SAC at KXCL 2025-26 Somerhill

Six senior SAC members contested the second race of the Kent XC League 2025-26 on 18 October in mild, dry conditions.

Yon Marsh was the standout SAC performer as first M65 in the 8K event, while Oloff Van Zyl was narrowly edged to third M55. However, both runners lead their respective age categories after two races. The full Sevenoaks results were:

SW
55 1394 Anna O'Donovan Sevenoaks AC 40:04 SW
M50
12 1240 Oloff Van Zyl (M55) Sevenoaks AC 32:24 (3rd M55)
29 1241 Daniel Witt (M50) Sevenoaks AC 35:59
M60
14 1238 Yon Marsh (M65) Sevenoaks AC 37:54 (1st M65)
M70
5 502 Simon Hallpike (M70) Sevenoaks AC 27:38
10 503 Jim Knight (M70) Sevenoaks AC  31:35

The full results are here.

This brings the KXCL series to the halfway stage with no mud! The next fixture, except for senior under-65 women, is at Danson Park on 15th November.

Keith Dominates on the Roads

Keith Dowson completed an emphatic defence of his Kent Road Race Grand Prix M60 title with age-group victory in the Ashford 10k on 12 October.

Keith's win was his sixth in the series, giving him the maximum possible 60 points.

The race was also the Kent Short Course Championship, so Keith secured all three county road titles, having won the Long Course equivalent at the Dartford Half in March.

And to put a further gloss on Keith's performance, his time in 49th place overall of 37:49 was a new M60 10k club record!

The full results from Ashford are here.

With the dust now settled on the 2025 Kent GP, of the 44 affiliated Kent clubs, SAC's women were 14th and men 17th in the team competition. Scorers for the women were Heather Fitzmaurice (40th), Nicolene Hanekom (64th), Sophie Day (84th), Silvia Forcat (174th) and Sam Znetyniak (202nd), and for the men, Keith (14th), Simon Hallpike (84th), Jake Mears (115th), Dan Witt (280th), Leonard Lai King (451st), Chris Desmond (474th), Neil Colvin (484th) and Jon Copping (528th).

Heather was also 5th W55, while Simon, as 2nd M70, joins Keith as a medallist this year.

The first three Kent GP races of 2026 will be the Canterbury 10 on January 25th, where the 2025 awards will be made, the Deal Half on February 15th and the Paddock Wood Half on March 8th. These are in the calendar here.

The full KGP results and information is here.

SAC at KXCL 2025-26 Footscray Meadows

In warm temperatures, bright sunshine and a firm but lumpy course, six senior SAC runners took part in the first Kent League event of the new cross-country season at Footscray Meadows on 11 October, with three in each of the 5k and 8k races.

John Denyer was first M75 in the 5k event while, in the longer event,Yon Marsh was 2nd M65 and Oloff van Zyl 2nd M55.

The SAC results were as follows:
M70
6 501 John Denyer (M75) Sevenoaks AC 26:11 (1st M75)
7 502 Simon Hallpike (M70) Sevenoaks AC 26:18
14 503 Jim Knight (M70) Sevenoaks AC 31:58
M60
14 1238 Yon Marsh (M65) Sevenoaks AC 38:13 (2nd M65)
M50
9 1240 Oloff Van Zyl (M55) Sevenoaks AC 31:43 (2nd M55)
30 1241 Daniel Witt (M50) Sevenoaks AC 35:58

The full results will be here.

SAC at Tonbridge Half & 10k 2025

Six SAC runners tackled the Tonbridge Half and 10k on 5th October with brilliant results.

David Ives won the 10k and Ed Saunders led the SAC Half runners home in tenth place, with all six runners either first or second in their categories:

Half:

Gun	Chip	Bib	Name	Gun	Chip	Cat	PCat	Gen	PGen	Club
10	13	2125	Edmund Saunders	01:22:30	01:22:12	V40	2	Male	10	Sevenoaks AC
23	28	2482	Keith Dowson	01:26:02	01:25:58	V60	1	Male	24	Sevenoaks AC
356	387	1484	Simon Hallpike	01:51:06	01:50:53	V70	1	Male	329	Sevenoaks AC
734	775	1578	Sarah Shewell	02:10:22	02:09:29	V65	2	Female	206	Sevenoaks AC

10k:

Gun	Chip	Bib	Name	Gun	Chip	Cat	Pcat	Gen	Pgen	Club
1	1	200	David Ives	00:36:24	00:36:23	V45	1	M	1	Sevenoaks AC
272	288	201	Lionel Stielow	01:04:42	01:04:36	V75	1	M	171	Sevenoaks AC

 

The full results are here. Event photos are here.