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Team at Knole

The third race in the 2023/24 Kent Fitness League series took place in Knole Park on Sunday November 26th, writes Jim Knight.

In cold and frosty conditions, a team of 15 organisers from the club set up the course markings very early in the morning and were joined by a further 15 marshals who would guide the 500 runners from the town car park to the start on Broad Walk and around the hilly 5-mile course. 

Conditions for the runners were excellent – clear and bright, with the ground hard from the frost. It was a cold morning for the marshals, though.

At 9 am the race started, and 27 minutes 52 seconds later, 21-year-old Alexander Donnelly from Maidstone & Medway AC crossed the line to win the race by 7 second from Robert Jakaman from Dartford Harriers.

James Mason, once again, led the Sevenoaks AC team home in 7th position (and 1st M40), followed by Jamie Philip (13th and 2nd M40), Guilaume Nineven (34th) and Ed Saunders (37th). The other members of the scoring team were William Palmer (60th and 1st M50), Darius Sarchar (75th and 2nd M50), Harvey Taylor (80th), and Chris Desmond (116th and 1st M60)

The men’s team came 3rd, behind Maidstone & Medway (1st) and Petts Wood (2nd)

In the women’s race, Andrea Berquez had another brilliant run to finish in 2nd place, behind the winner - Charlotte Johnson of Maidstone & Medway. She was closely followed by team-mates Joanna Rodda (8th and 1st W45), and Caroline Fenwick (9th.and 2nd W45). The other scoring runners were Nicola Glover (21st) and Pauline Dalton (57th and 1st W55).

The women’s team came 3rd, behind strong teams from Paddock Wood AC (1st) and Canterbury Harriers (2nd)

In the combined team competition, Sevenoaks AC were 2nd and are now lying 2nd in the series.

The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Score Rtg #
7 7 869 James Mason 40 28:39 Sevenoaks AC V40:1 98.33 22
13 13 882 Jamie Philip 46 29:24 Sevenoaks AC V40:2 96.67 3
34 34 879 Guillaume Nineven 38 30:58 Sevenoaks AC M1 90.83 13
37 37 887 Edmund Saunders 41 31:15 Sevenoaks AC M2 90.00 24
61 60 881 William Palmer 51 32:18 Sevenoaks AC V50:1 83.61 9
63 2 836 Andrea Berquez 38 32:23 Sevenoaks AC V35 99.51 9
79 75 886 Darius Sarshar 54 33:03 Sevenoaks AC V50:2 79.44 14
84 80 893 Harvey Taylor 19 33:29 Sevenoaks AC M3 78.06 12
102 96 830 Richard Alford-Smith 47 34:10 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 73.61 17
108 8 1022 Joanne Rodda 47 34:17 Sevenoaks AC V45 96.60 2
109 9 852 Caroline Fenwick 46 34:21 Sevenoaks AC F1 96.12 10
112 103 855 David Hale 56 34:26 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 71.67 Debut
117 107 888 Paul Shelley 49 34:47 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 70.56 9
128 116 846 Chris Desmond 60 35:20 Sevenoaks AC V60 68.06 87
129 117 874 Andrew Monk 47 35:29 Sevenoaks AC NS 67.78 7
130 118 871 Michael McCarthy 58 35:29 Sevenoaks AC NS 67.50 26
136 123 873 Andrew Milne 41 35:39 Sevenoaks AC NS 66.11 37
141 127 878 Sebastian Naughton 49 35:43 Sevenoaks AC NS 65.00 13
144 128 831 Brian Allen 51 35:49 Sevenoaks AC NS 64.72 3
148 131 834 James Baker 59 35:53 Sevenoaks AC NS 63.89 27
155 21 854 Nicola Glover 35 36:03 Sevenoaks AC F2 90.29 11
156 135 870 Jonathan Maxim 45 36:08 Sevenoaks AC NS 62.78 Debut
170 145 859 David Killpack 38 36:46 Sevenoaks AC NS 60.00 6
180 153 832 Andrew Ashlee 54 37:06 Sevenoaks AC NS 57.78 30
187 159 835 Adam Bates 40 37:17 Sevenoaks AC NS 56.11 3
201 169 849 Graham Dwyer 51 37:34 Sevenoaks AC NS 53.33 23
207 174 868 Jonathan Marsh 63 37:40 Sevenoaks AC NS 51.94 8
216 180 896 Anthony Waldron 56 37:52 Sevenoaks AC NS 50.28 37
223 186 850 Andrew Evans 53 38:05 Sevenoaks AC NS 48.61 55
225 188 862 Leonard Lai King 44 38:11 Sevenoaks AC NS 48.06 13
236 198 872 Nicholas Mileham 43 38:28 Sevenoaks AC NS 45.28 6
238 200 877 James Nash 32 38:31 Sevenoaks AC NS 44.72 16
260 215 900 Daniel Witt 48 39:18 Sevenoaks AC NS 40.56 69
271 219 866 Alan Male 53 39:37 Sevenoaks AC NS 39.44 7
283 55 845 Julia Davis 26 40:10 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 73.79 13
287 57 844 Pauline Dalton 59 40:15 Sevenoaks AC V55 72.82 61
329 77 883 Sarah Philpott 45 41:29 Sevenoaks AC NS 63.11 3
330 78 898 Bridgit Weekes 65 41:30 Sevenoaks AC NS 62.62 23
356 269 856 Simon Hallpike 70 42:23 Sevenoaks AC NS 25.56 61
360 89 901 Samantha Znetyniak 48 42:30 Sevenoaks AC NS 57.28 15
386 103 876 Jane Morgan 46 43:23 Sevenoaks AC NS 50.49 8
396 289 867 Simon Mann 43 43:43 Sevenoaks AC NS 20.00 2
437 128 889 Sarah Shewell 64 45:49 Sevenoaks AC NS 38.35 126
445 132 843 Becca Crowe 63 46:40 Sevenoaks AC NS 36.41 13
526 354 892 Lionel Stielow 74 53:27 Sevenoaks AC NS 1.94 26
543 184 857 Anna Humphrey-Taylor 54 56:57 Sevenoaks AC NS 11.17 7
549 190 833 Maria Ashlee 52 59:02 Sevenoaks AC NS 8.25 3

