Kent Masters XC Champs - 1st December 2018

Darrell

Unfortunately our runners seem to be plagued with injuries at present and only four club members contested the Vets Championships at Dartford on 1st December, writes James Graham.

In the M40 the ever dependable Dan Witt was our only representative and in M50 it was down to Darrell Smith to fly the Sevenoaks flag. In the M60 we managed to field two runners, Duncan Cochrane and Geoffrey Kitchener. The performance of the day came from Darrell who managed a very respectable 4th place.

Dan was 45th, Duncan was 22nd and Geoffrey was 32nd. The full results are here.

KFL 2018/19 Match 3, Oxleas Wood

Team at Oxleas

The third race in the Kent Fitness League 2018/19 Cross Country series took place near Eltham on Sunday October 26th, writes Jim Knight. On a dull and rainy day, the 450 runners, including 30 from Sevenoaks AC, wound their way up and down the hills of Oxleas Woods on a tough 5.5 mile course.

Darrell Smith was the outstanding performer for Sevenoaks AC, finishing in 10th position and 1st M50. Other strong performances came from Andrew Milne (26th), Andrew Hutchinson (28th), Jimmy George (43rd), and Mike Lochead (53rd). The other scoring team members were Jim Harness (62nd), Dan Witt (71st), and Ed Saunders (77th).

In the women’s race, there was a good team performance from Vanessa Gilmartin (126th), Heather Fitzmaurice (145th), Pauline Dalton (182nd) and Bridgit Weekes (218th).

The combined SAC team was third in the race, with the men third and the women fourth. After three races, the combined team now stands third, with the men fourth and the women fifth.

The next race will be on Sunday December 9th in Fowlmead, near Deal, starting at 11 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 12 are needed to score in the team competition – 8 men (of whom two must be V50 and one V40) and 4 women (of whom one must be V45 and one V35).

The Sevenoaks AC results are here:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Runner Age Time Club Rating # Races
10 10 Darrell Smith 51 34:23 Sevenoaks AC 96.93 10
26 26 Andrew Milne 36 36:55 Sevenoaks AC 91.47 18
28 27 Andrew Hutchinson 39 37:00 Sevenoaks AC 91.13 5
43 41 Jimmy George 37 37:43 Sevenoaks AC 86.35 4
53 51 Mike Lochead 32 38:29 Sevenoaks AC 82.94 3
62 60 Jim Harness 51 38:59 Sevenoaks AC 79.86 6
71 68 Daniel Witt 43 39:10 Sevenoaks AC 77.13 48
77 73 Edmund Saunders 36 39:24 Sevenoaks AC 75.43 7
80 76 John Stevens 57 39:31 Sevenoaks AC 74.40 19
92 87 James Wright 50 40:08 Sevenoaks AC 70.65 26
93 88 Michael McCarthy 53 40:11 Sevenoaks AC 70.31 24
98 92 Keith Brown 47 40:26 Sevenoaks AC 68.94 14
126 15 Vanessa Gilmartin 43 41:57 Sevenoaks AC 91.46 8
130 115 Jatinder Soomal 36 42:03 Sevenoaks AC 61.09 Debut
145 18 Heather Fitzmaurice 49 42:30 Sevenoaks AC 89.63 73
150 132 Tony Waldron 51 42:57 Sevenoaks AC 55.29 26
160 141 Andy Evans 48 43:14 Sevenoaks AC 52.22 41
182 24 Pauline Dalton 54 44:07 Sevenoaks AC 85.98 42
201 171 Andy Manning 50 45:18 Sevenoaks AC 41.98 3
218 35 Bridgit Weekes 60 46:26 Sevenoaks AC 79.27 3
227 41 Diana Bryant 43 46:41 Sevenoaks AC 75.61 3
234 192 Duncan Cochrane 61 46:57 Sevenoaks AC 34.81 27
242 198 Hugh Shewell 29 47:13 Sevenoaks AC 32.76 17
245 45 Elaine Knight 38 47:18 Sevenoaks AC 73.17 2
252 204 Simon Hallpike 65 47:29 Sevenoaks AC 30.72 49
271 55 Sarah Shewell 59 48:32 Sevenoaks AC 67.07 105
282 59 Ella Pyman 52 49:07 Sevenoaks AC 64.63 10
341 84 Paula George 54 52:54 Sevenoaks AC 49.39 Debut
351 263 Lionel Stielow 69 53:39 Sevenoaks AC 10.58 11
388 273 Jim Knight 67 56:50 Sevenoaks AC 7.17 4

The full results are here.

Sevenoaks AC Presentation to Dame Kelly Holmes 2018

Presentation

On Sunday, November 25th, Anna Humphrey-Taylor, SAC treasurer, and Erik Folkesson, SAC secretary, (pictured above with Dame Kelly and SAC members) presented Dame Kelly with a cheque for £1985.50 payable to The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, writes Jim Knight.

The money from Sevenoaks AC will be used to support the Trust’s “Get on Track” programme. This programme helps elite athletes use their world class experience to engage, enable and empower disadvantaged young people to lead more positive lives. With the retired athletes’ mentoring and support, the young people gain opportunities to volunteer, access employment or training, and participate in sport and healthy lifestyles. Through this, they increase the chance of getting their lives on track.

The money was raised by Sevenoaks AC from recent Sevenoaks 7 races.

