James Graham took fourteen seconds off Richard Pitcairn-Knowles' twenty-year-old M60 10-mile club best with 64:59 at the Folkestone 10 on Good Friday 25th March 2016.
(RPK replies: "Have been keeping an eye on you, Graham, but can do nothing now to halt your gradual knocking down of my SAC best times. All I can hope for is that you may be slower at 80 than my very hilly Poole 10 1:46:44 best!! Congratulations on your Folkestone 10 result. I will be watching you throughout the summer - no pressure, of course. And please don't hurry! - Richard")
James was first M60 in the race while Sally Shewell took W55 silver in the county championships. James said that it "turned out to be a lovely, if a bit breezy, day. I know three of us achieved PBs (maybe more)". Andrew Milne narrowly pipped Dan Witt for first SAC runner. The Sevenoaks AC results were:
| Place | Name | Bib No | Age Group Place | Chip Time | Gun Time | Bib Number | First Name | Last Name | Age Group Description | Gender | Team Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Andrew Milne | 406 | 24 M 1-39 | 1:04:21 | 1:04:23 | 406 | Andrew | Milne | M Senior | M | Sevenoaks AC |
| 47 | Daniel Witt | 638 | 16 M 40-49 | 1:04:29 | 1:04:29 | 638 | Daniel | Witt | M 40 to 49 | M | Sevenoaks AC |
| 52 | James Graham | 229 | 1 M 60-99 | 1:04:59 | 1:05:01 | 229 | James | Graham | M 60+ | M | Sevenoaks AC |
| 70 | John Stevens | 551 | 7 M 50-59 | 1:06:20 | 1:06:23 | 551 | John | Stevens | M 50 to 59 | M | Sevenoaks AC |
| 84 | Chris Desmond | 141 | 13 M 50-59 | 1:07:39 | 1:07:41 | 141 | Chris | Desmond | M 50 to 59 | M | Sevenoaks AC |
| 111 | Marco Mion | 407 | 48 M 1-39 | 1:09:24 | 1:09:24 | 407 | Marco | Mion | M Senior | M | Sevenoaks AC |
| 267 | Sarah Shewell | 523 | 2 F 55-99 | 1:20:48 | 1:20:50 | 523 | Sarah | Shewell | F 55+ | F | Sevenoaks AC |
The full results are here.
It was deja vu all over again at the handicap race on Sunday 20th March as Jon Copping won from Grace Manzotti and Allan McPherson. The details are here.
Sevenoaks athletes were spoiled for choice with several races in Kent on Sunday 13th March. While the Lydd 20 was a popular choice for those preparing for spring marathons, the alternative half marathon worked out well for David Ives who was 5th overall and 2nd M40:
| Pos | Time | Name | Gender | Club | Age Category | Race No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 01:16:00 | David Ives | Male | Sevenoaks AC | Male Vet 40 | 1098 |
James Graham was first M60 and Sally Shewell second W55 in the twenty miler, described as windy and exposed by Dan Witt:
| Pos | Time | Name | Gender | Club | Category | Race No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 02:19:04 | James Graham | Male | Sevenoaks AC | Male Vet 60 | 348 |
| 44 | 02:21:28 | Daniel Witt | Male | Sevenoaks AC | Male Vet 40 | 575 |
| 45 | 02:21:32 | John Stevens | Male | Sevenoaks AC | Male Vet 50 | 288 |
| 184 | 02:51:55 | Sarah Shewell | Female | Sevenoaks AC | Female Vet 55 | 112 |
| 366 | 03:20:26 | Jenny Austin | Female | Sevenoaks AC | Female Vet 35 | 267 |
The full results of the two Lydd races are on this spreadsheet.
Only two SAC runners went for the Kent GP Dartford Half:
| Pos- ition | Bib- No. | Finish Time | Chip Time | Name | Gen- der | Cat- egory | Club or Team | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | 951 | 01:32:39 | 01:32:34 | CHRIS DESMOND | M | M50 | Sevenoaks AC | 1 |
| 231 | 523 | 01:44:04 | 01:43:54 | ROB JOHNSON | M | SM | Sevenoaks AC | 2 |
The full results are here.
