Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club

Essex Cross Country Championships 2012, Basildon
Published on 10 January, 2012

Whilst there were representatives in every age group from the Southend club, not all made it to the rostrum. Three teams, however, were delighted to bring home some 'hardware':

~The Bronze team medals went to a delighted Senior Men's squad led by Adam Hickey (Silver individual), followed by Tom Frith, 15th, David Smale 22nd, David Gibbon 31st, Peter Smale 42nd and Scott Thrush completing the scoring line-up in 65th. They were ably supported by V60 Peter Binns and the senior Smale brother, Simon.

~ Although they have been putting on a good demonstration this winter in the Cross Country League, on this occasion the Under 15 Boys yielded 6 points to the eventual winners whilst earning for themselves the team Silver Medals. James Nadin just missed out on the individual medal in 4th place; two places later saw Laurence Willmore finish, followed by 9th placed Adam Jordan and Josh Mann in 15th. Joe Ray, Zach Inwood and Dominic Le Mare completed the competing squad.

~The Under 13 Boys were not going to be left out of the frame, for they also romped home in Silver medal place. First into the funnel was Brandon Thorpe who excellent piece of running brought him the individual Bronze medal. The super squad was completed by Jack Woolf in 11th, Toby Wright in 16th and Toby Jordan, 33rd.

~It was no surprise that the Under 17 Men who have dominated their age group this winter, were the outright GOLD medal winners of their age group courtesy of some serious packing at the front from Ashley Capel, Ben Franklin and Steven Hancock (5th, 6th and 7th respectively) with Jon Kerridge claiming his team place in 13th. He nearly missed the boat though: Oliver Kyriakides was breathing down his neck, finishing just 2 seconds behind him in 14th with Richard Stennett and Tate Baron supporting their team-mates in 16th and 20th.

Back row - Jon Kerridge; Ashley Capel; Richard Stennett
Front row: Tate Baron; Ben Franklin;James Nadin; Oliver Kyriakides

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Eastern Cross Country Championships, Ipswich
Published on 29 Nov, 2011

The Eastern Cross Country Championships were held in the beautiful settings of Royal Hospital Holbrook in Ipswich where a small but dedicated band of Southend Athletes pitted themselves against other East Anglian opponents. But their arrival had been seriously in doubt as they were hampered by a lorry full of Christmas trees overturning near Colchester delaying their journeys to the extent that many of them arrived only to go straight to the start-line. Nonetheless they still came home with a trio of Silvers and a Bronze.

A startling performance from Rhys Gillard (U20) who has been up there with the leaders all this season. He also arrived just in time for his race - but before he'd even pinned his number on the gun went; thus he started his race with an instant 200m disadvantage. Every ready for a challenge, he stormed through almost everyone else in the field to secure the Silver medal!

Ashley Capel who ran so well in his first race of the season at Hadleigh had travelled all the way to Ipswich only to pull a hamstring and thus miss out on the Silver medal secured by his team-mates Olly Kyriakides (who just missed on on the Bronze by finishing 4th), Ben Franklin (7th) and Steve Hancock (9th) - as with Gillard they went straight from car to race.

Unforturnately for the U15 Boys only two of them could make the trip which inevitably would have resulted in the second team medal of the day as Laurence Willmore and Adam Jordan secured individual Silver and Bronze medals.

Sarah Imbush turned the tables on Jordan Lacey this time finishing ahead of her team-mate (6th to 9th) in the U17 race while the Under 15 representatives Lucy Kidwell finished in a respectable 14th place.

June

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Essex Cross Country League, Hadleigh
Published on 19 Nov, 2011

The Hadleigh Park course was bathed in sunshine for the whole event and was patently NOT cross country weather. The going was firm rather than the usual mud, but that in itself was a potential ankle trap with ruts and holes lurking in the grass to catch the unwary. The fast downhill start also caught many out but the course with its many undulations evened out the running.

However the Under 17 Men and Under 15 Boys from the Seaside Club made it in one piece whilst maintaining their winning ways at the third of the season's four Cross Country League matches.

Close packing was the order of the day for the Under 17s – Ashley Capel on his first run this season shocked himself and surprised everyone else with a storming 6th place, followed by Rob Frith in 7th and Steven Hancock 8th – but Oliver Kyriakides turned the tables on everyone by grabbing 3rd spot. Lone support Ben Franklin was not far behind (12th).

The Under 15s stole the march on Chelmsford (30 to 32) with a finishing line-up of Laurence Willmore in 3rd, Adam Jordan 5th, Ben Cockrill 9th and to complete the scoring squad, Joe Ray 13th. Zach Inwood provided his regular invaluable support finishing 19th.

The very promising line-up of Under 13 Boys were 2nd team courtesy of some fine running from Brandon Thorpe (2nd), Jack Woolf (12th), Toby Wright (16th) and Sean Graham (25th). New recruit Brandon Duggan gave superb support in 28th place.

Third place went to the Under 15 Girls following the combined efforts of Emma Jarvis who improved to 6th, Olivia Tidd who followed her home in 7th, Lucy Kidwell (19th) and Annabel Matthews-Smith (25th). Lucy Lynch and Cydney Owen provided the much-needed support with their 31st and 42nd places.

