The final race of the 2017/18 Kent Fitness League took place on Sunday 4th February in cold, wet and muddy conditions with sleet and hail storms. Sevenoaks fielded a team of 18 runners, but crucially, only three of them were women. Heather Fitzmaurice added to a list of injuries already including previous scorers Jacqui O'Reilly, Pauline Dalton and Grace Manzotti and Vanessa Gilmartin was also unavailable. That left Ella Pyman to lead the women's team in 35th place with Sally Shewell and Anna Humphrey-Taylor also running well, but no fourth scorer.

Led by Andrew Milne in 19th, followed closely by Andy Ashlee and Lee Lintern and some excellent packing just behind them, the men's team were an excellent third on the day, so that even with the depleted women's team only 15th, the combined team were fifth. The result meant that SAC slipped one place back in the series with the combined team third, the women fourth and the men second - a brilliant effort in the circumstances.

Andrew Mead adds: "I had a quick look at the results and I think that the fact that we did not have a full women's team probably did not make much difference to the final standing. If the '4th woman' score was say 50 rather than 102, then we would have come fourth not fifth on the day but still not enough to stop Petts Wood taking 2nd overall for the season (they had all four women in the top 10, so their combined score was not beatable unless we could match that in the mens). So not such a disappointment as it seemed on the day and a great team achievement for the cross country season. Also doesn't Mr Simpson deserves a big thank you for his sterling efforts?" Quite right Andrew. On behalf of all the SAC KFL runners, thanks David for handling the admin and supporting the teams in all weathers.

In the individual series positions, Heather was 5th woman and 1st W45, Vanessa 3rd W40 and Sally 3rd W55, while Andrew Milne was our first man in 16th, Andy Ashlee 2nd M45, Keith Dowson 3rd M50, Dan Witt 3rd M40, James Graham 2nd M60 and Jim Fitzmaurice 2nd M70 (1st M75). Heather is confirmed as W45 champion on the list of champions here. The SAC results at Blean Woods were as follows:

The full results are here.

Although that's it for the Fitness League until late October, there is still one Kent League cross-country fixture remaining which is on Saturday (10th Feb) at Sparrows Den, West Wickham (no junior races). As usual the contact for that is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Sevenoaks AC team of 19 runners ploughed through the mud at Nurstead Court on 28th January to finish sixth combined team, with the men sixth and the women eighth. The women just managed to field the required four runners, as Jacqui O'Reilly, Pauline Dalton and Grace Manzotti were all injured, but Vanessa Gilmartin had a brilliant run in eighth place (3rd W40) to lead the SAC women home. She was backed up by Heather Fitzmaurice, Sally Shewell (3rd W55) and Anna Humphrey-Taylor. The men were similarly depleted, but Andy Ashlee finished strongly for first SAC man in 38th, one place ahead of Keith Dowson, with the rest of the scorers packing closely behind. James Graham was second M60, Jim Fitzmaurice 3rd M70 (1st M75) and John Denyer 3rd M65.

There was a presentation before the race when Sally Shewell was awarded a trophy for completing 100 KFL races - more than 500 miles of mud covered on behalf of Sevenoaks AC!

After six races, the combined team is still hanging on in second place, with the women fourth and the men also second. The SAC results were:

The full results are here. The final race of the series is on Sunday, 4th February, at Blean Woods, Rough Common, near Canterbury and a big turnout is needed if we are to hold on to second place.

John Witton was 25th overall, Sylvia Lewis 2nd W65 and James Graham 2nd M60 at the first Kent GP race of the year, the Canterbury 10, on 21st January. Seven SAC runners competed in a big field of 1390 finishers, and these were their results:

The full results are here.

The fifth race in the Kent Fitness League 2017/18 Cross Country series took place at Minnis Bay, Birchington, on Sunday January 14th, writes Jim Knight. Sometimes in this fixture the runners are faced with horizontal sleet, but this year it was a perfect day for running – cool and sunny, with no wind - just spectacular views along the coast to Reculver Towers. Even the dykes, which can be waist deep in freezing water were only knee deep this year. Nineteen runners from Sevenoaks AC joined the field of 350 from the 18 Kent clubs on the tough 6-mile course.

The first Sevenoaks AC athlete home was 39-year old John Witton in 14th place, followed by Andrew Milne in 23rd. Keith Dowson was the club’s fastest M50 in 35th position, and Darius Sarchar the club’s fastest M40 in 42nd. The other scorers were Andy Ashlee (45th), Dan Witt (57th), James Graham (1st M60 and our 2nd M50, in 65th) and Nick Humphrey-Taylor in 72nd.

There was a great performance by 18-year old Tom Waldron to come 102nd in his first ever cross-country race – wearing football boots. (It’s time for Dad to buy him some trail shoes!)

The SAC women ran strongly too, with Heather Fitzmaurice finishing in 108th place overall (7th woman and 2nd W45), closely followed by Vanessa Gilmartin in 8th. The other women scorers were Sally Shewell (2nd W55) and Anna Humphrey-Taylor.

Going into this race, the Sevenoaks women's team was leading the series, with the SAC combined team lying second to Dartford Harriers. A fantastic result for the club after 4 races. The combined team was 4th at Minnis Bay with the men also 4th as the men's race was dominated by runners from Dartford Harriers who maintained their leading position in the series. The SAC women's team were sixth on the day. Despite strong challenges from Petts Wood Runners and Paddock Wood, the SAC combined team did enough to maintain second place in the series, with the women third and the men second after five races.

The Sevenoaks AC results were as follows:

The full results are here. The next race will be on Sunday January 28th in Nurstead Court, Meopham.

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).