The following scrumptious menu will be served on sharing platters
along with a seasonal welcome cocktail at £25 per person 
(non-alcoholic options available too!). 
 

Quite literally. Kent AC’s legacy was imprinted on the Beckeham turf this year. Before the start of the South of the Thames Junior Race (both men and women teams, no juniors, confusingly. Keep up), Len Reilly stepped forward to deliver a witty tribute to longstanding Kent AC runner Ron Hale, who died in August aged 98. Ron, who joined the club aged 21 in May 1947, loved running in Beckenham Place Park, so his ashes are scattered there. In lieu of a minute’s silence to remember a club legend, Len suggested we should remember him as we run, our spikes helping to return him to the place he loved. 
Ron Hale would have been heartened by the turnout on Saturday. Under blue skies, the course was a sea of blue, and our A teams did us proud. Kent AC men claimed the team trophy, with Cameron Dockerill coming third overall in 24.59, and Tom Mower just five seconds behind. Owen Hind and Jonathan Tipper made it four to score to claim that painstakingly engraved shield. Amy Clements was first AC woman in 28.52, and her team-mates Catherine Kandie, Clare Elms and Victoria Cartwright helping her to bag second place in the team scores. A fantastic result, and the club acquitted itself well, providing  a huge and enthusiastic marshalling and photography team. Thanks to Len, Ellie, Pete, Phil and everyone who contributed to this wonderful event. 
Here’s the official race report:
‘To dive into the results a little bit more,  the four to score men’s team was genuinely competitive, in part because of the absolutely lock Cam had on one of those places.  He went out fiercely for a medal and went home with his just rewards, not just from the day’s effort but the effort of the last three or so years to give him the strength, fitness, and racing smarts to make it count when the opportunity presented itself.  

‘Just behind him in fourth place was Tom Mower, whose re-emergence to race cross-country with the club this winter has been a delight.  He’s a serious force and will be invaluable in our quest for a medal at the Southern Country Cross Country in January.  

‘Owen Hind continued his renaissance after a period of injury and illness, setting off conservatively and settled nicely in the high-teens at the midway point before picking off runners from other clubs, and Kent, one at a time to make an expected top 10 finish.  

‘Jonathan Tipper kept pre-race chat at fever pitch on Friday afternoon looking to get the trophy engraved from last year’s team victory will no-doubt be delighted to keep it for another year (tradition dictates that final scorer takes home the trophy).  He was only a handful of seconds in front of James Boustead so knew any faltering would lose him a coffee table decoration.   

For the women, Amy Clements is back BACK.  A quick sprint down the hill to pick up her number 11 minutes before the gun, followed by a quick sprint back up the hill to the start line, is apparently the perfect warm-up to ‘get out hard’ and come fourth.  She crossed the finish line accompanied by what appeared to be a guard of honour with Ben Armson and Ed Matthews immediately behind her.   

Catherin Kandie again impressed with her strength, fearless spirit and reliable low-sticks scoring to come home sixth.  

Clare Elms, who else?, was 15th and third scorer. Equally strong, fearless and reliable.  Always a joy to watch having fun over the tough terrain. 

Victoria Cartwright succeeded in rounding off the team and take home a team medal after, after holding off the strong challenge from first time cross-country racer Billie Turner.  Welcome to the club Billie, there’s plenty of challenge and successes ahead, if you enjoyed yesterday.   

Congrats also to Joe Hartley, Nicholas Torry and Lyndon Marfell for making the eight to score team win;  to Chris Mullin for winning his own sprint finish over Niall Stewart and Che Compton for rounding out the E team.  Other shout outs  include Lara Bromilow who ran second claim for Kent (and would have placed 4th ahead of Amy if second claimers were allowed to score), Annabelle Hadlow as the last Kent runner home, the various vets including Sarah Young, preparing for the vets xc next weeks, and of course club President Len for an avalanche of work to help organsie yesterday.

The longer, 12km version of the series is held in three weeks in Croydon.  We very much hope to see you there. Just remember to take your pins out your spikes now to avoid rusting, and sign-up using the spreadsheet as early as possible. ‘ 

The glorious weather, setting and general vibe have led to a plethora of photographs. Here’s a gallery to whet your appetite for next weekend’s cross country:

Team!

Amy is mildly amused

Queen Vic

What do you think, Billie, will you be back?

Faster than a speeding jeep

Men of Kent and that shield

First runner to the clubhouse buys the snacks, Cam

A summary of dates for your diary:

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
9 – Kent AC Christmas Party – BUY YOUR TICKETS!
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

For those of you wanting to enjoy some reps at Ladywell Arena over the festive period, please make note of the below dates for Kent AC hire.