The combined U17/20 race for Women involved Holly Gillard U20 who, as usual, led the team home (12th), Under 17s Jordan Lacey and Sarah Imbush next in (17th and 20th) and Alexandra Morgan, also Under 17, and despite feeling unwell and therefore running under par, bravely completed the team in 23rd enabling them to earn 3rd place.

The Senior Women finished 4th, the Under 13 Girls 5th and the Senior Men 6th.

Luton Marathon 20.11.11
The same weekend, Mat Gillard and Fiona Hawkins took on the Luton Marathon, both recording their second best times for the past two years, Gillard with 3,58.27 and Hawkins with 4,07.26.

June Cork

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East Anglian League Final
Published on 18 September, 2011

The Under 13 Girls from Southend outshone the opposition on Sunday at Bury St Edmunds when they sprinted off with the Age Group Trophy at the East Anglian League Final.

Newcomer Adele Stacey made her mark with two wins and personal bests in both events - the High Jump (1.33m) and the Shot (6.90m). Holly Coughlan won the B string Long Jump (4.06m) behind Gabriella Pearson (4.14m), while Shereen Raouf won the B string 100m in 14.1. Michelle Manyewe ran 13.6 in the A string for 3rd spot, but in the 200m the roles were reversed - Raouf getting the edge of Manyewe (28.3 to 29.4). The latter ran 13.2 in the B 70m Hurdles after Coughlan had clocked 12.4 in the A string..

Rachel Aldis produced a further best-ever in the 1500m where she clocked 5,31.6 behind the 5,23.9 run by Natasha May. May later turned her hand to the Javelin with a best throw of 18.60m. Pearson was the team's sole representative in the 800m which she ran in 2,44.0 while on the field Abby Cronin, another relatively new signing, putt the Shot 6.97m and threw the Discus 16.16m.

The combined effect of all these good performances was the huge shield which journeyed home to Southend with them.

The three other age groups who qualified for the Final were not quite so fortunate, a variable level of support handicapping the squads' overall performances.

Nonetheless, those in attendance made a great effort to compensate for their lack of numbers

The select four who represented the Under 17 Men - Captain Richard Stennett produced a pair of personal bests - in the 100m with 12.9 and the High Jump where he cleared a great 1.62m Jake Inwood, in his role as Vice Captain felt he should support his Captain and produced his personal best in the Discus which he launched to 21.18m. Stennett earned further useful points in the 800m while Inwood produced an 8.01m Shot and Tom Metcalf busied himself with a 57.3 400m, a 17.2 100m Hurdles and threw a 37.30m in the Javelin. Sam Grant undertook the B Discus and A Hammer (43.53m).

The Under 15 Boys produced a few personal bests - Joshua Amofah 12.0/100m; Adam Jordan ran a pb 2,21.4/800m, Luke Saville doesn't often run 800m but still managed a pb 2,42.3. Charlie Metcalf took on three of the throws producing a 26.69m in the Javelin behind Zach Inwood's 27.66 in the A string but collected two pbs - in the Discus with 23.02 and the Hammer (25.01m). Shaun Knights completed the pb line-up with a very useful 11.97m in the Shot Putt.

Blessing Mutazu took on three events with useful results - 100m (12.8), 400m (59.0) and Discus A (23.96m) and James Nadin, running in the 1500m, finished with 4,27.5. Amofah and Saville in the High Jump both cleared 1.30m with Amofah leaping out to 4.46m in the Long Jump. Knights clocked 25.5 in the 200m, Inwood 72.6 in the 400m but his 2nd best ever throw in the Javelin with 27.66m while Jordan putt the Shot 6.00m.

Just six girls represented the Under 15 age group, Lucy Shaw and Kerry McCrory covering the 100m in 13.5 and 13.7 respectively; while McCrory doubled up with Jade Packer int he 200m (28.1 and 28.8); Lucy Kidwell and Cydney Owen undertook the 800m with Kidwell returning 2,35.9 and Owen producing a season's best of 3,02.5. In the High Jump Sarah Weaver flew over 1.42m for a personal best with MrCrory on 1.27m while in the Long Jump Weaver leapt out to 4.23m and Owen pb'd with 3.77m. Packer and Owen took on the Shot (6.75m and 6.23m).

With such a modest level of support for those age groups, it was inevitable that they would not fare well in the points tally, and all three finished well down the order to their collective disappointment.

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Essex 10K Road Championships
Published on 17 July, 2011

It was Silver for the youngsters at the 2011 County 10k Championships at the weekend.

Beating his previous best by 7 seconds, Tom Frith finished in 3rd place with 33m 35s (to earn himself the Individual Bronze medal), but was 1st Under 20 to cover the course; Ben Hunter was the 1st Under 23 home in 5th place, and clocked 34m 43s for a season's best run and proving that he's getting back to his old form, and completing the nippy trio was Rhys Gillard with 36m 16s to his credit, a mere 26 seconds away from his best-ever and running in as 2nd Under 17 in 17th spot. This was a stupendous performance from the young men.

It wasn't all about the younger age groups though: following close on their heels was long-serving Club Member and Veterans' Secretary Peter Binns who earned himself the Individual Gold medal in the Vet 60 age group. His time of 39m 45s was his second best this season.

