.7
R2 2 Sarah Hanley Kent AC F SEN 05:07.1
R2 3 Paul Crompton Kent AC v50 05:09.4
R2 4 John Slade Kent AC v35 05:11.9
R2 5 Daniel Bowers Kent AC v40 05:14.3
R2 6 Alan Curtis Kent AC v50 05:15.3
R2 7 Paul McCrone Kent AC v50 05:20.2
R2 8 Dee O'Brien Kent AC F v45 05:23.6
R2 9 Jo Mott Kent AC F SEN 05:57.7

Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time
R3 1 Joe Hartley Kent AC SEN 04:16.5
R3 2 Chris McGurk Kent AC SEN 04:20.0
R3 3 Joseph Yee Kent AC U20 04:23.6
R3 4 Ian Ellwood Kent AC SEN 04:25.7
R3 5 Nick Ostrowski Kent AC v35 04:31.2
R3 6 Tom Sloan Kent AC v45 04:35.2
R3 7 Jamie McCall Kent AC SEN 04:37.5
R3 8 Ed Matthews Kent AC SEN 04:42.7
R3 9 Adrian Dracup Kent AC v35 05:02.6
R3 10 Clare Elms Kent AC F v55 05:06.8

Overall
Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time Overall Female
R3 1 Joe Hartley Kent AC SEN 04:16.5 1 
R3 2 Chris McGurk Kent AC SEN 04:20.0 2 
R3 3 Joseph Yee Kent AC U20 04:23.6 3 
R3 4 Ian Ellwood Kent AC SEN 04:25.7 4 
R3 5 Nick Ostrowski Kent AC v35 04:31.2 5 
R3 6 Tom Sloan Kent AC v45 04:35.2 6 
R3 7 Jamie McCall Kent AC SEN 04:37.5 7 
R3 8 Ed Matthews Kent AC SEN 04:42.7 8 
R3 9 Adrian Dracup Kent AC v35 05:02.6 9 
R2 1 Laurie Garrett Kent AC SEN 05:02.7 10 
R3 10 Clare Elms Kent AC F v55 05:06.8 11 1
R2 2 Sarah Hanley Kent AC F SEN 05:07.1 12 2
R2 3 Paul Crompton Kent AC v50 05:09.4 13 
R2 4 John Slade Kent AC v35 05:11.9 14 
R2 5 Daniel Bowers Kent AC v40 05:14.3 15 
R2 6 Alan Curtis Kent AC v50 05:15.3 16 
R2 7 Paul McCrone Kent AC v50 05:20.2 17 
R2 8 Dee O'Brien Kent AC F v45 05:23.6 18 3
R1 1 Timothy Ssali Kent AC SEN 05:26.9 19 
R1 2 Louis Wampler Kent AC SEN 05:29.5 20 
R1 3 Gary Sullivan Kent AC v60 05:32.4 21 
R1 4 Susie Fairbrass Kent AC F SEN 05:44.3 22 4
R1 5 Joe Daniel Kent AC v40 05:49.5 23 
R1 6 Neil Gordon-Orr Kent AC v55 05:56.6 24 
R2 9 Jo Mott Kent AC F SEN 05:57.7 25 5
R1 7 Nicky Hayes Kent AC F v55 06:02.9 26 6

200m Results

Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time
R1 1 Nathan Stevens Kent AC SEN 22.9
R1 2 Louis Wampler Kent AC SEN 23.6
R1 3 Ian Ellwood Kent AC SEn 26.3
R1 4 Timothy Ssali Kent AC SEN 26.8
R1 5 Adrian Dracup Kent AC SEN 29.7

Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time
R2 1 Joseph Yee Kent AC U20 25.6
R2 2 Ed Matthews Kent AC SEN 27.8
R2 3 Tomas Sloan Kent AC V45 29.4
R2 4 Paul Crompton Kent AC V50 30.0
R2 5 Dee O'Brien Kent AC F V45 33.3
R2 6 Paul McCrone Kent AC V50 36.5


