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.

KFL 2018/19 Match 1, Knole Park

SAC team

 The first match of the 2018/19 season took place in Knole Park on Sunday November 4th.

In perfect conditions, the 530 runners, including 46 from Sevenoaks AC, raced over the tough 6-mile course, writes Jim Knight. From the start close to the main gate, the runners wound up past Knole House and onto Broad Walk to the top of the park and back down the Gallops before repeating the loop and finishing back near the main gate. It’s hilly all the way - a really tough course.

The race was won by Jay Smith of Dartford Road Runners in an impressive time of 31.28, closely followed by Simon Fox of Petts Wood Runners and Simon Jones of Canterbury Harriers.
The fastest Sevenoaks runner was John Witton in 34.41 to claim 14th position, with Guillaume Nineven just 2 seconds behind in 15th.

Becky Morrish of Petts Wood was the fastest woman in 36.12, followed by Jemma Whyman of Medway & Maidstone, and Laura Portway of New Eltham Joggers.
Sevenoaks’ fastest women were Heather Fitzmaurice and Marion Van Lille in 19th and 20th places, respectively.  Bridgit Weekes, in her first race for the club came 2nd W60.

The Sevenoaks men’s team of John Witton (14th, 3rd M40), Guillaume Nineven (15th), Allan Thurston (28th), Darius Sarchar (31st, 5th M45), Andrew Hutchinson (32nd), and M50 runners Keith Dowson (39th overall, 3rd M50 and 1st M55) and James Baker (105th) came 4th.
The women’s team of Heather Fitzmaurice (5th W45), Marion van Lille, Amy Edwards and Pauline Dalton (2nd W50) came 5th.

The combined SAC team came 4th - a good result, given the strength of the leading teams – Petts Wood (who fielded 56 runners - 1st), Paddock Wood (2nd), and Dartford Road Runners (3rd).

It was good to see 13 new runners representing Sevenoaks AC for the first time in the Kent fitness League – Guillaume Nineven, Allan Thurston, Mike Lochead, Graham Cook, Chris Palmer, Jatinder Soomal, Amy Edwards, Andy Manning, Toby Fitzmaurice, Bridgit Weekes, Diana Bryant, Elaine Knight, and Rhea Malkin.

In the junior races, Harvey Taylor came 3rd in the U17 race, and James Emmett, William Hurst, Freddie Naughton, Teddy Fitzmaurice and Tia Rainey all competed with distinction in the U15 race.

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 next race in the series will be in Swanley Park on Sunday Nov 11th, starting at 11.00.


If you enjoy running and would like to improve, Sevenoaks AC is currently making a special offer to new members. You can attend up to 3 training sessions free of charge before deciding whether or not to join.

