Deal Castle 5 Mile – Sunday 3^rd November 2019

Sunday saw fifteen A&D runners head to the coast for the Deal Castle 5 Mile. The flat, sea front course promised a fast race; the club’s first four finishers all achieved PBs, with another four from the squad’s subsequent finishers.

Trevor Kay was 6^th overall and 2^nd in his age category, crossing the finish line in 28min 41sec (PB). Jon Wells (30.28, PB) and Julius Samson (30.32, PB) then finished 14^th and 15^th, respectively; Samson was 3^rd Male V50 over the finish line. Paul Ridley was next home for the club 24^th overall in 31.55 (PB), followed by Aaron Homewood (37.57) and Stu Nunn (39.06). Jaclyn Kay was on strong form in 41.20, followed by Hugh Scarlin in 42.39. Completing the course in PB times, Verity Dunbar (44.00) and Rachel Jenkins (46.53) were next. Lesley Moody (52.04), Sarah Taylor (52.18) and Susan Sutton (52.40, PB) then crossed the finish line in quick succession. Next home for the club, Emma Jenkins finished in 54.22 and Debbie Payne in 56.32 (PB).

Beckley 10k – Sunday 3^rd November 2019

In East Sussex, A&D duo Keith Haynes and Christine Costiff took on the hilly Beckley 10K. Both ran the challenging course with aplomb: Haynes (41.11) finished 10^th overall and 2^nd  V40; Costiff (47.06), fresh from representing England at the Age Group Masters, finished 3^rd Lady and 1^st V55.

SVN Halloween Challenge – Thursday 31^st October 2019

Becky Hodgson covered a total of 16.4 miles in 4.15.28 during Thursday’s SVN Halloween Challenge at Samphire Hoe.

Parkrun- Satruday 2^nd November 2019

A wet, windy Saturday morning saw John Fidge (26.08) and Ann Fidge (28.01) run the Birkenhead Parkrun in Merseyside, whilst Gill O’Connor (25.05) and Christine Costiff (25.06) had mud to contend with at the Riddlesdown Parkrun, Croydon.

In Ashford’s Parkrun, Dan Green was 2^nd overall in 18.27. Cris Francis was next in 22.41, placing 1^st in his age group. Terry Sellen finished in 24.00, whilst Claire Williams (24.01) smashed her PB by over a minute. Rod Kessack was next in 24.53, followed by Sandi Mortimer in 25.13, Hugh Scarlin in 26.14, Rachel Jenkins in 29.04 and Sarah Taylor in 34.00. Julie Foster and Becky Hodgson completed the course together in 45.17.

A&D Runners take on challenging conditions

A wide variety of challenges were presented to the runners of A&D over the weekend.

Aurelie Morris completed the Dubai half marathon in 2:05:53 in temperatures of 31C and 90% humidity.

In a stark contrast the Beachey Head Marathon presented blinding sunshine, high winds, mud and uncompromising hills. The conditions did not prevent this from being a well liked event. Mark Attenborough was first home for the club in a time of 4:18:27, reaping the benefit of the hard miles  run in preparation for this event. Next home for the club was Ed Roger in 4:55:39. Tracey Calnan finished in 5:42:47, a superb time on such a brutal course. Club president Steve Hickman on his 161st marathon finished in 5:57:04.

Marathon specialist Rik Holden ran the Ghost of Cyclopark marathon in a time of 3:33:01.

Kent Cross Country League fixture 2

Somerhill is always a challenging venue, but always keenly anticipated in the cross country calendar. The weather was an added complication with high winds and frequent showers. Indeed a perfect day, and venue, for cross country.

A total of 26 A&D runners travelled to Tonbridge, a tremendous turnout for the light-blues.

Ashford ladies showed strong performances throughout with some very encouraging debuts to cross-country.

Becky Macey was first home for the club in 24th place and 4th in the league in her category. Next in was Christine Costiff in 58th, maintaining a perfect start to the season with 1st place in the W55 category. Essen Larsen in 11th gave A&D 11th on the day and 9th in the 3 to score league. Jill Crofton-Martin 84th, Claire Green 92nd, Gill O’Connor 97th, Claire Williams 100th, Massah Cooper 104th, Jaclyn Kay 111th, Allis Goddard 112th and Lucy Johnstone 133rd all contributed to an excellent team performance to give 7th place on the day and 8th in the 6 to score league.

Michael Davies dominates the V70 competition winning again despite a persistent calf injury and leading the competition with a 100% record.

The rain and previous races prepared the course when the 15 men took to the field. In his second cross country race Lawrence Teeling started well but pulled out early due to injury. Refreshed from    Holidays Trevor Kay 98th and Dan Green 99th led the men home. Andrew Noble 106th and Scott Lynch 148th gave A&D 15th place on the day and 13th in the 4 to score league. Paul Moses 158th was closely followed in by James Booth 164th and Keith Haynes 167th. Cross country captain Adrain Moody 203rd, led the charge with Mark Harrison 209th, Neil Woodham 221st, Carl Ireland 222nd, Adrian Beresford 224th, Darren Fagg 228th, and RIcky Hickman 259th providing valuable points in the 10 to score competition giving 10th place on the day and 8th overall.

