December 2019

Staplehurst 10 miles, Sunday 29th December

Ben Cole was the overall winner in 51.43. Helen Gaunt was second in the women's race in 65.40.
Full results are here - results.netiming.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=20008&RId=86

Parkrun catch ups !

It's interesting to see where TAC runners pop up around the parkrun circuit at Christmas and the New Year. The Tonbridge course was under deep flooding at one stage and when it cleared the bridge across the river had sustained some damage that meant further postponements.

TAC results are here - www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404

Here are a sample of results though -
Male 'winners'
Great Lines 25th December - Cameron Payas 16.08
Chelmsford 28th December - Steve Strange 16.32
The Leas 21st December - Fintan Kavanagh 17.08
Queens (Belfast) 28th December - James Taylor 17.16
Sittingbourne 28th December - Fintan Kavanagh 18.58
Squeereys Winery 28th December - Dan Schofield 19.58

Also 2nd Lydiard parkrun Ben Cole 2nd 15.48 21st December

Female 'winners'
​Jersey 28th December - Lily Slack 19.28
Hastings 28th December - Becky Morrish 19.28
Kingdom 21st December - Helen Gaunt 22.14
Kingdom 28th December - Nina Ridge 22.24
Tunbridge Wells 21st December -​ Georgia Conroy 23.25 
Dartford 21st December -​ Lucy Kingston 23.50

TAC Christmas Pudding Race, Boxing Day Handicap, Thursday 26th December
Video loaded !

Full results are on the Results 2019 page
Corey De'Ath won and was the fastest overall. Nicole Taylor ran the fastest female time and was the first to finish.

Corey De'Ath won the TAC Boxing Day Handicap Race and had the fastest time

Christmas Eve Training, 24th December

Well done everyone who came along for the Christmas Eve training session - almost 80 of you.
​A summary is on the Training completed page.

Kings Hill Sports Park 10k, Sunday 22nd December

Mark Pitcairn-Knowles finished 4th and Tina Oldershaw 7th and first female.
Full results are here - www.nice-work.org.uk/races/Kings-Hill-Christmas/2019

South of Thames Cross Country Championship, at Lloyd Park, Croydon, Saturday 21st December

Results are now on the Results 2019 page.
Women - 1st team
1st Nicole Taylor 2nd Lucy Reid, 3rd Phoebe Barker, 5th Alice Wood, 11th Harriet Woolley, 20th Alex Crockford, 29th Becky Morrish, 49th Lucy Thompson, 85th Grazia Manzotti
Men - 4th team
2nd Corey De'Ath, 4th Kieran Reilly, 10th Jamie Goodge, 44th Dan Bradley, 55th Steve Strange, 64th Luke Hooper, 71st Tony Bennett, 236th Scott Shurmer, 239th Richard Sargent.

Above - TAC men and women (first 7 home)

Above - TAC women 1st, 2nd, 3rd - Nicole Taylor, Lucy Reid, Phoebe Barker

Above - Corey De'Ath 2nd and Kieran Reilly 4th

TAC Christmas and New Year Training Schedule

I have posted the plan for training across the Christmas and New Year period on the Training Planned page. All the 'extra' sessions at Knole Park and the like are open to all ages and abilities.

Additionally, Steve Keywood has announced details of the Boxing Day handicap. See the file below.

2019_tac_christmas_pudding_race.pdf
File Size:	77 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Kent Cross Country League, at Footscray Meadows, Saturday 14th December
Videos loaded !

Full results are now on the Results 2019 page.
Plenty of photos on Mark Hookway's Facebook page.
A few results in summary -
Senior Men - 1st Team. 1st Corey De'Ath, 2nd Kieran Reilly, 5th James Kingston, 6th Jamie Bryant, 7th Sean Molloy, 8th Michael Ellis
Under 17 Men - 1st Team. 2nd Matthew Taylor, 3rd Henry Taylor, 4th Alex Beeston, 5th Matthew Dubery, 6th Fintan Kavanagh
Under 17 Women - 10th Noémie Thomson
Under 15 Boys 1st Team. 3rd Jamie MacDonald, 4th Ed Coutts, 5th George Hopkins, 9th Jamie Witz, 10th Huxley Crush
Under 15 Girls - 2nd Team. 2nd Sophie Slack, 16th Annabelle Hales
Under 13 Boys - 2nd Team. 3rd Tom Daly, 7th James Petrie, 8th Harrison Fraser, 9th Oliver Head, 10th Lucas Gorrill
Under 13 Girls - 1st Team. 1st Lily Slack

Above - TAC winners Corey De'Ath and Lily Slack

Above - Two of the 'outstanding' TAC performances from Mark Coates and Jamie MacDonald

Above - Three TAC cross country debuts from Ollie White (1537), Kavel Patel and James Petrie

Above - some of the other TAC athletes running well

Tonbridge AC Junior 1 mile race, Sunday 8th  December

Results are now on the Results 2019 page.

West Yorkshire Cross Country League, at Cleckheaton, Sunday 8th December

James Puxty finished 10th overall and first under 20 in this league race, representing Leeds.
Full results are here - www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/R4Cleck2019.htm

European Cross Country Championships, Lisbon, Portugal, Sunday 8th December

Cameron Payas finished 75th in the senior men's race as he represented Gibraltar.
​Full results are here - www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-cross-country-championships/2019/athletics/event/mens-senior/phase=atm300100/index.html?intcmp=[#]-schline-calltoaction

Above - Cameron Payas at the European Cross Country Championships

Telford 10k rod race, Sunday 8th December

Lucy Reid ran a pb of 34.23, improving her best by 15s from 2017, whilst Ben Cole ran 30.28, just 15s away from his best ever time.
Full results are here - results.eventchiptiming.com/results.aspx?CId=16202&RId=8193&EId=1&dt=0

Above - Ben Cole and Lucy Reid in action at the Telford 10k
Photos courtesy of Richard Owen

South of England Inter Counties Cross Country Championships, at Horspath
​near Oxford, Saturday 7th December
Videos loaded !

Full results are here - www.race-results.co.uk/results/2019/seaainter19.pdf
​A summary of the TAC performances and full results are on the Results 2019 page.
​Unfortunately, I was unable to travel to the event after being unwell, but Mark PK has captured some footage that I will make available.
There were some impressive performances by the looks of it but I would have to pick out Penny Horne having a storming run for 12th in the under 13 girls' race, which must be her best ever. She was actually running for the Kent B team.
​Top 10 places were achieved by Lily Slack (4th u13), Sophie Slack (5th u15) and Matthew Taylor (5th u17).

South of England Masters/Veterans Cross Country Championships, at Horspath
​near Oxford, Saturday 7th December

Full results are here - www.race-results.co.uk/results/2019/seaamasters19.pdf
A summary of the TAC performances and full results are on the Results 2019 page.
The TAC over 60 men's team missed a medal on the position of the last scorer.
​TAC can almost claim a 1-2 in the M55 category as Ben Reynolds and Andy Howey ran for their first claim clubs !

English Schools Cross Country Cup Final, at Spinkhill, Derbyshire, Saturday 7th December

Full results are here - www.schoolsathletics.net/esaa/v2/2019/xccup/xccup19results.php
​I have also posted the results on the Results 2019 page, with those who have competed for TAC highlighted.
Judd School won the Inter boys trophy with all four scorers being TAC, whilst Sevenoaks School finished third in the Junior girls event, with their first three scorers being Tonbridge AC.

Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Cross Country Match, at Wimbledon Common, Saturday 7th December

Although unofficial at the time of writing Phoebe Barker (Cambridge) finished 5th in the women's race and Miles Weatherseed (14th) in the men's race. Cambridge won both matches.

