Shorne Woods Cross Country

A record 57 runners turned out for Istead & Ifield at the Shorne Woods Cross Country on 5th January, ranging in age from 21 to 75!  And they were confronted with an abundance of mud and hills – a proper cross country!

First home for the club was Paul Jones in 8th position, with Katie Vick in 7th place for the Women.  The club finished in 7th place in the Combined Team Results (3rd for the Women and 9th for the Men).  Overall after 4 events Istead Women are in 2nd place, and the Men in 10th Place, giving them a Combined Team Standing of 8th out of 18 teams.  Two Istead women – Lynne Champion and Katie Vick are in the top ten Female runners across the 4 cross country events in the series to date.

           

Mark Champion and Jackie Day tackle the mud!

Photos by Dawn Granger

 

Marden Half Marathon

A number of Istead Runners took part in the Marden Half Marathon, on 17th November – a race held on quiet roads, mostly flat and therefore a good opportunity for fast times.

Dan Walsh came home first for Istead, in fifth place with a time of 1.23.39, followed by Mark Champion in 1.25.47, David Sancto 1.29.19 and Trevor Edgley 1.42.27.  Mark and Trevor won their age categories – V50 and V70 respectively.

The event was also the SCVAC (Southern Counties Veterans Athletics Club) Championships, with Mark, David and Trevor all getting gold medals for their relevant age categories.

Autumn Marathons

Several Istead & Ifield Harriers took on the challenge of autumn marathons this year.

4 Istead runners  made the journey up to York, where the Yorkshire Marathon also incorporated the England Masters Celtic Challenge and the British Masters Championship.

Ed Bovingdon completed the course in a stunning time of 2:35:35 – a new club record.  David Sancto also had an excellent run with a finish time of 3:08:43.  Barry and Joyce  Bell, who were participating as English Masters,  registered times of 4:10:49 (MV70 category)  and 5:01:40 (FV65 category) respectively.

David, Joyce and Barry before the York Marathon – we weren’t fast enough to get Ed in!

Meanwhile, several members also went to Chelmsford, where they achieved the following times for their marathons – Dominic Montford 3:39:12 , Aaron Pritchard 4:04:25,, Becky Tormey 4:11.54 and Daryl Adams 4:13:55.

 

Cross Country Season and Race List

The club takes part in  both the Kent Fitness League and Kent League Races, plus various other Championships races through the Autumn/Winter.  Results for the 2019/2020 season can be found on the Cross Country page.   If you have not run Cross Country before, speak to one of the committee and they will be able to help you.

Also here are the Race Lists – Jan and Feb 2020 which gives details of all the races over the coming months.  Thanks Sue Beecham for pulling this together.  All you need to do now is get planning and training!