Over four and half thousand runners took part in two iconic 10-milers on Sunday. One of them was holding its 32nd edition, the John Treacy Dungarvan 10-miler down in Co. Waterford, the other, the much younger, but no less well-supported, Trim AC-organised 10 miler took place in Co. Meath. Neither race disappointed, despite challenging weather conditions. Another classic set of races took place on Saturday morning. These were the ladies' and mixed cross-country races organised by the BHAA and sponsored by An Garda Siochána traditionally held around the Munich mile area of the Phoenix Park. We start with the Garda races. In damp but not too windy conditions on Saturday morning, the first race of the day, the two-mile event, enjoyed a much smaller field than of late, lacking the numbers that have been produced in the past by the Dublin Lord Mayor’s initiative. Nevertheless, 48 plucky runners took part in the race, among them 7 from the club, on a course that twice took in the gullies leading down to, and up from, the bottom of the Khyber Pass near the Islandbridge Gate and the Magazine fort at the southern end of the park. Conditions were quite muddy in places, although the course deviated slightly from and avoided a familiar particularly muddy gap between the trees in the copse at the top of the uphill gully. Clare Sullivan was our leading finisher, placing second, having led a pack pursuing the eventual winner, Laura McDonnell, throughout the race. Clare’s time was 13:13 and she was followed home by Saoirse McGrath (4th in 13:29) and by Amy McGuinness (6th in 13:37), both of whom had tried to stick with Clare in her pursuit of Laura. Rachael Yorke was next, in 10th place in a time of 14:16, with Rebecca Fleming not too far behind in 17th place (15:09). The contingent was completed by Olwyn Dunne who placed 24th overall and 3rd F55 in 16:29, followed by coach Susan Walsh who placed 26th overall and 2nd F60 in 17:10. The following race was ostensibly a mixed 4-miler on the same course, with an extension up to the Acres Road near the Papal Cross. However, only one or two women actually decided to take part in it. The event enjoyed a field nearly double that of the ladies’ race and again we provided a significant percentage of the numbers, nearly 12% or 11 runners. Michael O’Conor demonstrated that he is running as well as ever with a super 5th place finish in 24:26, pursued by Ross Neill in 11th place (25:00). Placing 21st and 4th M45 Joe Walsh was next, in 21st place in a time of 26:00 and slightly further back came Karl Walsh (33rd in 27:23). There was a further pack of Crusaders to come, led home by Neil Brown (51st in 30:07), followed by Robbie Moore (58th in 30:33). Next came David O’Donnell (60th in 30:44), followed closely by Tony Hackett (62nd in 30:50). The contingent was completed by Tomás Dunne (72nd in 32:56), coach Michael McGovern (81st in 35:04) and Paul E. Kelly (92nd in 40:28). Then on Sunday, the first of the 10-milers to head out was in Dungarvan. The conditions would have been relatively dry on the largely anti-clockwise course that for about 60% of its length resembled a profile similar to that of Trim. With a strong WSW wind (27kph), runners would have had a headwind for some of the time from the start where they headed due south on a small loop and then as they headed west after about 3 miles before running into a cross wind and finally a tailwind to take them home. As in Trim, the course can be considered undulating, but not overly hilly. We had 11 of our clubmates in the race, led home by Ciarain Kelly with a PB time of 56:51 to place 28th in a field measuring 2835 finishers. Ciarain was followed by Ger Forde (51st in 58:30), who was not too far in front of Michael Kiely (57th in 58:54) who was pacing again the Thurles visually impaired runner Declan Ryan (58th in 58:55). In a race where 79 runners broke the hour mark, John Mulvihill was not too