Above - Miles Weatherseed (centre) and Phoebe Barker in action at the Varsity match
Photos courtesy of Richard Owen

Jeskyns Woods 10k, Saturday 7th December

Liz Weeks finished 2nd overall and first female in this trail race in 42.13. Full results are here -
​www.nice-work.org.uk/races/FC100-Jeskyns/2019

Parkruns, Saturday 7th December

Scanning the parkrun results for TAC performances here are a few -
Dunstable Downs - 1st Jamie Bryant 17.12 (course record by 14s)
​Raphael (Romford) - 1st Steve Strange 16.15
Tonbridge - 1st female Helen Gaunt 19.38
Tunbridge Wells  - 1st female Georgia Conroy 23.28
Kingdom (Penshurst) - 1st female Eva Kolivoskova-Martin 24.55

Ian 'Fred' Rendall

Ian Rendall, known as 'Fred' to many of us passed away on Tuesday at the age of 73. Ian was a long time member of TAC and father to Julian and Elise, who are both club members.

Ian was running for TAC back in the 70s when I joined the club and I can often remember him turning the pace up towards the end of hard club runs around Tunbridge Wells, when we would all meet at the no longer existing Ridgeway School.

His funeral will be held on Wednesday 18th December at 12 noon at:
Tunbridge Wells Chapel 
Benhall Mill Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN2 5JJ

Followed by a gathering at:
Mercure Tunbridge Wells Hotel
Tonbridge Road
Pembury
Tunbridge Wells
TN2 4QL

Other weekend news, Saturday and Sunday 30th November and 1st December

Saturday
Hampshire Cross Country League, at Aldershot
Corey De'Ath running for his second claim club, finished 3rd in the Hampshire Cross Country League, Senior Men's race at Aldershot. Results will appear here - www.hampshireathletics.org.uk/results/2019/20191130_hlmen.html
Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity B team race
Lucy Thomson finished 15th, representing Cambridge University.
Sunday
Gibraltar Road Race League
Cameron Payas finished 3rd in this road race in 20.04. Jake Wightman won in 1round 18.30.
Thanet 10 mile road race
Greg Cole finished 4th in 60.08 and Matt Dennis 5th in 60.15. Full results are here -
​resultscui.active.com/events/AlanGreenMemorial10MileRace
Oxfordshire Cross Country League at Cirencester
Ben Cole racing for his second claim club, Swindon, won the second race in the series.
Full results are here - oxonxc.org.uk/files/results/2019_21.txt

Victory 5 mile road race, Portsmouth, Sunday 1st December

Lucy Reid won the women's race in 27.04. This was a personal best at the distance, being a second quicker than her winning time last year, which was the TAC club record.
Full results are here - results.sporthive.com/events/6606192221381389824/races/1

Valencia Marathon, Spain, Sunday 1st December

Becky Morrish made he debut over the marathon distance and judged it superbly to run 2.58.09, running the second half faster than the first. I believe this will move her to second on the TAC all time women's rankings behind Maria Heslop's 2.56.56.

Becky Morrish - 2.58.09 marathon debut in Spain

Kent Veterans/Masters Cross Country Championships, at Dartford, Saturday30th November
Videos loaded !

Full results are on the Results 2019 page.

Mark Pitcairn-Knowles kindly produced some footage from the championships and has posted on his You Tube page. Unfortunately he couldn't film the race that he competed in !

TAC summary -
Over 35 women - 1st team. 3rd Liz Weeks, 4th Claire Day, 9th Nichola Evans
Over 45 women - 1st team. 2nd Tina Oldershaw, 5th Nina Ridge
​Over 65 women - 1st Sue James
Over 40 men - 3rd team
Over 50 men - 2nd team. 1st Ben Reynolds
Over 60 men- 1st Ross Kinloch

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5km Elite Race, Thursday 28th November

Chris Olley finished fifth in a very strong field at this 5km road race in 14.03. 
Full results are here - www.runraceresults.com/Secure/RaceResults.cfm?ID=RCSV2019

Crowborough 10k and 5k road race, Sunday 24th November
Video loaded !

TAC filled the first three places, led home by Ryan Driscoll in 33.12, from Jamie Bryant (33.26) and Michael Ellis (33.31). Tony Bennett with 39.48 completed the scoring four to win the team event. Alan Buckle was 30th in 41.52 and Tina Oldershaw 38th/4th female in 42.27.
Eva Kolivoskova-Martin was third female in the 5k with 25.03.
The course is notoriously on a big hill, so necessitating two big climbs, one on each lap. Ryan won despite having a hip issue that at one stage slowed him to a walk.
Full results are here - www.nice-work.org.uk/races/the-crowborough-10k/2019

TAC winning team at Crowborough
Jamie Bryant 2nd, Ryan Driscoll 1st, Tony Bennett 16th and Michael Ellis 3rd

NCAA  (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Cross Country Championships
​at Terre Haute, Indiana, USA, Saturday 23rd November

James West finished 74th. Full results are here - 
​live.pttiming.com/xc-ptt.html?mid=1860

British Cross Challenge, including European Trials, at Sefton Park, Liverpool, Saturday 23rd November
Videos loaded !

TAC in summary -
Senior women - 25th Phoebe Barker (7th u23)
Senior men - 60th Max Nicholls, 74th Alasdair Kinloch, 78th Jamie Goodge.
Undef 20 men - 71st Dan Schofield
Under 17 women - 12th Katie Goodge

Full results are here - results.sporthive.com/events/6603959577098584064

South of Thames Team Race, at Morden, Saturday 23rd November

Provisional TAC results  -
Greg Cole 26th, Tony Bennett 47th, Mark Pitcairn-Knowles 103rd, Alan Newman 184th , Scott Shurmer approx 213th.
Sue James 104th female.

​Results on the Results 2019 page.

Parkruns, Saturday 23rd November

After all the rain some of the parkrun courses were more difficult to deal with than normal. TAC 'winners' included -
Bromley - Steve Strange 16.06
Tunbridge Wells - Ben Murphy 17.59, Penny Horne 21.53
Tonbridge - James Kingston 16.53
Full results are here - www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404

Maidstone District Schools, Friday 22nd November

Back around 40 years ago there were district championships held all over Kent in order to qualify to the District teams that competed in the Kent Schools Championships. However, that's not the case today, although Maidstone is at least one area that maintains the tradition and today held their championships in Mote Park.

The only result I have is that TAC's Ella McIntyre won the Junior Girls race for year's 8 and 9.

Kent Cross Country Teams Selected for 7th December

Kent Athletics have announced the teams to take part on 7th December at the South of England Inter Counties, at Horspath near Oxford. Details are here -
​www.dropbox.com/s/gt28yvhh4wcsmx1/SEAA%20XC%20DEC%2019.ods?dl=0
By my calculations there are something like 33 TAC runners In the teams, plus a few named as reserves. There are no under 20 men or senior men's events.

