Ilford AC vets celebrate title triumph in centenary year

The men’s team travelled to the Roger Bannister Stadium with a one-point lead over London Heathside, cheered on by club president John Batchelor.

And they were cajoled into unfamiliar events by team manager Henry Ricketts in the fourth and final meeting of the season, with V35 Sam Malekout second in the 800m and first in javelin.

Danny Holeyman competed in the 3000m as the V35 athlete and placed sixth, with V40 Chris Scott placed first in the 800m and fourth in the 200m.

Fabrizio Stefanoni’s sprint finish won the 800m and he also won the 3000m as V50, with Michael Osunsami covering the 200m and placing fifth.

V60 James Lambden had a busy evening, finishing fourth in the 800m, third in the 200m and second in the long jump, while Peter Whiting was fourth in the shot and third in javelin.

Busiest Ilford athlete of the evening was V70 David Butler, who won the 800m, was third in the 200m, fifth in shot, sixth in javelin and third in long jump.

Butler also came down to V60 to take fifth in the 3000m, with Diarmuid Mac Donnell 11th overall and third V50 as a non-scoring athlete in the same event.

The team of Chris, Fab, Michael and Sam just missed out on third place in the 4x200m relay as Ilford finishing second on the night to London Heathside, meaning both teams were tied on 33 points.

But the final result confirmed Ilford had won the title by 505 match points to 500, proving every effort should be made to cover an event, as every point counts.

The club also staged a parkrun takeover at Valentines Park as part of their 100th celebrations, where members were encouraged to wear our centenary tops and promote the club whilst also celebrating its rich history.

Ilford AC is one of only a few clubs who have never changed name or colours over 100 years, with running vests of white with two contrasting blue stripes exactly the same as they were when they first competed as a club in 1923.

As well as providing all the marshals and officials on the day, Ilford also had 18 runners competing and were rewarded with the first two finishers in Sam Rahman (17.56) and Joshua Adler (19.28).

Billy Green was the lone Ilford AC entrant in the London Summer 10k at Regents Park.

The course involves a three-lap route covering the tarmac paths, with runners passing the boating lake, Regents Park Broad Walk and London Zoo, with Green clocking 54.41 to finish second in his age group.

Meanwhile, endurance coach Rob Sargent took the opportunity to run the Michelin 5k in Greenville, South Carolina while on a trip to the USA.

The route was an up-and-back course from the Michelin complex over the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with Rob running a well-judged race on a sunny warm morning to come home 253rd in a field of 568 finishers in 29.54 for eighth place in the M65 category.