Overall
Race Pos Name Club M/F Cat Time Overall Female
R1 1 Nathan Stevens Kent AC SEN 22.9 1 
R1 2 Louis Wampler Kent AC SEN 23.6 2 
R2 1 Joseph Yee Kent AC U20 25.6 3 
R1 3 Ian Ellwood Kent AC SEn 26.3 4 
R1 4 Timothy Ssali Kent AC SEN 26.8 5 
R2 2 Ed Matthews Kent AC SEN 27.8 6 
R2 3 Tomas Sloan Kent AC V45 29.4 7 
R1 5 Adrian Dracup Kent AC SEN 29.7 8 
R2 4 Paul Crompton Kent AC V50 30.0 9 
R2 5 Dee O'Brien Kent AC F V45 33.3 10 1
R2 6 Paul McCrone Kent AC V50 36.5 11

Open Letter – Please Reopen Ladywell Arena

Letter to Mayor - Reopen Ladywell Arena

 24th August 2020

Re: Reopening of Ladywell Arena

Dear Lewisham Mayor and Cabinet members,

Kent Athletic Club ask that you prioritise and fast track the re-opening of Ladywell Arena – so that this invaluable local asset can be used again to its full potential, both by Kent Athletic Club, other local community groups and members of the public.

The awarding of the Leisure Services contract to a new operator is good news for residents and users after such a long period of closure.

Kent Athletic Club wants to help the council and its new operator prioritise the reopening of Ladywell Arena as quickly as possible. Members need access to the track, and the facilities for changing and storage when training on the track and in the surrounding parks and streets.

Ladywell Arena is the home of Kent Athletic Club where a growing membership of athletes, coaches and volunteers of all ages from the diverse population of Lewisham and the surrounding area meet up. Despite having two Olympians, and a third likely to feature at Tokyo Olympics, anyone and everyone is made welcome at our inclusive club. We are a local club with 40% of Kent AC members living within a mile of the Arena and 60% within 3 miles.

Sport and activity are critical for the mental and physical well-being of many of our members, and importantly the younger generation who are impacted greatly by this pandemic. We are more than a sport; we are a community too. Ladywell Arena also provides a home to several other community groups, including football and disability sport.

 

Yours sincerely,

Alan Curtis

President Kent Athletic Club

 

 

 

 

Return to Track Survey Results

117 different people responded – thank you very much. It is clear that you want to get back to training, you want to meet on the usual nights of Tuesday and Thursday (but some could do other days), and you want to be back at Ladywell but most are prepared to use Sutcliffe Park as an alternative.

Ladywell 10000 Update

Ladywell 10000 update

Dear members and friends,

With some racing starting to return, I’ve received a few queries to ask whether the Ladywell 10000 is likely to happen on the originally planned date of Sunday 6th September 2020.

Unfortunately with less than 4 weeks to go now it is not viable to plan to host the event for the following main reasons:

1) England Athletics is currently only permitting races of up 3000m on the track[1].
2) Ladywell Track remains closed with no confirmed re-opening date.

Kent AC still has ambition to host an event this year – and will be in touch with plenty of notice if and when we can do so, especially as we need your invaluable support to help host and run it.

Please do share this message to any friends from other clubs.

Kind regards
Dave Morgan (Ladywell 10000 Race Director)

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

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Club Statement

The Club committee feel it is important to address the rightful anger and outrage that has been expressed across the world against racism which the killing of George Floyd has stimulated.  

Kent Athletic Club are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and we stand against racism, prejudice, sexism, ageism, homophobia and anything else that may lead to members feeling excluded. We are inviting members who want to join with us to identify and address barriers to equality, diversity and inclusion within the club to contact us and work with us to formulate an action plan.

We have grown organically to nearly 500 members. To achieve a membership that is a better reflection of the Borough (London Borough of Lewisham is the 15th most ethnically diverse local authority in England) will require putting in place a recruitment programme. An increase in membership will also require a commensurate increase in coaches specialising in Track and Field. A working party of members keen to become involved in this plan will report back to our wider membership on our progress at the AGM in Nov.

Alan Curtis, Club President

Covid-19 update from Club Welfare Officers

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Covid-19 and Kent Athletic Club (update 6 June 2020)

Covid-19 remains a significant threat and we are still some way from a resumption of athletics competition. At this time the priority of Kent Athletic Club remains the health, safety and well-being of athletes, coaches and our wider community.