Cyprus International 4 Day Challenge, Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th November

Liz Weeks is competing in this challenge event that includes four races in four days.
Full results are here - www.resultsbase.net/event/5162/results?round=12061&fbclid=IwAR3iNAHvDlLwkE3QBZqYT1TZ-bpgcuruKAJL2E0Q3yA01oFyZG0UUlKvklA&gender=F
Thursday 6km Time Trial - 4th female 23.34
​Friday Hill Climb - 2nd 62.47
Saturday Trail Half Marathon - 2nd 94.05
​Sunday 10km 4th 40.13

Swindon 10k, Sunday 17th November

Slightly late to be included in the weekend round up but Ben Cole showed he has recovered from the Berlin Marathon by winning the Swindon 10k by more than two minutes in 30.50. Ben was representing his second claim club, Swindon, where he lives. Full results are here - www.stuweb.co.uk/race/2qJ/

Pacific Association Cross Country Championships, Golden Gate Park,
​San Francisco, USA, Sunday 17th November

Chis Olley won the Pacific Association Championships over 10km in Golden Gate Park, leaving 2.11 marathon runner, Brendan Gregg, in second place. Chris claims there was a bit of mud on the course, despite the photo evidence below !
Full results are here - www.pausatf.org/data/2019/XCChamps2019.html

Chris Olley (black kit) won in San Francisco

Sunday news, 17th November

It's been a busy day on the road at various venues, plus the TAC Junior 1 mile races.
Marden Half Marathon
Nichola Evans was 2nd female in 89.48
Mark Schofield ran 1.40.12, which is a debut.
Full results are here, with the 10k (see below) -
​results.netiming.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=20008&RId=85&EId=2
Marden 10k
Luke Reeves won in 35.05, which is a big pb by 1.57 !
Jacqui O'Reilly was 2nd female in 42.12
Brighton 10k
Becky Morrish 37.43 (pb by 5s), Helen Gaunt 38.51 (best since 2013), Claire Day 39.18 (pb by 4s), Alan Buckle (M60) 40.14 Annabel Carter 43.50 (pb by 1.11) Nathan Chapman also ran 33.49 (pb is 33.45) but is not in the official results. To be corrected.
Full results are here -
​results.sporthive.com/events/6592352123175226880
Fulham 10k
Adam Roeder 37.07 (pb 2.07), Mark Pitcairn-Knowles 39.45, Jason Barton 41.14 (debut), Penny Pilbeam 43.43 (pb by 1.20), Tony Fullbrook 44.19, Kim Cross 47.31 (pb by 1.01), Deniz Bowart 49.07 (pb by 1.43)
Full results are here -
​results.sporthive.com/events/6593058855634764288/races/469141
Bedgebury Half Marathon
David Suddes 1.47.24
Full results here - www.nice-work.org.uk/races/Bedgebury-Half/2019
Tonbridge AC Junior 1 mile race, at Vizards Playing Fields, Judd School
The race was won by TAC's Arno Dale in 6.27 from William Bachelor in 6.33
Many thanks to Harrison Fraser for helping to 'hare' the race and his sister Maria helping the back markers around.
​Results are on the Results 2019 page.
Gibraltar Road Runners League 4km
Cameron Payas ran in his native Gibraltar, finishing third in a 4km road race.

TAC at the Fulham 10k
​Tony Fullbrook, Kim Cross, Penny Pilbeam, Deniz Bowart, Adam Roeder, Mark Opitcairn-Knowles

Other Friday and Saturday News, 15th and 16th November

Friday
West Regional Cross Country Championships, Colfax, Washington, USA
James West had a good run over 10km in the West Regional NCAA Championships, finishing 22nd and scoring for Oregon. The team qualified for next Saturday's NCAA Championships. Full results are here -
​www.rtspt.com/events/ncaa/d1westxc19/mp/#event2
Saturday
British Masters International, at Aintree, Liverpool
Ben Reynolds ran for England in the over 55 race and finished third.
Full results are here - bmaf.org.uk/results/res2019/BIMCCI%202019%20Race%20Results.pdf
Cambridge University Cuppers Race
Phoebe barker won the Cambridge University trials race, for the Varsity match in December, against Oxford University.
Parkruns
TAC 'winners' were -
Men - Bedgebury - Nick Arnott, Kingdom - Thomas Lockhart, Orprington - Tony Bennett, Tunbridge Wells - Zac Jones
Women - Tunbridge Wells - Georgia Conroy, Tonbridge - Nichola Evans
The quickest were James Kingston 16.57 at Tonbridge and Ella McIntyre 20.53 at Malling.
Full TAC results are here - www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404

Ben Reynolds (right) finished 3rd M55 in the British Masters International, representing England

James West has qualified with Oregon University for the NCAA Championships, on Saturday 23rd November

Sevenoaks School Junior Knole Runs, at Knole Park, Friday 15th November
​Videos loaded !

There were plenty of TAC members run-in for their schools. We are all getting very used to cold, wet and windy conditions this season ! I managed to capture some video and photos (will put on Facebook). Results awaited but Albert Kreuzberg won the boys' race and Lily Slack was second in the girls'.

Full results are on the Results 2019 page.

Above left - Albert Kreuzberg (401) and Above right - Lily Slack (1558) at the Junior Knole Runs

Tonbridge AC 'Dry Robes' being ordered

Some of you may have seen the Dry Robe's as modelled by Pete Brenchley at Mansfield, Grazia Manzotti on Saturday at the Kent League, the Slack family and others. 

A few have wondered about getting one, as they are great for keeping warm and dry on really bad days, either as a spectator or after racing .

They do retail at about £140, so not cheap. I have made some enquiries and they can do ones for a club, although any volume cost is likely to balance with set up/embroidery/delivery charges.

The web site is https://dryrobe.com/collections/dryrobe-advance-long-sleeve

The design would look like the attached.

I have orders for about 14 so far and would like to confirm in the next week ie before next Wednesday.

If you are interested in buying one or more please confirm to me, with size (S,M,L,XL).

We won’t be holding stock due to the expense, but I am happy to organise on this occasion.

If you would like to take a look at one then both myself and Grazia will try and bring to the club tonight and Tuesday, although the one I have is XL and like a tent on some !

Mark

James Taylor ('JT') awarded Kent Young Official of the Year

JT has been awarded the 'Young Official of the Year' trophy by Kent Athletics. He received his award on Friday 8th November at the Kent Athletics Annual Dinner. James does a great all round job for both the club, the county and the schools, not only in officiating, but organising and also running himself.

James Taylor with his Kent Young Official of the Year award

Monterey Bay Half Marathon, California, USA, Sunday 10th November

Chris Olley made his half marathon debut and finished 13th in Monterey. Chris ran 66.17 to go to third place on the TAC all time rankings behind Henry Pearce at 65.49 and Ben Cole at 66.02.
Full results are here - results.rmraces.live/Big-Sur/events/2019/monterey-bay-half-marathon/results

Other Saturday news, 9th November

English Schools Cup South East Regional Round, at Judd School
Full results are here - www.schoolsathletics.net/esaa/v2/2019/xccup/xccup19results.php
Results with TAC highlighted are on the Results 2019 page.
British Cross Challenge, at Milton Keynes
videos loaded !
Full results appear here - www.chilternccl.co.uk/results.htm
Senior men 30th Ally Kinloch, 38th Jamie Goodge
Senior women 9th Phoebe Barker
​Under 17/20 women 12th Katie Goodge (9th u17)
Surrey Mens League, at Wimbledon Common
Max Nicholls was running for his second claim club, Kent AC and finished 5th. Cameron Payas also running second claim competed for Guildford and Godalming and finished 27th.
Full results will appear here - surreyleague.org/slm/match/112/
North Midlands League at Corby
Kiri Marsh finished 2nd in the women's race

Phoebe Barker at Milton Keynes

Kent Cross Country League, at Danson Park, Bexleyheath, Saturday 9th November
Videos loaded !

Full results are on the Results 2019 page.

