KFL 2021-22 Match 3 - Betteshanger Park

Team at Deal

The 3rd race in the 2021/22 Kent Fitness League series took place in Betteshanger Park, Deal on Sunday December 12th, writes Jim Knight. 364 runners, including 25 who had made the long journey from Sevenoaks raced on the 5-mile course involving two laps of the undulating perimeter of the Country Park. Conditions underfoot were muddy, but on the day, it was mild and breezy making for pleasant running.

The race was won by Jonathon Whittall from Maidstone & Medway AC, with the women’s race won by Nicola Evans of Larkfield AC.

An outstanding performance by Sevenoaks women saw them win the team race for the second competition in a row and they retain a slender lead in the series ahead of Canterbury Harriers. Star performer was Cath Linney who came 2nd out of the 131 women and was the fastest W50. The remaining members of the scoring team were Vanessa Gilmartin (11th), Julia Davis (13th), and Pauline Dalton (14th). Other great performances came from Sally Shewell (2nd W60) and Bridget Weekes (3rd W60).

In the men’s race, the Sevenoaks team was weakened by the absence of Allan Lee (injury) and James Mason (suspected covid) but bolstered by the return of veterans James Graham, Duncan Cochrane and John Denyer. However, good runs by Ed Saunders (11th), Andrew Hutchinson (16th), Michael Lochead (30th), and Richard Alford Smith (36th) brought the team home in 5th position with the combined team 3rd, their best placing so far this season. The other scoring members were Dan Witt (56th), Andrew Mead 39th), Andy Evans (141st) and James Graham (148th). Other notable performances came from 17-year-old Harvey Taylor (60th), and John Denyer (1st M70). The men’s team is now in 5th place in the series, the women in 1st place and the combined team in 5th place.

The SAC results were as follows:

Ov Pos	Lg Pos	Bib	Runner	Age	Time	Club	Rating	# Races
11	11	688	Edmund Saunders	39	32:22	Sevenoaks AC	95.88	14
16	16	665	Andrew Hutchinson	42	32:47	Sevenoaks AC	93.83	14
30	30	673	Michael Lochead	41	34:08	Sevenoaks AC	88.07	14
36	36	637	Richard Alford-Smith	45	34:32	Sevenoaks AC	85.60	7
40	39	675	Andrew Mead	53	34:44	Sevenoaks AC	84.36	41
57	56	702	Daniel Witt	46	35:24	Sevenoaks AC	77.37	60
61	60	694	Harvey Taylor	17	35:36	Sevenoaks AC	75.72	3
66	65	652	Chris Fenn	30	35:57	Sevenoaks AC	73.66	3
74	73	676	Andrew Milne	39	36:30	Sevenoaks AC	70.37	30
87	2	672	Catherine Linney	52	38:08	Sevenoaks AC	99.17	37
104	99	678	Shaun Mullen	45	38:58	Sevenoaks AC	59.67	5
126	11	657	Vanessa Gilmartin	46	39:49	Sevenoaks AC	91.74	19
134	13	647	Julia Davis	24	40:16	Sevenoaks AC	90.08	3
135	14	645	Pauline Dalton	57	40:20	Sevenoaks AC	89.26	52
165	141	651	Andrew Evans	51	41:48	Sevenoaks AC	42.39	47
174	148	659	James Graham	68	42:19	Sevenoaks AC	39.51	24
188	155	648	John Denyer	73	43:26	Sevenoaks AC	36.63	47
199	38	691	Sarah Shewell	62	44:12	Sevenoaks AC	69.42	115
206	41	699	Bridgit Weekes	63	44:37	Sevenoaks AC	66.94	13
220	172	644	Duncan Cochrane	64	45:34	Sevenoaks AC	29.63	35
263	65	685	Ella Pyman	55	48:18	Sevenoaks AC	47.11	15
321	92	639	Alzbeta Benn	40	53:12	Sevenoaks AC	24.79	6
323	231	667	Jim Knight	70	53:43	Sevenoaks AC	5.35	5
338	106	638	Jenny Austin	44	55:56	Sevenoaks AC	13.22	15
354	115	671	Sylvia Lewis	69	1:02:11	Sevenoaks AC	5.79	21

The full results are here.

Group at Deal

More photos, kindly sent by photographer Tom Hooley, are here.

The next race in the series will be in Minnis Bay, Birchington on Sunday January 2nd, 2022.

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 one must be aged 60+, two must be 50+ and two 40+) and 4 women (of whom one must be aged 55+ one 45+ and one 35+).