KFL 2024-25 - Match 1

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.

But 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.

KFL 2024-25 - Match 1 - Swanley