Andrew Mead led home the Sevenoaks AC runners at the final Kent League match of the season at Norman Park on 12th February. With only three SAC members competing, the senior men failed to complete a full team for the first time this year. As SAC co-ordinator James Graham commented "the difficult part is managing to stay fit for all four races".

Andrew was 102nd and seventh M50, with Chris Desmond 141st and fifteenth M55 and James Graham 183rd and third M65.

By completing all four races, Andrew and Chris also figured in the final standings. Andrew was fourth M50 and Chris twelfth M55.

The other senior SAC participants in the KXCL this season, all with at least two races, were Oloff van Zyl, Dan Witt, Nick Humphrey-Taylor and Andrea Berquez.

Michael Ellis of Tonbridge AC won the men's title, and Megan Marchant of Cambridge Harriers the women's.

The full results are here.

 (Action pictures by Kev Howarth)

Sevenoaks AC women increased their lead in the Kent Fitness cross-country league with a superb victory in the penultimate race of the series at Blean Woods, Canterbury on 6th March, beating nearest rivals Canterbury Harriers into second place on their home mud.

Andrea Berquez (W35) led the team home in second place overall and was first veteran. The other scorers were Suzy Claridge (W45), Pauline Dalton (W55) and Hannah Sangan. All three age-group scorers were either first or second in their categories. Other SAC veterans running well were Cath Linney (3rd W50), and Bridgit Weekes and Sally Shewell (2nd and 3rd W60s).

Once again the men's team was fifth with scorers James Graham (M60), Darius Sarshar and Andrew Mead (M50), Andrew Hutchinson and Mike Lochead (M40), and Ed Saunders, Richard Alford-Smith and Guillaume Nineven. The combined team were also fifth.

The SAC results were:

After five matches the women's team lead, the combined team is fourth and the men are fifth going into the final match on 20th February. This will be on Sevenoaks' home course at Knole Park starting at 09:00.

Jim Knight's report, with assistance from Duncan and Pauline, is here. The full results are here.

Tony Horlock won the January handicap race by twenty-nine seconds, ahead of John Denyer.

Andrew Mead in third place was fastest overall, with Lucy Wilkes in fifth the fastest woman.

Winner of the previous three races, Sam Znetyniak, was fourth.

The second race of the 2022 series is next up. It starts from the Sevenoaks School track at 08:30 on Sunday 27th February.

The full details are here.

Sevenoaks AC women retained their lead in the Kent Fitness League after the fourth match at Minnis Bay on 2nd January.

The cross-country course at Minnis Bay is unique, adds Jim Knight. Runners start at the end of Marine Parade and follow the coastal footpath towards Reculver Towers. After 3 miles, they turn inland, across the fields, over the railway embankment and then they have to jump over five deep mud-filled dykes before returning to the embankment for the final two miles to the finish. The dykes get progressively deeper and wider. The first is jumpable, but the 3rd is virtually impossible to cross without falling into waist-deep mud. A real cross-country course.

27 Sevenoaks AC athletes joined the 467 runners taking part in the race. By the finish their pristine white SAC vests were various shades of grey and brown.

The SAC women’s team ran well and were just beaten into second place by Canterbury Harriers. With two wins each, Sevenoaks and Canterbury have the same score in the series, but on count-back Sevenoaks retained their lead. The next two races, at Rough Common, Canterbury and Knole Park, Sevenoaks will be crucial in deciding the series winner. The SAC scorers on the day were Bridgit Weekes, Cath Linney, Suzy Claridge and Hannah Sangham with the rest of the team also running brilliantly over the soaking course.

Meanwhile, Jamie Philip was third overall, and first veteran, in his first appearance in the league. Along with fellow-scorers James Graham, Jonathan Marsh, Andy Evans, Mike Lochead, Ed Saunders, Richard Alford-Smith and Harvey Taylor, Jamie led the SAC men to seventh place on the day, but fifth after four races.

All this meant that Sevenoaks AC's combined team were fifth on the day and stay fifth in the standings. The SAC results were:

The full results are here.

The next (fifth) match is at Blean Woods, Rough Common on 6th February.