​A few in summary -
Senior women - 1st in 3 and 6 too core. 4th Alice Wood, 5th Becky Morrish, 8th Liz Weeks, 11th India Nicholson
Under 20 men - 6th Luke Reeves
Under 17 men -1st team.  2nd Matthew Taylor, 4th Henry Taylor, 5th Fintan Kavanagh, 8th Matthew Dubery, 11th Adam Singleterry
Under 17 women - 2nd team.  3rd Noémie Thomson, 8th Alex Evans, 14th Flora Currie
Under 15 boys - 2nd team. 6th Jamie Witz, 8th Ananjan Ganguli, 9th Isaac Arnott, 10th Adam Jeddo, 12th Jamie MacDonald
Under 15 girls - 5th team. 11th Ella McIntyre, 22nd Aimee Holdstock, 26th Ella Ayden
Under 13 boys - 3rd team. 6th Tom Daly, 8th Harrison Fraser, 10th Lucas Gorrill
Under 13 girls - 3rd team. 8th Penny Horne, 9th Lara Jee, 19th Georgia Conroy

The under 17/20 men's race had maybe a unique result as three sets of twins filled the first six positions

Senior Women's squad

Under 13 Boys Team

Under 13 Girls Team

Other weekend news, 1st to 3rd November

I am not aware of many performances at the weekend, other than at Mansfield.
Friday
PAC 12 Conference Championships, Oregon, USA
James West finished 9th in a very strong field, running 23.20 for the 8km.
Full results are here - live.athletictiming.net/meets/4679/xc-events/175282/results
Saturday
Parkruns
A full list of TAC parkrun results,  imagine in horrible conditions are here -
​www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404
Here are a few of them.
Tunbridge Wells - Katie Goodge was first overall in 20.23
Tonbridge - 2nd Julian Rendall 18.26, 1st female Helen Gaunt 20.04
Victoria Dock - 3rd Thomas Lockhart 18.29
Kingdom (Penshurst) - 2nd female Susan Jeddo 23.38

National Cross Country Relay Championships, at Mansfield, Saturday 2nd November
Videos loaded !

Full and summary results on the Results 2019 page.
​Photos on Mark Hookway's Facebook page.

​Conditions were possibly the worst that I can recall at Mansfield, slowing times by upto 90s on the 5km course and by 30/40s on the shortest, 2km course.

The quality of the races was extremely high and I honestly thought that we would struggle to get even one set of medals this year. However, Fraser Gordon brought the under 17 men's team home in third, after Alex Beeston and Matthew Taylor had gone before him.

I always look for some encouraging signs and certainly feel that with four to score in the new year championships, as opposed to three per team in most of the races here, we will fair better. There is a bit of depth in some of our squads.

In summary
Senior men 11th, B team 22nd, C team 58th (190 teams)
We had 4th B team and 3rd C team. They were all solid if not spectacular performances.
Senior women 15th, B team 47th (148 teams)
Like the men's team we were nowhere near full strength and again all of them ran pretty much as we would hope.
It was only the third occasion that a complete TAC women's team has competed in the championships and this was the second best ever placing, behind last year's historic victory.
Under 20 men 8th, 26th, 35th (59 teams)
A good overall squad performance, with having the third B and first C teams home. James Kingston and Will Beeston had particularly good runs on the first two legs for the A team.
Under 20 women 22nd (27 teams)
Of the three in the team Elizabeth Heslop had one of her best runs, whilst India Nicholson and Steph Puxty had solid (I keep using that word) performances.
Under 17 men 3rd, 46th (103 teams)
We had a dilemma in the week over the A team selection but put Fraser Gordon in after a disappointing run at the previous weekend's Kent League. He rose to the occasion and had a good run on the anchor leg to secure the only TAC medals of the day. Matthew Taylor showed once again how he loves the mud by running one of the fastest legs, despite being bottom of the age group
Under 17 women no team
Katie Goodge and Flora Currie had signed up to race, but unfortunately we couldn't find a third runner to justify an entry.
Under 15 boys 6th, 14th (C team), 15th (B team) 116 teams
Probably the most impressive overall squad performance, with so many of them running well and meaning we had three teams in the top fifteen of 116 starters ! We had the 2nd B team and 1st C team and can really look forward to the new year championships, with it being very difficult to predict the four scorers and with plenty of back-up. We even had Josh Prendergast missing who has run so well at the Kent Leagues recently.
Ed Coutts, Huxley Crush, Angus Currie and Isaac Arnott all had what you might call 'blinders' whilst all the others ran well.
Under 15 Girls 22nd (112 teams)
Olivia Breed returned to action having injured her foot in a freak accident a few months ago (a PA system speaker fell on her)
Under 13 boys 7th, 33rd (96 teams)
Almost all the under 13 boys were 'let loose' on the trip by their parents and I was impressed how they all mucked in and dealt with the whole experience. Albert Kreuzberg ran the 4th fastest of the 'longer' legs 2 and 3.
Under 13 girls 6th, 58th (104 teams)
Penny Horne had one of her best ever runs for the B team on leg one.  Hopefully, this indicates that with continued effort this team can also challenge in the new year championships. Lily Slack was 2nd fastest of the  'longer' legs 2 and 3.
Numbers
The only TAC record broken was having 42 male runners, which was one more than 2014.
It's the first time since 2007 that we have not won at least two team medals.

Under 17 men bronze medals - Fraser Gordon, Alex Beeston, Matthew Taylor

Sunday race updates, 27th October

Frankfurt Marathon
Ben Cole ran the third fastest ever TAC time for the marathon when he recorded 2.24.46. Henry Pearce holds the record at 2.19.23 with Cain Bradley's 2.24.31 the next quickest.
Harriet Woolley also ran a pb with 3.00.24.
Full results are here - live.frankfurt-marathon.com/2019/?lang=EN&pid=start
Leeds Abbey Dash 10km road race
Kiri Marsh finished 29th female with a new pb of 35.11, improving by 48s on the time she set last year.
Full results are here - results.sporthive.com/events/6591996942161914880/races/468755
North East 10 Division 2 Conference Championships, Syracuse, USA
Charlie Joslin-Allen finished 40th, running for American International College.
Full results are here -results.leonetiming.com/XC.html?mid=1846

Above - Ben Cole and Harriet Woolley pbs in Frankfurt plus Kiri Marsh pb in Leeds

Kent Cross Country League, at Tonbridge, Saturday 26th October
Videos loaded !

All results are on the Results 2019 page.

A few highlights (seniors unofficial) -
Senior Men - 1st Ryan Driscoll, 6th Jamie Bryant, 7th Cameron Payas, 9th Kieran Reilly. Team 1st
Senior Women - 4th Alice Wood, 5th Chloe Bird, 7th Becky Morrish, 9th Tina Oldershaw. Team 1st
Under 17 Men - 2nd Matthew Taylor, 3rd Alex Beeston, 5th Henry Taylor, 6th Matthew Dubery, 7th Fin Croll, 9th Fintan Kavanagh. Team 1st
Under 17 Women - 1st Katie Goodge, 5th Noémie Thomson, 10th Teniqua Gomez. Team 2nd
Under 15 Boys - 2nd Josh Prendergast, 4th Ed Coutts, 7th Jamie Witz, 8th Ananjan Ganguli, 9th Tom Phillips. Team 1st
Under 15 Girls - 1st Sophie Slack (2 from 2 races). Team 2nd
Under 13 Boys - 1st Albert Kreuzberg, 5th Tom Daly. Team 1st
​Under 13 Girls - 1st Lily Slack, 9th Gracie MacAuley, 10th Neve Bachelor. Team 2nd

Records
137 starters - TAC Kent League record
92 males starting - TAC Kent League record
49 senior men - TAC Kent League record
20 senior women - TAC Kent League record

Loads of photos at Mark Hookway's Facebook page - 
​www.facebook.com/mark.hookway.5/media_set?set=a.10157531169489788&type=3&uploaded=318

Above - Ryan Driscoll on his way to winning the Senior Men's race at the Kent League

Above - TAC individual winners at the Kent Cross Country League
Top - Albert Kreuzberg (u13), Katie Goodge (u17)
Bottom - Lily Slack (u13), Sophie Slack (u15)

Above - The full TAC under 13 squad at the Kent League (sales opportunity for TAC kit ?)

