The 2017 race results can be found here. Until advised otherwise, these remain unofficial, and subject to alteration. Prize Winners Ladies 1st Place - 19:08 - Morgan Campbell - Unaffiliated 2nd Place - 19:20 - Jennifer Ansell - East London Runners 3rd Place - 19:44 - Ella Wilson - Orion Harriers 1st FV35 - 20:06 - Ava Lee - East London Runners 1st FV45 - 19:58 - Karen Levison - East London Runners 1st FV55 - 23:08 - Gail Hennessy - Eton Manor AC 1st FV65 - 31:21 - Pam Jones - Ilford AC Team - East London Runners Jennifer Ansell, Karen Levison and Ava Lee Men 1st - 16:36 - Liviu Ionita - Barking Road Runners 2nd - 16:52 - Thomas Grimes - East London Runners 3rd - 17:26 - Patrick Brown - East London Runners 1st V40 - 17:22 - Carl Partis - UnAffiliated (was 3rd Male overall but MV40 was a higher prize) 1st V50 - 18:05 - Colin Read - Orion Harriers 1st V60 - 20:24 - Martin Page - Barking Road Runners 1st V70 - 26:18 - Brian Slade - Havering 90 Joggers Team - East London Runners Thomas Grimes, Patrick Brown and John Booth
Everty Monday Night is Track Night. Every Wednesday night is Club run Night (10k'sh), see below for full details. Saturday 30th September 2017 - ELR 35th Party - 7pm till Midnight - Wanstead Sports Club, Blake Hall Road, E11 2QW. Full details below and on our 35th Anniv Party page. Tuesday 3rd October 2017 - Chingford League 1 - Redbridge Cycle Track, Forest Road (Hog Hill), Hainault. Ladies at 7.30pm Men at 8.00pm - Free entry on the day. Saturday 7th October 2017 - Essex Cross Country Relays Stubbers Activity & Adventure Centre, Ockendon Road, Upminster RM14 2TY - 12.30pm start. Wednesday 11th October 2017 - Club Cross Country Social at The Manor House, High Street, Wanstead, after the Club Run. Friday 13th October 2017 - ELVIS CLUBS 2017 Awards Night at The Duke, Wanstead. See Ava or Paul if interested in attending. Saturday 21st October 2017 - Chingford League 2 - Hackney Marshes. Men/Women both 2.30pm start. Sunday 28th October 2017 - Sunday XC League 1 - Cheshunt - 10.30am start.
Meet at Wanstead Leisure Centre at 6.50pm for a 7.05pm start. The run is due to commence at 7.15pm. Please be aware of any trip hazards, other pavement users and be careful when crossing roads. Remember to wear something 'hi viz'. Also note our policy of no headphones to be worn on club runs. 6 Mile Route. Turn right out of Wanstead Leisure Centre and under the subway at Redbridge roundabout. Exit by Redbridge Station into the Eastern Avenue (A12) and continue to Gants Hill roundabout. Turn left, taking a 'U Turn' into Woodford Avenue and follow road (crossing the roundabout junction with Redbridge Lane East) down the hill until you reach Charlie Brown's roundabout. Straight ahead by roundabout into Maybank Road and up the slope on the left hand side of the A406 motorway to the top. Turn left by Waitrose Supermarket into Woodford High Road and continue down Woodford Road passing The Eagle pub, to Wanstead High Street. Turn left into the High Street to end of road, left at The George pub to the A12 and back to Wanstead Leisure Centre via the footbridge. www.mapometer.com/en/running/route_4428354.html 5k Route. As main route to Woodford Avenue, turn left into Redbridge Lane East and back to Wanstead Leisure Centre via Redbridge roundabout. www.mapometer.com/en/running/route_4619750.html
FREE timed 5k runs/races starting at 9am at Wanstead Flats (Harrow Road), Valentines Park Ilford, Beckton, Barking, Hackney, Walthamstow and Mile End and at many other locations across London and the UK and abroad. www.parkrun.org.uk/
Tickets are £20 each, partners welcome. Get your name on the guest list quick by paying Sonia Cheadle, Ciaran Canavan or Jenny Ansell. Find us on a Wednesday evening or e.mail socialsecretary@eastlondonrunners.org.uk for our online bank details. Come along and meet some of our Founder Members from 1982 plus many other members from throughout the past 35 years.
Track will be back on Monday 9th October 2017
Free entry to all members of East London Runners. A 5k Race on a hilly multiple lap tarmac course on the Cycle Circuit, partially in the dark. VENUE: Redbridge Cycle Centre, Hog Hill, Hainault - 5k on Tarmac (Ladies 7.30pm Men 8.00pm). Lifts can be given from Fairlop station to race venue. This is how the format works: It is a Race Series, competing with local and some London Clubs. Some races are on tarmac and others are pure Cross Country. Held in the Autumn/Winter months from early October to early March. This "Winter season" League usually consists of 3 road surface races, 3 cross country races and a cross country relay race. The Event in March is the Cross Country Relay Race for teams of 4 (usually) and is now held on Wanstead Flats (Harrow Road) and hosted by East London Runners. The races are free to all ELR club members. (ELR has paid an Annual fee to the League). It is not necessary to complete any entry forms. No pre-race registration required. Just turn up on the evening/on the day and take a race number from the ELR folder at race HQ. You keep this number for the whole series! There are 5 team categories, each with 6 to score. Trophies are also awarded to the individuals, in 6 age categories, who have scored most points in the races during the season. Senior Women: Vet Women (35), Supervet Women (45), Senior Men Vet Men (40), Supervet Men (50) Ask if you are unsure! Speak to your Chingford League Captains: Mike Wilson, Ellie Wilkinson, Patrick Brown, Jennie Ansell. www.mapometer.com/en/running/route_1536270.html
Meet Grant and others at 6.45pm at Ashton Playing Fields, Woodford Bridge, Essex, IG8 8AA . Note that there will be a cost of £4 (£1.50 concessions available for students and Over 35s) per person, payable locally. Annual season tickets are also available. See Vision website. It is the responsibility of each person attending to make payment and not the responsibility of the Club of East London Runners. Nearest tube Station is Woodford on the Central Line. www.vision-rcl.org.uk/ashtons_home.html Suitable for all levels including Beginners.