There was further Veteran representation from the Club: Mathew Gillard (V45) ran in at 47m 02, Fiona Hawkins V35 clocked 49m 53 and Debbielyn Hallam, V35, was just a little outside her best with 53m 48s.

Relatively new to the 10k, Ben Franklin (Under 17) produced a personal best time of 44m 30s.

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East Anglian League, Chelmsford
Published on 20 June, 2011

Besides a huge smattering of personal bests to complement the victories, there were several outstanding performances which secured their owners a place in the Club's History!

In the Women's U17 800m, Emma Jarvis ran the race of her life and clocked 2,22.0 knocking several seconds off her previous best and in the process elevating her to 24th fastest-ever in the Women's section of the Club's history (starting in 1930, 25 years after the formation of Southend Harriers). Barely having recovered from that, she claimed a further victory in the High Jump with 1.45m

Kevin Brown, underlying why he was recently crowned Club's Record Holder in the Triple Jump, out-leapt his opponents with a 13.54m victory then turned his hand to the 400m in which he clocked an impressive 50.5 – 19th All Time fastest. David Smale nudged into the record books with a personal best 51.2.

Stamina Man Greg Goodrem – warming up on the 110m Hurdles (17.5), he then turned his attention to the Shot (7.65m) along with Men's Team Manager Keith Palmer the only Vet in the team on this occasion (6.84m); from there to the Long Jump (5.51m); he proceeded to show everyone a clear pair of heels in the 100m (12.0); the Discus followed (20.30m with Palmer 14.64m); there was still sufficient spring in his legs after all this to clear 1.75 in the High Jump. The Javelin was next to get his attention (20.98; Palmer 15.15m) - He strode to victory in the 200m which followed (24.8) and to round off his day an 11.51m Triple Jump was a B string winner.

Apart from such strenuous efforts, there was a veritable plethora of victories right across the board, including:

GU13 – Michelle Manyewe and Shereen Raouf in the 100 (14.0/14.2), swapping finishes in the High Jump – Shereen won with 1.35m(A string) and Michelle with 1.30m in the B string; Raouf's 4.15m Long Jump was also a winner; Abigail Pocock in the 200m (27.7) and 800m (2,41.7); Rachel Aldis, 1500, 5,50.5; Abigail Cronin (Discus – 17.13m and Shot – 5.95m) and Natasha May (Javelin – 20.89m) cleaned up in their events too
BU13 Brandon Thorpe, the Club's top-ranked 1500m runner strode to victory in 5,05.0;
GU15 Lucy Shaw 28.1 (200m); Abigail Frith and Sarah Weaver dominated the Long Jump with 4.59m and 4.36m respectively, and finished 3/1 in the 75m Hurdles (13.1/13.8); Abi making it a double with the Shot (7.56m).
WU17 Sophie Jarvis (300m)
MU17 One of the best field performances of the day was the mighty 42.42m from Sam Grant's Hammer throwing.
MU20 Charlie Parker and Rhys Gillard collected several invaluable points in the 3000m with their 9,45.0 and 9.57.9 where they were 3rd and 1st respectively.
SM Kevin Brown (100 – 11.7)

It didn't all go the Club's way - Rob Frith was 4th, despite his 2nd best-ever 800m run of 2,09.7; Sarah Imbush's 4th in the Triple Jump was a personal best by a dozen centimetres.

Understandably the Senior Men recorded the fastest of the Club's relay runs (48.1), followed by the Under 17 Men (49.3). There was a 2-2-3 for Blessing Mutazu who collected three pbs – 100(12.9), 400 (58.8) and Long Jump (4.93m). Joe Beard (U17) faced very strong opposition but it helped him produce a best-ever 400m time of 58.5. Similarly, new recruit Thomas Watson was pushed into three pbs: 200 – 25.7; 800m – 2,10.6 and Long Jump – 4.47m.

The best sprint relay time from the Club, needless to say, belonged to the Senior Men – 48.1 followed by the Men's U17 squad with 49.3.

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East Anglian League, Braintree
Published on 15 June, 2011

Competition was strong at the 2nd EYAL match held at Braintree at the weekend. Despite the awe-inspiring opposition, there were some outstanding performances from the Seasider youngsters. New find Tom Watson and Cross Country runner Steven Hancock made it a double victory in the 800m with 2,11.5 and 2,19.9. In the shorter half-lap event, the 200m, Kyle Marshall recorded his fastest ever time of 24.3 to finish 2nd. His 12.0 100m was just one-tenth off his best. Sam Grant (Hammer) was also a Runner-up unleasing a mighty 40.21m. Richard Stennett, Bronze medallist in the County Schools 1500m Steeplechase the previous day, still managed to run the 400 (57.3) and 1500m (4,43.2) and throw 24.32m in the Javelin.

In the Under 15s Joshua Amofah and Blessing Mutazu clocked 13.2 and 13.0 respectively in their 100m. Mutazu's 4.75m earned him a further 2nd in the Long Jump. Blane Pearson was a little short of his best in the Javelin but still managed 26.82m while Zach Inwood claimed 2nd spot in both the Shot (6.85) behind Adam Jordan (8.57m) and Discus (15.65m) behind Pearson (17.30m). Joe Ray was just one second off his all-time best in the 1500m with 4,52.9.