The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Runner Age Time Club Rating # Races
15 14 John Witton 40 34:41 Sevenoaks AC 96.35 3
16 15 Guillaume Nineven 33 34:43 Sevenoaks AC 96.07 Debut
29 28 Allan Thurston 43 36:00 Sevenoaks AC 92.42 Debut
30 29 Lee Lintern 38 36:01 Sevenoaks AC 92.13 30
32 31 Darius Sarshar 49 36:08 Sevenoaks AC 91.57 5
34 32 Andrew Hutchinson 39 36:14 Sevenoaks AC 91.29 4
41 39 Keith Dowson 55 36:34 Sevenoaks AC 89.33 15
46 44 Andrew Milne 36 36:45 Sevenoaks AC 87.92 16
53 51 Mike Lochead 32 37:03 Sevenoaks AC 85.96 Debut
56 54 Jimmy George 37 37:13 Sevenoaks AC 85.11 2
57 55 Russell Crane 36 37:14 Sevenoaks AC 84.83 3
67 65 Graham Cook 42 37:32 Sevenoaks AC 82.02 Debut
69 67 Keith Brown 47 37:43 Sevenoaks AC 81.46 12
87 85 Chris Palmer 37 38:18 Sevenoaks AC 76.40 Debut
90 88 Daniel Witt 43 38:21 Sevenoaks AC 75.56 46
104 99 Simon Truett 44 38:56 Sevenoaks AC 72.47 2
111 105 James Baker 53 39:10 Sevenoaks AC 70.79 18
112 106 Jim Harness 51 39:14 Sevenoaks AC 70.51 4
124 116 James Wright 50 39:43 Sevenoaks AC 67.70 25
130 122 Graham Dwyer 46 40:01 Sevenoaks AC 66.01 3
147 136 Andy Evans 48 40:41 Sevenoaks AC 62.08 39
153 142 Nick Holmes 42 40:56 Sevenoaks AC 60.39 3
160 148 Jatinder Soomal 36 41:11 Sevenoaks AC 58.71 Debut
163 150 Chris Desmond 55 41:17 Sevenoaks AC 58.15 80
190 19 Heather Fitzmaurice 48 42:16 Sevenoaks AC 89.53 71
191 20 Marion Van Lille 33 42:17 Sevenoaks AC 88.95 2
215 26 Pauline Dalton 54 43:04 Sevenoaks AC 85.47 41
238 203 Tony Waldron 51 43:48 Sevenoaks AC 43.26 24
250 37 Amy Edwards 39 44:23 Sevenoaks AC 79.07 Debut
257 215 Andy Manning 50 44:43 Sevenoaks AC 39.89 Debut
264 221 Duncan Cochrane 61 44:59 Sevenoaks AC 38.20 25
271 225 Toby Fitzmaurice 18 45:36 Sevenoaks AC 37.08 Debut
273 45 Bridgit Weekes 60 45:40 Sevenoaks AC 74.42 Debut
274 46 Nicki Thompson 42 45:42 Sevenoaks AC 73.84 19
280 230 Hugh Shewell 29 45:54 Sevenoaks AC 35.67 15
282 48 Sarah Shewell 59 45:56 Sevenoaks AC 72.67 103
285 233 Simon Hallpike 65 46:00 Sevenoaks AC 34.83 47
306 54 Diana Bryant 43 46:46 Sevenoaks AC 69.19 Debut
308 55 Elaine Knight 38 46:47 Sevenoaks AC 68.60 Debut
320 260 Geoff Kitchener 68 47:07 Sevenoaks AC 27.25 68
327 59 Ella Pyman 51 47:27 Sevenoaks AC 66.28 8
364 76 Grazia Manzotti 49 49:21 Sevenoaks AC 56.40 6
367 78 Rhea Malkin 33 49:34 Sevenoaks AC 55.23 Debut
406 307 Lionel Stielow 69 51:44 Sevenoaks AC 14.04 9
505 345 Joe Parsons 28 1:01:33 Sevenoaks AC 3.37 18

The full results are here.

Start

KXCL 2018/19 Match 2 - Somerhill

RichardChrisDanDarrellThree club members took part in the second KXCL match at Somerhill on 27th October, advises James Graham: Richard Pitcairn-Knowles (11th M70 on day, 6th after 2 matches, 1st M85), Chris Desmond (145th on day, 100th after 2 matches, 20th M50 on day, 17th M50 after 2 matches, 9th M55), and Dan Witt (154th on day, 59th M40). And we also had a ‘guest’ runner, Darrell Smith, who hadn’t registered. The full results are here.

Beachy Head Marathon 2018

Jim & LesleyIt was a perfect day for a long run (or walk), writes Jim Knight – clear, bright, & sunny. Cold but not bitter.

At 9 am 2300 runners, walkers and dogs set off up the hill from Eastbourne onto the South Downs.
It really is a beautiful route.
Great views in all directions from the top of the Downs.
Then down to the village of Jevington, and through colourful beech forest to Alfriston. Unfortunately, no time to stop in the pubs.
Then a big drag up Borstall Hill before coasting back down to West Dean checkpoint for tea and giant sausage rolls (perfect)
Endless steps follow, before a nice descent to Cuckmere Haven.
Then the Seven Sisters.
Beautiful views, but I still can’t believe how steep they are.
From there the marshals are shouting; “you’re nearly there”.
They lied.
It’s still a long way over the undulations to Birling Gap, up to the top of Beachy Head and down to the finish.

Our plan was to walk round, enjoy it and finish before the 9-hour cut-off.
We did exactly that, finishing in 8hrs25.
A really great day out.

Sylvia Lewis walked round with her son, Steve, beating us by 7 minutes.
Other SAC results were:
Graham Cook – 5.18
Bet Benn 6.00
Rob & Julie Carr 7.12

The full results are here.

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