far outside with a time of 60:04 for 80th spot. The three man team of Ciarain, Ger and Michael took a creditable 4th place in a competition involving 64 teams. Mikey Coleman was our next athlete to cross the finishing line, in 235th spot and a time of 64:43, followed closely by Kathryn Gibbons, who is in training for March’s Rome marathon, with a PB time of 64:53 (236th overall and 15th female finisher). Eddie Nugent came next (290th in 66:25) and he was followed by Conor Macguinness (67:36 for 334th). Gillian Earley also had a good run in the conditions for 419th and 36th places with a time of 68:59 and she was followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (800th and 123rd in 74:37). Finally, Miriam Logan made a welcome return to racing, placing 951st and 155th in a time of 76:56. The three-woman team of Kathryn, Gill and Dee placed a strong 5th out of 48 teams in the competition. Members may be interested to learn that Sean Murphy, of the Wexford United Striders club, who trains with us, also ran in the race, recording a time of 69:01 for 430th spot. Trim was a similar story, although arguably the wind would have had more of an impact. Starting an hour later, the wind had time to increase to a speed of 35kph from the WSW, so that runners on the anti-clockwise route (and not unduly hilly) had a couple of miles of a headwind at the top of the course, then a strong crosswind on the return for about 4 miles, followed by a finish that was incredibly tough with about 600m of relentless headwind that may have added 15-30 seconds to runners’ times. The race witnessed a return of Peter Somba to the competitive environment, but on this occasion he had to settle for 2nd place in a field of 1687 finishers, running 51:33, two seconds behind the winner, Conor Duffy. AnnMarie McGlynn was a late entry to the field, but she took away the main prize in the women’s race, placing 14th overall in 56:23. Despite many times recorded being slower than last year’s because of the wind, we still saw PB finishes from runners over a distance which for many is a sweet spot in long distance racing. Dee Lawlor was one of those. He placed 33rd in a PB time of 58:27 and also coming home in 5th place in his M45 age category. Joe McDermott was next, placing 56th in 59:44 and he was followed by Kevin Kavanagh (67th in 60:08) who, for the second half of the race, was pacing ex-Crusader (now GCH, but who still trains with us from time to time) Catherine Thornton to a PB time of 60:07 (66th overall and 4th female finisher). Along with Robert Browne (89th in 61:07), the 4-man team of Dee, Joe, Kevin and Robert placed 4th men’s team in a competition involving 89 teams. Of interest, 62 runners broke 60 minutes in the race. The next athlete across the line was Kieran Martin who ran a satisfying 61:58 for 112th place and he was followed by Kevin Lambe wo recorded a PB of 65:21 for 206th place. He was possibly trying to follow the solitary 65 minutes pacer whose silver balloon flew up into space within the first 3 miles. Kevin was followed by Adrienne Jordan, who is racing herself back to fitness (219th and 22nd in 65:56) and by James Cottle (269th overall and 1st M65 in 67:49). James, who is in training for the Tokyo marathon in less than a month’s time, ran a tactical race, starting relatively steadily and reeling in his closest adversary at around 4 miles. He then hung on to the lead for the rest of the race. Aoife Quigley was the next runner home, placing just behind James in 284th and 34th places in a time of 68:38. Further back, in her first 10-mile race, Anna Gallo, who was not recorded as a Crusader in the race, placed 349th and 43rd in a super time of 70:29 and she was followed by Sharon Woods (707th and 156th in 78:56). If Anna had been included in the team results, then the first 4 women home would have placed 5th in a competition involving 76 teams. The contingent was completed by