Keith Dowson claimed the M60 bronze medal as four SAC runners contested the Kent Masters cross-country champs at Central Park, Dartford on 22nd November.
After dominating on the roads with all three M60 county titles in 2025, Keith finally made the XC podium with a great run in damp windy conditions.
Oloff Van Zyl also had a great run in 7th place - and 1st M55 - in the M50 race, while Rebecca Pickard in the W45 race was also 7th.
And despite three of the SAC entrants being unable to make it, there was still a large field for the M70 race in which Simon Hallpike was our only finisher in 11th.
The full results are here.
Just three SAC runners continued their challenge in the 2025-26 Kent cross-country league at Danson Park on 15th November. In the M50 race, Oloff Van Zyl was 11th and 2nd M55 in 31:50 and Dan Witt was 25th in 34:41, while in the M60 race Yon Marsh was 18th and 2nd M65 in 37:25, despite requiring emergency physio from Oloff thereafter.
In the standings after three of four matches, Yon is 9th in the M60s and first M65, Oloff is 9th M50 and 2nd M55 and Dan is 23rd M50. The full results are here.
The next race in the series for senior women and M70 men is at Swanley Park on 6 December, while the final race for senior men under 70 and senior women under 65 is at Norman Park, Bromley on 13 December.
The first race of the 2025/26 Kent Fitness League took place in Swanley Park on Sunday November 9th, writes Jim Knight. A record 665 runners, including 37 from Sevenoaks AC, lined up for the start at 11 a.m. We stood on the start line for two minutes in silence to contemplate the horrors of war and pay our respects to those who fought for our freedom. Then the whistle blew, and the race started.
Three laps of the park – undulating, and grassy - a fast 5.5-mile course. Great condition – beautiful bright sunshine, a cool breeze and quite dry underfoot.
30 minutes later, 29-year-old Kieran Hughes from Dartford Harriers crossed the line to win by 22 seconds from David Adams from Petts Wood Runners. Just 15 seconds later, 32-year-old Liam McLaughlin from Sevenoaks AC had an outstanding run to finish in 8th place. He was followed by Jake Mears (21st), Guillaume Nineven (24th), and Andrew Hutchinson (50th).
The other scorers in the men’s team were Keith Dowson (51st and 2nd M60), Harvey Taylor (62nd), William Palmer (65th), and Dan Witt (102nd). Other notable performances were Neil Colvin 2nd M65 on his debut, and Jeremy Winter (4th M70). This placed the men’s team 3rd, behind Petts Wood Runners and Thanet Road Runners – the same position as last year in this race.
The Sevenoaks women also had a great start to the season, coming 3rd behind strong teams from Canterbury Harriers and Petts Wood Runners. Team Captain, Caroline Fenwick had a great run to finish in 13th place (2nd W45), just ahead of Nicola Glover (15th and 3rd W35). The other scorers in the SAC women’s team were Pippa Whewell (31st), Sophie Day (37th) and Heather Fitzmaurice (50th). Jane Wiley ran well to place 2nd W65 on her debut.
With both the men’s and women’s team placed 3rd in their categories, the combined team came 2nd overall. The full SAC resuls were:
| Ov Pos | Lg Pos | Bib | Runner | Age | Time | Club | Score | Rtg | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 785 | Liam McLaughlin | 32 | 30:47 | Sevenoaks AC | M1 | 98.38 | Debut |
| 21 | 21 | 1075 | Jake Mears | 21 | 31:57 | Sevenoaks AC | M2 | 95.38 | 5 |
| 24 | 24 | 788 | Guillaume Nineven | 40 | 32:05 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:1 | 94.69 | 20 |
| 50 | 50 | 775 | Andrew Hutchinson | 46 | 33:54 | Sevenoaks AC | V40:2 | 88.68 | 28 |
| 51 | 51 | 764 | Keith Dowson | 62 | 33:56 | Sevenoaks AC | V60 | 88.45 | 24 |
| 62 | 62 | 795 | Harvey Taylor | 21 | 34:26 | Sevenoaks AC | M3 | 85.91 | 18 |
| 67 | 65 | 790 | William Palmer | 53 | 34:39 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:1 | 85.22 | 13 |
| 89 | 84 | 763 | Christopher Dick | 34 | 35:38 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 80.83 | Debut |
