John Witton was 25th overall, Sylvia Lewis 2nd W65 and James Graham 2nd M60 at the first Kent GP race of the year, the Canterbury 10, on 21st January. Seven SAC runners competed in a big field of 1390 finishers, and these were their results:
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Team | Bib No | Chip Time | Gun Time | Gender | Age Group Description | Team Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | John | Witton | Sevenoaks AC | 563 | 1:00:20.3 | 1:00:21.3 | M | M - Senior | Sevenoaks AC |
| 123 | James | Graham | Sevenoaks AC | 1044 | 1:08:22.8 | 1:08:28.5 | M | M 60 to 69 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 440 | Jon | Bennell | Sevenoaks AC | 1399 | 1:20:12.9 | 1:21:17.0 | M | M - Senior | Sevenoaks AC |
| 547 | Sarah | Shewell | Sevenoaks AC | 1585 | 1:23:35.3 | 1:23:48.3 | F | F 55 to 64 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 807 | Anna | Humphrey-Taylor | Sevenoaks AC | 1336 | 1:32:21.9 | 1:33:21.2 | F | F 45 to 54 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 985 | Jenny | Austin | Sevenoaks AC | 1561 | 1:38:04.4 | 1:39:04.4 | F | F 35 to 44 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 1184 | Sylvia | Lewis | Sevenoaks AC | 814 | 1:46:20.6 | 1:47:27.1 | F | F 65+ | Sevenoaks AC |
The full results are here.
The fifth race in the Kent Fitness League 2017/18 Cross Country series took place at Minnis Bay, Birchington, on Sunday January 14th, writes Jim Knight. Sometimes in this fixture the runners are faced with horizontal sleet, but this year it was a perfect day for running – cool and sunny, with no wind - just spectacular views along the coast to Reculver Towers. Even the dykes, which can be waist deep in freezing water were only knee deep this year. Nineteen runners from Sevenoaks AC joined the field of 350 from the 18 Kent clubs on the tough 6-mile course.
The first Sevenoaks AC athlete home was 39-year old John Witton in 14th place, followed by Andrew Milne in 23rd. Keith Dowson was the club’s fastest M50 in 35th position, and Darius Sarchar the club’s fastest M40 in 42nd. The other scorers were Andy Ashlee (45th), Dan Witt (57th), James Graham (1st M60 and our 2nd M50, in 65th) and Nick Humphrey-Taylor in 72nd.
There was a great performance by 18-year old Tom Waldron to come 102nd in his first ever cross-country race – wearing football boots. (It’s time for Dad to buy him some trail shoes!)
The SAC women ran strongly too, with Heather Fitzmaurice finishing in 108th place overall (7th woman and 2nd W45), closely followed by Vanessa Gilmartin in 8th. The other women scorers were Sally Shewell (2nd W55) and Anna Humphrey-Taylor.
Going into this race, the Sevenoaks women's team was leading the series, with the SAC combined team lying second to Dartford Harriers. A fantastic result for the club after 4 races. The combined team was 4th at Minnis Bay with the men also 4th as the men's race was dominated by runners from Dartford Harriers who maintained their leading position in the series. The SAC women's team were sixth on the day. Despite strong challenges from Petts Wood Runners and Paddock Wood, the SAC combined team did enough to maintain second place in the series, with the women third and the men second after five races.
The Sevenoaks AC results were as follows:
| Ov Pos | Lg Pos | Runner | Age | Time | Club | Rating | # Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 14 | John Witton | 39 | 37:43 | Sevenoaks AC | 95.04 | 2 |
| 23 | 23 | Andrew Milne | 35 | 39:27 | Sevenoaks AC | 91.60 | 14 |
| 35 | 34 | Keith Dowson | 54 | 40:25 | Sevenoaks AC | 87.40 | 12 |
| 42 | 41 | Darius Sarshar | 48 | 40:54 | Sevenoaks AC | 84.73 | 3 |
| 45 | 44 | Andy Ashlee | 48 | 41:15 | Sevenoaks AC | 83.59 | 23 |
| 57 | 55 | Daniel Witt | 42 | 42:10 | Sevenoaks AC | 79.39 | 44 |
| 65 | 63 | James Graham | 64 | 42:29 | Sevenoaks AC | 76.34 | 20 |
| 72 | 68 | Nick Humphrey-Taylor | 45 | 42:50 | Sevenoaks AC | 74.43 | 2 |
| 89 | 83 | James Baker | 53 | 43:39 | Sevenoaks AC | 68.70 | 17 |
| 95 | 89 | Tony Waldron | 50 | 43:54 | Sevenoaks AC | 66.41 | 22 |
| 103 | 97 | Tom Waldron | 22 | 44:30 | Sevenoaks AC | 63.36 | Debut |
| 108 | 7 | Heather Fitzmaurice | 48 | 44:42 | Sevenoaks AC | 94.96 | 69 |
| 121 | 8 | Vanessa Gilmartin | 42 | 45:14 | Sevenoaks AC | 94.12 | 5 |
| 135 | 126 | Andy Evans | 47 | 46:26 | Sevenoaks AC | 52.29 | 38 |
| 180 | 158 | Alan Lewis | 51 | 49:04 | Sevenoaks AC | 40.08 | 5 |
| 242 | 38 | Sarah Shewell | 58 | 53:08 | Sevenoaks AC | 68.91 | 100 |
| 296 | 59 | Anna Humphrey-Taylor | 48 | 58:12 | Sevenoaks AC | 51.26 | 2 |
| 297 | 60 | Ella Pyman | 51 | 58:14 | Sevenoaks AC | 50.42 | 6 |
| 317 | 243 | James Fitzmaurice | 75 | 59:52 | Sevenoaks AC | 7.63 | 65 |
The full results are here. The next race will be on Sunday January 28th in Nurstead Court, Meopham.