Thursday 21st December – As usual
Sunday 24th December – No booking
Tuesday 26th December – No booking
Thursday 28th December – As usual
Sunday 31st December – No booking
2024
Tuesday 2nd January  – As usual

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. 

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!

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!

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.

Upcoming we have the South of the Thames Junior race on Saturday 25th, which we’re hosting at Beckenham Place Park – sign up to run if you’re fit and available, or contact Len to help out marshalling if you’re unfit and available.

Of the little action we had this week, Owen Hind and Steven Mowll ran the Wolverton 5 mile race in Milton Keynes, with Owen 13th in 26:11 and Steven 57th in 32:21.

Tickets are available for the club Christmas do on 9 December. It will be held at The Watergate in Deptford, tickets are £25 each – full details and menu down below. There will be a junior party and awards ceremony earlier at the same venue.

On an administrative point, some of the races that we enter require EA memberships for all runners. Please ensure that your EA membership is paid up if you intend to run for the club, particularly in national or regional championships, as it’s an administrative hassle for our team managers to check, and it may mean you miss out on entry deadlines if you’re not fully paid up.

At the AGM on Tuesday, Kent AC recognised two longstanding members whose combined contribution to the club totals over 78 years!

Pete Boxshall joined the club in 1982 and was a mainstay of our road and cross country teams in the 80s and 90s. He is now the coach of our highly successful women’s team, travels the country to coach and support them, and also officiates as a timekeeper when required.

Bernie Hutchinson joined in 1986, and a few years later became Membership Secretary, a role which he fulfilled for a remarkable 34 years until he stepped down this week. He still runs for the club, and will be wearing the Kent vest in some of the upcoming cross country races.

.The club fully appreciates their long and deep contribution to the club, which was recognised by the awarding of honorary memberships to each of them.

Pete Boxshall (left) and Bernie Hutchinson

  Tuesday 14 November 2023 8.30PM

The club AGM was held at the Blythe Hill Tavern on Tuesday, and had a healthy attendance of 40 odd in the room, plus another 10 or so joining remotely.

The main order of business was to review and approve the officer reports, approve new appointments to the committee, and approve Honorary Memberships to Pete Boxshall and Bernie Hutchinson.

The minutes of the meeting and the new committee appointments will be posted on the website this week.

The event was conducted in good order and good humour, and the co-Presidents Len and Vic thank all the members who attended and contributed.

South of the Thames Junior XC

Saturday 25 November from 12.30

Ken and Len need two groups of volunteers to help on the day.

We need ten people to marshal. The race is at 2pm. There will be a briefing at 12.30 at race HQ in the south west corner of the park. It’ll all be done by 2.45.

We also need two people to meet Len at the track at 11.15 to help put our (huge) tent into a car and then put it up in the park. It’s being used to keep the officials cosy and dry. The same or another two to help take it down and put it back in the car and deposit at the track.

If you can help, please let Len know. 

A summary of dates for your diary:

November
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
9 – Kent AC Christmas Party – TBD
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

For those of you wanting to enjoy some reps at Ladywell Arena over the festive period, please make note of the below dates for Kent AC hire.

Thursday 21st December – As usual
Sunday 24th December – No booking
Tuesday 26th December – No booking
Thursday 28th December – As usual
Sunday 31st December – No booking
2024
Tuesday 2nd January  – As usual

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. 

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!

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!

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.

In one respect, yesterday felt like a return to one of our regular surrey league venues where the legs naturally know the course after running the hills multiple times over the years.  In others, it felt like the buzz of a season that can have genuine meaning just getting started.  

The hard facts are the ladies went from fifth to fourth thanks to a score improvement of over 60 points.  With the men jumping fifth to second, pushing match one winners Belgrave into third. 

Yet it was the memberships’ effort to commit to the race that I really picked up on.  Be it the whatsapp groups buzzing with advice on how to navigate Croydon’s transport system, the last-minute sign-ups from people saying to themselves ‘yeah, actually I want to be involved today’ (although, please tell us more than 20 minutes before gun time.  We do also want to focus on our own race.  As ever use the spreadsheet) or the large group warming up and cooling down together.  With the help of Gen’s outstanding Instagram recap, I’ve picked out a few of my favorite memories from yesterday.  

For the ladies I loved: 

1) Pete’s smile telling me the increased excellence of the ladies team

2) Gen Blanch announcing her exciting news privately to fellow cross-country captains and then publicly to the rest of the club by racing fantastically with her pregnancy bump and trademark beaming smile.  The continuing numerical, mental and physical strength to race and train whilst pregnant is a Kent AC reputation thanks in part to Ellie Brown’s Tuesday night guidance.  

