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Team at Deal

The 3rd race in the 2021/22 Kent Fitness League series took place in Betteshanger Park, Deal on Sunday December 12th, writes Jim Knight. 364 runners, including 25 who had made the long journey from Sevenoaks raced on the 5-mile course involving two laps of the undulating perimeter of the Country Park. Conditions underfoot were muddy, but on the day, it was mild and breezy making for pleasant running.

The race was won by Jonathon Whittall from Maidstone & Medway AC, with the women’s race won by Nicola Evans of Larkfield AC.

An outstanding performance by Sevenoaks women saw them win the team race for the second competition in a row and they retain a slender lead in the series ahead of Canterbury Harriers. Star performer was Cath Linney who came 2nd out of the 131 women and was the fastest W50. The remaining members of the scoring team were Vanessa Gilmartin (11th), Julia Davis (13th), and Pauline Dalton (14th). Other great performances came from Sally Shewell (2nd W60) and Bridget Weekes (3rd W60).

In the men’s race, the Sevenoaks team was weakened by the absence of Allan Lee (injury) and James Mason (suspected covid) but bolstered by the return of veterans James Graham, Duncan Cochrane and John Denyer. However, good runs by Ed Saunders (11th), Andrew Hutchinson (16th), Michael Lochead (30th), and Richard Alford Smith (36th) brought the team home in 5th position with the combined team 3rd, their best placing so far this season. The other scoring members were Dan Witt (56th), Andrew Mead 39th), Andy Evans (141st) and James Graham (148th). Other notable performances came from 17-year-old Harvey Taylor (60th), and John Denyer (1st M70). The men’s team is now in 5th place in the series, the women in 1st place and the combined team in 5th place.

The SAC results were as follows:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Rating # Races
11 11 688 Edmund Saunders 39 32:22 Sevenoaks AC 95.88 14
16 16 665 Andrew Hutchinson 42 32:47 Sevenoaks AC 93.83 14
30 30 673 Michael Lochead 41 34:08 Sevenoaks AC 88.07 14
36 36 637 Richard Alford-Smith 45 34:32 Sevenoaks AC 85.60 7
40 39 675 Andrew Mead 53 34:44 Sevenoaks AC 84.36 41
57 56 702 Daniel Witt 46 35:24 Sevenoaks AC 77.37 60
61 60 694 Harvey Taylor 17 35:36 Sevenoaks AC 75.72 3
66 65 652 Chris Fenn 30 35:57 Sevenoaks AC 73.66 3
74 73 676 Andrew Milne 39 36:30 Sevenoaks AC 70.37 30
87 2 672 Catherine Linney 52 38:08 Sevenoaks AC 99.17 37
104 99 678 Shaun Mullen 45 38:58 Sevenoaks AC 59.67 5
126 11 657 Vanessa Gilmartin 46 39:49 Sevenoaks AC 91.74 19
134 13 647 Julia Davis 24 40:16 Sevenoaks AC 90.08 3
135 14 645 Pauline Dalton 57 40:20 Sevenoaks AC 89.26 52
165 141 651 Andrew Evans 51 41:48 Sevenoaks AC 42.39 47
174 148 659 James Graham 68 42:19 Sevenoaks AC 39.51 24
188 155 648 John Denyer 73 43:26 Sevenoaks AC 36.63 47
199 38 691 Sarah Shewell 62 44:12 Sevenoaks AC 69.42 115
206 41 699 Bridgit Weekes 63 44:37 Sevenoaks AC 66.94 13
220 172 644 Duncan Cochrane 64 45:34 Sevenoaks AC 29.63 35
263 65 685 Ella Pyman 55 48:18 Sevenoaks AC 47.11 15
321 92 639 Alzbeta Benn 40 53:12 Sevenoaks AC 24.79 6
323 231 667 Jim Knight 70 53:43 Sevenoaks AC 5.35 5
338 106 638 Jenny Austin 44 55:56 Sevenoaks AC 13.22 15
354 115 671 Sylvia Lewis 69 1:02:11 Sevenoaks AC 5.79 21

The full results are here.

Group at Deal

More photos, kindly sent by photographer Tom Hooley, are here.

The next race in the series will be in Minnis Bay, Birchington on Sunday January 2nd, 2022.

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+).

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