The Sevenoaks 7 is an annual 7-mile cross-country race held in Knole Park. Since 1993, nearly 8000 finishers have successfully completed the challenging route through one of the County’s most beautiful deer parks. The next race, the 26th, is being planned for Sunday, July 14th 2019.

KFL 2018/19 Match 2, Swanley Park

SAC team at Swanley

A brilliant performance by Sevenoaks lifts the team to 2nd in the series, writes Jim Knight.

It was an emotional start to the race. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 530 runners stood in complete silence, contemplating the horrors of war, the relief at this time 100 years ago when hostilities ceased, and anticipating running in the picturesque Swanley Park on a beautiful autumn day.

At 11.02, the whistle blew, and we were off. Three laps of the park – undulating, grassy, muddy in places, but overall a fast 5.5-mile course. A brief shower cooled us down on the first lap, but from then it was glorious sunshine to the finish.

30 minutes and 36 seconds later, Jay Smith from Dartford Road runners crossed the line to win by 46 seconds from Chris Fullerton of Medway & Maidstone AC.

The Sevenoaks team of 35 runners was led home by Guillaune Nineven in 10th place followed by 51-year-old Darrell Smith in 12th (2nd M50). The other scorers in the men’s team were Andrew Milne (38th), Mike Lochead (48th), Keith Dowson (52nd, 2nd M55), Jimmy George (57th), and Keith Brown (61st) and Simon Truett (78th).

In the women’s race, Cas Wright of Dartford Harriers was the winner in 34.16, followed by Becky Morrish of Petts Wood. For Sevenoaks, Vanessa Gilmartin was our fastest woman in 13th place supported by Heather Fitzmaurice (17th), Marion Van Lille (26th) and Bridget Weekes (38th & 2nd W60).

Both the SAC men’s and women’s teams came 5th, but the combined team placed 2nd - a tribute to the strength in depth of Sevenoaks team. Other teams have strong men’s teams or women’s teams, but very few have both.

This performance has lifted Sevenoaks to 2nd in the series, behind Petts Wood Runners, after 2 races. A very encouraging start to the season.

The Sevenoaks AC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Runner Age Time Club Rating # Races
10 10 Guillaume Nineven 33 32:58 Sevenoaks AC 97.44 2
12 12 Darrell Smith 51 33:04 Sevenoaks AC 96.87 9
36 35 Andrew Milne 36 35:12 Sevenoaks AC 90.31 17
48 47 Mike Lochead 32 35:40 Sevenoaks AC 86.89 2
52 50 Keith Dowson 55 35:47 Sevenoaks AC 86.04 16
57 55 Jimmy George 37 35:58 Sevenoaks AC 84.62 3
61 59 Keith Brown 47 36:04 Sevenoaks AC 83.48 13
78 76 Simon Truett 44 36:44 Sevenoaks AC 78.63 3
91 89 Jim Harness 51 37:06 Sevenoaks AC 74.93 5
112 106 Tom Waldron 19 37:50 Sevenoaks AC 70.09 3
116 109 James Baker 53 37:56 Sevenoaks AC 69.23 19
117 110 Daniel Witt 43 37:57 Sevenoaks AC 68.95 47
120 113 Graham Dwyer 46 38:04 Sevenoaks AC 68.09 4
148 139 Jatinder Soomal 36 39:24 Sevenoaks AC 60.68 2
153 143 Andy Evans 48 39:29 Sevenoaks AC 59.54 40
162 13 Vanesa Gilmartin 43 39:52 Sevenoaks AC 93.37 7
182 17 Heather Fitzmaurice 48 40:38 Sevenoaks AC 91.16 72
201 178 Tony Waldron 51 41:18 Sevenoaks AC 49.57 25
223 26 Marion Van Lille 33 41:56 Sevenoaks AC 86.19 3
244 210 Toby Fitzmaurice 18 42:46 Sevenoaks AC 40.46 2
254 219 Andy Manning 50 43:03 Sevenoaks AC 37.89 2
266 228 Duncan Cochrane 61 43:34 Sevenoaks AC 35.33 26
275 38 Bridgit Weekes 60 43:55 Sevenoaks AC 79.56 2
284 41 Diana Bryant 43 44:23 Sevenoaks AC 77.90 2
289 44 Nicki Thompson 42 44:33 Sevenoaks AC 76.24 20
292 47 Sally Mortleman 53 44:34 Sevenoaks AC 74.59 12
296 248 Hugh Shewell 29 44:40 Sevenoaks AC 29.63 16
312 259 Simon Hallpike 65 45:14 Sevenoaks AC 26.50 48
322 54 Sarah Shewell 59 45:40 Sevenoaks AC 70.72 104
336 58 Ella Pyman 51 46:20 Sevenoaks AC 68.51 9
369 77 Rhea Malkin 33 47:58 Sevenoaks AC 58.01 2
418 310 Lionel Stielow 69 50:45 Sevenoaks AC 11.97 10
438 318 Jim Knight 67 51:56 Sevenoaks AC 9.69 3
499 340 James Fitzmaurice 76 58:15 Sevenoaks AC 3.42 68
505 163 Sylvia Lewis 66 59:32 Sevenoaks AC 10.50 14

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 12 are needed to score in the team competition – 8 men (of whom two must be V50 and one V40) and 4 women (of whom one must be V45 and one V35). The full results of the Swanley race are here.

The next race is on Sunday Nov 25th in Oxleas Woods, Eltham.

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