The penultimate race of this year’s Kent Fitness League took place in Allhallows Holiday Park near Rochester on Sunday February 4th.
This year’s Kent Fitness League has been hard fought between the leading contenders, Sevenoaks AC, Petts Wood Runners, Canterbury Harriers, Maidstone & Medway AC, Paddock Wood AC and Dartford Harriers, with record numbers of competitors.
The series comprises 7 gruelling cross-country races starting in Swanley in October, and touring the county with races in Knole Park, Eltham, Minnis Bay, Deal, Allhallows Park, and finishing in 3 weeks’ time in Rough Common on February 25th.
The women’s team competition has been particularly close, with Sevenoaks AC (champions in 2020, 21, and 2022) trying to catch last year’s champions, Canterbury Harriers, and stay ahead of Paddock Wood AC. The Sevenoaks team was reduced to 22 runners through injuries to several key runners and the team feared that they might not have enough women for a full scoring team.
On a wet and windy day the 447 runners set off on 6 mile two-lap course. From the start field, they ran down to the beach for a long technical section along the shoreline where they faced gravel, mud, seaweed and ditches. Then back up to the start field to do it all again.
Once again, Sevenoaks’ Andrea Berquez ran brilliantly to finish in 2nd place, closely followed by Nicola Glover (6th), Caroline Fenwick (9th), and Cath Linney (11th). The club’s top W55 runners were absent through injury, but 63 year old Becca Crowe ran the race of her life, achieving a rating 10 percentage points higher than she had previously achieved in KFL, coming home in 78th position. This pulled the women’s team up by 3 places to 2nd place on the day, and better still, by helping the SAC women to finished above Paddock Wood AC ensures that Sevenoaks women will finish in 2nd place in the league, irrespective of the results of the final race in 3 weeks’ time.
The SAC men’s team was also lacking several runners through injury, but once again, Guillaume Nineven ran well to finish in 17th place. The other scoring members of the men’s team were Stephen Hough (52nd in his debut race), Harvey Taylor (62nd), Seb Naughton (79th), James Baker (84th), David Kilpack (86th ), and Andrew Monk (91st).
The men’s team came 5th on the day and remain in 5th place in the series. The combined team came 5th on the day and remain in 4th place in the series. The full SAC results were as follows:
Ov Pos | Lg Pos | Bib | Runner | Age | Time | Club | Score | Rtg | # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 | 17 | 879 | Guillaume Nineven | 38 | 35:24 | Sevenoaks AC | M1 | 94.75 | 16 |
50 | 2 | 836 | Andrea Berquez | 38 | 37:47 | Sevenoaks AC | V35 | 99.30 | 11 |
54 | 52 | 1083 | Steven Hough | 50 | 38:06 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:1 | 83.28 | Debut |
68 | 62 | 893 | Harvey Taylor | 19 | 38:59 | Sevenoaks AC | M2 | 80.00 | 14 |
73 | 7 | 854 | Nicola Glover | 36 | 39:18 | Sevenoaks AC | F1 | 95.80 | 14 |
87 | 79 | 878 | Sebastian Naughton | 49 | 40:32 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:1 | 74.43 | 16 |
92 | 84 | 834 | James Baker | 59 | 40:57 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:2 | 72.79 | 30 |
93 | 9 | 852 | Caroline Fenwick | 46 | 40:57 | Sevenoaks AC | V45 | 94.41 | 11 |
95 | 86 | 859 | David Killpack | 38 | 41:05 | Sevenoaks AC | M3 | 72.13 | 9 |
101 | 91 | 874 | Andrew Monk | 47 | 41:44 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:2 | 70.49 | 10 |
102 | 11 | 865 | Catherine Linney | 54 | 41:52 | Sevenoaks AC | F2 | 93.01 | 48 |
110 | 98 | 871 | Michael McCarthy | 58 | 42:24 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 68.20 | 29 |
111 | 99 | 846 | Chris Desmond | 60 | 42:27 | Sevenoaks AC | V60 | 67.87 | 88 |
121 | 106 | 900 | Daniel Witt | 49 | 42:49 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 65.57 | 71 |
139 | 122 | 835 | Adam Bates | 40 | 43:41 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 60.33 | 6 |
155 | 134 | 831 | Brian Allen | 52 | 44:22 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 56.39 | 6 |
158 | 137 | 862 | Leonard Lai King | 44 | 44:30 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 55.41 | 16 |
178 | 153 | 868 | Jonathan Marsh | 64 | 45:11 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 50.16 | 10 |
192 | 164 | 897 | Duncan Warwick-Champion | 59 | 46:05 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 46.56 | 25 |
199 | 30 | 853 | Vanessa Gilmartin | 48 | 46:29 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 79.72 | 32 |
203 | 173 | 866 | Alan Male | 54 | 46:39 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 43.61 | 8 |
330 | 78 | 843 | Becca Crowe | 63 | 54:09 | Sevenoaks AC | V55 | 46.15 | 16 |
The full results are here.