Olly Dunn qualifies as a Royal Marine commando

Olly Dunn has passed through a few years of application , training and testing to become a Royal Marine Commando. He credits the discipline he learnt with the club in helping get him there. Quite an achievement as the drop out rate of those that don't make it is significant.

Kent Cross Country representation

For information most of the age groups have an opportunity to run cross country for Kent in early December (excludes u20 and senior men). This is from the Kent Athletics web site - www.kcaa.org.uk/county%20teams.htm#cc

Representing Kent –  Cross Country
CROSS COUNTRY SELECTION CRITERIA 2019/20
SEAA Inter Counties 7th December 2019 Horspath Oxford
Selection will be based on the first three Kent Cross Country Leagues for all age groups except U20 & Senior Men
Automatic selection will be granted to those who finish in the first 3 in two races.
You must take part in at least one KCCL or apply for a wildcard place with reasons to the Kent Selectors at kentaaselect@gmail.com
We will be entering two teams in each age group if numbers allow.
PLEASE EMAIL YOUR AVAILABILITY TO kentaaselect@gmail.com

Sunday 20th October Update

Tonbridge 10k, at Hildenborough
Dan Bradley and Tina Oldershaw took home the first place prizes. Dan ran 34.55 and Tina 40.46
Full results are here - 
​results.netiming.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=20008&RId=83&EId=1&dt=0&st=oX0%2fKv3SMT9OGKOQ3eFNTOfnXFSSeL0YrqattZn8Ed0%3d
Bruges Half Marathon, Belgium
Becky Morrish ran a personal best of 83.17 in Belgium and was joined for most of the race by Nathan Chapman, using it as a training run. Full results are here -
​prod.chronorace.be/Classements/Classement.aspx?eventId=1188554889798684&lng=EN&mode=large&IdClassement=20442
Yorkshire 10 mile road race, at York
Tony Bennett (M40) ran 60.35 for 35th in this road race. Full results are here -
​www.chiptiming.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/asda-foundation-yorkshire-10-mile-2019.pdf

Above
Left - Becky Morrish and Nathan Chapman in Bruges
Right - Tina Oldershaw and Dan Bradley at Tonbridge (Hildenborough)

Saturday 19th October Update

Parkruns
TAC had numerous park run 'winners' (its not a race) on Saturday.
Lanhydrock (near Bodmin) - Lily Slack 21.02
Tunbridge Wells - Harriet Raven 22.04
The Leas (Isle of Sheppey) - Liz Weeks 19.21
​Melkbosstrand (South Africa) - Nichola Evans 22.22
Tonbridge - Ananjan Ganguli 17.53
Beeston (ironic name !) (Nottingham) - Will Beeston 16.25 (brother Alex 2nd in 16.41)
See here - www.parkrun.org.uk/beeston/news/
Bushy Park (Twickenham) - James Kingston 16.05
Swindon - Ben Cole 16.36
Clair (Haywards Heath) - Fenton Davoren 17.57
A full list of all the TAC parkrunners this weekend can be found here -
www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404

Santa Clara University Bronco, Invitational, at Badlands Park, Sunnyvale, California
​Chris Olley had his first race, since the 8th August and won the men's 8km cross country event in 23.47. This was the post collegiate race at the event, held near San Jose. Chris is now working and living in San Francisco and has a couple of other races planned for November.
Full results are here - timerhub.com/getHytResults.php?v=6&page=redcaptiming.com/2019/bronco/191019F003.htm 

Warner Pacific Cross Country Classic, at Portland USA
Corey De'Ath, racing for Portland University, finished 7th over 8km in 25.26
Full results are here - live.athletictiming.net/meets/4614/xc-events/174522/results

Cambridge University Vs Eastern Counties Vs RAF at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Phoebe Barker, running for Cambridge University won the women's race, in which Lucy Thompson was 15th. Luke Fisher placed 13th in the men's race. Results are on the Results 2019 page.

Bilbao Half Marathon, Spain
This night event included 10km, half marathon and full marathon. Steve Strange was registered for the 10k but unfortunately suffered at the hands of a course management issue. He ended up running the half marathon and recorded 69.13. This would have been a significant pb but it looks like the only official result puts him in the 10k !
Full results are here - www.edpbilbaomarathon.com/assets/2019_clasif_10k.pdf

Andy Combs gets married
Many of you will know Andy either as a long tome TAC member or as our special guest at this year's National Cross Country Championships, where he helped with the Awards Ceremony. Andy was a GB under 20 international and won numerous medals at national cross country and relay events. We sit him and Katie the very best wishes for the future.

Above - Andy Combs gets married to Katie

Friday 18th October Update

Nuttycombe Invitational Cross Country Meeting, Wisconsin, USA
It was supposedly a relatively quiet weekend, but there were still quite a few events that had TAC distance runners participating.

The 'weekend' competition started on Friday with James West (Oregon) and George Duggan (Portland) racing in the Nuttycombe Invitational. Its one of the highest calibre races in the USA collegiate season, although neither James (58th) or George (207th) will be pleased with the result. They ran 24.21 and 25.43, respectively, for the 8km (5 mile race).
Full results are here - results.flotrack.org/XC-PTT.html?mid=1805

Update - George Duggan suffered an injury during the race, when his foot was trodden on. He's undergoing an assessment and hoping just badly bruised.

Wednesday 16th October Update

London Colleges League, at Parliament Hill, London
Luke Reeves running for St Marys University, finished 29th. Full results are here -
​www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=318934&pagenum=1#5.6KXC

​FH Taylor Relay, at Judd School Tonbridge
Results are on the Results 2019 page, as the relays featured a number of TAC members

Lost property from Swanley Kent League

I picked up these shoes after the races on Saturday. Please contact markhookway@icloud.com if yours

Other weekend news, Saturday and Sunday 12th/13th October

Apart from the Kent League there were a few other highlights at the weekend -
Saturday
Surrey Cross Country League at Effingham
Max Nicholls finished 10th and Cameron Payas 13th, running for their second claim clubs.
Results are here - surreyleague.org/slm/race/237/#indiv
Chiltern League at Oxford
Miles Weatherseed ran as a non scorer in the Chiltern League and finished 11th.
Results here - www.chilternccl.co.uk/cl2019m1.htm
Sussex Cross Country League at Brighton
Fenton Davoren finished 2nd in the under 17 race at the Sussex League, racing for Lewes AC, his second claim club.
Results can be accessed here - www.sussexathletics.net/2019-2/
Cambridge University Freshers 5k
Phoebe Barker won this university 5k. Full results not available.
Parkruns
Tom Holden ran 19.28 at Dulwich to take 40s from his post accident personal best.
He's still making progress and pushing more confidently in training, so hopes further improvements will come.
Sunday
Birmingham Half Marathon
This was the Great Birmingham run and unfortunately was two miles short due to either a flooded section or suspiciously parked vehicle (differing accounts). The race incorporates an England Championship and Lucy Reid finished second female to Hayley Carruthers.
www.greatrun.org/myresults/full-searchFull results are here - 
Oxford Half Marathon
Ben Cole used this half marathon as a training run in preparation for the Frankfurt marathon and finished seventh in 70.48.
Full results are here - results.sporthive.com/events/6585475279125572096/races/468365
Exeter Half Marathon
Adam Durbaba improved his personal best by 91 seconds to 86.11.
Full results are here - results.sporthive.com/events/6585858798228134912/races/467780

Kent Cross Country League, at Swanley Park, Swanley, 12th October
Videos loaded !