3) Amy Clements inspiring mum’s everywhere (and literally anyone else paying attention) with her recent return to racing continuing to impress by leading the team home.  

4) Gill Rowland making SL racing a family affair by scoring 7th in age category on debut. 

5) The close spread of 20 places for the entire B team of Paris, Ella, Lin and Claire before Zoe Gaffen completing a overall team of 20 in 235th.  

  Tuesday 14 November 2023 8.30PM

Please put aside an hour to come to the club’s 2023 AGM. You are needed because we want to hear from you as to how the club is doing and what it could do better.  And because we need your approval for next year’s committee and last year’s accounts.  

The agenda will be mailed to the whole membership shortly.
 
The bait is free post-track edibles and a short agenda.

If you can’t join in person, then please do join us virtually from 20:30 – 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89032610977?pwd=ade5xPASTkjUMJDgpehv8rCrTWryHD.1
Meeting ID: 890 3261 0977
Passcode: 567822
 
Upstairs Blythe Hill Tavern 319 Stanstead Rd SE6.

Vic Buck and Len Reilly
Co-presidents

South of the Thames Junior XC

Saturday 25 November from 12.30

Ken and Len need two groups of volunteers to help on the day.

We need ten people to marshal. The race is at 2pm. There will be a briefing at 12.30 at race HQ in the south west corner of the park. It’ll all be done by 2.45.

We also need two people to meet Len at the track at 11.15 to help put our (huge) tent into a car and then put it up in the park. It’s being used to keep the officials cosy and dry. The same or another two to help take it down and put it back in the car and deposit at the track.

If you can help, please let Len know. 

A summary of dates for your diary:

November
14 – Club AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
9 – Kent AC Christmas Party – TBD
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

For those of you wanting to enjoy some reps at Ladywell Arena over the festive period, please make note of the below dates for Kent AC hire.

Thursday 21st December – As usual
Sunday 24th December – No booking
Tuesday 26th December – No booking
Thursday 28th December – As usual
Sunday 31st December – No booking
2024
Tuesday 2nd January  – As usual

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. 

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!

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!

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.

Kent AC made a debut at the Mansfield National Cross-Country Relays yesterday. The atrocious weather added a literal sense of heading into the unknown driving two teams in a minivan to a high-class event. 

Each runner ran a 5km leg of 2x 2.5km laps, road running this was not; twisting wooded paths and mud so thick it made Parliament Hill look like a track session. Throw away expectations anchored by Dulwich Parkrun PBs, yesterday was about stories and commitment.

Man of the match went to Dame for his fastest leg of the day. He is truly maturing over the mud, demonstrated with a hard but measured effort to let the leaders go, yet still run almost a minute quicker than the rest of us. 

It was great to welcome Nicholas Chevis to the travelling contingent. He ran a superb 3rd leg debut, finishing sufficiently close to Owen that they could enjoy post run endorphins in the finishing chute. Nick is one to pay attention to in the months and (hopefully) years to come. 

From new runners, to club pillars – Callum ever reliable to keep a cool head brought the B team home whilst expertly picking up 5 places as he went. Perhaps even more excellent was James Boustead who was awake before dawn to pick up the van keys, and then succeeded in overtaking 14 places on his own anchor leg. 

James looking undefeated

But it was leg two where the true drama unfolded with an epic battle between Ian and Jake. First leg A team Dame and B team George had finished approximately a minute apart handing over to Jake and Ian respectively. First impressions for those watching online in Lewisham was these two would only see each other in the showers. 

Ian had what he personally describes as an average run in the thick mud and driving rain. Yet average became a synonym for significant through the bottom woods, with low light making it difficult to pick the best racing line. Through or round the park’s new pond feature? Clearly the conditions suited one over the other as they emerged out of the vegetation mere strides separating the two navy blue vests. 

Cheers from the small travelling contingent alerted Jake to the danger to his self-appointed crown of ‘Mr Kent AC’. The man had switched shifts at work to make this journey and the determined stride extension coupled with a bulge of the quads working harder signalled that this was now a fight to the final squelch of wet socks. 

Back through the bottom woods, the puddles somehow even bigger in the intervening 8 minutes. Almost in lockstep again up the main drag to the final twists, before Jake used his superior leg turnover ability developed en route to his sub 15-minute 5km PB, to eke out an indecisive gap when a stretch of firm ground offered it’s final opportunity. 

Alas, it wasn’t enough and Ian emerged victorious on chip time. 

 Po10 has Jake 1 – Ian 1 in head-to-head for the cross country. Check back in next week for the post Surrey League update. 

Still smiling post-race!