The full results are here.

It was a great effort by everyone in the club, especially Race Director Richard Thomas who, after 5 years as Race Director for this Kent Fitness League event and also the Sevenoaks 7 is retiring from the role. A big thank-you to Richard and his team of 30 marshals and officials, and the 47 Sevenoaks AC runners who competed for the club.

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+). 
The next race in the series will be in Minnis Bay, Birchington on January 7th 2024.

Team

The second race in the Kent Fitness League 2023/24 season took place in Eltham on Sunday Nov 19th, writes Jim Knight. 545 runners from18 Kent Athletics Clubs, including a strong team of 41 from Sevenoaks, tackled the hilly course through Oxleas Woods in bright sunny, but cold conditions.

After coming 3rd in the first race in Swanley on Nov 12th, Sevenoaks ladies ran even better in Eltham to win the race and improve to 2nd in the series.

Star runner Andrea Berquez led throughout the race to secure a comfortable win in 35 minutes 38 seconds. The other scoring team members all ran brilliantly – Caroline Fenwick (11th &1st W45), Joanne Rodda in her first KFL race (14th), Cath Linney (16th) and Pauline Dalton (54th) – to score a comfortable win over Canterbury Harriers in 2nd position.

In the men’s race, Allan Lee 50 year-old was a brilliant 3rd (& 1st M50) just 17 seconds behind the winner, having missed the Swanley race through injury. James Mason was 6th again (&1st M40), followed by Ed Saunders (36th), Guillaume Nineven (41st), Luke Green (78th), Harvey Taylor (84th), William Palmer (64th), and Keith Dowson (110th). 

Medway & Maidstone AC won the men’s race with Sevenoaks in 2nd, just ahead of Dartford Harriers.

In the series, Petts Wood Runners still lead the combined team event with Medway & Maidstone 2nd and SAC 3rd. However the Sevenoaks women’ team, in 2nd place, is only one point behind leaders Canterbury Harriers.

