KFL 2024-25 - Match 3 - Knole

The third race in the 2024/25 Kent Fitness League series took place in Knole Park on Sunday December 1st, 2024, writes Jim Knight.

In mild and misty conditions, a team of 12 organisers from Sevenoaks AC set up the course markings very early in the morning and were joined by a further 20 marshals who would guide the 500 runners from the town car park to the start on Broad Walk and marshal the hilly 5-mile course. 

At 9 am the race started, and 27 minutes 26 seconds later, 39-year-old Robert Jakaman from Dartford Harriers crossed the line to win by 35 seconds from Alex Cameron, also from Dartford Harriers.

Jamie Philip, once again, led the Sevenoaks AC men home in 9th position (and 1st M45), followed by Jake Mears in 15th, Guilaume Nineven in 16th, and Ed Saunders in 24th. The other members of the scoring team were Paul Fanti (43rd and 4th M50), Steven Hough (50th and 5th M50), William Palmer (57th and 8th M50), and Keith Dowson (98th and 1st M60).

Once again, there were great performances from our M70’s with Jeremy Winter 1st and Simon Hallpike 2nd.

The men’s team came 3rd, behind Maidstone & Medway AC (2nd) and Petts Wood Runners (1st)

However, the star performer of the day was, once again, Sevenoaks’ Andrea Berquez, who completed the course in 31minutes11seconds, placing 41st overall and 1st female - 46 seconds ahead of second placed Sarah Brushett from Dartford Harriers. Andrea remains unbeaten in the series so far. She was closely followed by team-mates Nicola Glover (12th and 7th W35), Hannah Sangan (13th), Joanna Rodda (22nd and 5th W45), and Cath Linney (23rd and 2nd W55).

Great performances, also, from our W65 competitors, with Bridgit Weekes 1st, Glenda Goscombe 2nd and Sally Shewell 4th. 

The women’s team came 2nd, behind a strong team from Canterbury Harriers but remains in the lead in the series.

Sevenoaks AC combined team were winners on the day and are now leading the series, just one point ahead of Petts Wood.

It was a great effort by everyone in the club, especially Race Director John Stevens and his team of 30 marshals and helpers. A big thank-you to them and the 44 runners who competed for the club.

The full SAC results were:

Ov Pos	Lg Pos	Bib	Runner	Age	Time	Club	Score	Rtg	#
9	9	894	Jamie Philip	47	29:01	Sevenoaks AC	V40:1	97.68	6
15	15	1140	Jake Mears	20	29:21	Sevenoaks AC	M1	95.94	2
16	16	891	Guillaume Nineven	39	29:27	Sevenoaks AC	M2	95.65	18
24	24	899	Edmund Saunders	42	30:12	Sevenoaks AC	V40:2	93.33	29
40	1	1077	Andrea Berquez	39	31:11	Sevenoaks AC	V35	100.00	15
44	43	860	Paul Fanti	51	31:20	Sevenoaks AC	V50:1	87.83	5
51	50	873	Steven Hough	51	31:41	Sevenoaks AC	V50:2	85.80	4
59	57	893	William Palmer	52	32:14	Sevenoaks AC	M3	83.77	12
70	67	902	Harvey Taylor	20	32:57	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	80.87	17
74	71	881	Michael Lochead	44	33:14	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	79.71	24
87	82	886	Andrew Monk	48	34:05	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	76.52	13
93	87	1141	Paul Shelley	50	34:28	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	75.07	11
106	98	857	Keith Dowson	61	35:08	Sevenoaks AC	V60	71.88	20
116	12	864	Nicola Glover	36	35:30	Sevenoaks AC	F1	93.71	18
120	13	897	Hannah Sangan	30	35:36	Sevenoaks AC	F2	93.14	8
125	111	907	Daniel Witt	49	35:49	Sevenoaks AC	NS	68.12	75
144	126	875	David Killpack	39	36:33	Sevenoaks AC	NS	63.77	13
148	130	846	James Baker	60	36:39	Sevenoaks AC	NS	62.61	32
152	20	868	Joanna Grobel	41	36:43	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	89.14	4
157	137	1138	Reinhard Kreth	52	36:57	Sevenoaks AC	NS	60.58	Debut
164	22	896	Joanne Rodda	48	37:07	Sevenoaks AC	V45	88.00	8
165	23	880	Catherine Linney	55	37:13	Sevenoaks AC	V55	87.43	52
174	148	844	Brian Allen	52	37:23	Sevenoaks AC	NS	57.39	9
187	159	869	Rob Hadden	56	37:56	Sevenoaks AC	NS	54.20	3
190	29	1078	Sophie Day	36	38:00	Sevenoaks AC	NS	84.00	2
208	172	847	Adam Bates	41	38:33	Sevenoaks AC	NS	50.43	9
209	173	884	Jonathan Marsh	64	38:39	Sevenoaks AC	NS	50.14	12
220	39	848	Elizabeth Bull	37	39:13	Sevenoaks AC	NS	78.29	3
227	40	863	Vanessa Gilmartin	49	39:25	Sevenoaks AC	NS	77.71	36
234	191	885	Anton Mauve	58	39:56	Sevenoaks AC	NS	44.93	2
244	46	895	Sarah Philpott	46	40:06	Sevenoaks AC	NS	74.29	7
260	209	906	Jeremy Winter	70	41:00	Sevenoaks AC	NS	39.71	12
261	210	849	Peter C	30	41:00	Sevenoaks AC	NS	39.42	2
264	212	882	Alan Male	54	41:07	Sevenoaks AC	NS	38.84	10
273	59	1083	Bridgit Weekes	66	41:47	Sevenoaks AC	NS	66.86	27
290	228	871	Simon Hallpike	71	42:34	Sevenoaks AC	NS	34.20	64
300	66	845	Clare Ambrose	56	42:50	Sevenoaks AC	NS	62.86	3
314	242	887	Enrique Montes Gil	50	43:14	Sevenoaks AC	NS	30.14	Debut
320	246	883	Simon Mann	44	43:36	Sevenoaks AC	NS	28.99	4
387	291	856	Chris Desmond	61	46:37	Sevenoaks AC	NS	15.94	91
404	107	865	Glenda Goscomb	66	47:27	Sevenoaks AC	NS	39.43	8
414	111	900	Sarah Shewell	65	48:00	Sevenoaks AC	NS	37.14	130
473	329	903	Richard Thomas	67	53:52	Sevenoaks AC	NS	4.93	2
497	340	901	Lionel Stielow	75	56:28	Sevenoaks AC	NS	1.74	29