tow of our runners pacing the 90 minutes finishers (Olwyn Dunne who ran 79:40 for 735th and 168th places) and husband Joe who was pacing the 100 minutes finishers (99:33 for 1475th place). Both are preparing for this month’s Donadea 50k race, with Joe likely to pace that too. All in all, a highly satisfying day for many of our athletes. Further afield, Tara Gavin joined our Spanish exiles Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos in running in the Torremolinos Half marathon on Sunday. Cristian was 4th in his category running 1:19 for the distance, followed by Esther who recorded a PB with her time of 1:26. Tara ran a super 1:42 on what would be considered a hilly course (first half and finish) in otherwise excellent conditions. We had a number of first finishers in Saturday morning’s parkruns. Our largest contingent was as usual in Poolbeg where Chris Russell was first across the line in 16:54. He led home at least 13 Crusaders in a field of 171. Chris was followed home by Stephen Hurley in 5th place in 17:59 and Luke Corcoran a little further back (11th in 20:10). Josie Ward was our first female runner home in 60th and 9th places in 24:20 and she was followed by Michael Fitzsimons (63rd in 24:27). Kevin Kenny followed Michael in 67th place in a time of 24:45 and he was followed by Russell Murphy (71st in 24:58), Tanja Narancic (78th and 13th in 25:48), Paul Campbell (81st in 25:56), Christina Campbell (83rd and 15th in 26:05), Maureen McGinley (116th and 33rd in 28:49), Jessica Norris (126th and 41st in 29:26) and Cynthia Perucca (152nd and 55th in 32:55). Elsewhere, Paul Flynn was a first finisher in Griffeen Park where he ran 18:58 ahead of a field of 220. Colm Foley also ran there, placing 43rd in 23:40. Meanwhile Laura Flannelly (née Schwirz) placed 14th overall and first female runner across the line in the 108-strong field in Claremorris, recording a time of 23:31. She was preceded by John O’Donnell who finished in 3rd place in 19:13. Kate Murray took second spot and 20th overall in Mullingar. In a field of 129, Kate ran a time of 22:12. Meanwhile, Mairead Cashman ran in a modest field of 16 in Knockanacree Woods where she finished in 6th and 2nd in a time of 36:23, whilst, in River Valley Park, pacing the 25 minute runners, Darina Scully ran 25:02 for 21st and 5th places in a field of 109 runners. Members of the Shine family ran in the 75-strong field in Hartstown, where Fiona placed 32nd and 8th in 28:01, Máirín took 38th and 13th spots in 29:08 and Lisa finished in 59th and 29th places in 36:20. Kieran Martin and Michael Maughan joined 504 other participants in St. Anne’s, Raheny, where Kieran placed 18th in 20:39 and Michael placed 91st in 23:59, whilst Toby Benham placed 34th in 22:26 in a field of 247 in Tramore Valley, Cork. Jill Nason ran in another Tramore parkrun, in Co. Waterford, where she placed 43rd and 11th in a time of 25:26. The field there measured 202. Further afield, Sarah Lyons ran in her native Aylesbury where, in a field of 140, she placed 48th and 11th in 26:38, whilst Enda Currid joined 667 other runners in Oxford, where, in the University Parks parkrun, he placed 69th in 20:34. Aoife Quigley and Harp Bhambra ran in the 461-strong field in Marlay Park, where Aoife placed 57th and 6th in 23:18, whilst Harp came home in 329th and 110th places in 32:37, whilst in Tolka Valley, Diarmuid Byrne placed 8th in 22:59 and Felipe de Sousa ran 28:05 for 25th place in a field of 50. Andy Deuser was our singleton runner in Fairview alongside 188 other participants where he placed 56th with a time of 25:36, whilst we had two runners in Bushy Park. Daniel Lowe made a welcome return to competitive running, placing 9th in 21:05, followed by Gillian Lyons (154th and 47th in 32:38). The field measured 211 there. Finally, our new club communications officer, Cría Dowling, joined Carina Davidson in Shanganagh, where, in a field of 213, Cría