KFL 2023/24 Match 4 - Minnis Bay
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+).
Richard Reaches 500
As heralded by Jim Knight in SAC Update No.180, SAC legend Richard Pitcairn Knowles - 91 later this month - completed his 500th parkrun at Tonbridge on 2nd December.
This is how RunABC reported the event.
For Richard's views on retiring from running, and his over-80 challenges for the rest of us, please see this article here.
Kent Masters XC Champs 2023
Allan Lee won M50 gold and Joanne Rodda W45 silver at the Kent Masters Cross Country Championships in Central Park, Dartford on 2nd December.
Other SAC runners were Caroline Fenwick, 4th W45, Chris Desmond, 35th M60 and M70s Simon Hallpike and Geoffrey Kitchener 8th and 11th.
The full results are here.
KFL 2023/24 Match 3 - Knole Park
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.
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