Full results are now on the Results 2019 page. There were five individual TAC winners -
Lily Slack (u13 girls), Sophie Slack (u15 girls), Josh Prendergast (u15 boys), Katie Goodge (u17 women), Alex Beeston (u17).

A few notes -
Overall total TAC starters = 129, which beats our old league record of 125. What's impressive is that all 129 finished aswell !
We had 4 who didn't start that I had listed to race.
44 senior men, including Maurice Marchant in the over 70s is a TAC league record.
17 senior women is equal to the most for the first league fixture, but just short of an outright record
Senior men won 6 and 12 to score
Senior women won 3 and 6 to score
Under 17 men had the first 5 home and were 1st team
Under 17 women 2nd team
Under 15 boys had 7 in top 12 and were 1st team. 19 starters was 2 short of the TAC league record.
Under 15 girls 2nd team
Under 13 boys 3rd team
Under 13 girls 2nd team

Individual 'star' performers -
For a variety of reasons I noticed the following, although suspect there are others who feel they did really well -
Under 13 girls - Isobella Barton and Ella Thomas made their debuts
Under 13 boys - 7 making TAC cross country debuts. Harrison Fraser, Daniel Jeddo and Thomas Halfhide all had particularly good races
Under 15 girls - Aimee Holdstock had possibly the best performance of all 129 TAC to finish 29th of 64, after a tough couple of years. Sophie Slack won with confidence and it was good to see Annabelle Hales run so well.
Under 15 boys - Charlie Ellison and Jacob Kemmitt had TAC cross country debuts. I gave ** to six of them and maybe other than Josh Predergast who won, Angus Currie performed above expectations.
Under 17 women - Amber Crush was awarded ** as she starts moving up the results board !
Senior women - Becky Morrish, who is building up to a marathon, impressed for third, whilst the likes of Chloe Bird, Alex Crockford and Tina Oldershaw came through difficult spells to race well. Also seeing Lisa Knight well up in 28th deserves a mention.
Senior men - I gave ** to James Kingston, Charlie Crick and Alex Sandberg, who are all u20s finishing high up and running at their best, whilst Adam Roeder continues to improve. It was also good to see a few making their debuts coping so well.
Loads of photos here - www.facebook.com/mark.hookway.5/media_set?set=a.10157489563989788&type=3

Most of the senior women's squad

Most of the senior men's squad

Under 15 squad

Under 13 Teams

Gary Goodge ready for the first league races of the season

English Schools Cup 1st Round, at Sevenoaks, Tuesday 8th October

There were a number of TAC members in action for their schools.
​Results are on the Results 2019 page.
Junior Girls - 1st Lily Slack, Inter Girls - 2nd Sophy Slack, Inter Boys - 3rd Tom Phillips

National Road Relay Championships, at Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, Sunday 6th October
Tonbridge Senior Women - English Champions !
Videos loaded !

The TAC senior women's team finished second overall behind Cardiff, but clinched the English Championship.
The team consisted of Nicole Taylor, Kiri Marsh, Phoebe Barker and Lucy Reid.

In summary -
Senior women 2nd (1st English), B team 31st (2nd B team), C team 47th (2nd C team)
Nicole Taylor 10th fastest, Lucy Reid 12th fastest
First time ver had three complete teams.

Senior men 12th, B team 23rd (3rd B team)
Eight years in a row now that TAC have qualified two teams.

Under 17 men 4th and 16th (2nd B team)
Alex Beeston 9th fastest lap.

Under 17 women no team

Under 15 boys 14th, 16th (3rd B team) and 32nd (1st C team)

Under 15 girls 24th

Under 13 boys 30th

Under 13 girls 4th, 18th (3rd B team)
​Lily Slack 2nd fastest lap

Full results here - www.race-results.co.uk/results/2019/nat64ya19r.php
They are also on the Results 2019 page.
​
More details to follow.

TAC women's team - English Champions
Lucy Reid, Kiri Marsh, Nicole Taylor, Phoebe Barker

Above - a few of the 'star' performers (for a variety of reasons) at the National Road Relays

Other Sunday Races, 6th October

Tonbridge Half Marathon
Dan Bradley finished 2nd in the men's race with 77.23 and Helen Gaunt won the women's race in 87.01.
Full results are here - www.nice-work.org.uk/races/the-tonbridge-half-marathon/2019
Ashford 10k Road Race
Becky Morrish won the women's race in a new pb of 37.50, just two seconds away from a pb.
4th female Claire Day 39.50
Full results are here - results.racetimers.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=16487&RId=4403
Cardiff Half Marathon
Harriet Woolley ran 84.16 and was 19th female home.
Full results are here - www.tdleventservices.co.uk/event-results/events?event=3477
Titsey Trail 10km race
Mark Pitcairn-Knowles finished 11th

Grazia Manzotti, Claire Day and Becky Morrish at Ashford 10k - team winners

Great Scottish Half Marathon, Glasgow, Sunday 29th September

Ben Cole has run one of the fastest ever half marathons by a Tonbridge AC athlete for 10th in the Great Scottish Run.
He placed 10th in 66.04, although the actual chip time was 66.02.
Ben's previous pb was 66.53 set in March.
The time will put him second on the TAC all time list behind Henry Pearce's 65.49.
Full results are here - greatscottishrun.com/Results/FullSearch/

USA weekend news Friday/Saturday 27th/28th September

Bill Dellinger Invitational, at Oregon, Saturday
James West (Oregon) had most probably his best ever cross country race, when finishing 3rd over the fast 8km course in 23.32. Coincidentally George Duggan and Corey De'Ath were both racing for Portland at the same race, placing 41st in 24.21 and 82nd in 25.01.
Full results are here - live.athletictiming.net/meets/4377/xc-events/172371/results

Ted Owen Invitational, at Connecticut, Saturday
Charlie Joslin-Allen, who is at American International College, finished 47th in 28.10 at the Ted Owen Invitational Cross country Meeting.
Full results are here - iresultslive.com/?op=overall&eid=4476

James West finishing third at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Saturday

Parkruns, Saturday 28th September

I always keep an eye on park run results, especially when it's a relatively quiet weekend otherwise.
All the TAC results can be found here - www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404
Of course this only includes those who have nominated Tonbridge AC as their designated club.

​Here are just a few of the performances, highlighted for a variety of reasons.
Tonbridge - James Kingston first home in 16.48
Tunbridge Wells - 1st female Matilda Catling 21.55
Maidstone - 1st female Harriet Woolley 18.55
Cyclopark Gravesend - 1st female Lucy Kingston 22.58
Bromley - Grazia Manzotti smashed her pb with 22.46
Exeter - 8th Adam Durbaba 19.02 - Adam is now at Exeter University

Other weekend news, 21st/22nd September

Charlie Joslin-Allen won an 8km cross country race in USA at Chicopee, Massachusetts, USA on Saturday.
Report here - aicyellowjackets.com/news/2019/9/21/mens-cross-country-cruises-to-perfect-victory-at-blazer-invitational.aspx

​The USA collegiate season will be gathering momentum and we have Charlie at American International College, James West at Oregon, plus both Corey De'Ath and George Duggan at Portland.

South of England Road Relay Championships, at Crystal Palace, Sunday 22nd September
Videos loading !

Full results are on the Results 2019 page.
In summary -
Senior Men - 5th and B team 21st (3rd B) qualify for National champs as top 25
Senior Women - 4th and B team 16th (3rd B). 19 senior/veteran women is most ever.
Under 17 men - 3rd and B team 11th (2nd B)
Under 17 women - incomplete team
Under 15 boys - 4th and B team 11th (2nd B) plus 1st C team and 1st D team. 16 runners beats record of 15 in 2008.
Under 15 girls - 22nd
Under 13 boys - incomplete and first time TAC has not had a team since 2003.
Under 13 girls 3rd and B team 14th (2nd B), plus 2nd C team. Lily Slack fastest lap of the race.