The long-running Dartford race has moved from its traditional slot in July, which may explain a smaller than usual field at the almost as long-running Sidcup 10, where Happy Fisher hit the streets:
| Pl. | Bib | Surname, name | Club | Cat | Net Time | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 639 | Happy FISHER | Sevenoaks AC | F35 | 01:31:44 | 01:31:53 |
The full results are here.
Finally, fourteen of our runners went for the more local option of the Sevenoaks Rotary 10k, where Ed Saunders was fourth overall and Cath Linney was fourth woman (and 2nd W45). Also, Andy Ashlee and Andrew Mead were the first and second M40s and Jon Copping was third M60, and, according to Jon, SAC were the second team. The Sevenoaks AC results were:
| Pos | Race No | Name | Time | Net Time | Category | Cat Pos | Gender | Gen Pos | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 563 | EDMUND SAUNDERS | 00:40:53 | 00:40:53 | M Sen | 4 | Male | 4 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 9 | 427 | ANDY ASHLEE | 00:42:10 | 00:42:08 | M 40 - 49 | 1 | Male | 8 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 11 | 662 | LEE LINTERN | 00:42:25 | 00:42:23 | M Sen | 8 | Male | 10 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 12 | 302 | ANDREW MEAD | 00:42:43 | 00:42:43 | M 40 - 49 | 2 | Male | 11 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 24 | 385 | NICK HUMPHREY-TAYLOR | 00:45:13 | 00:44:38 | M 40 - 49 | 4 | Male | 21 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 29 | 457 | MARC THATCHER | 00:45:59 | 00:45:57 | M 40 - 49 | 5 | Male | 26 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 30 | 748 | CATHERINE LINNEY | 00:46:01 | 00:45:59 | F 45 - 54 | 2 | Female | 4 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 39 | 680 | ALAN LEWIS | 00:47:03 | 00:46:48 | M 50 - 59 | 6 | Male | 35 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 57 | 751 | TONY HORLOCK | 00:49:07 | 00:49:03 | M 50 - 59 | 8 | Male | 52 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 98 | 782 | NEIL PEARCE | 00:51:49 | 00:51:36 | M 40 - 49 | 32 | Male | 89 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 119 | 424 | JONATHAN COPPING | 00:53:25 | 00:53:11 | M 60+ | 3 | Male | 103 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 134 | 451 | DUNCAN COCHRANE | 00:54:28 | 00:54:07 | M 50 - 59 | 18 | Male | 114 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 189 | 467 | LIONEL STIELOW | 00:56:55 | 00:56:29 | M 60+ | 5 | Male | 153 | Sevenoaks AC |
| 224 | 526 | ANNA HUMPHREY-TAYLOR | 00:58:27 | 00:57:53 | F 45 - 54 | 6 | Female | 48 | Sevenoaks AC |
The full results are here.
Sevenoaks Athletics Club Presents cheque to Dame Kelly Holmes
Darrell Smith, Race Director of the Sevenoaks 7 presented a cheque for £1250 to Dame Kelly Holmes at Café 1809 in Hildenborough, writes Jim Knight.
The money was raised by Sevenoaks Athletics Club at the 2015 Sevenoaks 7 race, a challenging 7-mile cross-country race held annually in Knole Park.
The club has committed to continue supporting The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust with this year’s race to be held on August Bank Holiday Monday (August 29th) and sponsored by Up & Running, Sevenoaks.
Darrell Smith offered Dame Kelly an entry in this year’s race.
Dame Kelly thanked the club for the donation.
"The money will be used by the Trust to support disadvantaged youngsters through the 'Get on Track' programme" she said.
"The programme has 450 international or ex-international sports people using their unique skills and attitudes to transform the lives of young people and help them into employment, education, or training, whilst at the same time supporting the athletes as they transition from sport.
"So far the Trust has helped over 250,000 young people. 70% of those who have taken part in “Get on Track” have moved into employment, education or training within five months. There are currently three programmes running in Kent and the money will be used to support these."
Dame Kelly admitted to feeling shattered after an 18-mile training run in the morning, as she prepares for the London Marathon, where she is hoping to raise £250,000 for 5 charities (more details on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/KellysHeroes).
However she was not alone, as several Sevenoaks AC members had also done their long marathon-training runs. Others had taken part in the monthly handicap race or a more gentle run in the park.
If you enjoy running and would like to improve, Sevenoaks AC is offering three training sessions free. Details here.