With 260 advance entries and another 31 on the day the Valentines Park Charity 5k hosted by East London Runners was proving to be as popular as ever despite this year clashing with other races especially the Pleshy Half Marathon which was hosting the Essex Championships. The weather was ideal for setting up the course and the "Village" and although the strong sunshine did prove to be a little hot for some of the runners it was almost perfect for most. Most of the ELR Contingent just before the race in Valentines Park As is now the norm, East London Runners had by far the biggest turnout of all the ELVIS Clubs and again scooped the Team Awards in both the Ladies and Mens Categories makimg it 7 out of 7 in the ELVIS 2017 Series. The Winning Ladies Team of Jenny, Karen and Ava. In addition to the Team Prizes ELR scooped some individual awards too. Ladies - 2nd Place - 19:20 - Jennifer Ansell 1st FV35 - 20:06 - Ava Lee 1st FV45 - 19:58 - Karen Levison Men - 2nd - 16:52 - Thomas Grimes 3rd - 17:26 - Patrick Brown Club Chair Frank Brownlie said "Many thanks to all of you who organised the event, set up the course and the "Village", took the on the day entries, gave out the numbers, the marshalls and the medics, lead bike and tail runners, the music and announcements, the Charity cake stall (proceeds £253.24 plus 1 South African Rand), Martin Clarke, Leyton Sports Massage and ELHAP, the Chip Timers, all the runners including the Children,Tommo at the start, Ava and Paul for the prize ceremony, those who took everything down and cleared up, families and friends and especially Jonathan Wooldridge who once again put in an enormous amount of time and effort to ensure our day passed off successfully.......and everyone else whom I may have forgotten."
Ava Lee - ITU Age Group World Championships, Rotterdam, Ava Lee 2:25, 28th out of 89 in age category - triathletes from all over the World! Amazing! Jennifer Ansell - 1st Lady in the Purbeck Marathon, 10th Overall in a time of 3:49:10. Thomas Grimes - Winner of the Enfield Mayor's Charity 10k in a time of 35:20. Robert Rayworth - Personal best in the Reigate half Marathon in a time of 1:29:23.
Roger Dixon RIP It was with great sadness that we learned of the sudden and untimely death of Roger during his walking holiday on the South Coastal Path. Roger passed away peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday 13th September 2017. Roger joined East London Runners over 25 years ago and has always been an active Member and an avid runner and walker. His other passions in life included supporting Leyton Orient and Motorsports. From school he studied and qualified as a Chartered Accountant working until his retirement in 2016. He was made a Life Member of East London Runners for his services to our Club and since Spring 2016 performed the duties of Club Treasurer. Our condolences are given to his daughter Sally, Son Robert, Sister Jill and all in his extended Family and to his Friends. A very popular member of our Club we can pay no bigger tribute to Roger than publish the tributes that we received in the first few days following Roger's passing. See our Website page - Roger Dixon. Dave Knight I am lucky to have been able to count Roger as a friend. He was always friendly, kind and generous and a great conversationalist. East London Runners and Leyton Orient Supporters Club will both feel the loss. Roger was one of the good guys. Sympathy goes out to his family. RIP Roger. Roger and Dave at an ELR Social.
Following the Club runs approximately 40 Club Members gathered in John's back garden at his home which is close to our base of Wanstead Leisure Centre. John hosted a similar event in 2012 on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Once again Club Members were treated to lots of food and drink. It was also an occasion to get together with each other and meet some new faces from the Club. There was also a very special Birthday cake expertly made by Club Member Jo Wood. Don, John, Ava and an old friend at the party.
Congratulations to Euan Brown of East London Runners in finishing second in a fantastic time of 4:38 despite running in unorthodox running gear!
Gaz was happy to make an appearance in the hot sunshine In recent years this popular race held on August Bank Holiday Monday has been hit by cool and wet weather. Not this year as the whole weekend was warm/hot and sunny. With over 300 entrants (293 finishers) and with East London Runners supplying almost 25% of both it was once again a very friendly and sociable event. Suzanne, Chloe and Kiaran looking determined Our Ladies were the stars again with Jennifer Ansell in 1st place overall and Karen Levison and Ava Lee also collecting awards for 1st FV45 and FV35 respectively. A strong finish from Jenny The 3 Ladies named above won the Race Team event for ELR and Thomas Grimes, Patrick Brown and Euan Brown won the Mens Team race event. In terms of the ELVIS Team Results for this race The Ladies Team of Jennifer, Karen, Ava and Sheetal Dandgey were the scorers and winners making it 6 out of 6 wins for our Ladies in ELVIS 2017. Similarly the ELR Men were 1st ELVIS Team for this race and again for all 6 races in 2017. The scorers for the Men were Thomas. Patrick, Euan, Dan Senior, Danny Lee and Scott McMillan. Geoff Bench and Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera look happy" Jo is happy too!
On a calm and warmish morning over 300 runners gathered on the Chingford Plain to run the third and last race in the Orion Forest 5 Summer Series 2017. East London Runners once again had the most Club entries with 58 members completing the off road route in Epping Forest. It was the ELR Ladies who took the honours this time with Jennifer Ansell being the first Lady to finish in a time of 31:40 which gave her 24th position overall in the Race. Jennifer won all 3 races in the Series and was awarded a further prize for the Leading Lady! Karen Levison who has been nursing an injury for the last few months ran a great race finishing first Female Vet 45 in a time of 34:38. It was good to see Karen back racing again. The ELR Men had 4 top 10 finishers with Thomas Grimes finishing 4th in 28:33 being first to finish for our Club. Both Ladies and Mens Team were narrowly beaten to the Race Team Prizes by very strong teams from Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets. New Club Members Anna Dingle and Jess Traylor-Moore made their race debuts for ELR and many other members raced at Orion for the first time. In terms of the ELVIS 2017 standing both the Ladies and Mens Teams were winners (VP&TH are not in ELVIS and look certain to win the Team Prizes for the Series.