Hayley Lamkin and Rachel Price (U17s) took on the 300m, with Price winning the B string in 46.3 while Sarah Imbush recorded 2,33.5 for 2nd in the 800m and improved her Triple Jump once again to 8.19m while Jordan Lacey returned 5,21.8 for runner-up spot in the 1500m. Latest sprint recruit Jessica Day doubled in the 100/200m and clocked 13.8 and 29.7 in her inaugural races for the squad, adding a runner-up 4.06m in the Long Jump.

Lucy Kidwell (U15) continues to improve her 1500m – this time recording 5,21.7 while Lucy Lynch, trying her hand at a new event won her B string in 5,45.8. In the 100m Kerry McCrory left the field standing in 13.7 – the same time as Lucy Shaw running in the A string. Shaw & McCrory teamed up again in the Long Jump returning 4.24m and 4.20m for 2nd and 1st respectively. Shaw gained a further 2nd with a 1.15m clearance in the High Jump. Club Pentathlete Emma Jarvis and Annabel Matthews-Smith dominated the Under 15 800m field clocking 2,26.7 and 2,34.6.

The Under 13 Girls enjoyed great success both on the track and the field – new signings Shareen Raouf and Adele Stacey finished 1-2 in the 100m (14.1-14.7) then won their respective High Jump strings with 1.40m and 1.30m respectively while the victories continued in the Long Jump with Gabrielle Pearson and Ellie Benham recording 3.87m and 3.54m. Raouf then went on to clock 28.7 to win her 200m race. In the 1500m there was only girl faster than either Natasha May (5,32.7) or Rachel Aldis (5,35.6) running her first race over the distance this season.

Despite some serious opposition the Seasider relay squads turned up the heat: Men's Under 17- Tom Watson, Richard Stennett, Steven Hancock and Kyle Marshall – were 1st 51.8; Women's Under 17 2nd in 55.7 courtesy of Rachel Price, Hayley Lamkin, Jessica Day and Rebecca Withams; Girls' Under 15 (Lucy Shaw, Emma Jarvis, Rebecca Pateman and Kerry McCrory) were 2nd in 55.8; Girls' Under 13 squad of Adele Stacey, Abigain Cronin, Gabriella Pearson and Shareen Raouf, won in 59.2.

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Southend Half Marathon
Published on 12 June, 2011

A healthy turn-out by more than a dozen members of the Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club Road Running section resulted in an impressive 11th and 23rd place finishes for Jim Atkinson (1h 16.56 – a pb by nearly 3 minutes) and 17 year old Charlie Parker (1h19.57) in his first-ever Half, and in the process earning themselves a Power of 10 Ranking by beating 80 minutes.

Much to the delight of the first three Seasider Women to finish (Ana Ockendon, Julie Perrin and Annette Stannard) they found themselves taking home their first ever medal – Silver - as 2nd fastest Women's squad – two days later they were still in shock!

There was a top 100 result by Greg Jarvis (93rd in 1h 29.12, just 20 seconds off his best). Personal bests were recorded by Ana Ockendon (1,36.39) who also earned a Gold medal for first in the F40 age category, while Mat Gillard clearly not having reached his peak in this event, recorded his 4th pb(1,40.45) in a row! Similarly with Julie Perrin with her 3rd pb (1,47.0). Vet Jon Brown, the Club's Vice Chairman, improved his previous best by three minutes to 1,51.47. Christopher Blackabee who is registered blind clocked an impressive 1,57.33. His supporter for this race was Dave Lesley.

A healthy turn-out by more than a dozen members of the Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club Road Running section resulted in an impressive 11th and 23rd place finishes for Jim Atkinson (1h 16.56 – a pb by nearly 3 minutes) and 17 year old Charlie Parker (1h19.57) in his first-ever Half, and in the process earning themselves a Power of 10 Ranking by beating 80 minutes.

Much to the delight of the first three Seasider Women to finish (Ana Ockendon, Julie Perrin and Annette Stannard) they found themselves taking home their first ever medal – Silver - as 2nd fastest Women's squad – two days later they were still in shock!

There was a top 100 result by Greg Jarvis (93rd in 1h 29.12, just 20 seconds off his best). Personal bests were recorded by Ana Ockendon (1,36.39) who also earned a Gold medal for first in the F40 age category, while Mat Gillard clearly not having reached his peak in this event, recorded his 4th pb(1,40.45) in a row! Similarly with Julie Perrin with her 3rd pb (1,47.0). Vet Jon Brown, the Club's Vice Chairman, improved his previous best by three minutes to 1,51.47. Christopher Blackabee who is registered blind clocked an impressive 1,57.33. His supporter for this race was Dave Lesley.

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Eastern Young Athletes League 2
Published on 15 June, 2011

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Essex 10K Road Championships, Herongate
Published on 17 July, 2011

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East Anglian League, Braintree
Published on 17 July, 2011

With several seniors involved in the Inter-County Championships and others engaged elsewhere, the starring roles were left to all the Under 17 categories.