The SAC results were as follows:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Score Rtg #
3 3 863 Allan Lee 50 30:43 Sevenoaks AC V50:1 99.45 16
6 6 869 James Mason 40 31:16 Sevenoaks AC V40:1 98.61 21
36 36 887 Edmund Saunders 41 34:31 Sevenoaks AC V40:2 90.30 23
41 41 879 Guillaume Nineven 38 34:52 Sevenoaks AC M1 88.92 12
60 1 836 Andrea Berquez 38 35:58 Sevenoaks AC V35 100.00 8
66 64 881 William Palmer 51 36:20 Sevenoaks AC V50:2 82.55 8
84 78 1021 Luke Green 32 37:29 Sevenoaks AC M2 78.67 Debut
93 84 893 Harvey Taylor 19 38:07 Sevenoaks AC M3 77.01 11
96 86 878 Sebastian Naughton 49 38:14 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 76.45 12
99 89 830 Richard Alford-Smith 47 38:27 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 75.62 16
100 11 852 Caroline Fenwick 45 38:29 Sevenoaks AC V45 94.57 9
104 92 834 James Baker 59 38:40 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 74.79 26
116 14 1022 Joanne Rodda 47 39:14 Sevenoaks AC F1 92.93 Debut
120 106 1044 Nick Humphrey-Taylor 51 39:29 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 70.91 8
124 110 848 Keith Dowson 60 39:38 Sevenoaks AC V60 69.81 17
130 16 865 Catherine Linney 54 40:00 Sevenoaks AC F2 91.85 45
132 116 874 Andrew Monk 47 40:04 Sevenoaks AC NS 68.14 6
133 117 832 Andrew Ashlee 54 40:08 Sevenoaks AC NS 67.87 29
138 120 846 Chris Desmond 60 40:20 Sevenoaks AC NS 67.04 86
145 21 854 Nicola Glover 35 40:45 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 89.13 10
154 133 831 Brian Allen 51 41:02 Sevenoaks AC NS 63.43 2
158 136 896 Anthony Waldron 56 41:20 Sevenoaks AC NS 62.60 36
160 138 868 Jonathan Marsh 63 41:27 Sevenoaks AC NS 62.05 7
162 140 872 Nicholas Mileham 43 41:33 Sevenoaks AC NS 61.50 5
164 142 835 Adam Bates 40 41:33 Sevenoaks AC NS 60.94 2
170 147 859 David Killpack 38 41:41 Sevenoaks AC NS 59.56 5
173 149 849 Graham Dwyer 51 41:51 Sevenoaks AC NS 59.00 22
227 37 853 Vanessa Gilmartin 48 43:42 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 80.43 30
228 191 862 Leonard Lai King 44 43:44 Sevenoaks AC NS 47.37 12
250 205 850 Andrew Evans 53 44:39 Sevenoaks AC NS 43.49 54
256 209 900 Daniel Witt 48 44:52 Sevenoaks AC NS 42.38 68
260 211 866 Alan Male 53 45:09 Sevenoaks AC NS 41.83 6
266 51 883 Sarah Philpott 45 45:29 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 72.83 2
275 54 844 Pauline Dalton 59 45:53 Sevenoaks AC V55 71.20 60
302 63 898 Bridgit Weekes 65 47:01 Sevenoaks AC NS 66.30 22
345 264 856 Simon Hallpike 70 48:22 Sevenoaks AC NS 27.15 60
349 84 901 Samantha Znetyniak 48 48:40 Sevenoaks AC NS 54.89 14
354 86 889 Sarah Shewell 64 49:05 Sevenoaks AC NS 53.80 125
458 132 843 Becca Crowe 63 55:28 Sevenoaks AC NS 28.80 12
482 340 892 Lionel Stielow 74 58:09 Sevenoaks AC NS 6.09 25
517 162 857 Anna Humphrey-Taylor 54 1:02:58 Sevenoaks AC NS 12.50 6

The full results are here.

The next race in the series will take place in Knole Park, Sevenoaks, on  Nov 26th when SAC will have the difficult task of organising the race and also fielding a strong team of runners. The race starts at 9 am.

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+).

Team

The first race of the 2023/24 Kent Fitness League took place in Swanley Park on Sunday November 11th, writes Jim Knight.

A record 618 runners, including 38 from Sevenoaks AC, lined up for the start at 11 a.m. After 2 minutes silence to contemplate the horrors of war and pay respects to those who fought for our freedom in the two world wars, the whistle blew, and the race started.

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

29 minutes and 47 seconds later, 18 year old Callum Featherstone from Maidstone and Medway AC crossed the line to win by 11 seconds from his brother, Cameron.

Just 11 seconds later, 40 year-old James Mason from Sevenoaks AC had an outstanding run to finish in 6th place. He was followed by Jamie Philip (20th), Andrew Hutchinson (34th), and Guillaume Nineven (38th). The other scorers in the men’s team were Darius Sarshar (63rd), 19-year-old Harvey Taylor (74th), Chris Desmond (109th), and Mike McCarthy (125th). There was also an excellent performance from Dan Witt, the club Chairman, who finished in 43 minutes in his first race since undergoing cancer treatment.

In the women’s race, Sevenoaks’ Andrea Berquez led for the first 2 laps but faded on the final lap and came 3rd in a time of 34.47 - an outstanding performance as she had competed in a long trail race in the South Downs the day before. The other scorers in the SAC women’s team were Caroline Fenwick (14th), Cath Linney (23rd), Nicola Glover (30th), and Pauline Dalton (71st).