Another great Hilly 5 hosted by Ilford AC. On a two lap hilly course in Hainault Forest mainly on good forest paths with a short distance on tarmac. Conditions were good as the heavy rain of the previous day/night had little effect on the ground. ELR had 78 of the 287 finishers. 1st Lady - Jenny Ansell 2nd Lady - Ava Lee 1st FV35 - Paula Bedford Ladies Team 1st - Jenny, Ava & Emily Clarke. 2nd man - Thomas Grimes Men's team 1st Thomas, Antonio Martin Romero and Mark Boulton. 1st Elvis Team Men - ELR - Thomas, Antonio, Mark, James Wilson, Danny Lee & Scott Mc Millan - 67pts. 1st Elvis Team Ladies - 1st ELR - Jenny, Ava, Emily & Paula Bedford - 12pts.
More than 40 ELR members, families, dogs Flash, Jinx and Harvey, drove the 70 or so miles from East London to the pretty Bedfordshire countryside around Sharnbrook and Colworth. With everyone camping, except Chairman Frank, the weather was fine, cool and dry, but with a strongish breeze! We even saw some sun during the weekend. Friday night at 7pm was the start of the 5m race and with ELR winning both Team Prizes and Jennifer Ansell and Thomas Grimes being race winners with Patrick Brown in second place. Our other prize winners on the night were Fiona Day first FV55 It was a great start for ELR for the weekend.. These winning results were replicated on both the 8.1m race on the Saturday and the Half Marathon on the Sunday with the addition of Suzanne Bench winning the FV45 category in one race. Overall Thomas completed and won the event in 2:34:21, Patrick was 2nd overall in 2:41:12. Jennifer was 9th overall and 1st Lady in 2:58:32. Suzanne was to win FV45 overall as was Fiona in the FV55 category. East London Runners were the top Team overall having won all of the Team events in the three races. However it was not so much about the winning but in the taking part as someone once said. Therefore we must congratulate all who took part in what is a very tough event. Although the underfoot conditions were very dry compared to previous years there was still some very rutted, undulating and tricky terrain to conquer. A great achievment by all who took part. A special thanks to ELR's Manjit Bedi who pioneered this event to ELR encouraging fellow Club members to participate over the previous years.
On a very hot evening more than 100 ELR Members took part in the second running of the East End Road Runners 5k in the Olympic Park in Stratford. A very well organised race again this year. 101 ELR's of 364 finishers. 1st Man - Euan Brown 3rd Man - Thomas Grimes 1st Lady - Jenny Ansell 1st Vet35 Lady - Ava Lee. No Team prizes were awarded for this race BUT in the ELVIS SERIES results ELR again won both the Ladies and Mens categories to maintain our overall lead in the 2017 Series.
"Why the long face?" Man v Horse, Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Take amateur camping, a flooded camp site, stupid amount of rain, mud, bogs, hills, river crossings, repeat for 23 or so miles, with 60 horses, 648 runners, 150 relay teams and you're close a 24 hrs trip to Wales for the Man vs Horse race 2017. Like many races, I loved it and hated it. This one was about 20 miles too long, 1300m elevation gain (not forgetting the descent) too high. The Welsh countryside didn't disappoint though. It was truly a very special race and although I didn't look up as much as I should have, the course was meandering through beautiful Welsh scenery along some road sections, (quite a relief) but mainly bumpy grass and mountain trails, and knee deep bog land. I probably didn't appreciate the elevation involved here. Walthamstow needs more hills to be able to train for this (or just attend coach Conway's sessions) but this race wasn't about running. Having twisted my ankle on a descent at 8 miles, I was cautious not to do it again. Although that only lasted two miles. Now I was hobbling a bit. I told myself I had to finish, at least ahead of one horse, I pressed on albeit now more accepting of the reality - walk the ascents, gingerly negotiate the descents, and try and run the flats and road sections. It paid off, but I lost so much time. I'm not sure I've ever run for that duration before. So I'm now going to learn from this - I must add more time to my training runs. Highlights- the terrain, running along side horses and racing ahead of them on the descents. Camaraderie of fellow runners - it was Man v Horse, not man v man after all. Being given a Moam at 20 miles and not being beaten by all the horses. Lowlights- camping in the rain. Yes that's all. I suppose I loved it really. All in all, £30 for the race, £10 for the T-shirt. A wonderful experience and lots of memories. I usually like to enter my races twice, but I may make an exception for this one. Hwyl fawr Cymru!
On a very blustery and showery evening 67 members of East London Runners completed the second race in the ELVIS 2017 Series in Raphaels Park, Romford. 67 ELR,271 finishers. 1st Mens Team , Thomas, Euan & Patrick. 1st Lady - Ava Lee 1st V35 - Paula Bedford, 1st V60 - Calvin Bobin. Elvis Scores MEN 1st ELR 1pt, 75pts, - 2nd Ilford AC 2pts, 107pts - 3rd Havering 90 3pts, 159pts. LADIES 1st ELR 1pt, 20pts - 2nd Orion 2pts, 36pts - 3rd EERR 3pts, 54pts.
Congratulations to Patrick Brown of East London Runners who won the White Peak Half Marathon in a new personal best time of 1:13:41.
East London Runners scoop both of the Team Prizes in the Dagenham 88 5 miler! Men - Paul Thompson (for Patrick Brown), Billy Rayner and Paul Quinton. Ladies - Ellie Wilkinson, Emily Clarke, Julia King
Well done Antonio MartÃn Romero, first overall in the Essex Cross Country Series at Hylands House, Chelmsford.
Congratulations to Ava Lee who was 27th overall of 148 in the European Duathlon Championships in Soria, Spain, 7th in her age group.