The Middle Distance representatives declared war on their oppositions, so much so that they finished up with 3 1sts and 5 2nds: Under 13s Brandon Thorpe and Mitchel Cox ran – and won – their events in personal best times of 4,58.0 and 5,01.9 respectively; Under 15s Laurence Willmore and Joseph Ray finished 2nd and 1st with 4,36.1 and 4,54.4 as did Ashley Capel and Alex Masterson for the Under 17s (4,30.1 and 4,42.6 – a seasonal best time for Alex); It was the same story again for the Under 17 Women with Jordan Lacey clocking a pb of 5,08.9 to finish 2nd whilst Sarah Imbush won her B string outright; Under 13 Rachel Aldis was runner-up in 5,45.2 as was Lucy Kidwell (U15) whose 5,15.5 was also a pb.

The Under 13 Boys, although a little short-handed, enjoyed a successful day, overall, no-one finishing lower than 3rd with pbs littering the results: Harrison John claimed a hat-trick of bests - two in the sprints – 14.9 in the 100m and 31.4 in the 200m and 18.12m in the Javelin, while Cox and Brandon Thorpe produced their best in the Discus with 14.32m and 10.42m respectively.

Under 15 Blessing Mutazu lowered his 400m time to 58.4, Adam Jordan reduced his 800m to 2,22.9, Joe Ray Triple Jumped his best (7.97m) and Blane Pearson putt his best (6.79m Shot) while Charlie Metcalf produced his best Hammer throw with 20.59m.

The Under 17s 400m resulted in a 1st and 3rd – Jon Kerridge ran the race of his life for a 51.5 win while Tom Metcalf ran his 2nd best-ever with 55.3, having already produced a pb in the 100m Hurdles with 17.5 behind Richard Stennett's 16.6 (a season's best time, as was his 1.60m High Jump); Joe Beard cleared the same height in the B string.

Sam Grant continues to pile on the pressure with his Hammer throwing beating the opposition out of sight with a massive 44.62m effort.

Despite being a team with just one dedicated sprinter, the Under 17s comprising Richard Stennett, Jon Kerridge, Alex Masterson and Tom Watts on anchor strode away in a winning 50.3.

Recent signing Michelle Manyewe (U13) improved her 100m to 13.7, her 200m to 29.6 and 70m Hurdles to 13.1. High Jumpers in the same age group Shereen Raouf and Gabriella Pearson out-leapt everyone else, Shereen with 1.40m and Gabriella with a pb 1.30m. Raouf, alongside Holly Coughlan, cleaned up in the Long Jump (4m31m and 4m25m). It took a pb but U15 Sarah Weaver won her Long Jump too – with 4.58m and over at the throws Abigail Cronin produced two: 7.21m in the U13 Shot and 18.88m in the Discus while U20 Leanne McCrory threw her best Javelin. The Under 13 Relay Girls stormed home in 56.5 courtesy of Holly Coughlan, Shereen Raouf, Gabriella Pearson and Michelle Manyewe on anchor.

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Southend 10K
Published on 15 Sep, 2011

Dear All,

The Southend 10k is fast approaching and it is this event that keeps the club financially viable and maintains the membership fees at their current level, along with raising a considerable amount of money for Fairhaven's Hospice, and we need your support.

We need Marshalls to ensure the safety of the runners and to help manage the traffic and road closures that enable the race to go ahead and are looking for volunteers to help out on the day. This will generally take only 2 ½ hours of your time and is your chance to contribute to the successful running of the event and the club itself so if you could help out I would be very grateful. Anyone who is coming along to watch could Marshal, it's a great way to see the event and be a part of it (without the pain of running it) and if that's not enough you get a T shirt, a Marshal's Bib and a nice warm feeling!!!

As most of you will be aware, as club members, if you wish to participate in the race, you are obliged to provide a substitute Marshall and in previous years running numbers were not issued to club members who failed to do so, so if that's the case please let me have their contact details.

The race is on Sunday 2nd October and we are using a new route this year so desperately need as many Marshalls as possible to ensure the continued success of this event.

If you are willing / able to help please can you either e-mail me (Geoff Smale on geoffrey.smale@sky.com ) or call me on 07721 392424 and I will then get a list of volunteers together and get things organised.

Many thanks in anticipation…

Geoff

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RIP Tim Stout
Published on 12 July, 2011

In early June the death at the age of 64 occurred of former Southend-on-Sea AC walker Timothy (Tim) STOUT,

though it must be said that he was better known as a competitive runner where his efforts included successful marathon finishes. Tim walked for an enthusiastic and numerically strong Southend squad in the 90s his favourite walk being his Club's now defunct Open 5 Miles along the seafront and leafy back roads of Thorpe Bay. Under Val Mountford's captaincy Southend won the 1994 Essex Walking League team title and Tim made appearances in that long campaign and was in the team photographs of that successful squad.

Tim was a journalist for decades starting with the Southend Standard before moving to the Basildon-based Evening Echo where he was their crime correspondent...and he had plenty to report on! He did the occasional sports report but he was mainly focused on crime.

Tim was a talented fencer who achieved international status and met his wife-to-be Freda, on St.Valentine's Day 1970 in Dublin when at a competition...Freda being an Irish fencing international. Tim was an expert on snakes and he involved himself in fire eating and abseiling. He choreographed sword-fighting for a Shakespearean Company and also trod the boards himself as an amateur dramatics participant. As a novelist he had books published in the horror and science fiction genres.