Other runners and clubs also competed memorably. We’d love more teams to travel next year. 

Speaking of which, see you next week as the season continues. It’s been a blast so far.
Do come along if you haven’t yet. 

Race report: Owen Hind

  Tuesday 14 November 2023 8.30PM

Please put aside an hour to come to the club’s 2023 AGM. You are needed because we want to hear from you as to how the club is doing and what it could do better.  And because we need your approval for next year’s committee and last year’s accounts.  

The agenda will be mailed to the whole membership shortly.
 
The bait is free post-track edibles and a short agenda.
 
Upstairs Blythe Hill Tavern 319 Stanstead Rd SE6.

Vic Buck and Len Reilly
Co-presidents

South of the Thames Junior XC

Saturday 25 November from 12.30

Ken and Len need two groups of volunteers to help on the day.

We need ten people to marshal. The race is at 2pm. There will be a briefing at 12.30 at race HQ in the south west corner of the park. It’ll all be done by 2.45.

We also need two people to meet Len at the track at 11.15 to help put our (huge) tent into a car and then put it up in the park. It’s being used to keep the officials cosy and dry. The same or another two to help take it down and put it back in the car and deposit at the track.

If you can help, please let Len know. 

One of the best nights on the social calendar….the Kent AC Christmas party.
Not one to be missed this year on Saturday 9th December.

Now you have all saved the date in your diary, tickets will be available to purchase from next week!

 We would love to see you there in your seasonal finery, to celebrate another wonderful year at Kent AC. This will also be the night of the Junior Christmas party and awards.

A summary of dates for your diary:

November
11 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
14 – Club AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
9 – Kent AC Christmas Party – TBD
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

For those of you wanting to enjoy some reps at Ladywell Arena over the festive period, please make note of the below dates for Kent AC hire.

Thursday 21st December – As usual
Sunday 24th December – No booking
Tuesday 26th December – No booking
Thursday 28th December – As usual
Sunday 31st December – No booking
2024
Tuesday 2nd January  – As usual

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. 

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!

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!

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.

  Tuesday 14 November 2023 8.30PM

Please put aside an hour to come to the club’s 2023 AGM. You are needed because we want to hear from you as to how the club is doing and what it could do better.  And because we need your approval for next year’s committee and last year’s accounts.  

The agenda will be mailed to the whole membership shortly.
 
The bait is free post-track edibles and a short agenda.
 
Upstairs Blythe Hill Tavern 319 Stanstead Rd SE6.

Vic Buck/Len Reilly co-presidents
 

South of the Thames Junior XC

Saturday 25 November from 12.30

Ken and Len need two groups of volunteers to help on the day.

We need ten people to marshal.  The race is at 2pm.  There will be a briefing at 12.30 at race hq in the south west corner of the park. It’ll all be done by 2.45.

We also need two people to meet Len at the track at 11.15 to help put our (huge) tent into a car and then put it up in the park. It’s being used to keep the officials cosy and dry. The same or another two to help take it down and put it back in the car and deposit at the track.

If you can help, please let Len know. 

A summary of dates for your diary:

November
4 – National XC relays – Mansfield
11 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
14 – Club AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
9 – Kent AC Christmas Party – TBD
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

I
Is this the first Christmas date in your diary?
Accept it with pride. 
Join us for the Kent AC Christmas soiree on the evening of Saturday 9 December. We would love to see you there in your seasonal finery, to celebrate another wonderful year at Kent AC. This will also be the night of the Junior Christmas party and awards. Tickets and more information will be available in the coming weeks. 
 

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. 

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!

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!

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.

Alex Robbins beams

Jo Mott chuckles

Kate Williams chills

So much for Beachy Head. Meanwhile, up north in Leeds, a fleet of A team lads took on the Leeds Abbey Dash and evidently dashed quite fast: Jake Simmonds scored a PB in 30:48, Rob Sesemann not far behind in 31:12 and Russell Bentley snapping at his heels in 31:13.

Done Dashing: Rob and Jake

Moving slightly enviously abroad, we take in some Spanish sun with our half and full marathoners Richard Giles (76:31 for the Valencia half) and Raymond Tedders, who chose Bilbao for his marathon debut and ran an impressive 3:18. 
Portugal hosted triathlete Nick Moss. He did the Cascais Ironman in an impressive time: swim in 1:12, ride in 6:26 and run in an extraordinary 3:35, all for charity and against ‘brutal crosswinds’. Amazing achievement. 
Over in beautiful Slovenia, Kieran Fitzpatrick completed the Ljubljana Marathon in 2:57. Jaw dropping.