Katherine Harris -3.45.04pb - 240th, 14th Lady
Thomas Grimes (left) and Antonio Martin Romero of East London Runners in a race for the line in Sunday's London Marathon! Thomas Grimes narrowly beat Club colleague Antonio Martin-Romero in breaking the ELR Club Marathon record, previously 2:39, in London today in 2:38:01. Congratulations Thomas and Antonio. Congratulations also to:- Antonio Martin Romero - 2.38.04pb - 236th Alex Day - 2.44.29 - 517th Daniel Lee - 2.51.54 - 974th Mark Boulton - 2.54.13 -1178th Daniel Slipper -2.57.16 -1476th Stuart Kelly - 2.59.38 - 1869th Billy Rayner - 3.01.03 -2048th Aaron Browne - 3.14.23 - 3665th Manjit Bedi - 3.14.41 - 3720th Carlton DSouza - 3.16.19 -4004th Ciaran Canavan - 3.19.55 - 4565th Roisin Archer - 3.22.09 - 4871st James Nichols - 3.27.24 - 5749th Morgan Francis - 3.27.26 - 5763rd Peter Hatley - 3.28.28 - 5979th Alain Fieulaine - 3.30.14 - 6360th Shahib Miah Ali - 3.30.42pb - 6448th Andrew Baxter - 3.30.44 - 6453rd Regis Martin -3.31.14 - 6540th Eleanor Wilkinson - 3.37.22 pb - 7679th Robert Rayworth - 3.37.49 - 7771st Michael Wilson - 3.41.56 - 8620th John Healy - 3.42.58 - 8829th Suzanne Bench -3.44.57 - 9323rd Tom Woods - 3.54.38 - 11645th Ramesh Pala - 3.55.03 - 11786th Manjit Singh - 4.13.05 -16284th George Pite - 4.14.41 - 16691st Gareth Jones - 4.15.03 - 16801st Paul Marshall - 4.15.20 debut - 16863th Steven Bywater - 4.27.14 - 19897th George Georgiou - 4.35.26 - 21928th Andy Bolderstone - 4.38.25 pb -2271st Tina Bennett - 5.08.23 debut - 29506th Also - Yvonne Shashoua 3.44.55 and Kelly Xavier 5:03.18. Tina Bennett proudly displaying her Finishers Medal after the race.
Prince Harry is chuffed to meet Robert Rayworth of East London Runners at the Marathon Expo. "Here is your Race Pack Sir!"
Thomas Grimes of ELR wins the VETS AC 5m in Battersea Park on 18th April 2017 in a personal best time of 26:51. Next race for Thomas is the London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April 2017!
Jonathan Wooldridge - 3.46.24 Tom Woods - 4.04.01
Winners Geoff Bench Ellie Wilkinson Reserves Carlton D'Souza Graham Peacock James Nichols
Brighton Marathon Simon Thomas - 3.08.30 Janet Bywater - 3.52.58 Dominic Dragonetti - 4.12.21 Laura Woodhouse - 4.16.50 pb Dave Knight - 4.33.36 Robyn Turtle - 4.48.25 debut Emma Wing - 4.55.15 pb Maya Goodwin - 5.28.35 pb Jason Levy - 5.30.48 Paris Marathon Nick Hoult - 3.50.19 Natasha Tweedie - 4.10.20 Andy Bolderstone - 4.40.18 pb
Dan Senior - 3.07.35 debut - 612th Sean Thomas Casey - 3.08.13 - 634th Emily Clarke - 3.38.53 - 2391st Sheetal Dandgey - 3.46.03 pb - 3000th Judith Vonberg - 3.48.30 debut - 3200th Tanbir Jasimuddin - 5.13.58 - 7825th Our ELR Runners and friend prior to the race start! You can read some great Race Reports on our Results page! Dan, Sean, Judith, Sheetal and Emily show off their medals at the Club Social on Wednesday 5th April 2017 at the Red Lion, Leytonstone.
Congratulations to Suzanne Bench - ELR Club Runner of the Month for March 2017. A great start to the year for Suzanne, who has produced some excellent race performances in her build up to running April's London Marathon. She completed the Thanet 20 - 'high winds and hail stones' - in under 3 hours; was 1st lady in a Wanstead Flats Parkrun and also run in the Orion 15. She competed in the Benfleet 15 in January and last month achieved a PB of 1.44.53 in the Victoria Park Half Marathon. Suzanne is a long serving and valued member of ELR and a regular at ELVIS, Track, club socials and other events. Suzanne is also always willing to help other runners on Wednesday club runs or the Sunday social run.
Congratulations to the Mens Team from East London Runners, Thomas Grimes, Patrick Brown, Paul Quinton and Euan Brown in winning the Silver Medal. Patrick, Thomas, Euan and Paul with in front, Jonathan Wooldridge, Grant Conway and Paul Thompson our Mens Vet Team in the race.
Vodafone Malta Marathon - Sunday 5th March 2017 Name Time Position Peter Hatley 3.29.05 159th Jonathan Wooldridge 3.33.03 180th Half Marathon Carlton D'Souza 1.32.23 181st John Healy 1.37.28 325th Paul Thompson 1.38.01 346th Grant Conway 1.47.35 719th George Georgiou 1.52.31 916th
Emily recorded a time of 1.36.30 at the Roding Valley Half Marathon this month (a PB by 7 minutes!) to finish an impressive 5th Lady overall. She has also competed in the ELVIS series, Chingford League, Parkrun and finished The Great South Run (10 Miles) in a time of 1.15.50. Emily joined the club in June 2016 and has improved very quickly as a result of her training regime which includes the Wednesday club run, Weekend long distance run and speed sessions at the track on Monday evenings. Emily is currently training for the Greater Manchester Marathon in April. This month James ran the Seville Marathon in a time of 3.21.08 (a PB by 6 minutes!) and managed to achieve negative splits in the process. He has also improved his times for 5k and 10k distances, recording a PB of 39.20 at the Run Through Victoria Park 10k. He credits his latest success to his race strategy and training plan which include Monday evening track sessions, Wednesday club run and Weekend long distance run. Using Seville Marathon as part of his training programme, James has now set a new target when he runs the London Marathon in April.
ELVIS 1 - Wednesday 17th May 2017 - 19:30 - Dagenham 88 Runners 5 mile'sh, off road - Eastendbrook Park. ELVIS 2 - Tuesday 6th June 2017 - 19:30 - Havering 90 Joggers 5 mile, tarmac 95% - Raphaels Park, Romford. ELVIS 3 - Wednesday 21st June 2017 - 19:30 - East End Road Runners 5k, tarmac - Olympic Park, Stratford. ELVIS 4 - Wednesday 12th July 2017 - 19:30 - Ilford AC - Newman Hilly Five, 5 miles off road - Hainault Forest. ELVIS 5 - Saturday 5th August 2017 - 10:00am - Orion Forest Five 5 mile, off road - Epping Forest, North Chingford. ELVIS 6 - Monday 28th August 2017 - 10:30am - Barking Road Runners 5k, tarmac - Barking Park. ELVIS 7 - Sunday 24th September 10.30am - East London Runners - Valentines Park Charity 5k, tarmac.