He left Southend during the late 1990s after an unexpected knock on his door. A solicitor informed him that a distant relation has passed-on in Bunclody (Ireland) and that Tim was the only relation who could be traced. A house and farm had been left, so Tim headed to Ireland and took possession. Sadly he suffered Alzheimers and passed on in the Sacred Heart Hospital at Carlow. A Requiem Mass was held at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Bunclody where Tim's sister Cherry was the eulogist, followed by a cremation in Dublin. Tim will be known by a number of readers, particularly our Estuary-based ones. Tim leaves behind his wife Freda, son Gavin, daughter Keira and granddaughter Arabella. We extend our condolences to them all.

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Essex T&F Championships
Published on 30 May, 2011

22 MEDALS were shared between the successful combatants at the recent Essex County Track & Field Championships held at Basildon and Chelmsford. Kevin Brown (Triple Jump) secured an untroubled Gold for his 13.81m; on the other hand James McLean was pushed to the Club's 2nd fastest ever 110m Hurdles time for his Gold in 14.94 seconds while it took a personal best two-lap run of 1,57.18 (from a previous best of 1,58.00) for Jon Kerridge to earn his Gold and improve his All Time Club Rating to 20th. In the 200m Charlie Dack steamed to the Club's fourth Gold of the weekend, running himself straight into 10th place on the Club's All Time List with 22.08. Dack's 10.6 100m earned him a Bronze Medal. Men's Team Manager and Vet 45 Keith Palmer picked up a pair of Silvers (12.65 100m and 59.51 400m) while at the other end of the age-scale, Joshua Amofah and Blessing Mutazu (both Under 15s) earned Bronzes in the same events – Josh, 100m (12.93) and Blessing, 400m (58.85). This year Middle Distance U15 James Nadin challenged for the 800m/3000m double, resulting in a pair of Bronzes for his 2,10.62 and 10.4.19, both season's best performances.

A further Silver came in the 400m Hurdles with a 59.02 from Christopher Stubbings while County Indoor High Jump Champion Sophie Jarvis although unable to sustain her indoor performance, won Silver with a 1.50m clearance. In the Javelin an impressive throw of 39.00m earned Charlie Crow (U17) his County Bronze. In the Senior Men's brothers Peter and David Smale competed against each other in the 800m, Peter producing a personal best of 1,57.59 whilst David, always the faster of the two Smales took on the front runners. Lying a very close 4th, with less than 200m to run, he'd only earn a 'gong' if he could turn up the heat.

Realising he'd already left his sprint a shade too late, nonetheless he powered past 3rd off the bend only for the others to attack in the home straight turning the last 80m into a scrap for medals which ended with Smale running into Silver medal position and reducing his personal best by a further 7/100ths with 1,53.72. The Club Record set 5 years ago currently stands at 1,53.43. Watch this space!

June Cork

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East Anglian League
Published on 12 May, 2011

The first of the Club's East Anglian League fixtures for the season – held on this occasion at Ipswich - resulted in a personal best blitz. Previous personal bests evaporated in every discipline and in every age group:
Greg Goodrem, warming up for his season as a member of the Men's First team excelled himself in 4 events: the 100m, 11.9, Shot Putt, Hammer and Long Jump (5.94m), he finished as runner-up in 3 events and won 2 outright. Under 23 Kevin Brown won his 400m in 53.5 and, unusually, finished only 2nd in the Triple Jump but compensated with his fastest ever (23.6) 200m.

The Under 17s were 'on fire' – sprinter Kyle Marshall broke the 12 second barrier for the first time in the 100m and a 9.78m Shot gave him his 2nd pb of the day. It was a close call for honours in the 800m - Richard Stennett and Rob Frith who were 2nd and 1st respectively clocked new bests of 2,08.4 and 2,08.8 respectively. Stennett collected his second best of the day with a 10.36m effort in the Triple Jump. Whilst Oliver Kyriakides finished a good 2nd in the 1500m A with 4,16.8, Ash Capel posted a new best when winning the B with 4,29.2 as well as improving his Long Jump. Jon Kerridge broke new ground by putting in some early season speed work in the 200 (pb 24.7) and a winning 52.4 pb in the 400m. On top of that his Discus improved to a winning 20.07m.

There were U17 pbs also from Jake Inwood (100m, 14.2; Hammer 19.68m); Rob Frith (High Jump 1.40m, Long Jump 4.61m); Tom Metcalf threw the longest Javelin of his life – 38.65m.

U15 pbs: Zach Inwood won the Discus with 14.95 and earned a pb in both the 400m and in the Shot with 6.36m as did Adam Jordan (5.04m) whilst the latter went on to record a best of 2,27.4 in the 800m. Ben Cockrill dipped under 2,20 for the first time in the 800m (2,19.4). Cross Country specialist James Nadin clocked both his fastest 100m and 1500m (4,30.3) and his longest Triple Jump (9.69m), while Joe Ray was a comfortable winner in the B string 1500m; Blane Pearson cleared a pb 1.40 in the High Jump and in contrast, a 30m best in the Javelin, while Blessing Mutazu improved to 4.92m in the Long Jump.