Masterly performances at first cross country of the season.

The cross country season kicked off at Swanley with a strong representation from Ashford and District.

Michael Davies provided the inspiration with first place in the V70 race. Michael dominated the race and was over 1 minute ahead of the next runner home.

The ladies team was led home by Becks Macey in 19th place and 3rd V35 lady, Chris Costiff finished 55th and 1st V55 lady, Tracey Calnan ran strongly to finish in 59th. This gave the ladies team 9th place in the 3 to score league. Jill Crofton-Martin came in 85th followed by Gill O’Connor  battling with back problems finished 97th and 3rd in the V55 category. Gill was followed home by Aurelie Morris 98th, Massah Cooper 99th and Claire Green 100th. With Karine Puech in 120th, Jacklyn Kay 125th and Lucy Johnstone 144th gave a very solid 8th place in the 6 to score league. A tremendous result with determined performances from a host of cross-country newcomers and experienced runners giving solid foundations to build on for the rest of the season.

Trevor Kay, returning to form, was the first finisher for A&D in the men’s race, in 71st place. A superb 80th place for Lawrence Teeling was an impressive introduction to the league and cross country running. With Jon Pearce in 83rd, Dan Green 101st, Andrew Noble 105th and 8th V50, and Scott Lynch 112th and 11th V50 the foundations were laid for 12th place in the 4 to score league. With Paul Moses 142nd, Tom Preece 151st, James Booth 157th, Keith Haynes 163rd, Paul Ridley 168th, Mark Harrison 175th, Mark Attenborough 177th, Adrian Moody 186th and Ricky Hickman 272nd, a gutsy team  performance was rewarded with 6th place in the 12 to score league.

A&D were well represented at the inaugural Tempel Ewell 10k. This multi-terrain and challenging course starting in the picturesque Kearney Abbey and suited the Ashford runners. Becks Macey followed up her cross country run with a fantastic 1st lady in a time of 47:00.  She was joined on the podium by Essen Larsen in 3rd place in a time of 50:57. Karine Peuch dug deep complementing her run on Saturday and was placed 26th lady with 57:30.

Maintaining his run of excellent results Laurence Teeling finished in 5th place in 41:20. Darren Flagg also had a great run finishing 49th with 50:18.

Phillip Bridges, putting together a string of first class races finished in 57th with a time of 51:12.

Another of the cross-country team, Paul Ridley, competed in the hilly Maidstone half marathon and completed the source with a very creditable 1:38:03.Keith Lynn took part in the Royal Parks half marathon.

On a busy weekend for the clubs half marathon runners, Lucy Johnstone travelled on from the cross country on Saturday to run the Oxford half marathon on Sunday finishing with a time of 2:18:36. Lucy was joined in Oxford by Sarah Taylor 2:29:53, and Hugh Scarlin in 2:07:16 giving him a personal best time by a margin of 9 minutes.

Woodchurch 5 & 10 Mile – Sunday 22^nd September 2019

The A&D squad took home a trio of age category prizes at the Woodchurch 5 & 10 Mile race on Sunday. The circular course was undulating, with those running 10 miles completing two laps.

In the 5 mile race, Paul Moses was 3^rd overall and 1^st Male V50 with a time of 33min 15sec. Keith Haynes was 5^th overall and 1^st Male V40 in 33.48.  Sarah Taylor was next home for the club in 58.39, followed by Julie Foster in 1.11.44.

The 10 mile race saw Mark Attenborough finish 7^th overall and 1^st Male V50, with a time of 1.13.00. Finishing second in this age category, Adrian Moody then crossed the finish line in 1.14.27.  Keith Lynn was next in 1.37.28, followed by Trevor Sparkes in 1.45.57 (PB) and Hugh Scarlin in 1.46.51.

Shorne Woods 5 Mile – Sunday 22^nd September 2019

Three A&D runners travelled to Shorne Woods Country Park, near Gravesend, for Sunday’s 5 Mile race. Run on a mixture of track and trails, the route included a testing incline. Jon Wells was 4^th overall and second in his age category, with a time of 34.44. Paul Ridley finished in 36.47, making him 9^th overall. Lucy Johnstone was next home for the club in 58.27.

Rutland Half Marathon – Sunday 22^nd September 2019

The weekend marked a return to racing for Gill O’Connor, who took on the Rutland Half Marathon with sister Christine Costiff. The undulating course ran along the banks of Rutland Water Reservoir, East Midlands. Costiff was fourth overall and 1^st Female V55, with a time of 1.45.10; O’Connor finished second in this category, with a time of 1.53.58.