placed 195th and 75th in 37:04, followed by Carina who placed 202nd and 80th in a time of 42:31. John Treacy Dungarvan 10-mile race (2835) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Oisin Spillane 1 00:51:56 65 Ciara Wilson 1 00:59:14 Crusaders AC runners 28 Ciarain Kelly 00:56:51 (PB) 51 Ger Forde 00:58:30 57 Michael Kiely 00:58:54 80 John Mulvihill 01:00:04 235 Mikey Coleman 01:04:43 236 Kathryn Gibbons 01:04:53 (PB) (15) 290 Eddie Nugent 01:06:25 334 Conor Macguinness 01:07:36 419 Gillian Earley 01:08:59 (36) 800 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:14:37 (123) 951 Miriam Logan 01:16:56 (155) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/john_treacy_dungarvan_10_mile/4982/results Trim AC 10-mile race (1687) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Conor Duffy 1 00:51:31 14 AnnMarie McGlynn 00:56:23 Crusaders AC runners 33 Derek Lawlor 00:58:27 (PB) 56 Joe McDermott 00:59:44 67 Kevin Kavanagh 01:00:08 89 Robert Browne 01:01:07 112 Kieran Martin 01:01:58 206 Kevin Lambe 01:05:21 (PB) 219 Adrienne Jordan 01:05:56 (22) 269 James Cottle 01:07:49 284 Aoife Quigley 01:08:38 (34) 349 Anna Gallo 01:10:29 (PB) (43) 707 Sharon Woods 01:18:56 (156) 735 Olwyn Dunne 01:19:40 (168) PACER 1475 Joe Dunne 01:39:33 PACER Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/trim-10-mile-road-race-2024/ BHAA Garda 2-mile XC women’s race (48) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Laura McDonnell 00:12:17 Crusaders AC runners 2 Clare Sullivan 00:13:13 4 Saoirse McGrath 00:13:29 6 Amy McGuinness 00:13:37 10 Rachael Yorke 00:14:16 17 Rebecca Fleming 00:15:09 24 Olwyn Dunne 00:16:29 26 Susan Walsh 00:17:10 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Race%20Master%202024%20Garda%202m%20-%204m%20CC%20races.pdf BHAA 4-mile XC mixed race (94) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel O’Brien 1 00:22:57 71 Pauline Hilliard 1 00:32:18 Crusaders AC runners 5 Michael O’Conor 00:24:26 11 Ross Neill 00:25:00 21 Joe Walsh 00:26:00 33 Karl Walsh 00:27:23 51 Neil Brown 00:30:07 58 Robbie Moore 00:30:33 60 David O’Donnell 00:30:44 62 Anthony Hackett 00:30:50 72 Tomás Dunne 00:32:56 81 Michael McGovern 00:35:04 92 Paul E. Kelly 00:40:28 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Race%20Master%202024%20Garda%202m%20-%204m%20CC%20races.pdf Poolbeg Parkrun (171) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Chris Russell 1 00:16:54 24 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:26 Crusaders AC runners 1 Chris Russell 00:16:54 5 Stephen Hurley 00:17:59 11 Luke Corcoran 00:20:10 60 Josie Ward 00:24:20 (9) 63 Michael Fitzsimons 00:24:27 67 Kevin Kenny 00:24:45 71 Russell Murphy 00:24:58 78 Tanja Narancic 00:25:48 (13) 81 Paul Campbell 00:25:56 83 Christina Campbell 00:26:05 (15) 116 Maureen McGinley 00:28:49 (33) 126 Jessica Norris 00:29:26 (41) 152 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:55 (55) Shanganagh Parkrun (213) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nickolas Colyn 1 00:15:41 10 Muirna Twomey 1 00:20:39 Crusaders AC runners 195 Cría Dowling 00:37:04 (75) 202 Carina Davidson 00:42:31 (80) St. Anne’s Parkrun (506) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Donagher 1 00:16:14 7 Helen Marshall 1 00:19:03 Crusaders AC runners 18 Kieran Martin 00:20:39 91 Michael Maughan 00:23:59 Fairview Parkrun (189) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rory Hearne 1 00:18:51 23 Aine Ni Ghloinn 1 00:22:58 Crusaders AC runner 56 Andy Deuser 00:25:36 Griffeen Parkrun (220) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Flynn 1 00:18:58 36 Jiaojiao Wang 1 00:23:16 Crusaders AC runners 1 Paul Flynn 00:18:58 43 Colm Foley 00:23:40 River Valley Parkrun (109) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Declan McGrath 1 00:21:14 4 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:18 Crusaders AC runner 21 Darina Scully 00:25:02 (5) Hartstown Parkrun (75) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Brogan 1 00:18:54 17 Olivia Barrett 1 00:25:56 Crusaders AC runners 32 Fiona Shine 00:28:01 (8) 38 Máirín Shine 00:29:08 (13) 59 Lisa Shine 00:36:20 (29) Marlay Parkrun (461) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:38 3 Amy Pollmann-Daamen 1 00:17:57 Crusaders AC runners 57 Aoife Quigley 00:23:18 (6) 329 Harp Bhambra 00:32:37 (110) Mullingar Parkrun (129) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Oisin Quinn 1 00:19:03 14 Michelle Langan 1 00:21:39 Crusaders AC runner 20 Kate Murray 00:22:12 (2) Tramore Waterford Parkrun (202) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Gallagher 1 00:17:48 11 Sarah Whelan 1 00:21:26 Crusaders AC runner 43 Jill Nason 00:25:26 (11) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (247) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Fergal Sargent 1 00:17:59 6 Teresa Murphy 1 00:19:32 Crusaders AC runner 34 Toby Benham 00:22:26 Bushy Parkrun (211) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter Gray 1 00:19:25 4 Caroline McCarthy 1 00:20:18 Crusaders AC runners 9 Daniel Lowe 00:21:05 154 Gillian Lyons 00:32:38 (47) Claremorris Parkrun (108) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cian O’Mahony 1 00:18:33 14 Laura Flannelly 1 00:23:31 Crusaders AC runners 3 John O’Donnell 00:19:13 14 Laura Flannelly 00:23:31 (1) Knockanacree Parkrun (16) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 William Delahunty 1 00:22:28 5 Sorcha Holohan 1 00:30:08 Crusaders AC runner 6 Mairead Cashman 00:36:23 (2) Tolka Valley Parkrun (50) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mindaugas Igaris 1 00:19:46 6 Miriam Kearney 1 00:22:16 Crusaders AC runners 8 Diarmuid Byrne 00:22:59 25 Felipe de Sousa 00:28:05 A significant percentage of the adult membership of the club was out road racing on Sunday. In the morning, several of our clubmates took part in the Seville half marathon, and then, in the afternoon, we had more than 80 runners from the club take part in the 40th edition of the AXA Raheny 5-mile race. We also had success in Co. Kerry with our sole runner in a 10k there. Starting with Seville, Lisa Branigan led home a contingent of at least 9 Crusaders in a super time of 1:37:17. In mild conditions (around 9 degrees Celsius at the start) and little wind on a flat course, Lisa was followed by Sharon Woods (1:44:56) who amazingly has just recovered from a fractured foot that kept her in a boot throughout December and the first week of January and still managed to finish 13th in her age category. Sharon was followed by Gillian Curran (1:56:17), Donna Barry (1:57:10), Cliodhna O’Reilly (1:58:15), Patrick D. Conlon (2:04:14), Jonathan Staunton (2:04:19), Megan Smith (2:13:57) and Paul E. Kelly (2:20:22). Around midday on Sunday, Mags Foley ran in a GAA club-organised 10k, the Kerins O’Rahillys. In a field of 260, and in windy and wet conditions on a two-looped slightly hilly course, Mags ran a creditable 43:55 for 33rd place overall and 1st place in the women’s race, earning her a most impressive shield for her effort. So worthwhile! The major event of the day for the club took place on Sunday afternoon on the roads around and in St. Anne’s Park in Raheny for the 40th running of the Raheny Shamrock AC-organised 5-mile race. It is so iconic and always attracts significant participation, perhaps because it is considered a kick-off event at the start of the year and is conducted on what would be considered a decent course, which includes a fun out-and-back element in the park itself in the 4th mile. It is a PB opportunity as well as being a great benchmark for people to determine their condition going into the new year. Crusaders also enjoy the privilege of commentary provided by coach Susan Walsh who gives each of us a shout out as we cross the line in our distinctive singlets as well as making some surprising announcements! The event this