Record number of 36 female runners, beating 34 in 2014.
Overall total of 89 just short of record 91.
Surprising stat - first time ever 5 teams have placed in top 5 across the 8 races. 

Plenty of photos on Mark Hookway's Facebook page -
​ www.facebook.com/mark.hookway.5/media_set?set=a.10157434930769788&type=3&uploaded=179

Left - Lily Slack - fastest u13 girls' lap of the day
Right - The u13 bronze medal winners - Gracie MacAuley, Eva Mathew and Lily Slack

The under 15 squads

Above - Some of the senior women's squad

Above - some of the TAC performers who showed terrific club spirit

Above - some of the TAC performers who were at their best

Rome Half Marathon, via Paris, Sunday 22nd September

Lucy Reid ran 78.19 (unofficial) in Rome for this half marathon.
Full results awaited - worldsmarathons.com/marathon/rome-half-marathon-via-pacis/results

Veterans AC 10,000m track championships, at Battersea Park, Wednesday 18th September

Dan Madams ran 35.01.08 at Battersea, as an over 45 age group member, which placed him 8th in the A race.

Message from South of England Athletics Association regarding -
Sunday 22nd September - South of England Championships road relays, at Crystal Palace (all)

We have a sign up link for anyone who would be interested in volunteering on the day. You can choose your role and your hours. Travel expenses are paid and all volunteers are provided with lunch. We would appreciate it if this could be shared with your club.  https://forms.gle/HtgwyjtvwDnnacWA8
 
Hope you and your athletes all enjoy the Championships!
Kind regards
Ella Jolliffe
Competitions Administrator
SEAA Competition Ltd

TAC 'Junior' 1 mile races, 2019/20

Below is a list of the monthly 1 mile races that we put on for 12 years old and younger. The youngest so far has been 4 years old !
They are a very good low key introduction to cross country and generally on Sunday afternoons, although the first one is on Saturday 26th October, in conjunction with the home Kent League fixture.

tac_junior_1_mile_races_2019-2020.pdf
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European Veterans Championships, 5th to 15th September, Venice, Italy

In Italy, Ben Reynolds won two bronze medals in the over 55 men’s events at the European Masters Championships. On Friday he recorded 16.57.31 over 5000 metres and two days later ran the half marathon in 80.09, both in temperatures of over 30 degrees.
Alan Newman and Sue James were also in action in various events.
Please see Mark Pitcain-Knowles report on the TAC Masters/Veterans page.
Full results are here - www.fidal.it/risultati/2019/COD7632/Index.htm

Kent under 13 and veterans championships, at Erith, Saturday and Sunday 14th/15th September

Under 13s
​800m 1st Lily Slack 2.24.07, 5th Neve Bachelor 2.36.64
1200m 1st Lily Slack 3.54.24
Veterans
800m
W40 1st Nina Ridge 2.39.57
M50 2nd Phil Coleman 2.18.86
1500m
W40 1st Lisa Knight 5.22.51
M50 2nd Phil Coleman 4.43.59

Lily Slack - Two golds at Kent under 13 championships

Larkfield 10k road race, Sunday 15th September

Full results appear here - http://www.chiptiminguk.co.uk/larkfield-10k
James Bryant was the overall winner in 32.20, improving on his previous win at Dartford, in August by 1.25. Dan Bradley was 7th in 34.30 and 19th Luke Hooper 36.00.
TAC filled all of the top women's places led home by winner Helen Gaunt, the winner, in 38.58. Following in behind were Claire Day 39.22, Maria Heslop 39.28, Harriet Woolley 39.30, Liz Weeks 39.37 and Nichola Evans 40.49.
​In total there were 16 TAC finishers.

Helen Gaunt and Jamie Bryant - winners at Larkfield

Run Reigate 10k road race, Sunday 15th September

TAC filled the first three women's places with 1st Nicole Taylor in 34.52 (3rd overall and pb), 4th Lucy Reid 36.00 (4th overall) and 3rd Phoebe Barker (5th overall) 36.21 debut.
Full results are here - www.runreigate.com/results/

Nicole Taylor, Phoebe Barker and Lucy Reid - top 3 at Reigate

Blackheath and Bromley Cross Country Relays, at West Wickham, Saturday 14th September
Videos loaded !

The full results are here - www.bandbhac.org.uk/c-c%20relay%202019.html
and on the Results 2019 page.
​
​It appears that the organisers are having major issues with the u13/15 results and so if anyone timed themselves please let me know at markhookway@icloud.com We know for example that Huxley Crush was quicker than Jamie MacDonald on leg 2.

More photos here - www.facebook.com/mark.hookway.5/media_set?set=a.10157415004939788&type=3

Top - Jamie Goodge fastest lap, Katie Goodge 2nd fastest women's lap
Middle - Sophie Slack fastest u13/15 girls lap, TAC men's winning team
Bottom - TAC women's winning team, Tom Phillips and Ananjan Ganguli 2nd and 1st fastest laps u13/15

Weekend news, Saturday/Sunday 7th/8th September

Saturday
Parkrun
I always like having a look at the park run results and will try and pick out a few, particularly when its an otherwise quiet weekend. Here are a few -
Tonbridge 1st Steve Strange 16.17 (Steve has just joined TAC from Basildon), 1st female Sophie Slack 19.43
Thomas Claridge (u15) was 2nd at Orpington in 19.24, Penny Horne was 2nd female at Tunbridge Wells in 21.32, Adam Roeder smashed his pb at bromley for 4th in 17.46.
Full TAC results are here - www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404
Sunday
Great North Run, Half Marathon
Ashley Gibson, making her half marathon debut ran 77.38, whilst Jacqui O'Reilly ran 96.53
Full results are here - www.greatrun.org/myresults/advanced-search
Hellingly 10k road race
Matt Dennis finished second at a very hilly Hellingly 10k in 36.08
Results will appear here - www.eventrac.co.uk/archived-races/the-john-faulds-hellingly-10k-race#anchor
Rye Ancient Trails 15km
Joe Watts finished 6th in 64.56 and Holly Howden 45th (14th female) in 87.48.
Chippenham Half Marathon
Ben Cole finished 3rd in 69.16
Results are here - www.sportsystems.co.uk/ss/results/Chippenham%20Half%20Marathon/4177

Winter Season 2019/20

I have been collating responses regarding race availability in the Winter.
Should anyone have not replied and requires the information, the details are in the file below.
​So far I have had 233 responses.

winter_2019.20_fixtures_availability_form.docx
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tac_guide_to_winter_2019.20.doc
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Tonbridge Twilight Invitational by Bede Pitcairn-Knowles

Bede Pitcairn-Knowles has created this video capturing last Friday's Tonbridge Twilight Invitational Meeting.