At the East London Runners Annual General Meeting the following Committee was elected for 2017. Chair - Frank Brownlie Vice Chair - Jonathan Wooldridge Secretary - Mike Wilson Treasurer - Roger Dixon Vice Treasurer and Memberships - Don Bennett Media, PR and Beginners - Maya Goodwin Social Secretary - Sonia Cheadle Race Secretary - Ellie Wilkinson Race Secretary and Track/Coaching - Grant Conway Volunteer Co-Ordinator - Ciaran Canavan Webmaster - Derek Wright Members - Jennifer Ansell, Sarah Burns, Patrick Brown and Dan Slipper ELVIS Team Captains Ladies - Ava Lee Mens - Paul Thompson Cross Country Captains Maud Hodson and Mike Wilson Chingford League Captains Patrick Brown and Mike Wilson
Hi John, a little bird tells me that you are stepping down from the Club Committee at the AGM on the 9th February 2017. Tell me it's not true! It's true and it's a huge step for me. I've been on the Committee since about 1986, when a small group of renegades, led by Steve Knott, ousted the original committee, which was controlled by Roger Mills, and took the club into the control of the members. Key to this was that Roger had always wanted the club to be a local, informal jogging group and completely opposed affiliation to the national body (through the Southern Counties AA, then). We wanted a fully-legitimate and affiliated running club. What were your duties in the early years? I became the Newsletter Editor, taking over a 2-page news-sheet and eventually editing a 24/36 page Club Magazine called Runaround. I also became the Treasurer, growing the club-finances from about £500 to about £2/3k. I resigned these posts in about 94/95/96. Under what was effectively a triumvirate of Steve Knott, Trevor Cornell and myself, the club grew to a (then) staggering 180+ members in the mid-90s, and was winning stuff! Notably, many Essex County women's championships. What about your running during this period, how was that progressing? I had a a staggering training and racing programme, 90 to 120 miles per week for many years. Thanks to the Club I progressed from someone who ran about a bit in cut-down jeans, hence I was called -Johnny Cut-downs - and I've still got them! To someone who achieved significant stuff in ultra-running, gold and silver medals in the Southern Counties AA 100km championships, 2nd Brit to the legendary multi-world-record-holder Don Ritchie, in the AAA 100km international race, coming 4th, won the Ultra-Distance British Championship series, won the 1st Trail Runners Association Championship series, won races (Otter High Peak 40, Punchbowl Marathon (33 miles), Fat-Ass 54, Mendip Way Trail Race and others) set course records (3 Forests Way, Punchbowl Marathon, Fat-Ass 54 and others). I won prizes in many other events, and for a while held the club's marathon best time (2.43.49, chip-equivalent time). Perhaps my greatest achievements were in coming 5th in the 1st “World Championship Trail Race†in the South Downs Way 80 in a time of 10.40, and coming 9th in the RRC's London to Brighton race, a famous and prestigious race which always attracted a strong international field. None of this would have been possible without the club. I owe it so much. I believe that some of your ideas and innovations are still with the Club today? I am glad that I have had the opportunity to pay back a little to the Club of which I owe, though I have contributed very little in the recent years that most of you have known me. Many of my past initiatives are now regular activities, e.g. the re-introduction of Sunday runs, after an absence of many years, switching from road to off-road running when possible (we never used to run off-road, but you will have noticed my emphasis on trail-running races. In the early days of the club trying this, I was the only one who could lead the club throughout our beautiful and plentiful local countryside), the first-mile running as a club (it used to be a race from before the end of the notices and new/slow runners never stood a chance, and so we lost them. I remember so well the first time, people were actually talking to each other! Also, the Bluebell run and the Midsummer Mystery Run which seems to have dropped out now. Back in the day, just to enter the Forest was a mystery to everyone. Now, people know it well enough for the Mystery Run to no longer be a mystery, killed off by the success of switching to off-road! You also played a big part in stopping the Club from disappearing? I did take the lead in the horrible period when WLC tried to evict and extinguish us. I wasn't going to let my dear club collapse into oblivion! Just sorry that I couldn't stop the bar at WLC from disappearing...! You will still be running with the Club in future but are we likely to see less of you? I have taken early-retirement from work and am spending much time in my other house in the South of France (cruel running country!). In 2016 I spent most of the year there and I anticipate spending some 9 months of 2017 there. Life has changed direction for me and I must now accept that I shall be (even more) useless as a committee-member. So, I must let go, and let the club and myself go in our separate directions. It is a massive change-of-life for me and very much a wrench from a club/activity/inspiration that has shaped half of my life. How do you view the Club today and in the immediate future? The club continues to face challenges and will continue to do so in the future, but I am so heartened to see that there are many energetic and committed people who are taking on the many responsibilities to guide it successfully. It is in excellent hands and I could wish no better for it. I am so pleased. I know that it will survive very well for a long time. Just a little word, always continue to focus the large majority of the attention on the ordinary runners, average runners, slow runners, new runners, novices, not much on the more elite runners, they can and do look after themselves. On Wednesdays they are just another club-member at a club-meeting. By nurturing the grass-roots, the future's plush pastures are assured. This is how the club has always been. And how it has got to today, the only one of a myriad of the 80s-boom-clubs for many miles around that survived. Thank you John, for the past, the present and best wishes for your future.
A previous recipient of this award, this month Maud competed for ELR in the Essex Cross Country Championships and the SEAA Cross Country Championships. On 14th January she completed the Country to Capital (Wendover to Little Venice) 43 Mile Ultra race and the next day raced in the Sunday Cross Country League at Watford. The following week she ran in the 36th Box Hill Fell 12k race - the one with the 520M ascent! Partly motivated by cake and beer, she also enjoys training runs around London Tube Stations. Maud is ladies cross country captain, ELR committee member and is always happy to assist new members on a Wednesday evening run.
Sunday 15th January 2017 Congratulations to Jennifer Ansell of ELR who finished 2nd in the Benfleet 15 this year after being 3rd in 2016. Jenny after receiving her race prize!