The full results are here.

Men’s team captain, Dan Witt said, “Amazing performance from Jamie to sneak into the top 10, and also Jake and Gui in the top 20. Great performances throughout.” Women’s team captain, Caroline Fenwick added, “Walking to the start, I overheard many comments from other team members such as, 'this is my favourite race' and 'such a great course', whilst they stood taking photos of beautiful Knole park bathed in the morning light. It was wonderful to see a huge turnout by the SAC team, many putting the team first despite other races and commitments. Congratulations to Canterbury Ladies who all ran well, Petts Wood also had a very strong team out. Andrea Berquez ran an incredible race to win and then supported by powerful performances by all the female scorers, Sevenoaks women placed second, and the combined team secured their second win of the season. I'd like to thank ALL the team though. The non-scorers also help our team position, it really is a team effort. We have women in the team of all ages. Some that are new to racing, and some who have raced for over 50 years! They all ran exceptionally well and are part of our incredible SAC team. 

The Kent Fitness League is a series of cross-country races between the 18 registered Athletics Clubs in Kent. Any number of club members can compete, but 13 are needed to score in the team competition – 8 men (of whom one must be aged 60+, two must be 50+ and two 40+) and 5 women (of whom one must be aged 55+ one 45+ and one 35+).

The next race in the series will be in Minnis Bay, Birchington on January 5th, 2025.

Kent Masters XC 2024

Injury and illness depleted SAC's attendance at the Kent Masters Cross Country Championships at Central Park, Dartford on 30th November, leaving only five contestants in the men's races, and none in the women's.

Oloff Van Zyl was Sevenoaks' star performer on the day with sixth place in the M50 event, the first race, over about 8k.

The other four runners were all in the second race over 5k with Keith Dowson 13th and Chris Desmond 28th in the M60s and Simon Hallpike and Geoffrey Kitchener 10th and 19th in the M70s.

The full results are here.

KFL 2024-25 - Match 2 - Oxleas Wood

The second race in the Kent Fitness League 2024/25 season took place in Eltham on Sunday Nov 24th, writes Jim Knight. 535 runners from 18 Kent Athletics Clubs, including a team of 33 from Sevenoaks, tackled the hilly course through Oxleas Woods in mild but windy conditions.

After winning the first race in Swanley on Nov 10th, Sevenoaks ladies were keen to stay ahead of Petts Wood Runners – who fielded a massive team of 116 runners in Eltham including 51 women (vs Sevenoaks team of 14 women). 

Sevenoaks’ star runner Andrea Berquez led throughout the race to secure a comfortable win in 33 minutes 52 seconds – two minutes faster than last year and over 2 minutes clear of 2nd placed Sarah Shepheard of Paddock Wood AC.

The other scoring team members all ran brilliantly - Nicola Glover (7th), Cath Linney (16th), Joanna Rodda (17th), and Vanessa Gilmartin (24th) – to score a comfortable win over Canterbury Harriers in 2nd position.

In the men’s race, Jamie Philip ran well to finish 11th (2nd M45) just ahead of 20-year-old Jake Mears who placed 16th in his first KFL race for the club.
 
The other members of the scoring team were Guillaume Nineven (26th), Ed Saunders (30th), William Palmer (52nd), Steven Hough (55th), Paul Fanti (60th) and Keith Dowson (76th & 1st M60). 