Back to London for some triumphs on home tarmac. A round of applause for our wonder woman Teresa Murphy, who saw off every other woman in her age category at Kingston Half and was seventh woman overall. Sarah Stockdale ran a PB in this race.
Battersea held a festival of running on Saturday, and three Kent AC joined the party, bringing home age-group wins in the half-marathon category. Andrea Barber aced it, scorching round in 97.38 and earning first VW50 for her pains. Nicky Hayes, was first VW60 in 1:43:13 and Tom Sloan represented for the Men of Kent, winning first V50 in 76:08. 
Moving closer to home, Ross Braden impressed the whole parkrun community by being the first one home in the entire British Isles, the scene of his triumph was Dulwich, whose field he demolished in 15:10, even more impressive when you read that six days earlier he’d come fourth at the Amsterdam half. 
And finally back to our own slippy, slidey Hillyfields parkrun, where the Kent AC big guns were out, led by Dame Dibaba putting in a guest appearance and leading the field home in a superb 16.57. He deserves a picture credit for that:

If you’re racing, please let us know so we can share it. The newsletter is as great as the club’s members and we want to celebrate you.

  Save the Date: Tuesday 14 November 2023 8.30PM

Do not stop reading.

Please put aside an hour to come to the club’s 2023 AGM. You are needed because we want to hear from you as to how the club is doing and what it could do better.  And because we need your approval for next year’s committee and last year’s accounts.  

The agenda will be mailed to the whole membership shortly.
 
The bait is free post-track edibles and a short agenda.
 
Upstairs Blythe Hill Tavern 319 Stanstead Rd SE6.

Vic Buck/Len Reilly co-presidents
 

Save the date II: Saturday 25 November from 12.30

What? South of Thames junior XC
Where? Beckenham Place Park
Why? Volunteers needed!
 
Keep reading, even though you have to bring your own picnic

The club is hosting this race.  Ken has done all the arrangements and he and Len need two groups of volunteers to help on the day.

We need ten people to marshal.  The race is at 2pm.  There will be a briefing at 12.30 at race hq in the south west corner of the park. It’ll all be done by 2.45.

We also need two people to meet Len at the track at 11.15 to help put our (huge) tent into a car and then put it up in the park. It’s being used to keep the officials cosy and dry. The same or another two to help take it down and put it back in the car and deposit at the track.

If you can help, please let Len know. 

A summary of dates for your diary:

November
4 – National XC relays – Mansfield
11 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
14 – Club AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

I
Is this the first Christmas date in your diary?
Accept it with pride. 
Join us for the Kent AC Christmas soiree  on the evening of Saturday 9 December. We would love to see you there in your seasonal finery, to celebrate another wonderful year at Kent AC. This will also be the night of the Junior Christmas party and awards. Tickets and more information will be available in the coming weeks. 
 

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. 

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!

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!

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.

A great run from Heather Castle at the Peterborough Half saw a 1:56:57. Meanwhile in Portsmouth, Lin Skinner, Rupert Bedford and Ed Osborne completed the Great South Run in 1:07:08, 1:04:24 and 1:08:13 respectively. 

In Manchester, Ben Racle finished the Manchester Half in 1:18:52 and Chris Lydon in 1:24:30.

Over in the west of London was the Cabbage Patch ten miler. This week Che Compton ran exactly the required distance this week to come 15th overall in 54:38 and coming home with a cabbage. Yes, a cabbage. He was closely followed by Luke Rowland in 23rd place in 55:52. Annie Birch was 5th female and 55th overall in 58:25 and Bryony Proctor came 82nd in 1:00:44.

Finally, Lara Bromilow (2nd claim Kent AC but stalwart of the club nonetheless) ran for her home club Milton Keynes in the first Chiltern League cross country of the season. In a combined equality / marathon training effort she was 2nd out of 226 in the 6km (women’s race). But wait, there’s more! Lara was then 94th out of 348 in the 10km (men’s) race immediately afterwards! MK won both senior women & vets teams. If Lara had counted, she would have been part of the senior men (2nd) and vets (5th) teams. A superb effort!
 

If you’re doing a race or do something fun or cool, please let us know so we can share it! The newsletter is as great as the club’s members and we want to celebrate you!

We had a fantastic club day at Richmond Park yesterday for the opening fixture of the Surrey Cross-Country League with 48 senior men, 21 senior ladies, and 6 juniors racing. That’s a huge show of strength and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves. 

The men came fifth on the day, well behind the increasing powerhouses of Belgrave and Hercules Wimbledon. But within a tightly packed mid-table where 50 points, less than a single runner, separated Herne Hill, Dulwich and Guildford, setting up an exciting season ahead.  Belgrave won with 255 points, just five ahead of our score at Beckenham Place Park in January.  So we know on our day we can win these matches.