year enjoyed mild conditions and the southerly wind, strong in places, did not leave much of an impression. This year, the race had possibly its largest field in its history with nearly 4,300 finishers, which made for a bit of (expected) chaos in the early part of the race and meant that the field remained quite dense for many runners for much of the distance. Our sizeable contingent was led home by Colm Parnell, one of our many athletes to register a PB, in a great time of 25:14 for 13th place and he was followed by two others with PB results, Andrea Rondina (24th in 25:49) and Luke Corcoran (43rd in 26:41). The 3 athletes placed 4th in the senior team event in a competition involving 91 teams. Kevin Fitzgibbon (48th in 26:57), Chris Russell (58th in 27:07), John Mulvihill (86th in 27:50), Patrick Conlon (87th in the same time) and Michael Kiely making a welcome return to racing (91st in 27:53), completed the list of our runners in the top 100. They were followed by an under-the-weather (recovering from a bout of flu) Alex Ainsworth (110th in 28:23) and then by Paul Cowhie, one of our 3 age category prize winners. Paul placed 119th and 2nd M55 in 28:29. Kevin Kavanagh, running his first 5 miler was next in 121st place with a time of 28:27, and he was followed in the top 150 by Joe McDermott (127th in 28:35) and relative newcomer Brian Regan (142nd in 28:45). Peter O’Toole (213th in 29:35) was next and he was followed by Paul O’Hara, another running his first race of this distance, in a super time of 29:49 for 239th position, and then by Rory Goldsmith (251st in 29:55), to complete a list of 16 of our athletes to break 30 minutes. Also, the O/40 team of Paul, Joe and Peter took 7th place out of 71 teams in that competition. Rory was followed by Kieran Martin (273rd in 30:14), Gerard White (278th in 30:18), Alby Allan (294th with a PB time of 30:25), Oisin Corish (304th in 30:29), Aaron Farrell (370th in a PB time of 31:16) and Tim O’Donnell (380th in 31:30), just two days after his wedding. Kathryn Sweeney was our first female competitor home with a PB time of 31:36 for 382nd place overall and 29th woman across the line. Kathryn was followed by Eddie Nugent (409th in 31:47), Sarah Lyons (444th and 36th in a PB time of 31:58) and by Aoife Quigley (449th and 38th in 32:09). The three female athletes (Kathryn, Sarah and Aoife), like the men’s senior team, also placed 4th as a senior team in a competition involving 75 teams. Phelim Murray was next, placing 459th in 32:11, followed by Ollie McGrath (463rd in 32:12), Zlatko Kulic (467th in 32:33) and Tomás Bradley (470th in 32:23). Robert Browne must have started slightly late as there is quite a difference between gun and chiptimes for him (placing 505th in 30:32) and he was followed by a highly satisfied Simon Kenny (592nd in 32:40). Further back came the second of our age category prize winners, James Cottle. Despite a bout of nausea in the 5th mile and a brief stop to deal with it, James placed 607th and 2nd M65 in a time of 33:41. Accompanying him across the line came Ciara Lynch in a PB time of 33:33 for 610th and 64th places, and they were followed by Rachael Yorke (650th and 72nd in 34:04) and by Oisin Browne, another runner with a PB on the day (653rd in 33:42). Isabelle Cairns came next (697th and 85th in 34:21) and she was followed by Gerard Moore (709th in 33:02), who also started at the back of the field. Mullingar exile Ronan Dooley (770th in 33:13) was next, followed by Rebecca Fleming (813th and 108th in 35:05), Adrian Groarke (824th in 34:26), Luke Haran (868th in 35:15), Robbie Moore (911th in 35:58), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (918th and 125th in 35:35), Hannah Jones (920th and 126th in 35:06), Judy O’Connell, another runner in her first 5-miler (966th and 136th in 35:28), just ahead of Emily Glen (968th and 137th in a PB time of 36:16), David O’Donnell (1020th in 36:10) and