Congratulations to Jonathan Wooldridge, Vice Chair of the Club on winning the Curtis Shield. Voted by the membership as Club Person of the Year 2016.
East London Runners celebrated the festive season, and their annual awards at the Duke pub in Wanstead on Thursday night with about 100 members and their guests attending. The club made its annual awards to mark the occasion. Opening the proceedings, the Club's Chairman Frank Brownlie addressed the members, noting how the club continued to grow in numbers, and its continued success. He then announced the Club Runners of the previous months and Vice Chair, Jonathan Wooldridge awarded each with the next must have - an ELR mug. Frank went on to present a mug to each of the committee, thanking them for their ongoing hard work and dedication to the club over the past year. Coach Grant Conway presented Alan Branch with the Track Star award. Grant said, "Alan has a fantastic attitude and has hardly missed a week all year come rain or shine." Maya announced the Beginner of the year which was awarded to Liz O'Donnell saying that "Liz wanted to run but was nervous about joining a club. So she did the C25K programme all on her own for 6 months before she felt confident to join Don's 5k runs on Tuesday nights." Liz couldn't attend on the night. The main awards Congratulations go to all of the nominees, and the winners. It was a really difficult decision to find this year's winners, as the standard of running in the club, from new runners to championship competitors is so high. Thank you to all of the committee for their contributions to find our winners. The 2016 winners in each of the categories are: Female Marathon Runner of the Year 2016 Jenny Ansell Male Marathon Runner of the Year 2016 Dan Gritton Most Improved Female Runner 2016 Judith Vonberg Most Improved Male Runner 2016 Robert Rayworth Female Runner of the Year 2016 Ava Lee Male Runner of the Year 2016 Thomas Grimes The Curtis Shied's winner is chosen by the club members who they consider has contributed most to the Club throughout the past year. Curtis Shield - Club Person of the Year 2016 Jonathan Wooldridge Photos of the night can be viewed in Dan Seniors' Vimeo feed here.
Despite freezing cold wind and driving rain, Ava Lee qualified for Team GB age Group Duathlon at Bedford Autodrome this morning! European Duathlon Championship, are in Spain and Ava is really looking forward to the challenge of representing GB, hopefully in better weather. Ava after the Bedford Duathlon. In sunnier climes.
The 9th Annual ELVIS Awards Presentation Evening was held on Friday 7th October 2016. Hosted this year by East London Runners more than 80 ELVIS Club members attended at The Duke Pub in Wanstead. The Prizes were presented by Martin Clarke and the ELVIS 2016 Prizewinners were as follows. Ladies Team - East London Runners (winning all 7 races) The Ladies collect the Team Shield at the Awards Party! 1st Lady - Ava Lee - East London Runners 2nd Lady - Judith Vonberg - East London Runners 3rd Lady - Eleanor Wilkinson - East London Runners 1st FV 35 - Kate Malcolm - Eton Manor AC 1st FV 45 - Amanda Heslegrave - Barking Road Runners 1st FV 55 - Catherine Jane Apps - East End Road Runners Mens Team - Ilford AC 1st Male - Thomas Grimes - East London Runners 2nd Male - Patrick Brown - East London Runners 3rd Male - Billy Rayner - East London Runners 1st MV40 - Paul Holloway - Ilford AC 1st MV50 - Steven Philcox - Ilford AC 1st MV60 - Andy Catton - Ilford AC
A great final #ELVIS in the series! Well done to all winners today, including Judith (top 3 ladies), Ava (v35) and to the ladies team prize! Judith, Ellie and Ava with their Ladies Team trophies!
Having failed in recent years to field a full team in this very popular event ELR through the great efforts of Jonathan Wooldridge not only fielded a full team of 10 members but in addition ELR Members Ciaran Canavan and Aaron Williams ran as a team covering alternate race legs, a magnificent effort. Starting at 8am at Epping Station, Billy Rayner and Ciaran Canavan were running the first leg of 7.5 miles to Chipping Ongar. They were seen off by Jonathan, Aaron and Edward Barnard who was to collate the results at the end of this leg. Ciaran, Billy and Aaron at the start in Epping Also running for ELR were Grant Conway, Dave Knight, Kate Brett, Dominic Dragonetti, James Nicholls , Maud Hodson, Sally Faulkner, Jan Webb, Jonathan and Regis Martin. A total of 58 Teams completed the race with the ELR Team finishing in 24th and the Team of Ciaran and Aaron in 33rd place. STAGE 1 - EPPING to CHIPPING ONGAR (7.5 miles) STAGE 2 - CHIPPING ONGAR to GOOD EASTER (9.5 miles) STAGE 3 - GOOD EASTER to LITTLE LEIGHS (9.5 miles) STAGE 4 - LITTLE LEIGHS TO CRESSING (10.1 miles) STAGE 5 - CRESSING to GREAT TEY (9.4 miles) STAGE 6 - GREAT TEY TO WEST BERGHOLT (5.7 miles) STAGE 7 - WEST BERGHOLT - DEDHAM (11.2 miles) STAGE 8 - DEDHAM - BRADFIELD (8 miles) STAGE 9 - BRADFIELD TO RAMSEY (5.3 miles) STAGE 10 - RAMSEY TO HARWICH (5.5 miles)
In contrast to the last couple of year's the sun shone as in Barking Park the sixth ELVIS race took off. Provisional results are in, and women's team came 1st with scorers Karen, Judith, Roisin & Katherine. Well done ladies! This means they maintain their 1st place overall in the series! The men's team were 2nd behind Ilford with scorers Thomas, Patrick, Mark, and a Trio of Dans : Dan Gritton, Dan Senior & Dan Slipper. This means ELR are now tied with Ilford for 1st place in the overall series with just ELVIS 7 to go ! The Captains Ava and Paul congratulated all of the runners. The next race and final meeting in the 2016 series takes place on 25 September 2016 at Valentines Park.