Sylvia Lewis led all the way to win the January handicap race by three minutes.
David Hale in second place was the fastest overall with third-placed Sam Znetyniak the fastest scoring woman - although non-scoring Suzy Claridge was slightly faster.
The next race, over the seven mile course, is on Sunday 11th February, 08:30 from the track as usual.
All the details are here.
The 5th race in the 2023/24 Kent Fitness League series took place in Betteshanger Park, Deal on Sunday January 14th, writes Jim Knight. 449 runners, including 28 who had made the long journey from Sevenoaks raced on the 5-mile course involving two laps of the perimeter of the Country Park.
The course is flat and flat, favouring road and track runners. The race was won by Alexander Donnelly from Maidstone & Medway AC, with the women’s race won by Charlotte Johnson on Maidstone Harriers.
Another great performance by Sevenoaks women saw them placed 3rd in the team race and they remain in 2nd place in the series just behind Canterbury Harriers. Star performers were Andrea Berquez (6th), Joanna Rodda (11th & 2nd W45) and Nicola Glover (12th). The remaining members of the scoring team were Catherine Linney (17th & 4th W50) and Pauline Dalton (62nd). There was another great performance by Bridget Weekes who was 2nd W65.
In the men’s race, the Sevenoaks team was weakened by the absence of some key runners but still secured 5th place. The team was led home by Guillaume Nineven (19th) closely followed by Ed Saunders (28th ) and Andrew Hutchinson (34th). There were great runs by Darius Sarshar (50th) and 19 year-old Harvey Taylor (73rd) . The other scoring members were Seb Naughton (85th), James Baker (94th) and Jonathan Marsh (133rd).
The full SAC results were:
Ov Pos | Lg Pos | Bib | Runner | Age | Time | Club | Score | Rtg | # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 | 18 | 879 | Guillaume Nineven | 38 | 31:47 | Sevenoaks AC | M1 | 94.10 | 15 |
28 | 28 | 887 | Edmund Saunders | 41 | 32:23 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:1 | 90.62 | 26 |
34 | 34 | 858 | Andrew Hutchinson | 44 | 32:52 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:2 | 88.54 | 23 |
50 | 50 | 886 | Darius Sarshar | 54 | 34:01 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:1 | 82.99 | 15 |
67 | 6 | 836 | Andrea Berquez | 38 | 35:12 | Sevenoaks AC | V35 | 96.89 | 10 |
81 | 73 | 893 | Harvey Taylor | 19 | 35:51 | Sevenoaks AC | M2 | 75.00 | 13 |
85 | 11 | 1022 | Joanne Rodda | 47 | 36:05 | Sevenoaks AC | V45 | 93.79 | 4 |
88 | 12 | 854 | Nicola Glover | 36 | 36:17 | Sevenoaks AC | F1 | 93.17 | 13 |
98 | 85 | 878 | Sebastian Naughton | 49 | 36:50 | Sevenoaks AC | M3 | 70.83 | 15 |
109 | 94 | 834 | James Baker | 59 | 37:38 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:2 | 67.71 | 29 |
123 | 17 | 865 | Catherine Linney | 54 | 38:17 | Sevenoaks AC | F2 | 90.06 | 47 |
130 | 110 | 874 | Andrew Monk | 47 | 38:46 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 62.15 | 9 |
133 | 113 | 871 | Michael McCarthy | 58 | 38:49 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 61.11 | 28 |
139 | 116 | 832 | Andrew Ashlee | 54 | 39:06 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 60.07 | 32 |
147 | 123 | 831 | Brian Allen | 52 | 39:37 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 57.64 | 5 |
158 | 133 | 868 | Jonathan Marsh | 64 | 39:58 | Sevenoaks AC | V60 | 54.17 | 9 |
159 | 134 | 900 | Daniel Witt | 48 | 39:58 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 53.82 | 70 |
160 | 135 | 859 | David Killpack | 38 | 40:00 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 53.47 | 8 |
166 | 138 | 849 | Graham Dwyer | 51 | 40:15 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 52.43 | 24 |
174 | 142 | 835 | Adam Bates | 40 | 40:41 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 51.04 | 5 |
184 | 151 | 862 | Leonard Lai King | 44 | 41:12 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 47.92 | 15 |
192 | 157 | 850 | Andrew Evans | 53 | 41:36 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 45.83 | 57 |
253 | 58 | 883 | Sarah Philpott | 45 | 43:58 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 64.60 | 5 |
264 | 62 | 844 | Pauline Dalton | 59 | 44:35 | Sevenoaks AC | V55 | 62.11 | 63 |
294 | 73 | 898 | Bridgit Weekes | 65 | 46:01 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 55.28 | 24 |
298 | 223 | 867 | Simon Mann | 43 | 46:12 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 22.92 | 3 |
346 | 102 | 843 | Becca Crowe | 63 | 49:35 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 37.27 | 15 |
431 | 147 | 1076 | Maria Ashlee | 52 | 1:01:36 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 9.32 | 5 |
The men’s team is now in 4th place in the series, the women in 2nd place and the combined team in 3rd place. The runners now have a 3 week rest before the 6th race in the series in AllHallows near Rochester on February 4th. The full results are here.
