Weekly Update - 14th Oct. 2026

Noel Carmody

2 hours ago

4 min read

Kent Cross Country League, Footscray Meadows (Sat. 10th Oct.)

The club hosted the first fixture of this season’s Kent Cross Country League at Footscray Meadows on Saturday, with some excellent performances across the various age groups. A big thank you to club members involved in organising the event, as well as our fantastic team of marshals, whose efforts helped make the day a success.

Senior Men / U20 Men: The senior men got off to a flying start in the first race of the season: second place behind Tonbridge in the four to score, with Bobby Babaker (6th), Danny Kendall (12th) and James Macdonald (18th) all placing highly, writes Clem Dixon.. And you only need to go down as far as 57th to find Gavin Hows, our 12th scorer, another second place behind Tonbridge in the 12 to score. I'm getting tired of writing "second place behind Tonbridge" but I shouldn't grumble, until a couple of years ago I was getting tired of writing "yet another fourth place" but these days Blackheath and Medway are firmly in our rear view mirror. Danny and James were first and second in the M40 category with Kyle Hurst and John O'Mahony not far behind we had four of the top five in that age group.

But the real story of the day was at the younger end of the age spectrum: as part of the junior age group changes those in the now narrower under 20 band are required to run in the senior race and score for the senior team, previously they could choose to do so or run in a shorter junior race with the under 17s.

This enforced jump in race distance has divided opinion but it certainly worked in our favour as we welcomed a group of six under 20s, more than any other club, a huge credit to team manager Debbie Cook and coach Andy Knight. The first of these, Olly Cook in 21st, closed out our four to score team and was second U20 on the day, additionally Suhab Hassan (30th) and Epheson Berhe (32nd) were scorers in our team of twelve. A year ago (when we were also second to Tonbridge) the average age of our first 12 was 40, this year it was just 34! Pundit Alan Hansen lived to regret his claim that "you can't win anything with kids" and with Tonbridge only fielding a single U20 in this race perhaps "second place behind Tonbridge" will become a phrase of the past? The influx of youngsters helped to swell our number of finishers to a new club record of 38, way more than any other club.

Young Age Groups: The first cross country match of the season saw a great turnout from our younger athletes and a number of notable performances, writes Mark Newell.

The highlight of the day came in the Under-16 girls’ race, where Charlotte Foster (1st) and Lizzie Sanders (2nd) were in a class of their own, finishing well clear of their nearest rivals. They were backed up superbly by Peggy O’Leary, who secured an excellent 10th place. Their outstanding performances ensured the team finished comfortably in first place.

Charlotte Foster (340) - Lizzie Sanders (347)

(Photo courtesy of Mark Hookway - Tonbridge AC)

The new Under-12 age group races were first to get underway and certainly did not disappoint. Evelyn Fuller produced a fantastic performance to finish 2nd in the girls’ race, narrowly missing out on victory in an exciting sprint finish. In the boys’ race, Lewis Thompson also ran well to secure an excellent 8th place.

In the Under-14 races, Max Foster was first home for the club, finishing in an impressive 4th place, while Elke Moon finished 26th, placing her in the top half of the field.

The Under-18 races also featured some strong performances. Meredith Cummins ran a well-judged race to secure 4th place in the women’s event, one of her highest finishes in the Kent League. In the men’s race, Daniel Whitehouse (13th) and Ayotunde (14th) were involved in a close finish, with just two seconds separating them at the line.

Senior Women / U20W: Katie Sanders was the first Harrier home, finishing in 21st place, followed by Lily Yates in 30th and Elena Oliphant in 34th, who also finished 8th in the U20 category. Julie Backley (W55) and Rose Baker (W60) both claimed first place in their respective age groups. The team finished 4th in the four-to-score competition and 6th in the six-to-score standings.

Hampshire Cross Country League, Kings Park, Bournemouth (Sat. 10th Oct.)

Having returned to Bournemouth for her second year at university, writes Mark Newell, Amelia Lawrence competed in the opening cross-country fixture of the season in the Hampshire League. Competing as a first-year senior, she produced a fantastic performance over the 6.6km course to finish eighth overall out of a field of 114 runners, recording an impressive time of 25:46.

Bank of America Chicago Marathon (Sun. 11th Oct.)

Three of the club’s road runners travelled to the USA to take part in the Chicago Marathon. Stephen Wood completed the race in an impressive 3:06:21, while James Hilton and Bekki Hilton-Hann ran together, crossing the finish line in 3:49:06.

Royal Parks Half Marathon, London (Sun. 11th Oct.)

The Royal Parks Half Marathon was established by The Royal Parks charity as an annual fundraising event dedicated to conserving and enhancing London’s eight Royal Parks for everyone to enjoy.

The scenic route takes runners along closed roads past some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks, showcasing four of London’s eight Royal Parks: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Green Park and St James’s Park.

Stephanie Dungate completed the race in 2:30:50, finishing 10th in the 70–75 age category.

England Athletics Youth Talent Programme

Great to see four of our high-flying 16-year-olds accepted onto the England Athletics Youth Talent Programme! reports Mick Bond. Congratulations to Phoebe Folarin, Tess Hepple, Meredith Cummins and Zavier Brathwaite on this fantastic achievement.

It’s also great to see some of our 18-year-olds taking the next step in their athletics journeys as they head off to university this autumn.

Best of luck to Gabby Noyce (Edinburgh), Olly Buck (Birmingham), Amirat Mohmmed Hassan (Plymouth), Jack Jones and Emer Tynan (both Bath), Ciara McGinty (Liverpool), and Lily Gayle (University of Massachusetts) as they combine their studies with university life and athletics.