Let’s start with the juniors. First came the girls with Tallulah and Alice both making their debut in the u15/u17 race. Tallulah came 15th (highest ever position) and Alice was 30th in the u15 race. Both were fantastic performances over the longer distances at this age group.

Next up the boys. Louis judged the hill well in his Surrey League debut and took lots of places in the second half finishing 32nd. George stayed close coming in 35th, with Lucas and Harry 38th and 43rd. Lucas and George also moved up from the u13 race this year and coped well with the longer distance.

The ladies were fifth overall, behind what I suspect is a modern league record low of 32 for Belgrave. It’s even harder top make your mark when only five are needed to score, (despite there being almost equal number of runners between men and ladies yesterday) so congrats to Katie Rowland for leading the team home within the top 20, welcome back (however briefly) to Amelia Pettitt and scoring regardless of jet lag and kudos Clare Elms for the honour of 5th scorer. Check out the reel of the women’s race here, with huge kudos to Laurie for making it!

Also well done to Susanna Davies for closing out the Kent ranks in 226, just behind Sofia Contino, who continues to transfer track speed to the dirt. Sue Spalding for closing out the top 200 and Nesrin Sabanci has every incentive to carry on training hard to go one place higher next time to break the top 100- although making up places right through to the finish line. 

Also thanks to all the ladies who stayed for several hours to support the men’s race. The men should make every effort next match to be there early next race and show we are a single club with equally loud cheering. 

So onto the men in the afternoon. Special shout outs to Tom Mower who made his first serious Kent appearance since 2018 and demonstrated he’s very much still a high class athlete being our 4th scorer. To Barnaby Day for making the scoring 10 for the first time (we really should make hats or something to commemorate these achievements) and Jake Simmonds for his highest ever placing. 

Without listing 48 names and trying to place every performances in its historic context, well done to Raymond Lemon for closing out the Kent ranks slightly further back in 313, Matthew Bouette for just cracking the top 200, Nicholas Chevis for diving into cross-country after joining the club five weeks ago and Thomas Thain for clinging on despite what we imagine was a tough second lap after we saw each other on the long drag. Each performance is representative of training with different parts of the club and coming together to race as one. 

I’m sure I’ve missed out a whole host of PBs and great days, so feel free to tell me about them on Tuesday. [Editor’s note: please email us with your success stories! We love hearing them and love shouting them out!]

The next match is on 11 November in Mitcham. If you enjoyed yourself yesterday, tell a training partner who wasn’t there to come along.  If you’re reading this and haven’t run cross-country before then I urge you to dive in and help get us to 125 runners for the season. Just fill in the spreadsheet with your name and availability and we’ll make sure you have a number ready. 

Now, a slight moan to finish. Ken and I filled two bags of rubbish from the Kent area once everyone had left; socks, banana peel, coffee cups. You are all grown adults who should know better about littering. We rely on the goodwill of local councils to continue letting us use public parks for racing with these actions really not helping our sport of the club. 

Thanks to Owen and Ian for the report.

  Save the Date: Tuesday 14 November 2023 8.30PM

Do not stop reading.

Please put aside an hour to come to the club’s 2023 AGM. You are needed because we want to hear from you as to how the club is doing and what it could do better.  And because we need your approval for next year’s committee and last year’s accounts.  

The agenda will be mailed to the whole membership shortly.
 
The bait is free post-track edibles and a short agenda.
 
Upstairs Blythe Hill Tavern 319 Stanstead Rd SE6.

Vic Buck/Len Reilly co-presidents
 

Save the date II: Saturday 25 November from 12.30

What? South of Thames junior XC
Where? Beckenham Place Park
Why? Volunteers needed!
 
Again, do not stop reading!

The club is hosting this race.  Ken has done all the arrangements and he and I need two groups of volunteers to help on the day.

We need ten people to marshal.  The race is at 2pm.  There will be a briefing at 12.30 at race hq in the south west corner of the park. It’ll all be done by 2.45.

We also need two people to meet Len at the track at 11.15 to help put our (huge) tent into a car and then put it up in the park. It’s being used to keep the officials cosy and dry. The same or another two to help take it down and put it back in the car and deposit at the track.

If you can help, then please let Len know. 

Bob Harris won this month’s prize of £250 with the number 26.

There are still 2 numbers available, at £6 per month. Contact David Devlin if you’re interested.

A summary of dates for your diary:

November
4 – National XC relays – Mansfield
11 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
14 – Club AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024
January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

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. 

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!

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!

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.