Outside the scoring teams there were other great performances with Sally Shewell returning from injury to win the W65 category, and in M70 Jeremy Winter and Simon Hallpike were placed 2nd and 3rd.

Sevenoaks AC were 2nd in the men’s team race, just behind Medway & Maidstone AC, but the combined team recorded their first win for a year and now lead the series just ahead of Petts Wood Runners and Paddock Wood AC.

The SAC results were:

Ov Pos	Lg Pos	Bib	Runner	Age	Time	Club	Score	Rtg	#
11	11	894	Jamie Philip	47	31:44	Sevenoaks AC	V40:1	97.16	5
16	16	1140	Jake Mears	20	32:09	Sevenoaks AC	M1	95.74	Debut
26	26	891	Guillaume Nineven	39	32:54	Sevenoaks AC	M2	92.90	17
30	30	899	Edmund Saunders	42	33:30	Sevenoaks AC	V40:2	91.76	28
35	1	1077	Andrea Berquez	39	33:52	Sevenoaks AC	V35	100.00	14
53	52	893	William Palmer	52	34:59	Sevenoaks AC	V50:1	85.51	11
56	55	873	Steven Hough	51	35:10	Sevenoaks AC	V50:2	84.66	3
61	60	860	Paul Fanti	51	35:38	Sevenoaks AC	M3	83.24	4
70	68	866	Luke Green	33	36:11	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	80.97	3
74	72	874	Andrew Hutchinson	45	36:20	Sevenoaks AC	NSBLS	79.83	25
78	76	857	Keith Dowson	61	36:44	Sevenoaks AC	V60	78.69	19
91	87	886	Andrew Monk	48	37:36	Sevenoaks AC	NS	75.57	12
94	90	1141	Paul Shelley	50	37:47	Sevenoaks AC	NS	74.72	10
113	7	864	Nicola Glover	36	38:38	Sevenoaks AC	F1	96.72	17
116	109	907	Daniel Witt	49	38:42	Sevenoaks AC	NS	69.32	74
129	118	890	Sebastian Naughton	50	39:16	Sevenoaks AC	NS	66.76	19
141	126	850	Steve Carter	45	40:08	Sevenoaks AC	NS	64.49	Debut
143	16	880	Catherine Linney	55	40:12	Sevenoaks AC	V55	91.80	51
146	17	896	Joanne Rodda	48	40:19	Sevenoaks AC	V45	91.26	7
150	133	1081	Anthony Waldron	57	40:30	Sevenoaks AC	NS	62.50	38
160	143	846	James Baker	60	40:45	Sevenoaks AC	NS	59.66	31
162	145	875	David Killpack	39	40:47	Sevenoaks AC	NS	59.09	12
169	150	844	Brian Allen	52	40:57	Sevenoaks AC	NS	57.67	8
172	153	869	Rob Hadden	56	41:10	Sevenoaks AC	NS	56.82	2
188	24	863	Vanessa Gilmartin	49	41:39	Sevenoaks AC	F2	87.43	35
191	167	847	Adam Bates	41	41:48	Sevenoaks AC	NS	52.84	8
198	172	859	Andrew Evans	54	42:02	Sevenoaks AC	NS	51.42	59
214	31	848	Elizabeth Bull	37	42:53	Sevenoaks AC	NS	83.61	2
265	223	906	Jeremy Winter	70	45:35	Sevenoaks AC	NS	36.93	11
286	235	871	Simon Hallpike	71	46:25	Sevenoaks AC	NS	33.52	63
303	59	845	Clare Ambrose	56	47:10	Sevenoaks AC	NS	68.31	2
416	115	900	Sarah Shewell	65	51:31	Sevenoaks AC	NS	37.70	129
489	335	903	Richard Thomas	67	58:19	Sevenoaks AC	NS	5.11	Debut

The full results are here.

The next race in the series will take place in Knole Park, Sevenoaks, on December 1st when SAC will have the difficult task of organising the race and also fielding a strong team of runners. The race starts at 9 am.

The Kent Fitness League is a series of cross-country races between the 18 registered Athletics Clubs in Kent. Any number of club members can compete, but 13 are needed to score in the team competition – 8 men (of whom one must be aged 60+, two must be 50+ and two 40+) and 5 women (of whom one must be aged 55+, one 45+ and one 35+).

Keith Confirmed Road Champion

Keith Dowson was the M60 winner of the ten race series of the Kent Road Race Grand Prix 2024 after four wins, two seconds and a third in the seven races he contested.

Also on the podium for the event, Caroline Fenwick was third W45 after winning the previous year's series.

In the team competitions, Sevenoaks' women finished sixth and men fourteenth out of forty-three affiliated Kent teams. The full results are here.

Presentation of the awards will take place following the Canterbury 10 on January 26th which will be the first race in the 2025 Kent Grand Prix. The list of the other races, including the Sevenoaks Seven, is here.