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Team photo

The first race of the 2024/25 Kent Fitness League took place in Swanley Park on Sunday November 10th, writes Jim Knight. A record 640 runners, including 37 from Sevenoaks AC, lined up for the start at 11 a.m. We stood on the start line for two minutes in silence to contemplate the horrors of war and pay our respects to those who fought for our freedom. Then the whistle blew, and the race started. 

Three laps of the park – undulating, grassy, and quite dry overall - a fast 5.5-mile course. The rain held off and the runners enjoyed pleasant cool conditions.

29 minutes and 47 seconds later, 28-year-old Alex Cameron from Dartford Harriers crossed the line to win by 3 seconds from Keith Fairbank of Istead & Ifield Harriers (interestingly the winning time was exactly the same as last year).

Just 34 seconds later, 47-year-old Jamie Philip from Sevenoaks AC had an outstanding run to finish in 6th place. He was followed by Paul Fanti (44th), William Palmer (52nd), and Luke Green (61st) and Steven Hough (62nd). The other scorers in the men’s team Keith Dowson (66th), Michael Lochead (67th) and Harvey Taylor (74th). This placed the men’s team 3rd, behind Dartford Harriers and Petts Wood Runners – their best start to the season for several years.

pic of 1st 3 womenBut the real stars of the day were the victorious Sevenoaks women who won their race, beating a very strong team from Petts Wood Runners and all the other 16 teams. Sevenoaks’ Andrea Berquez had an outstanding run to win in a time of 33.15 – over a minute faster than last year. The other scorers in the SAC winning women’s team were Hannah Sangan (12th), Nicola Glover (18th), Caroline Fenwick (24th) and Cath Linney (31st).

With the women’s team first and the men’s team 3rd, the combined team came 2nd overall. At this stage last year, the team was placed 5th – so a brilliant start to the season.

The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Score Rtg #
6 6 894 Jamie Philip 47 30:21 Sevenoaks AC V40:1 98.71 4
44 44 860 Paul Fanti 51 33:14 Sevenoaks AC V50:1 88.95 3
45 1 1077 Andrea Berquez 39 33:15 Sevenoaks AC V35 100.00 13
53 52 893 William Palmer 52 33:44 Sevenoaks AC V50:2 86.89 10
65 61 866 Luke Green 33 34:22 Sevenoaks AC M1 84.58 2
66 62 873 Steven Hough 51 34:26 Sevenoaks AC V40:2 84.32 2
71 66 857 Keith Dowson 61 34:50 Sevenoaks AC V60 83.29 18
72 67 881 Michael Lochead 43 34:56 Sevenoaks AC M2 83.03 23
79 74 902 Harvey Taylor 20 35:13 Sevenoaks AC M3 81.23 16
94 87 874 Andrew Hutchinson 45 35:40 Sevenoaks AC NS 77.89 24
113 12 897 Hannah Sangan 30 36:25 Sevenoaks AC F1 95.62 7
126 113 890 Sebastian Naughton 50 36:55 Sevenoaks AC NS 71.21 18
131 117 907 Daniel Witt 49 37:10 Sevenoaks AC NS 70.18 73
137 18 864 Nicola Glover 36 37:22 Sevenoaks AC F2 93.23 16
143 124 856 Chris Desmond 61 37:43 Sevenoaks AC NS 68.38 90
160 24 861 Caroline Fenwick 46 38:18 Sevenoaks AC V45 90.84 13
177 31 880 Catherine Linney 55 38:48 Sevenoaks AC V55 88.05 50
183 33 896 Joanne Rodda 48 39:01 Sevenoaks AC NS 87.25 6
199 162 885 Anton Mauve 58 39:25 Sevenoaks AC NS 58.61 Debut
213 41 1078 Sophie Day 36 39:50 Sevenoaks AC NS 84.06 Debut
214 173 844 Brian Allen 52 39:52 Sevenoaks AC NS 55.78 7
226 44 848 Elizabeth Bull 37 40:06 Sevenoaks AC NS 82.87 Debut
234 188 859 Andrew Evans 54 40:10 Sevenoaks AC NS 51.93 58
237 47 863 Vanessa Gilmartin 49 40:21 Sevenoaks AC NS 81.67 34
246 199 869 Rob Hadden 56 40:32 Sevenoaks AC NS 49.10 Debut
250 201 878 Leonard Lai King 45 40:41 Sevenoaks AC NS 48.59 18
267 216 875 David Killpack 39 41:21 Sevenoaks AC NS 44.73 11
277 55 862 Heather Fitzmaurice 54 41:38 Sevenoaks AC NS 78.49 81
307 243 882 Alan Male 54 42:34 Sevenoaks AC NS 37.79 9
335 82 1083 Bridgit Weekes 66 43:41 Sevenoaks AC NS 67.73 26
346 84 905 Rosie Williams 55 44:12 Sevenoaks AC NS 66.93 Debut
355 267 871 Simon Hallpike 71 44:30 Sevenoaks AC NS 31.62 62
356 268 849 Peter C 30 44:32 Sevenoaks AC NS 31.36 Debut
397 106 845 Clare Ambrose 56 45:42 Sevenoaks AC NS 58.17 Debut
462 144 865 Glenda Goscomb 66 48:15 Sevenoaks AC NS 43.03 7
529 348 876 Jim Knight 73 51:54 Sevenoaks AC NS 10.80 7
620 383 901 Lionel Stielow 75 1:00:54 Sevenoaks AC NS 1.80 28

pic of start

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 13 are needed to score in the team competition – 8 men (of whom two must be V40 and two V50 and one V60) and 5 women (of whom one must be V35 and one V45 and one V55). The next race is on Sunday Nov 24th in Oxleas Woods, Eltham.

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