Autumn marathon season has started, and 5 intrepid Kent runners flew out to Chicago. James Royston (3:00:17), Richard Jones (3:53:30), Tom Joslin (3:29:49), Adrian Young (4:01:16) and Kimberly Parker all wore the Kent vest proudly.

Che Compton went not quite so far, but a little further than he wanted in running the Munich marathon. Due to a stewarding screwup (seems to be the theme of the season) lots of runners were sent the wrong way and ended up running 1.5 miles more than a marathon. Che’s time of 2:50 was at least 10 minutes more than intended, but it was still enough for him to be 1st Brit home, 2nd v45 and 26th overall. Michael Gibson managed to avoid the diversion and run just the 26.2, finishing in 3:15.

Meanwhile Jo Mott ran the Chester marathon in 4:12 in hot conditions, Arejeet Nag ran the Epping Forest 50k in 4:25, finishing 10th overall, Michael Adeniran did the Spartan Ultra 50k in 10h46m with 5,100 feet of climbing, and lots of Kent runners ran the Royal Parks Half, but as the results aren’t searchable by club as yet, you’ll have to take our word for it. There were several good runs and a few PBs, so we hear. Finally, Teresa Murphy won the Greenwich Park 10k in 41:20 and Vic Cartwright was 2nd placed woman in the Petts Wood 10k in 42:11.

Looking ahead, we have the start of the Cross Country season this Saturday, although it won’t feel like it. Spikes may not be necessary at Richmond Park, but full details for meeting up are below. Please note the sign up spreadsheet, so that numbers can be allocated – the same race numbers are used for all the Surrey League season, for ease of scoring.

The Cross Country season starts on Saturday, with the opening Surrey League match on 14th October at Richmond Park. It’ll be roughly 5 miles, and we’d like to start the season with a bang!

We’d like as many Kent runners to turn up as possible – the ground should be firm and flat so spikes are optional, the competition intense, but never mind your level, do turn up with your Kent vest and run hard. 

Before you do, you need to sign up on the Google Sheet here. This is to allocate race numbers for the Surrey League, which will be the numbers used throughout the league season (4 league races)

Travel information for Saturday is as follows:

Women – race at 11.00. Meet at 850 at Waterloo for 900 train (Clapham Junction 910) to Barnes, Walk to race start.

Men – race at 1400, meet at 1145 at Waterloo for 1200 train (Clapham Junction 1210) to Barnes. Walk to race start.

See you there!

XC Captains, Gen, Sarah, Owen and James

Kent sent two teams each of men and women to Sutton Coldfield to run in the national relays, 6 stage for men and 4 stage for women.

The men’s A and B teams finished 27th and 60th (11th B). Whilst injuries and illnesses meant our teams were not quite as strong as they might have been, there were nonetheless some impressive performances at a highly competitive event that included several international runners.

Dame Dibaba was a last minute promotion to the A team and got the men off to a good start (18.40) on the traditionally loaded first leg. Rob Sesemann then bounced back nicely from a disappointing run at Aldershot two weeks ago, running 18.00 to move up 17 places with the fastest Kent AC time of the day. That gave something for Cam to build on who moved us up a further 11 places with a strong 18.20. Relay specialist Jake Simmonds then took over, showing a slight improvement on his time from last year running 18.30 and moving us up a further place. By now we were up into the low 20s with some stiff competition. Joe Hartley and James Boustead were our next two legs, both promoted up to the A team following strong runs at Aldershot. Whilst we slipped a little, their efforts (19.16 and 19.05 respectively) were enough to earn 27th. James doing his best to hold off 3.29 1500m man Stewart McSweyn but gallantly falling just short (Belgrave were subsequently disqualified for fielding an ineligible runner). The result was a one place improvement on last year.

Cam making an effort (credit Graham Smith)

For the Bs, it was great to have Ben Harding back racing in a Kent vest following his move to North Wales. Whilst this wasn’t his finest run at Sutton Park (20.03), it was hopefully a stepping stone back to fitness. Sean Fitzpatrick was next on and another looking to return to form, something he duly did, running 18.43 which was comfortably the fastest B runner and good enough to make his team manager a bit foolish for not picking him for the As. Next up was Richard Giles, a very last minute replacement and making his Sutton Park debut with a 21.00 leg. He found the course ‘horrendous’ which presumably means he enjoyed the whole experience and can’t wait to come back for more. George Russell followed Richard and made up some places with a solid 19.44, this time without the pressure of having to hold off the A team. Anthony Johnson was next, continuing his return from a long lay off and also overcoming illness, with a 20.36 to hold our position. Calum Fraser then closed the team out with a 20.24. Calum and Anthony then took on the big responsibility of sourcing the train beers, doing a superb job by finding a local tap room and returning with a box of excellent 8% sours and 5% pale ales. Both are now pre-selected for the 12 stage team in April.