Other Wednesday news, 4th September

Watford Open Meeting
In the 800m Lily Slack (u13) ran 2.22.55 and Sophie Slack (u15) 2.32.37
Full results are here - data.opentrack.run/x/2019/GBR/watopen12/event/
National Police Force 10 miles championship
Harry Paton finished 8th in 59.26
Full results here - dbmaxresults.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=16421&RId=12006&EId=1&dt=0&fbclid=IwAR24xrZ-HfUEmiomA0RNa2lVfzd-aAO27HVAUjLfG1lPmYVu6c9qkaq_C_M

JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Final, San Francisco, USA, Wednesday, 4th September

Lucy Reid travelled to San Francisco and won the JP Morgan Challenge final in 18.08, by 38s.
Lucy actually works for JP Morgan in London, so maybe she will now get a promotion !
Full results are here - www.jpmorganchasecc.com/results.php?city_id=18

Other weekend news, Saturday and Sunday 30th August and 1st September

Saturday
Bashingham Bash 5 miles road race, near Lincoln
Kiri Marsh was the first female home in 28.33
​Full results are here -www.chiptiminguk.co.uk/2019-results/bassingham-bash-5-mile-road-race
Sunday
Ladywell 10k Track races, at Catford
Max Nicholls finished 11th in the A race in 31.13.72
​Full results are here - results.opentrack.run/x/2019/GBR/ladywell10000/event/
Eridge 10 mie Trail Race
New TAC member Helen Grant was first female home in 81.11, whilst Holly Gordon was 24th in 1.41.51
Full results are here - www.nice-work.org.uk/races/Eridge10/2019

Southern Counties Veterans League Final, at Ashford, Sunday 1st September

The TAC veterans squad did the double by winning both the men's and women's competitions.
Full results can be found here - www.hampshirevetsleague.org.uk/2019/finalmen2019.html

Tonbridge Twilight Invitation Meeting, Friday 30th  August
Videos loaded !

Huge thanks to everyone who helped, took part and supported at the Twilight meeting.
Full results are here - results.opentrack.run/x/2019/GBR/tactim/event/
Athlete interviews with Sam Crick are here - www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQt1MC3OSkv8lL2g1qYYmY1s-M_WS051-
​
Photos are here - www.dropbox.com/sh/y502wyoexk9x8b8/AADFwCIdSzPmrmWVfB-Vn2gna?dl=0

An incredible night where we saw amounts other things 100m 10.3, 400s 48.22/54.62, 800s 1.45.98/2.02.99, 1 mile 3.56.47, 3000s 8.07.59/9.10.27, 3k steeplechase 8.29.54.

Tonbridge Bank Holiday Open Meeting, Monday 26th August
Videos loaded (1500m and 3000m only) !

Full results are on the Results 2019 page.

Dartford 10km road race, Monday 26th August

Jamie Bryant won the Dartford 10k, which doubled as the Kent Championship, in 33.45. Dan Bradley was 6th in 36.18 and Clare Brown ran 50.34.

Full results are here - racetimingsolutions.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16269&RId=1115

Jamie Bryant - Dartford 10k road race winner

British Championships and World championship Trials, at Birmingham, Saturday/Sunday 24th/25th August
Videos loaded !

Full results here - extranet.britishathletics.org.uk/Results/20190824_Birmingham/index.html

TAC distance runners qualified and raced -
800m Sean Molloy, Ben Murphy 1500m James West, Dom Brown, Kieran Reilly, Miles Weatherseed 5000m Lucy Reid, 3000m steeplechase Ryan Driscoll.

James West made the 1500m final and finished 5th and Dom Brown also qualified and placed 11th, although picked up a foot injury in the process.
​Ryan Driscoll and Lucy Reid had tough experiences in very hot conditions finishing 10th and 15th in their finals.

Watford Open Meeting, Wednesday 21st August

There were three TAC athletes in action -
British Milers Club 1500m B race - 7th Alasdair Kinloch 3.54.83 (best for 2 years)
​Open 1500m races - Toby Emm (u20)  4.12.18 (pb by 1.8s), Alex Beeston (u17) 4.16.09 (pb by 5.4s)

Many thanks to the Gold Event Sponsors for the Tonbridge Twilight Meeting, Friday 30th August

British Milers Club Meeting, at Trafford, Tuesday 20th August

Dom Brown warmed up for this coming weekend's British Trials 1500m by running an 800m pb of 1.50.45 at Trafford and winning the B race.
This moves Dom to ninth on the TAC all time list and is third on the 2019 outdoor TAC rankings behind James West and Ben Murphy.

This weeks 'Big Hitters' - 12th to 19th August

Personal bests are becoming harder to get, partly with fewer fixtures, partly as the season is advanced, but also as the weather hasn’t been that great ! However there were a few -

800 metres
Michael Ellis (sm) 1.56.92 (improvement by 1.6s)
Rebekah O’Brien (u17) 2.15.96 (improvement by 2.7s) - also 400m 58.29 and 300m hurdles 44.99
Adam Roeder (sm) 2.11.66 (improvement by 0.3s)
Debuts
5000 metres
Luke Fisher (sm) 15.49.57
2000 metres steeplechase
Lucy Thompson (sw) 8.33.25

Other weekend news, Saturday/Sunday 17th/18th August

Saturday
Parkruns
There was a double TAC 'win' at Tonbridge from Will Beeston, setting a pb of 16.33 and Ashley Gibson with 17.47.
Grace MacAuley was first female home at Tunbridge Wells in 21.54
All the TAC results can be viewed here - www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2404
Sunday
Mount Ephraim 10k road race, at Boughton, Faversham
Liz Weeks was first female home in 40.45
Saturday and Sunday
South of England u13,u15,u17 championships, at Ashford
There were only a few TAC athletes in action, including -
u17 women 400m hurdles Rebekah O'Brien 1st 44.99, plus 3rd in 400m in 58.29
u17 men 400m heats Fenton Davoren 55.62
u15 boys 1500m heats David Barclay 5.24.07

Southern Athletics League Division 2 East, at Woodford Green, Saturday 17th August
Videos loaded !

TAC defeated the league leaders Eastbourne, whilst at Dartford Brighton defeated Basildon, who had been 3rd in the league. TAC therefore leapt from 3rd to 2nd to gain promotion to the top division next year.

There were TAC distance runners A string wins for Sean Molloy (800), Michael Ellis (1500), Katie Goodge (1500), Alex Crockford (3000) and Lucy Thompson (2000 steeplechase).

​Full results are on the Results 2019 page.
Photos on Mark Hookway's facebook page.

British Milers Club Meeting at Eltham Wednesday 14th August
Videos loaded !

Luckily the heavy rain from the day ceased and although still drizzly and cool the conditions were not too bad at Eltham. Eight TAC athletes toed the line in the 800m and 5000m races.
800 metres
Sean Molloy and Ben Murphy put on an excellent show in the A race with Sean winning in 1.50.52 to Ben's 1.50.62.
C race - Cameron Payas 1.56.98 seasons best
D race - Michael Ellis ran 1.56.92 to improve his pb from 1.58.5
Adam Roeder trimmed his pb with a 2.11.66  and Rebekah O'Brien ran a pb of 2.15.96
5000 metres
Luke Fisher won the B race on his track debut in 15.49.57, which bettered his recent road 5k pb of 16.02.
James Puxty ran 15.31.67 in the A race.

Full results are here - britishmilersclub.com/content/bmcitemdisplay.aspx?itemid=1616

James West racing for Great Britain - 3rd in 3000 metres
​Europeam Super Cup, Poland, Sunday 11th August

James West raced 3000 metres on Sunday 11th August , at the European Super Cup, which comprises the top 12 countries. 
He finished third in 8.02.97 less than half a second away from the winner Adel Mechaal of Spain.

This was James’ first senior GB track international and he raced really well in a tactical affair. His last two laps were covered in 59.2 and 54.8, meaning 1.54.0 for the last 800 metres.

Full result here - www.european-athletics.org/competitions/european-team-championships/2019/athletics/event/mens-3000m/phase=atm030100/index.html?v=20190811164806&intcmp=[#]-schline-result

​BBC iplayer here - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/athletics/48977718 (3 hours 15 mins in for the finish)

James West after his 3000 metres in the European Super Cup