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 one must be aged 60+, two must be 50+ and two 40+) and 5 women (of whom one must be aged 55+ one 45+ and one 35+).
A team of 20 runners from Sevenoaks Athletics Club braved the elements to run in the 4th race of the KFL series, in Minnis Bay, Birchington on Sunday January 7th, writes Jim Knight.
It was wet, windy and very cold, but despite the weather 473 runners from across Kent took part in the race. Following the recent heavy rain, the course was modified as some of the dykes were judged to be too dangerous to cross, but it was still a tough 5 mile course with waist deep water in some of the dykes.
The SAC team was missing several star runners, but still performed really well, with the women’s team coming 2nd and the men 6th. The combined team came 5th.
Joanna Rodda led the SAC women’s team home in 5th place, closely followed by Nicola Glover (6th) and Cath Linney (16th). The other scoring members of the SAC women’s team were Sarah Philpott (36th) and Pauline Dalton (50th ).
In the men’s race, Sevenoaks’ fastest runner was Ed Saunders in 19th place, followed by Guillaume Nineven (21st) and Andrew Hutchinson (23rd). The other scoring members were Seb Naughton (77th), James Baker (105th), Andy Ashlee (93rd), Mike McCarthy (98th) and Simon Bishop (166th).
The full SAC results were:
Ov Pos | Lg Pos | Bib | Runner | Age | Time | Club | Score | Rtg | # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19 | 19 | 887 | Edmund Saunders | 41 | 39:48 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:1 | 94.12 | 25 |
21 | 21 | 879 | Guillaume Nineven | 38 | 40:00 | Sevenoaks AC | M1 | 93.46 | 14 |
23 | 23 | 858 | Andrew Hutchinson | 44 | 40:16 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:2 | 92.81 | 22 |
78 | 5 | 1022 | Joanne Rodda | 47 | 44:23 | Sevenoaks AC | V45 | 97.60 | 3 |
80 | 6 | 854 | Nicola Glover | 36 | 44:26 | Sevenoaks AC | V35 | 97.01 | 12 |
83 | 77 | 878 | Sebastian Naughton | 49 | 44:36 | Sevenoaks AC | M2 | 75.16 | 14 |
103 | 93 | 832 | Andrew Ashlee | 54 | 46:31 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:1 | 69.93 | 31 |
109 | 98 | 871 | Michael McCarthy | 58 | 46:48 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:2 | 68.30 | 27 |
119 | 105 | 834 | James Baker | 59 | 47:39 | Sevenoaks AC | M3 | 66.01 | 28 |
120 | 106 | 859 | David Killpack | 38 | 47:43 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 65.69 | 7 |
127 | 16 | 865 | Catherine Linney | 54 | 47:54 | Sevenoaks AC | F1 | 91.02 | 46 |
139 | 118 | 831 | Brian Allen | 52 | 48:35 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 61.76 | 4 |
142 | 121 | 850 | Andrew Evans | 53 | 48:40 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 60.78 | 56 |
144 | 122 | 835 | Adam Bates | 40 | 48:43 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 60.46 | 4 |
152 | 129 | 874 | Andrew Monk | 47 | 49:03 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 58.17 | 8 |
160 | 135 | 862 | Leonard Lai King | 44 | 49:37 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 56.21 | 14 |
201 | 166 | 837 | Simon Bishop | 60 | 51:41 | Sevenoaks AC | V60 | 46.08 | 8 |
202 | 36 | 883 | Sarah Philpott | 45 | 51:44 | Sevenoaks AC | F2 | 79.04 | 4 |
246 | 50 | 844 | Pauline Dalton | 59 | 53:45 | Sevenoaks AC | V55 | 70.66 | 62 |
272 | 211 | 897 | Duncan Warwick-Champion | 59 | 54:54 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 31.37 | 24 |
291 | 66 | 853 | Vanessa Gilmartin | 48 | 56:22 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 61.08 | 31 |
356 | 99 | 843 | Becca Crowe | 63 | 1:00:59 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 41.32 | 14 |
421 | 135 | 889 | Sarah Shewell | 64 | 1:08:17 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 19.76 | 127 |
450 | 150 | 1076 | Maria Ashlee | 52 | 1:17:32 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 10.78 | 4 |
After 4 races, the men’s team is in 4th place, the women 2nd, and the combined team 3rd.
The next race is in Betteshanger Park, Deal on January 14th.
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+).