The second race in the Kent Fitness League 2026/26 season took place in Eltham on Sunday Nov 23rd, writes Jim Knight. 558 runners from 18 Kent Athletics Clubs, including a team of 30 from Sevenoaks, tackled the hilly course through Oxleas Woods in cold but clear and sunny conditions. The Sevenoaks team was missing some key runners through illness and injury but still produced some great performances with the women’s team placing 2nd and the men 5th.

Hannah Sangan led the women’s team home in 10th position, followed by women’s captain, Caroline Fenwick in 15th (2nd W45) and Pippa Whewell in 20th. The other scoring team members were Sophie Day (26th) and Heather Fitzmaurice (28th). Having won this race last year, the team Sevenoaks was narrowly beaten into 2nd by a strong team from Canterbury Harriers. There were great performances by some of the club’s older runners with Jane Wiley 1st and Sally Shewell 3rd in W65.

In the men’s race, Guillaume Nineven ran well to finish 10th with Andrew Hutchinson (43rd), Keith Dowson (47th and 2nd M60) and Harvey Taylor (67th). This was an impressive performance from 61-year-old Keith Dowson who won a bronze medal in the Kent County Masters Cross Country Championships the day before.

The other members of the scoring team were Dan Chaplin (84th), Club Captain, Dan Witt (90th), Shaun Mullen (94th), and Seb Naughton (116th).
There was another great performance from Jeremy Winter who placed 3rd in M70.

Sevenoaks AC men were 5th – a slightly disappointing result after their win in 2024, but after 2 races the men are lying 4th, the women 2nd and the combined team 2nd. An encouraging start to the season.

Men’s team captain Dan Witt said; “Considering that our two fastest runners from Swanley didn’t score (Liam McLauchlin retired injured and Jake Mears was unavailable) the men's team put in a very credible performance with Gui Nineven almost in the top 10, Keith Dowson running brilliantly after his Kent Championships medal the day before, and club treasurer, Dan Chaplin, having a very strong debut.

Women’s team captain, Caroline Fenwick added; 'It was a perfect day for XC. Heavy rain early in the morning cleared for blue skies, which meant mud underfoot and sunshine overhead.  The slippery paths were challenging at times and a couple of people around me took tumbles. The SAC Ladies' team did exceptionally well. The 10 ladies who raced put in a determined effort and together they helped bring the team home in 2nd place with a special mention to Hannah Sangan for an excellent performance.'

The full SAC results were:

The full results are here.

The next race in the series will take place in Knole Park, Sevenoaks, on December 1st when SAC will have the difficult task of organising the race and also fielding a strong team of runners. The race starts at 9 am.

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+).

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:

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.