The women’s team came 3rd, the men’s team 5th, and the combined team 5th overall. A very encouraging start to the season. The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Score Rtg #
6 6 869 James Mason 40 30:09 Sevenoaks AC V40:1 98.73 20
20 20 882 Jamie Philip 46 32:13 Sevenoaks AC V40:2 95.17 2
34 34 858 Andrew Hutchinson 44 32:55 Sevenoaks AC M1 91.60 21
48 48 879 Guillaume Nineven 38 33:35 Sevenoaks AC M2 88.04 11
65 63 886 Darius Sarshar 54 34:37 Sevenoaks AC V50:1 84.22 13
71 3 836 Andrea Berquez 38 34:47 Sevenoaks AC V35 99.11 7
78 74 893 Harvey Taylor 19 35:11 Sevenoaks AC M3 81.42 10
99 92 830 Richard Alford-Smith 47 36:09 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 76.84 15
104 96 878 Sebastian Naughton 49 36:23 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 75.83 11
108 100 888 Paul Shelley 49 36:34 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 74.81 8
119 109 846 Chris Desmond 60 36:54 Sevenoaks AC V60 72.52 85
129 14 852 Caroline Fenwick 45 37:20 Sevenoaks AC V45 94.22 8
139 123 874 Andrew Monk 47 37:54 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 68.96 5
141 125 871 Michael McCarthy 58 37:56 Sevenoaks AC V50:2 68.45 25
151 133 834 James Baker 58 38:10 Sevenoaks AC NS 66.41 25
158 23 865 Catherine Linney 54 38:27 Sevenoaks AC F1 90.22 44
173 30 854 Nicola Glover 35 38:52 Sevenoaks AC F2 87.11 9
181 149 849 Graham Dwyer 51 38:57 Sevenoaks AC NS 62.34 21
199 166 896 Anthony Waldron 56 39:41 Sevenoaks AC NS 58.02 35
201 35 840 Lucy Ching 42 39:47 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 84.89 Debut
210 173 831 Brian Allen 51 40:08 Sevenoaks AC NS 56.23 Debut
214 177 859 David Killpack 38 40:13 Sevenoaks AC NS 55.22 4
228 188 837 Simon Bishop 59 40:46 Sevenoaks AC NS 52.42 7
242 199 835 Adam Bates 40 41:00 Sevenoaks AC NS 49.62 Debut
249 205 850 Andrew Evans 53 41:05 Sevenoaks AC NS 48.09 53
255 210 862 Leonard Lai King 44 41:13 Sevenoaks AC NS 46.82 11
276 54 853 Vanessa Gilmartin 48 41:51 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 76.44 29
285 229 866 Alan Male 53 42:06 Sevenoaks AC NS 41.98 5
301 62 883 Sarah Philpott 45 42:45 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 72.89 Debut
314 247 900 Daniel Witt 48 43:17 Sevenoaks AC NS 37.40 67
328 71 844 Pauline Dalton 59 43:36 Sevenoaks AC V55 68.89 59
376 288 856 Simon Hallpike 70 45:05 Sevenoaks AC NS 26.97 59
383 294 867 Simon Mann 43 45:18 Sevenoaks AC NS 25.45 Debut
423 107 889 Sarah Shewell 64 47:08 Sevenoaks AC NS 52.89 124
504 355 860 Jim Knight 72 51:24 Sevenoaks AC NS 9.92 6
544 371 892 Lionel Stielow 74 54:40 Sevenoaks AC NS 5.85 24
580 383 872 Nicholas Mileham 43 58:46 Sevenoaks AC NS 2.80 4
582 199 857 Anna Humphrey-Taylor 54 59:08 Sevenoaks AC NS 12.00 5

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 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 19th in Oxleas Wood, Eltham.

JamesJames Baker won the penultimate handicap race of the 2023 series by five seconds after Jim Knight led for almost the whole race.

David Hale in third was fastest overall and Caroline Fenwick in fifth the fastest woman.

If Jim had won, he would almost certainly have taken the series trophy but he does now lead the series by one point ahead of David Hale.

Lucy Wilkes stays in third, after sixth place on the day.

Only Jim or David can now win the trophy, with David needing to win the final race and hope for a better tiebreak. That could depend on how many people turn up for the final race on 3rd December.

That starts as usual at 08:30 from Sevenoaks School track and is over the longer seven mile course.

The details are here.

  1. KXCL 2023/24 Match 2 - Somerhill
  2. SAC Handicap October 2023
  3. Tonbridge Half Marathon & 10k & 5k 2023
  4. Larkfield 10k 2023

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