Sevenoaks Athletics Club

SAC at Sevenoaks 7 2019

The 26th Sevenoaks 7 took place in Knole Park on Sunday July 14th, writes Jim Knight.

The early-morning rain cleared leaving conditions warm but overcast – good conditions for a tough 7-mile race.

380 runners from all around the Southern Counties lined up on the start line at 10.30 am.  There were strong teams from Tunbridge Wells Harriers, Orpington Road Runners, and Dulwich Runners but a reduced team from Sevenoaks AC, as 30 SAC club members were involved in the race organisation.

The runners started at the bottom of the Knole park, close to the Hole in the wall, and went steadily uphill past Knole House to the refreshment point on Chestnut walk before descending the Gallops and climbing back up to Chestnut Walk. At the end of the second loop, the runners turned left by Knole House for a fast downhill mile to the finish back at the bottom of the park.

It’s a challenging course. A full 7 miles, and none of it flat.

The leaders set off fast, and soon a trio of Billy Hobbs of Tunbridge Wells Harriers, Chuck Edwards of Dulwich Runners AC and William Levett of Tunbridge Wells Harriers had opened up a 50-metre lead. But on the second lap, Sam Coombes of Dartford Harriers caught the trio and, along with Duncan Marsden of Tunbridge wells Harriers, the five fought for victory.

The eventual winner was Billy Hobbs of Tunbridge Wells Harriers in a very fast time of 38.14 (last year’s winner took 41.44, although on a very hot day). Second was Chuck Edwards of Dulwich Runners in 38.56 and in third place was Sam Coombes of Dartford Harriers in 39.08.

In the Women’s race, Cas Jackson of Dartford Harriers won in a fast time of 46.59, followed by Marta Miaskiewicz of Dulwich Runners in 47.47, and Nicola Evans of Tonbridge AC in 49.37.

Both the men’s and women’s team competitions were won by Dulwich Runners AC.

The Sevenoaks AC men’s team ran well to come 5th, with James Mason in 8th position, Nick Humphrey-Taylor in 34th, Andrew Milne in 38th and Andrew Hutchinson in 39th.

Other notable SAC performances were Lionel Stielow (2nd M70), James Graham (3rd M60), and Sally Shewell (4th W55), Sylvia Lewis (2nd W65)

In the junior race, Sevenoaks AC athletes performed well, with Ryan Allard-Smith winning the boys race followed by Alex House in 2nd and Freddie Naughton in 3rd.

The girls race was won by Lexie Johnson, followed by Ella McIntyre in 2nd and Daisy Phillips in 3rd.

The winners of the veteran’s classes were.
M40 – 49    William Levett – Tunbridge Wells Harriers
M50 – 59    Jim Ashworth Beaumont – Serpentine RC
M60 – 69    Stephen Smythe – Dulwich Runners
M70+        Tony Unseld – Orpington Road Runners

W35 – 44    Marta Miasiewicz – Dulwich Runners
W45 – 54    Yvette Dore – Dulwich Runners
W55 – 64    Rose Baker – Cambridge Harriers

This year, for the first time, the race welcomed a number of athletes from The Running Charity – a London-based charity that helps homeless youngsters build their self-confidence and self-esteem through running. Fifteen Running Charity members competed, with Alaiksa Hagose awarded the trophy for fastest male and Zamzam Farah the trophy for fastest female.

Race Director Richard Thomas said; "We had a very successful day with nearly 400 runners and lots of positive comments.  Congratulations to everyone who finished the tough course. This year, in addition to raising money for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, I’m delighted that we were able to support The Running Charity – another charity that helps disadvantaged youngsters to improve their lives through running. I should like to thank all the marshals and officials for their hard work, and our sponsor, Up & Running."

The Sevenoaks AC results were as follows:

The full results are here.

North Downs Run 2019

James Mason was sixth and John Witton 10th and third M40 at the North Downs Run on 30th June. The SAC results were:

 The full results are here.

SCVAC T&F 31 May 2019

Sevenoaks AC's women achieved their best performance to date as Sylvia Lewis, Lesley Knight, Bet Benn, Jo Young, Anna Humphrey-Taylor and Pauline Dalton secured points at Tonbridge track on 31 May. The club finished third on the day after both Bet and team captain Sylvia competed in four separate events and Pauline kept her powder dry for an emphatic win in the W50 1500m. Despite the excellent showing at Tonbridge, the women stay 5th in the division after three matches.

In the men's match, Graham Dwyer, Geoffrey Kitchener, Rob Peers, Dan Witt, Neil Haggertay, Duncan Cochrane, and Andrew Simpson combined to repeat the team's fourth place as in the first two matches. Possibly the stand-out performance was from M45 Graham who was second in the M35 high jump despite tackling four events in all. The SAC team remains in fourth place in the series.

The results are here. The next match is on Monday 10 June at Gillingham. Interested SAC members please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kent Young Athletes League 2019 - Tonbridge

Sevenoaks AC Juniors fielded its largest and strongest team to date at the first Kent Young Athlete League Match of the Summer, and were rewarded with a 2nd place team finish.

Six Club records were broken during the course of the day, two in the 4 x 100m Relay, the rest by Erin Vallance and James Beecroft who both broke the 100m and 200m records in their respective age groups

Head Coach, Darrell Smith commented. “It’s impossible to list all the great performances as everyone gave their all, even though for many this is their first season competing at this level. I feel we have a real chance of getting promotion to the next Division . I think we can do it. “

The second of the three matches is on the 7th July in Ashford.