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The sixth race in the Kent Fitness League 2018/19 Cross Country series took place at Minnis Bay, Birchington, on Sunday January 13th, writes Jim Knight

Thirty-four runners from Sevenoaks AC joined the 406 starters on the tough 6-mile course. Conditions were mild and dry for this year’s race, but the runners had to battle a strong head-wind all the way from Minnis Bay nearly 3 miles to the turnaround in Reculver. And dry is a relative term. The runners have to cross several deep dykes full of cold muddy water. This year they were waist deep, rather than chest-deep!

The race was won by Jay Smith of Dartford Road Runners in an impressive time of 34.59, followed by Simon Fox of Petts Wood Runners in 35.32.

The first Sevenoaks AC athlete home was 35-year-old James Mason in 4th, followed by Darrell Smith in 9th (1st M50). The remaining SAC scoring team members were Guillaume Nineven (17th), Andrew Hutchinson (20th), Ed Saunders (21st), Andrew Milne (24th), and Andy Ashlee (30th). The club’s second M50 was John Stevens in 66th. With 7 runners in the top 30, it was a comfortable win for Sevenoaks.

The women’s race was won by Deal Tri Club’s Renata McDonnell in 40.10 followed by Becky Morrish of Petts Wood Runners in 41.32. The SAC women ran strongly, with Cath Linney finishing in 11th place, closely followed by Vanessa Gilmartin in 14th, Marion Van Lille in 15th and Heather Fitzmaurice in 19th. There was another fine performance by Bridgit Weekes coming 2nd W60.

Petts Wood Runners, the current series leaders, fielded a strong team of 44 runners. They won the women’s race but were soundly beaten by Sevenoaks AC in the men’s race, giving Sevenoaks AC the club’s first KFL win for the combined team since October 2015 in Knole Park.

With this performance, Sevenoaks AC remain firmly in 2nd position in the series and have pulled ahead of Paddock Wood who have overtaken Dartford Road Runners to gain 3rd place.

The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Runner Age Time Club Rating # Races
4 4 James Mason 35 37:08 Sevenoaks AC 98.90 9
9 9 Darrell Smith 51 37:57 Sevenoaks AC 97.07 12
17 17 Guillaume Nineven 33 38:46 Sevenoaks AC 94.14 4
20 20 Andrew Hutchinson 39 39:16 Sevenoaks AC 93.04 7
21 21 Edmund Saunders 36 39:22 Sevenoaks AC 92.67 10
24 24 Andrew Milne 36 39:41 Sevenoaks AC 91.58 34
30 30 Andy Ashlee 49 40:09 Sevenoaks AC 89.38 27
37 36 Mike Lochead 33 40:37 Sevenoaks AC 87.18 6
40 39 Darius Sarshar 49 40:44 Sevenoaks AC 86.08 6
41 40 Jimmy George 37 40:46 Sevenoaks AC 85.71 7
66 63 John Stevens 57 42:05 Sevenoaks AC 77.29 21
67 64 Jim Harness 51 42:13 Sevenoaks AC 76.92 9
74 70 Daniel Witt 43 42:29 Sevenoaks AC 74.73 51
80 76 Jatinder Soomal 36 43:01 Sevenoaks AC 72.53 6
111 101 Nick Holmes 43 44:46 Sevenoaks AC 63.37 5
112 11 Cath Linney 49 45:00 Sevenoaks AC 92.48 28
116 105 James Nash 27 45:09 Sevenoaks AC 61.90 21
122 14 Vanessa Gilmartin 43 45:45 Sevenoaks AC 90.23 10
123 109 Andy Evans 48 45:47 Sevenoaks AC 60.44 43
127 15 Marion Van Lille 33 46:07 Sevenoaks AC 89.47 6
133 117 Graham Dwyer 46 46:20 Sevenoaks AC 57.51 6
135 119 Stuart Thompson 44 46:26 Sevenoaks AC 56.78 7
142 19 Heather Fitzmaurice 49 46:42 Sevenoaks AC 86.47 76
193 161 Hugh Shewell 29 49:13 Sevenoaks AC 41.39 20
194 162 Tony Horlock 58 49:14 Sevenoaks AC 41.03 8
203 169 Duncan Cochrane 61 49:37 Sevenoaks AC 38.46 30
205 171 Andy Manning 50 49:43 Sevenoaks AC 37.73 6
223 40 Nicki Thompson 42 50:30 Sevenoaks AC 70.68 22
229 41 Bridgit Weekes 60 50:53 Sevenoaks AC 69.92 6
235 43 Elaine Knight 38 51:28 Sevenoaks AC 68.42 3
238 46 Sarah Shewell 59 51:44 Sevenoaks AC 66.17 108
259 50 Rhea Malkin 33 52:47 Sevenoaks AC 63.16 5
280 57 Paula George 54 53:58 Sevenoaks AC 57.89 4
383 265 James Fitzmaurice 76 1:07:03 Sevenoaks AC 3.30 70

The full results are here.

Petts Wood have an unbeatable lead in the series, but the final positions for the remaining teams will be decided in the last race of the series, to take place in Rough Common, Canterbury on Sunday Feb 3rd.

Start

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 two must be V50 and one V40) and 4 women (of whom one must be V45 and one V35).

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