We  recognise that there have been some changes in the guidance regarding sports and exercise.  The official Government ‘Guidance for the public on the phased return of outdoor sport and recreation in England‘ was last updated on 1 June 2020. England Athletics has responded to this by issuing a ‘Guidance update for restricted return to activity (for coaches, leaders, athletes, runners and facilities’ (also updated 1 June 2020)


At present, the running track at Ladywell Arena remains closed though the club is in discussion with Fusion about plans for the future. No organised Kent AC coaching or training sessions are taking place with a coach present, though of course advice and support is being given remotely in various ways. There is absolutely no expectation from the club that our coaches should be running any activities at this stage. If any of our coaches do wish to resume some kind of direct activity, we will be working with them to ensure that a risk assessment has been undertaken that demonstrates that this can be done safely in compliance with latest guidance and regulations.

For many of us, continuing to run has been a lifeline in this stressful period. We recognise that club members may now choose to run and train together in groups of no more than six as stipulated in the revised Government and England Athletics guidance. To keep ourselves safe while doing this, let’s make sure that we are all following these key points from guidance:

– social distancing of at least 2 metres should be maintained between people exercising together at all times;
– if you are symptomatic or living in a household with someone else who has a possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection you should remain at home.
– if you have been asked to isolate by NHS Test and Trace because you are a contact of a known COVID-19 case, do not exercise outside your own home or garden and do not exercise with others.

These are difficult times, and many people are dealing with illness, bereavement, economic uncertainty and anxiety about the virus and its impact.  Further advice about coronavirus and mental well-being is available from Mind and  from Young Minds.

We think that the Kent AC community has been a great help in this period, supporting and encouraging each other through social media contact, virtual races and practical assistance. We are sure that we will come out of this a stronger and more cohesive club, but let’s make sure that we continue to keep safe along the way. 

As the club welfare officers, we have agreed to take on the temporary additional role of club ‘Covid-19 Co-ordinators’, as recommended by England Athletics. If you have any comments or concerns relating to Covid-19 and Kent Athletic Club, or indeed any wider welfare or safeguarding concerns do contact us:

Susie Fairbrass              welfareoff1@kentac.org.uk
Neil Gordon-Orr             welfareoff2@kentac.org.uk

Kent AC Marathon Challenge Final Results

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Virtual London Marathon Relay

First of all thanks so much to everyone for getting involved in the Marathon Challenge over the weekend. It was fantastic watching results come in, looking at the great times being posted on Strava and constant twitter updates. There were some fantastic individual runs with the fastest gentlemen of the day being Chris Greenwood 1:09:30 and the fastest lady being Georgina Wiley with a 1:24:35 (less than a minute off her PB). Also, Phil Sanders running sub 75 off not so much training over the last year was great to see.
 
As well as these it has been great to read on Strava how the event has brought back some focus for people whose motivation may have been down so kudos to everyone that took part. We have been glued to screens, much to the irritation of our families!
 
So to the results…
We did take into into account the elapsed time v moving time rule of 90 seconds some runs did have to be slightly adjusted. 
 
Which means in third place place a total time of 2.42.03 – Ben Cook, Dan Ansell and Andrea Barber.
 
Second place with 2.40.06 Geogina Wiley and David Mohring.
 
and the winners are,
 
George Russell and Craig Phillips with 2.38.53
 
Full results can be seen below.
 
Thanks again to everyone for taking part and potentially if the lock down continues we will have something else in the next few weeks.
 
Barny and Ben

KENTversation Podcast

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Dan & Emilia's Podcast

In the depths of lockdown, Amelia came up with the idea of starting a podcast in order to try and keep club members and friends connected over the coming weeks. I thought the idea has legs, so we’ve been trialing the production of such a podcast.
 
We felt that there wasn’t a need to replicate current podcasts on the market (some very good ones too) and have people tire of hearing our voices, but instead create a forum for conversation between club members on various topics of interest and relevance… hence the name KENTversation.
 
Going forward, we hope that it would be a good place to distribute club news (keeping in the club in the 21st century), but for now it’s just been a good opportunity to integrate and hear from club members you wouldn’t ordinarily speak to.
 