The Under BU13 Long Jumpers finished just 12cm apart, both recording pbs: Mitchel Cox with 3.54m and Brandon Thorpe, 3.42m. However, it was a reversal of fortunes in the 800m where Thorpe (who earlier threw a best ever Discus) got the verdict (2,30.8) over Cox (2,31.6)

For the Under 13 Girls, Gabriella Pearson cleared a best-ever 1.20m in the High Jump, was 2nd in the 200m and won her 800m in 2,48.7.

U15 Abigail Frith returned a 7.72m when winning the A Shot; Tinashe Mutsure came 2nd in the B with 6.35m. There's sharp competition amongst the sprinters – Kerry McCrory and Lucy Shaw continue to go head-to-head, this time in the 100m where both clocked bests of 13.6s.

Under 17 Rachel Price earned a pb in both the Long Jump of 4.00m and Shot (5.42m) while her 29.7 gave her 2nd in the 200m. The battle for supremacy in the 1500m continues apace: new Triple Jumper Sarah Imbush clocked 5,13.5 against Jordan Lacey's 5,14.1. Emily Crow's Triple Jump at 8.92m was a little shy of her best.

The 2011 Essex County Championships continue this forthcoming weekend – Saturday and Sunday at Chelmsford.

June Cork

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Southend AC Roundup!
Published on 31 March, 2011

Following the super silver medal won by the Men's team at the Essex Road Relay Championships (Tom Frith, Rhys Gillard, Ben Hunter and Adam Hickey who ran the fastest time of the day), the Women's squad comprising Jordan Lacey, Sarah Jeffery and Natasha Lagden decided to go one better and won the County Women's Team Event in the recent Braintree 5 (incorporated with the County Championships). A solid demonstration of pack running saw them finishing 79th, 80th and 81st with times of 33.52, 33.54 and 33.57 respectively and bringing home the County Team Gold with Benfleet RR in Silver position and Ilford AC in Bronze. Jordan's leading efforts meant she brought home the Junior Trophy.

In the same race (a Men's and Women's race across all the Junior and Senior age groups) the Seasider's leading Vet Peter Binns earned himself the V60 Gold medal and the George Yard Trophy with a 37th place performance in 31.20. Debbielyn Hallan, a relatively recent recruit to running clocked a very promising 41.46 in an early outing over the 5M(iles) course.

Not a bad haul for a group of 5 athletes!

A further medal was won by Roy Scott in the Colchester Half Marathon - following a lay-off due to injury, he has clearly proven to himself that his enforced rest has not reduced his fitness.

The Brentwood Half Marathon was distinctive for its application of the new rules concerning music devices worn in the ear - no fewer than 67 athletes were disqualified for wearing i-pods etc during the course of the race.

Southend's representatives (non of whom was similarly fated) collected a fistful of pbs - Stuart Payne 1,43.43; Glen Taylor 1,47.06, Julie Perrin 1,55.23, Annette STannard 1,55.53 and Andrew Benham 2,05.19.

Further pbs were on the cards at the Hastings Half Marathon clocked by Mthew Gillard (1,43.06) and Fiona Hawkins (1,45.59). Jon Brown, the Club's new Vice Chairman, was just outside his best time.

[There have been other events, but results are not yet to hand]

Kind regards,
June

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Essex & Eastern Championships
Published on 16 March, 2011

In a new move designed to provide better competition in an excellent venue, the Eastern Athletic Association and the Essex County Athletic Association teamed up to produce this year's indoor championships which ran over both days of last weekend at Lee Valley, Enfield. Essex athletes are automatically Eastern contenders so medallists in one competition were likely to be collecting a medal in the other too.

Whilst producing the desired results for many events (three rounds had to be scheduled for both the 60m and 200m races), other events struggled to create a competitive` atmosphere and age groups found themselves combined as in the Women's 1500m where the Seniors, Under 20s and Under 17s ran together.

Nonetheless, the athletes' intentions were all the same: to do the best they could whatever the opposition and win medals; the relatively small Southend contingent made sure they gained rostrum positions in virtually every event they contested and brought home a terrific haul of metal: Gold - 3 Eastern, 5 Essex; Silver - 5 Eastern, 3 Essex; Bronze - 3 Eastern, 3 Essex

Not content with winning, of the Golden gatherers both Jonathan Kerridge and Kevin Brown produced double Championship Best Performances, Jon in the 800m with his decisive 2,00.77 and Kevin's 14.18m leap in the Triple Jump.

Other Double Golds include David Smale 1.58.27 Senior 800m;

Eastern Silver/County Gold - Kevin Hughes (3.90m Pole Vault) and Sophie Jarvis (High Jump 1.58m);

Double Silver: Jordan Lacey, U17 1500m (5,18.65); Kyle Aldridge 2,10.17 Senior 800m

Essex Bronze: Tom Everett U20 Long Jump 5.89m.

Double Bronze: Abigail Frith with a personal best in the Long Jump of 4.93m; Blessing Mutazu (200m 27.04); Natalie Woodhouse 2.28.28 800m.