Ben Harding (credit Graham Smith)

The women’s team enjoyed a hugely successful trip to Sutton Coldfield, iwith 2 teams travelling & racing for the first time in the club’s history. 

The A team – Bryony Proctor, Annie Birch, Katie Rowland & Alexa Parker – celebrated the women’s highest placed finish to date in 12th position, with only 18 seconds separating us from the top 10. There were strong and closely timed runs by all four, with the team moving up the ranks throughout the race. Bryony ran very well in a highly stacked first leg in 15:35, Annie making her nationals debut gained an incredible 10 places on the 2nd leg in 15:04,, Katie ran 15:32 on the 3rd leg gaining 4 places to 17th, and Alexa anchored the 12th place finish with the team’s fastest leg in 15:01. 

Alexa chilling before her leg (credit Graham Smith)

The B team of Clare Elms, Victoria Buck, Ella Day and Ellie Freedon finished 48th overall, notably 13th of the B teams – demonstrating our ever growing depth. Special thanks to Clare for stepping in at the last minute (and never ceasing to amaze and inspire us all), Vic returning to racing after a recently broken arm, and Ellie and Ella for also making their national relay debuts – excellent runs by all, in 16:07, 18:48, 17:59 and 16:53 respectively. 

The women’s A and B teams

Huge thanks to Pete for all of his coaching and support, flag carrying, stop-watch timing and loud-shouting, seeming to be everywhere on the course, and to all the reserves – an essential part of every relay event!

We look forward to switching to spikes and taking on the Surrey League next week. 

Reports from Chris Busaileh and Katie Rowland

This year we’re entering the National Cross Country Relays for the first time, which are being held in Mansfield on 4th November.

There are a limited number of teams we can send – men’s, women’s and vets – but we have to notify the organisers by 13th October, at the end of this week, so if you’re interested in running, please sign up on the spreadsheet, or contact James Boustead if you have questions.

Kent AC Annual General Meeting 2023
  
This is notice of our Annual General Meeting which will be held on Tuesday 14 November at 2030, upstairs at the Blythe Hill Tavern, 319 Stanstead Rd, SE23 1JB.
 
Please come along after the track. Food will be provided!
 
The AGM is a yearly gathering of the club members, primarily to hear reports from committee members about the club’s activities and finances; to appoint the committee and vote on any contested positions; ask questions to the committee and express your ideas and concerns.  If you wished to propose any change to our rules/constitution or a major change to club policy it would be useful if this was submitted in writing before 6 October.  This will enable it to be included in the calling notice to all members and agenda, which will be sent out in mid October. 
 
The committee is made up of volunteers and we have a number of vacancies which give you an opportunity to be more involved. 

They are:

 A big thanks to all for their hard work over this and previous years.
 
If you are interested in any of these please write to info@kentac.org.uk and your mail will go to the incumbent who will happily tell you what their job involves. 
If you wish to stand, please let info@kentac.org.uk know before 6 October so it can go in the agenda.
 
A big thanks too to those putting their name forward for roles this year:

Phil Marsden to be club secretary

Zuzana Nemeckova to become membership sec. 
Bernie Hutchison is standing down after a remarkable 33 years in post

Rob Sesemann to join the comms team

Gen Blanche as joint womens xc manager

James Boustead as joint mens xc manager

Kieran Fitzpatrick to join welfare team, replacing Neil Gordon-Orr

Anne Hepple and Claire Oxlade to take on juniors secretary from John Barron
 
 A full list of committee, juniors sub-committee and non-committee posts can be found on our website.
 
Thanks
 
Vic and Len

Bob Harris won this month’s prize of £250 with the number 26.

There are still 2 numbers available, at £6 per month. Contact David Devlin if you’re interested.

A summary of dates for your diary:

October
14 – Surrey League XC – Richmond Park 

November
4 – National XC relays – Mansfield
11 – Surrey League XC – Mitcham Common
14 – Club AGM – Blythe Hill Tavern
25 – South of the Thames Junior XC – BPP

December
2 – Kent County Vets XC – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
9 – SEAA Masters CC Champs – Horspath, Oxford
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior XC champs)

2024

January 
6 – Kent County XC – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League XC – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern XC champs – BPP

February
10 – Surrey League XC – TBD
24 – National XC Champs – Weston Park, Shropshire

March
16 –  British Masters XC Champs – Corwen, N Wales

April
TBD – Southern Road Relays – TBD
TBD – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield

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. 

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!

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!

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.