So far in the couple of episodes we’ve aired, there’s been Chris Busaileh, talking about his experiences over the past couple of weeks since contracting COVID-19, and Laura McCrave, discussing post-natal running and integrating back into the club (should be up in the next few mins).
 
 
The time invested in these episodes is low and ultimately quite flexible, with a low barrier to entry, which we hope will help contribute to its success, but before distributing wider we just wanted to make sure that the club committee was on-board.
The few members who have listened in so far have enjoyed the topics and listening so far (as we hope you will too). But please feedback to us if you do have any concerns 🙂
 
Thanks!
 
Dan & Amelia

A Selection of Favourite Running Videos

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Inspired by an email from Len R here are some of peoples’ “.. favourite athletics or running videos…”, mostly serious, and a few comedy ones


Lawrence A:

Kipchoge won’t be racing Bekele in April but they did go head to head in Beijing 2008 – epic race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVXsHej-OYU&t=481s
Women’s steeplechase at London 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4dCk4UYZEU&t=725s

And the women’s 1500m from the same champs, last two laps anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJjeKxN8IGY&t=538s
For anyone who really wants to get in to this, Lets Run recently did a race of the decade competition featuring their top 64 races of the decade:
https://www.letsrun.com/events/letsrun-coms-race-of-the-decade/


Chris Q:

I grew up in the great time for Irish athletics where Sonia O’ Sullivan was dominating the tracks worldwide. I used to watch the Sydney Olympic Final regularly and hoped Sonia’s lanky stride would help her take gold but alas!
https://youtu.be/tsJYzZ1I8pw


Adrian L:

This lad was already pissed off about losing to Haille in the world Juniors…
https://youtu.be/RbxfKavcCdA


Neil P:

I like these ones Haile looks like he is jogging at world record pace then kicks off it! bugger, baumann broke 13 minutes as well not bad for a European.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJdgCPS6A20
Check John Ngugi’s acceleration after 11 minutes, right see yah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNL0Lb8l2Q


Cameron F:

This is a classic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE0EUG7Ikak


Gary S:

For me I’ve loved watching Steve Prefontaine races as his philosophy was to go balls out at a suicidal pace and lead from the front.
The 1972 Olympic final was epic. Crazy pace and and strategy but he admired for his bonkers attitude, grit and fierce will to suffer more than anyone else as he did here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iKt8_pkHgY


Jules G:

I like this one, London 1985 battle Jones vs Spedding. Also amazing to see how desolate Canary Wharf was in those days, way before any of it was built up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipG2VJx4II4


Ben C:

Bekele vs. Mo vs. Gebreselassie at the Great North Run in 2016, mainly because you can see a young Ian Ellwood in the background during the post race interviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rDoJdVz00Q&t=631s
I think what I like most about this one is the display of technique. Sometimes other athletes can make you feel very ordinary.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz3Y_9XHiO5/?igshid=11xn698prhghm


Ben H:

Here’s a video I made to introduce Dave Moorcroft as guest speaker at an event in Cambridge years ago:
https://youtu.be/AnUoebEp9uM


James B:

Dave Wottle 800m
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k


Adrian L:
1. 1972 Olympic 800m Final
This is a mesmerising demonstration in even paced running and the discipline to do it your way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=5LHid-nC45k

2. 2000 Olympic 10000m
Haile was still just about in his pomp, he was my hero and yet Tergat ran him so close, but never did get the better of him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=5PEGZ0bILtw

3. 2015 World Championship 100m Final, Beijing
It was good vs evil. Bird’s Nest Stadium the atmosphere electric. I was in Athens in 2004 when Gatlin won Olympic Gold and that was similar, but for obvious reasons, that needs scrubbing. Only thing that has come close to this was GB World Champs 4×100 in London. That will always be amazing, but if Bolt’s Hammy hadn’t gone….I know, it did, and that’s running. The GOAT get’s it for me and is proof it’s not all about the long distance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=TLJ82k-aflc


David D:

One of my heroes John Treacy
Track 5k: Beats an arrogant Ovett on the line
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDCYrlN3UeQ

Road: Marathon LA Olympics Silver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiikQHsDu5E

XC: World champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWiENIMbPjI


Richard G:
A bit off piste but this is a legendary story in the ironman world
https://youtu.be/zOVGVMiwPSA