Saturday 6th August 2016 - Orion Forest 5, Epping Forest. On a very hot morning East London Runners fielded 49 runners from a total of 282 Finishers. Thomas Grimes, despite a fall and taking a wrong turn during the race finished in 1st place with Patrick Brown a close 2nd. With Billy Rayner in 6th and Aaron Browne in 8th the quartet picked up the MENS Team Prize. Patrick Brown, Thomas Grimes, Billy Rayner and Aaron Browne (front) are pictured after the Race. Ava Lee was 2nd Lady to finish and together with her ELR colleagues Judith Vonberg, Ellie Wilkinson and Roisin Archer, they won the Ladies Team Prize. Sunday 7th August 2016 - London Athletics Trophy - Mile End Stadium On Sunday in blustery conditions the ELR Team running in the 4 x 1 mile race also finished in 1st Place. Congratulations to Andy Kumar, Dan Senior, Dan Slipper & Mark Wyatt who are pictured below with the Trophy.
ELR sent 67 of its members to race in the hilly Hainault Forest as part of the ELVIS series. Hosted this time by Ilford Athletics Club. The beautiful summer's evening produced some great team and individual results. Our ladies team were 1st, and scoring were Ava Lee, Ellie Wilkinson, Natasha Tweedie and Suzanne Bench. Our men's team were narrowly beaten into 2nd place by Ilford AC and the scorers were Patrick Brown, Danny Lee, Aaron Browne, Dan Senior, John Booth & Scott McMillan. The ladies are in 1st place overall for the series so far and the men's team are now tied 1st with Ilford so everything to play for as we go to ELVIS 5 hosted by Orion Harriers ! All the results for ELR can be found here. ELRs first woman and ELVIS captain collecting her prize! Ava Lee was first woman, and also celebrated a significant birthday. Happy Birthday Ava!
The ELR team before the Race! Over 105 East London Runners entered the latest ELVIS race and a record total of 95 members completed the race in the Olympic Park on Tuesday night. Unfortunately some members were unable to race owing to work commitments, injury etc. The Ladies Team were first in the ELVIS Team category for the third time this Series with the Men, having won the first two races in the Series, were narrowly pipped by Ilford AC. Individually, ELR ELVIS Ladies Captain Ava Lee was First Lady to finish and also won the prize as first FV35. Judith Vonberg was second Lady. For the Men Patrick Brown was second and Mark Boulton 3rd overall. There were many ELR personal bests and debuts and the full results for us are on the Results Page of this website. Many thanks to our Hosts East End Road Runners for putting on such a great event and after race social.
A great night for ELR at the latest ELVIS Race, the Havering 90 Joggers 5 miles race in Raphael Park, Romford. The Ladies race was won by Judith Vonberg with Ellie Wilkinson 3rd and Natasha Tweedie 4th. Alexandra Wilkinson also won a Lady Vet prize, but due to confusion over late entries has had to return the trophy. She was the real winner though. Thomas Grimes won the Mens race with Mark Bolton 2nd and Alex Day 4th. Both the Ladies and Mens Team prizes were won by East London Runners for the second ELVIS race in succession. A great turn out of runners from ELR with many personal bests and debut runs.
East London Runners would like to thank all of our Members, Families and Friends who helped and supporeted the Club and its Runners prepare and run in the London Marathon 2016. On Saturday 23rd April Mohammed Aklaqul-Ambea and Danny Lee together with Chairman Frank attended the 20 mile Water Station location to assist Peter Cowup and Narinder (London Fire Brigade), Paul and Barry prepare the site for the following day. Jaime Towns and Gareth Jones for many weeks had been planning and preparing the logistics of catering for 80 Marshalls ariving at St Mathias Church around 7.15am on Marathon morning for "breakfast" and then all day providing tea, coffee and food for all the helpers from ELR and the LFB who had been manning the 20 mile Water Feed Station on Poplar High Street. They were ably supported by their partners Nathalie and Ali Jones. A big thanks too to Mohammed Aklaqul-Ambea who provided the Halal food and for the time and effort taking to prepare and supply this food. Jaime, Ali, Gareth and Nathalie in St Mathias Church! At the 20 Mile water Feed Station on Poplar High Street, manned by Volunteers from both ELR and LFB Roger Dixon and John White of ELR were tasked with looking after the ELR side of the station. They were helped by many members of ELR, their families and friends plus many others who have helped over many years at our Water Station location. In addition to handing out much needed water to the marathon runners they were also very vocal in their support of the many ELR members and other runners known to them as they passed through the 20 mile'sh distance. Also to Jean and Tom Atkinson and their friends for manning the ELR Special Drinks Station on the Isle of Dogs once again this year.. Last but by no means least to Peter Cowup, family and friends, Narinder and all at London Fire Brigade for all that they continue to do to make the 20 Mile point one of the highlights of Marathon day for the runners, spectators and helpers.
Congratulations to all our runners today in completing the London and Blackpool Marathons! Virgin Money London Marathon. Paul Quinton and Mark Boulton looking cool on their way to sub 3 hour finishes! Antonio Martin Romero 2.42.37 pb & championship Mark Boulton 2.45.51 pb & gfa Paul Quinton 2.54.35 gfa Dan Slipper 2.59.07 pb & gfa Manjit Bedi 2.59.25 gfa Ciaran Canavan 3.09.05 gfa Spencer Evans 3.20.58 debut Saheb Yousefi 3.21.04 pb? Jonathan Wooldridge 3.21.52 pb Peter Hatley 3.23.05 David Baldwin 3.25.30 Diccon Loy 3.27.44 Mark Wyatt 3.30.29 Natasha Tweedie 3.30.33 pb & gfa Ramesh Pala 3.34.45 pb? Neil Gage 3.37.39 debut Ellie Wilkinson 3.37.40 debut & gfa Craig Livermore 3.54.26 Manjit Singh 4.13.22 Dave Knight 4.24.00 Bernadett Kalmar 4.28.03 debut Adrian Buckley 4.33.28 Tanbir Jasimuddin 4.34.16 Caroline McGirr 5.02.21 Emma 'Murphy' Hobbs 5.13.28 debut Wayne Kelly 5.40.00 Natalie A J Powell 6.44.06 debut? A happy Bernadett passing through the 20 mile Water Station! Two Super Heroes on Poplar High Street about to pass the 20 mile Balloon Arch but only one is a Member of East London Runners! Blackpool Marathon. Katherine Harris 3.55.20 pb by 41 mins Katherine in action during an ELVIS Race last year.