| 105 | 99 | 1065 | Shaun Mullen | 49 | 36:07 | Sevenoaks AC | NSBLS | 77.37 | 15 |
| 108 | 102 | 801 | Daniel Witt | 50 | 36:11 | Sevenoaks AC | V50:2 | 76.67 | 79 |
| 128 | 13 | 768 | Caroline Fenwick | 47 | 37:00 | Sevenoaks AC | V45 | 94.83 | 14 |
| 140 | 15 | 771 | Nicola Glover | 37 | 37:17 | Sevenoaks AC | V35 | 93.97 | 22 |
| 169 | 146 | 761 | Neil Colvin | 69 | 38:20 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 66.51 | Debut |
| 170 | 147 | 757 | Adam Bates | 42 | 38:22 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 66.28 | 13 |
| 175 | 151 | 752 | Brian Allen | 53 | 38:32 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 65.36 | 12 |
| 181 | 157 | 1074 | Jonathan Marsh | 65 | 38:46 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 63.97 | 15 |
| 182 | 158 | 1064 | David Lobley | 60 | 38:48 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 63.74 | 27 |
| 185 | 161 | 777 | David Killpack | 40 | 38:58 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 63.05 | 16 |
| 205 | 31 | 1036 | Pippa Whewell | 26 | 39:30 | Sevenoaks AC | F1 | 87.07 | Debut |
| 206 | 175 | 772 | Rob Hadden | 57 | 39:31 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 59.82 | 4 |
| 215 | 184 | 756 | James Baker | 60 | 39:41 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 57.74 | 34 |
| 234 | 37 | 762 | Sophie Day | 37 | 40:28 | Sevenoaks AC | F2 | 84.48 | 5 |
| 238 | 199 | 780 | Leonard Lai King | 46 | 40:42 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 54.27 | 22 |
| 250 | 40 | 769 | Heather Fitzmaurice | 55 | 40:59 | Sevenoaks AC | V55 | 83.19 | 85 |
| 256 | 213 | 754 | Andrew Ashlee | 56 | 41:06 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 51.04 | 34 |
| 303 | 255 | 766 | Andrew Evans | 55 | 42:48 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 41.34 | 61 |
| 315 | 262 | 784 | Simon Mann | 45 | 43:07 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 39.72 | 6 |
| 346 | 64 | 792 | Sarah Philpott | 47 | 43:52 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 72.84 | 8 |
| 357 | 290 | 800 | Jeremy Winter | 71 | 44:20 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 33.26 | 16 |
| 362 | 69 | 799 | Rosie Williams | 56 | 44:25 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 70.69 | 4 |
| 411 | 318 | 791 | Rob Peers | 60 | 46:01 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 26.79 | 24 |
| 444 | 105 | 753 | Clare Ambrose | 57 | 47:17 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 55.17 | 5 |
| 455 | 110 | 798 | Jane Wiley | 67 | 47:45 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 53.02 | Debut |
| 506 | 135 | 793 | Sarah Shewell | 66 | 49:27 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 42.24 | 133 |
| 560 | 397 | 778 | Jim Knight | 74 | 52:12 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 8.55 | 8 |
| 629 | 421 | 794 | Lionel Stielow | 76 | 1:00:01 | Sevenoaks AC | NS | 3.00 | 30 |
The full results are here.
A big thank-you to our world Champion double-decathlete Oloff van Zyl who offered his sports massage services to SAC members before and after the race.
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 23rd in Oxleas Woods, Eltham.
Six senior SAC members contested the second race of the Kent XC League 2025-26 on 18 October in mild, dry conditions.
Yon Marsh was the standout SAC performer as first M65 in the 8K event, while Oloff Van Zyl was narrowly edged to third M55. However, both runners lead their respective age categories after two races. The full Sevenoaks results were:
SW
55 1394 Anna O'Donovan Sevenoaks AC 40:04 SW
M50
12 1240 Oloff Van Zyl (M55) Sevenoaks AC 32:24 (3rd M55)
29 1241 Daniel Witt (M50) Sevenoaks AC 35:59
M60
14 1238 Yon Marsh (M65) Sevenoaks AC 37:54 (1st M65)
M70
5 502 Simon Hallpike (M70) Sevenoaks AC 27:38
10 503 Jim Knight (M70) Sevenoaks AC 31:35
The full results are here.
This brings the KXCL series to the halfway stage with no mud! The next fixture, except for senior under-65 women, is at Danson Park on 15th November.