Match 5, Minnis Bay, Sunday 5th January 2014.
'A fine day to be on the beach'. While most of the area was suffering from rain and flooding, athletes from Sevenoaks Athletics Club enjoyed brief respite, with a successful morning on the beach at Minnis Bay.
23 Sevenoaks AC runners competed in the race, the fifth in the Kent Fitness League winter cross country series.
Despite the dry weather the 356 competitors endured tough conditions, muddy terrain, water filled ditches and steep hillocks which challenged the most seasoned cross country runner.
The race was won by Chris Wyles of New Eltham Joggers who completed the 6 mile course in a 36 minutes and 58 seconds.
Chris Desmond led the Sevenoaks team finishing in 18th place with a time of 40 minutes and 38 seconds.
Along with Lee Lintern in 29th, Adam Lesley 39th, James Wright 43rd, Andrew Linney 50th, Andy Ashlee 51st and Keith Brown 59th, the Sevenoaks men's team came a well deserved 3rd place behind Canterbury Harriers and Petts Wood Runners.
The Ladies team, somewhat depleted due to injury came 6th on the day with Heather Fitzmaurice as 6th placed lady, Happy Fisher 32nd and Nicki Thompson 34th scoring for the team.
At this stage in the league, the combined Sevenoaks team lie in an impressive 1st place with men in 1st place and women 2nd in their respective competitions. The team benefiting from an unusually modest performance from strong contenders Dartford Harriers.
The next race is on February 2nd at Blean Woods in Canterbury, a crucial race for Sevenoaks AC who need a great performance to retain their pole position.
The full SAC positions were as follows:
Ov Pos |
Lg Pos |
Runner |
Age |
Time |
Club |
Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 18 | Chris Desmond | 50 | 40:38 | Sevenoaks AC | 93.36 |
| 30 | 29 | Lee Lintern | 33 | 42:29 | Sevenoaks AC | 89.06 |
| 42 | 39 | Adam Lesley | 42 | 43:27 | Sevenoaks AC | 85.16 |
| 46 | 43 | James Wright | 45 | 43:40 | Sevenoaks AC | 83.59 |
| 53 | 50 | Andrew Linney | 46 | 44:05 | Sevenoaks AC | 80.86 |
| 54 | 51 | Andy Ashlee | 44 | 44:06 | Sevenoaks AC | 80.47 |
| 62 | 59 | Keith Brown | 42 | 44:43 | Sevenoaks AC | 77.34 |
| 72 | 67 | John Stevens | 52 | 45:34 | Sevenoaks AC | 74.22 |
| 84 | 79 | Daniel Witt | 38 | 46:22 | Sevenoaks AC | 69.53 |
| 117 | 6 | Heather Fitzmaurice | 44 | 47:48 | Sevenoaks AC | 94.79 |
| 127 | 119 | Andy Evans | 43 | 48:30 | Sevenoaks AC | 53.91 |
| 147 | 136 | Stuart Thompson | 39 | 49:50 | Sevenoaks AC | 47.27 |
| 174 | 155 | Duncan Cochrane | 56 | 51:23 | Sevenoaks AC | 39.84 |
| 192 | 170 | David Truman | 53 | 52:02 | Sevenoaks AC | 33.98 |
| 196 | 174 | Tony Horlock | 53 | 52:22 | Sevenoaks AC | 32.42 |
| 235 | 203 | Sam Bennett | 40 | 54:58 | Sevenoaks AC | 21.09 |
| 243 | 32 | Happy Fisher | 37 | 55:32 | Sevenoaks AC | 67.71 |
| 247 | 211 | James Fitzmaurice | 71 | 55:51 | Sevenoaks AC | 17.97 |
| 248 | 34 | Nicki Thompson | 37 | 55:51 | Sevenoaks AC | 65.62 |
| 280 | 226 | Martin White | 46 | 58:58 | Sevenoaks AC | 12.11 |
| 292 | 233 | Hugh Shewell | 24 | 1:00:39 | Sevenoaks AC | 9.38 |
| 300 | 60 | Sarah Shewell | 54 | 1:01:12 | Sevenoaks AC | 38.54 |
| 306 | 65 | Clair Thornton | 38 | 1:02:00 | Sevenoaks AC | 33.33 |
The full results are here.