East London Runners Member Dan Gritton travelled to Freiburg in Germany to complete his 100th Marathon in a time of 3:03:37. This was Dan's third Marathon this year having completed others in Mill Hill and Gravesend. In 2015 Dan travelled abroad to Rome (2 hours 59 min), Hamburg (2:54), Riga, Latvia (2:57), La Rochelle (2:59) as well as completing the Kent Road Runner Marathon in 3 hours. Dan's plans for the rest of 2016 are just as ambitious - 24 Apr 16 Shakespeare Marathon 07 May 16 Orpington Marafun 14 May 16 Arun River Marathon 18 Jun 16 South Downs Marathon 09 Jul 16 Ham to Lyme 50/100km 10 Jul 16 North Downs Marathon 2016 03 Sep 16 Saturday Night Marathon - Thames Trail Marathon
"Dan said "Marathon number 100 will be in Freiberg Germany on April 3rd. My 100 Marathon Club Presentation will be later in the year." Apparently there was lots of mud and hills on the course at Mill Hill. Well we suppose the name gives it away!
Congratulations to Maud Hodson of East London Runners in completing the 100k Canalathon Ultra in 13.03.25, 8th lady, 3rd V40.
East London Runners were awarded the Team Trophy thanks to the fantastic running performances of Thomas Grimes, Russell Price and Jennifer Ansell. Russell, Thomas and Jennifer with the Team Trophy! Jennifer finished 2nd Lady (43rd overall), Russell 5th Male/overall and Thomas 2nd Male/overall, their combined finishing places being lower than any other team or Club who competed. All three also were also received Individual awards for their finishing places. East London Runners also had the most finishers of any Club in the race with a fantastic total of 52. There were many personal bests and great debuts from Gemma Foxall, Gina Radford, Stuart Barton and Emma Hobbs among others! Congratulations to all who ran plus our many terrific supporters.
Congratulations to Thomas Grimes who won the Sunday League trophy for 1st Senior Male, after finishing 2nd at Royston XC today! http://www.eastlondonrunners.org.uk/photos%5Cevents%5C2429%5Caau.jpg
Meet Grant, Maya and others at 6.45pm at Ashton Playing Fields, Woodford Bridge, Essex, IG8 8AA . Note that there will be a cost of �4 (�1.50 concessions available for students and Over 35's) per person, payable locally. Annual season tickets are also available. See Vision website. It is the responsibility of each person attending to make payment and not the responsibility of the Club of East London Runners. Nearest tube Station is Woodford on the Central Line. www.vision-rcl.org.uk/ashtons_home.html Suitable for all levels including Beginners. Please check the Latest News page of this website or our Group page on Facebook a few days before each activity/run to check that it is on/full details etc. Monday - Track night. 6.45pm to 8pm approx. See Track Section of this website. Suitable for all levels from Beginners to experienced runners. Tuesday - Marathon training runs (6/7 miles) at 7pm from Wanstead Leisure Centre - ad hoc - typically from January to April, check each week. Tuesday - 5k Runs for Beginners during January to April 2016, see Beginners Section of this Website. Wednesday - Club Night run from WLC at 7pm, typically 10k in distance with a 5 mile option. Suitable for those comfortable running 4 miles plus. Saturday morning parkrun. At 9am FREE timed 5k runs/races at Wanstead Flats (Harrow Road), Valentines Park, Ilford and many other venues across London, the UK and other Countries. Suitable for all levels from beginners to experienced runners. First timers register at www.parkrun.com Sunday mornings Social run at 10am - 10 mile'sh Forest runs/ occasional road run. Most often in Epping Forest but sometimes in Hainault Forest. We meet at different locations each week as published on this website and our Group page on Facebook 3 or 4 days in advance. Saturday/Sunday Morning Marathon Training runs typically from January to April. Distances progress from 10/12 miles to 22/24 miles over time. We normally have around 50 members training for Spring Marathons. Training runs are either organised and publicised by the Club on our News Page and Facebook Group Page. Also Club Members of a similar pace organise ad hoc runs with each other. In addition we Race in the local Chingford League and also in the Sunday Cross Country League from May to September. Full details are on the relevant pages of this Website. Members can also compete in the County, Regional and National Cross Country Championship races during this period.
Please check the Latest News page of this website or our Group page on Facebook a few days before each activity/run to check that it is on/full details etc. Monday - Track night. See Track Section of this website. Suitable for all levels from beginners to experienced runners. Wednesday - Club Night run from WLC at 7pm, typically 10k in distance. Suitable for those comfortable running 5 miles plus. Also May to September (inc) Beginners run of up to 5k (ending 30th September 2015) and 5 miles approx. Saturday morning parkrun. At 9am FREE timed 5k runs/races at Wanstead Flats (Harrow Road), Valentines Park, Ilford and many other venues across London, the UK and other Countries. Suitable for all levels from beginners to experienced runners. First timers register at www.parkrun.com Sunday mornings Social run- 10 mile'sh Forest runs/ occasional road run. Most often in Epping Forest but sometimes in Hainault Forest. We meet at different locations each week as published on this website and our Group page on Facebook 3 or 4 days in advance. In addition we Race in the ELVIS Grand Prix Series from May to September. ELVIS is a 7 race series of 5k and 5 mile races. Full details on our ELVIS page. Note there is a separate entry fee payable individually for each of the ELVIS Races.
10 Reasons why FAT runners walk. toofattorun.co.uk/10-reasons-why-fat-runners-walk/
Check out ELR Member Julie Creffield's website and blogs - http://thefatgirlsguidetorunning.com Among Julie's recent achievements have been completing the Virgin London Marathon 2012 in 5:50:27 and since then has given birth to her beautiful daughter Rose. Julie has been back in training and completed two half Marathons in September 2013 and the Lisbon Half Marathon on Sunday 6th October 2013. You can also read about ONE BIG FAT RUN EVENT and FATTYMUSTRUN MARATHON CHALLENGE on the website!
FREE timed 5k runs/races starting at 9am at Wanstead Flats (Harrow Road), Valentines Park, Ilford, Beckton, Barking, Wathamstow and Mile End and at many other locations across London and the UK and abroad. www.parkrun.co.uk
Typically takes place on the first Wednesday run of the month. Club members are invited to wear their club kit in preference to their regular running gear.