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 two must be V50 and one V40) and 4 women (of whom one must be V45 and one V35).
The sixteen Sevenoaks AC runners who made the long trip down to Deal for the fourth match of the 2017/18 Kent Fitness League on 7th January delivered a brilliant team performance for the club. In windy conditions, both the women and men ran really well to place second in the combined team results, with the women's team third and the men second on the day. This keeps the combined team second after four matches with the women now leading the standings and the men second.
There were also some great individual performances, in particular Heather Fitzmaurice who led home the women's team in fourth place and first W45. Andrew Milne was our first man in 10th, with Andrew Mead 3rd M40 just two places behind. Keith Dowson was third M50 and James Graham second M60. The SAC results were:
| Ov Pos | Lg Pos | Runner | Age | Time | Club | Rating | # Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10 | Andrew Milne | 35 | 31:23 | Sevenoaks AC | 96.09 | 13 |
| 12 | 12 | Andrew Mead | 49 | 31:39 | Sevenoaks AC | 95.22 | 31 |
| 14 | 14 | Andrew Hutchingson | 38 | 31:49 | Sevenoaks AC | 94.35 | 3 |
| 24 | 23 | Keith Dowson | 54 | 32:31 | Sevenoaks AC | 90.43 | 11 |
| 25 | 24 | Nick Humphrey-Taylor | 45 | 32:36 | Sevenoaks AC | 90.00 | Debut |
| 28 | 27 | Daniel Witt | 42 | 32:42 | Sevenoaks AC | 88.70 | 43 |
| 32 | 30 | Andy Ashlee | 48 | 32:55 | Sevenoaks AC | 87.39 | 22 |
| 71 | 68 | James Graham | 64 | 35:11 | Sevenoaks AC | 70.87 | 19 |
| 82 | 4 | Heather Fitzmaurice | 48 | 35:41 | Sevenoaks AC | 97.30 | 68 |
| 85 | 5 | Vanessa Gilmartin | 42 | 35:50 | Sevenoaks AC | 96.40 | 4 |
| 91 | 86 | Tony Waldron | 50 | 36:15 | Sevenoaks AC | 63.04 | 21 |
| 216 | 45 | Sarah Shewell | 58 | 43:38 | Sevenoaks AC | 60.36 | 99 |
| 244 | 190 | Paul Allum | 54 | 46:12 | Sevenoaks AC | 17.83 | 3 |
| 252 | 58 | Anna Humphrey-Taylor | 48 | 46:52 | Sevenoaks AC | 48.65 | Debut |
| 280 | 70 | Grazia Manzotti | 48 | 51:06 | Sevenoaks AC | 37.84 | 5 |
| 282 | 72 | Jenny Austin | 40 | 51:48 | Sevenoaks AC | 36.04 | 13 |
The full results are here.
Jim Knight adds: "Congratulations to the 16 SAC runners who made the trip to Fowlmead. A great result. Our combined team is now 2nd and the women’s team is leading the series. It was good to see Grace, Jenny and Anna taking part. A perfect demonstration of Andrew Mead’s point that everyone can help the team.
"After 3 races, Petts Wood women were in the lead. At Fowlmead, they failed to field a full team and their last scorer was given 112th position.
They came 10th on the day and dropped to 3rd in the series. Let’s hope that we can persuade enough SAC runners to enjoy the run (and free swim) in Minnis Bay (match 5 on Sunday 14th January), for us to keep ahead of Petts Wood."
Allan Lee was 11th and first M40 at the Kent Cross Country Championships at Brands Hatch on 6th January. Eleven Sevenoaks AC runners contested the event over a tough muddy course. Allan was joined in the senior men's race by Darrell Smith in 56th (2nd M50) and James Graham 159th (2nd M60).
Six of the runners were juniors in the U13 categories. Ollie Brownridge was an impressive 20th in the boys race, backed up by Dominic Fulton in 56th and Jacques Malan in 88th.The boys were one short of a team, but the girls team of Julia Sackville-West, 39th, Erin Vallance, 46th, and Daisy Fricker, 53rd, did register a team score - the only Sevenoaks runners to do so on the day - in eighth place.
SAC even had representation in the senior women's race in which Jacqui O'Reilly was 25th and Grace Manzotti 100th. All the results are here. Videos of the races are here.