Tom Metcalf, although missing out on the medals, nonetheless delighted himself with a much-improved 54.32 in the final of the U17 400m.
June Cork
Press Officer

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East Anglian League
Published on 12 June, 2011

First round of the Eastern Anglian League took place over the weekend. Full results and report now available. Read More

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East Anglian League
Published on 12 June, 2011

First round of the Eastern Anglian League took place over the weekend. Full results and report now available. Read More

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EAL Match, Ipswich
Published on 11 May, 2011

The first of the Club’s East Anglian League fixtures for the season – held on this occasion at Ipswich - resulted in a personal best blitz. Previous personal bests evaporated in every discipline and in every age group:

Greg Goodrem, warming up for his season as a member of the Men’s First team excelled himself in 4 events: the 100m, 11.9, Shot Putt, Hammer and Long Jump (5.94m), he finished as runner-up in 3 events and won 2 outright. Under 23 Kevin Brown won his 400m in 53.5 and, unusually, finished only 2nd in the Triple Jump but compensated with his fastest ever (23.6) 200m.

The Under 17s were ‘on fire’ – sprinter Kyle Marshall broke the 12 second barrier for the first time in the 100m and a 9.78m Shot gave him his 2nd pb of the day. It was a close call for honours in the 800m - Richard Stennett and Rob Frith who were 2nd and 1st respectively clocked new bests of 2,08.4 and 2,08.8 respectively. Stennett collected his second best of the day with a 10.36m effort in the Triple Jump. Whilst Oliver Kyriakides finished a good 2nd in the 1500m A with 4,16.8, Ash Capel posted a new best when winning the B with 4,29.2 as well as improving his Long Jump. Jon Kerridge broke new ground by putting in some early season speed work in the 200 (pb 24.7) and a winning 52.4 pb in the 400m. On top of that his Discus improved to a winning 20.07m.

There were U17 pbs also from Jake Inwood (100m, 14.2; Hammer 19.68m); Rob Frith (High Jump 1.40m, Long Jump 4.61m); Tom Metcalf threw the longest Javelin of his life – 38.65m.

For the Under 13 Girls, Gabriella Pearson cleared a best-ever 1.20m in the High Jump, was 2nd in the 200m and won her 800m in 2,48.7.

U15 Abigail Frith returned a 7.72m when winning the A Shot; Tinashe Mutsure came 2nd in the B with 6.35m. There’s sharp competition amongst the sprinters – Kerry McCrory and Lucy Shaw continue to go head-to-head, this time in the 100m where both clocked bests of 13.6s.

Under 17 Rachel Price earned a pb in both the Long Jump of 4.00m and Shot (5.42m) while her 29.7 gave her 2nd in the 200m. The battle for supremacy in the 1500m continues apace: new Triple Jumper Sarah Imbush clocked 5,13.5 against Jordan Lacey’s 5,14.1. Emily Crow’s Triple Jump at 8.92m was a little shy of her best.

The 2011 Essex County Championships continue this forthcoming weekend – Saturday and Sunday at Chelmsford.

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Watford Open
Published on 26 April, 2011

The Watford Open on Wednesday was the scene of two personal bests, and both in the 1500m – Lucy Kidwell in her first year as an Under 15 reduced her previous best by 1.8 seconds to 5,25.6 from 5,27.46 while Sarah Imbush, now an Under 17, shaved .31 of a second off her previous best to 5,12.6.

Three days later the action moved to Chelmsford for the annual Open where a number of the Club’s youngsters recorded no fewer than 14 personal bests: several of them got straight down to business and produced National Standard performances including some impressively huge improvements.

James Nadin one of our Under 15 Middle Distance specialists closed last season with 4,54.5 and opened this season with 4,34.7 - a National Grade 3 performance – an exciting start to his season.

In the 800m Laurence Willmore and George Elliott continued their battle with Willmore just edged out by his adversary but in the process producing a National Grade 4 time over 6 seconds faster than he’s ever run it previously (2,18.28). A further National Grade 4 was run by Natasha May in the U13 1500m when she also smashed her previous best from 5,41.9 to 5,27.88. Under 13 Mitchel Cox, who has already produced pbs this season also showed 800m improvement – 2,30.74 and an U13 National Grade 4. Emma Jarvis (U15) knocked over half a second off her 800m best to add a National Grade 4 to her collection with 2,27.06. Jon Kerridge’s 2,00.31 is a Grade 3, but he’s already in the possession of a Grade 2 from last season.

In the Boys U13 Long Jump Jordan Culley found an extra 23cm to record a new best of 4,23m while U15 Kerry McCrory also edged up her Long Jump to a new best of 4.36m

Blessing Mutazu has never raced a 400m before but he went straight into a Grade 4 with a very encouraging start to his one-lap career with 58.82.

The Women’s 1500m should see some exciting races this summer should Jordan Lacey (best 5.10.18) and Sarah Imbush (5,12.6) decided to go head-to-head.

Perilously close to National Grade 4, but personal bests nonetheless, Tom Watts (U17) clocked 24.36 in the 200m, Harrison Smith improved his U13 High Jump to 1.25m and his 800m to 2,34.68 (with a Grade 4 at 2,34.5!); Alex Morgan (U17) shaved 2 seconds off her 800m previous best with 2,38.06.

The Pole Vault produced an untroubled win for Aaron Kaye with 4.80m, just 4”/10cm below his Club Record, but still in excess of a Grade 1 leap.

This forthcoming Sunday is the first of the season’s Eastern Young Athletes’ League Matches and Southend will be travelling to Ipswich, with the coach leaving Garon Park at 8.30am.

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Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club

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