Olwyn Dunne (1082nd overall, 162nd female finisher and 7th in her F55 age category in 37:01). Dee, Judy and Olwyn placed 8th as an O/40 team in a competition involving 54 teams in total. Olwyn was followed by Tony Hackett (1122nd in 37:06), Triona Quill (1201st, 192nd and 10th F55 in 37:11), Gian Piero Allerta (1214th in 37:22), Mark Browne (1260th in a PB time of 38:14), Mauro Fiorio’Pla (1285th in 36:52), Aoife Matthews (1302nd and 222nd in 37:19), Tomás Dunne (1410th in 38:42), Emer Kenny (1430th and 259th in 38:39), newcomer Noel Carr (1544th in 39:10), Kevin Kenny (1587th in a PB time of 39:20), Lydia Bigley (1606th and 312th in 40:25), John Kennedy (1625th in 38:44), Darina Scully (1675th and 329th in 40:16), Elad Solomon (1744th in 40:47), Aoife Cowhie (1805th and 373rd in 41:08), Martin Joyce (1935th and 8th M65 in 41:36) and Amy O’Donoghue, the third of our age category prize winners (1957th, 429th and 1st in the FJ category in 42:39). Emily Quinlan arrived at the start line after finding difficulty in parking 7 minutes after the field and placed 2005th and 443rd in 43:20. Lindsay Butler had a similar experience and was not given a finishing time. After Emily came Fanny Trébouet, another runner in her first race of this distance, with 2153rd and 509th places in a time of 43:35, and Fanny was followed by Karen McNamara (2162nd and 517th in 41:05), Patrick Needham (2192nd in 42:30), Carina Davidson (2626th and 742nd in 44:23), Máirín Shine (2698th overall, 782nd female and 5th F65 in 46:31), accompanying Fiona Shine, who, Susan announced as she finished, is 4 months pregnant (2699th and 783rd in the same time), Mairead Cashman (2787th and 831st in 47:14), Alan Martin (2912th in 47:03) and Lisa Shine (3625th and 1345th in 53:20), who, we also learned, is a few weeks behind her sister Fiona in pregnancy! The contingent was completed by Lorraine Fitzsimons (3920th and 1567th in 57:54), Cynthia Perucca (3925th and 1571st in 54:07) and Faeed Faeedi (4175th in 65:28). Members may also be interested to hear that Catherine Thornton, the GCH runner who trains with us from time to time, placed 132nd and 9th in a superb PB time of 28:37. Well done to all those who ran and who enjoyed the usual famous heavy goody bag (although no chocolate this year!) and the usual kitchenware prizes. Numbers remain relatively high, but down on previous weekends, in the parkruns. We participated in only a few on offer, but had major participation in at least a couple, with some success too. Ilona McElroy celebrated her engagement with a first finisher placing in Marlay Park by completing the distance in 20:25 for 19th place overall in a huge field of 646. She was joined on the podium by her fiancé Paul Fleming who led the entire field across the line in 17:08. Paul was followed across the line by Killian Barry (6th in 19:15). There to share in Ilona and Paul’s celebrations were Clare Sullivan (120th and 20th in 24:17) along with other Crusaders, several of whom were saving ourselves for Raheny the following day. Clare was followed by Aoife Quigley (133rd and 22nd in 24:38), James Cottle (160th in 25:30), Eoghan Corrigan pushing a buggy with his son Oisin (212th in 26:39), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (304th and 68th in 28:17), Miriam Logan (313th and 74th in 28:28), Tanja Narancic (323rd and 75th in 28:39), Olwyn Dunne (348th and 92nd in 29:17), pacing the 29 minute runners, Irene Gorman who is 6 months pregnant (379th and 105th in 30:01) and Caroline Crowley, who completed the course with her two weeks old baby Clodagh (629th and 221st in 47:11. The other significant location was Poolbeg as usual, and, again, we enjoyed the result of having a first finisher. This time it was Kenan Furlong who recorded a time of 17:24 as he led home the field of 210. Kenan was followed by Ross Neill (4th in 18:07), Stephen Hurley (8th in 18:42), Redmond Murphy (30th in 21:49), John Lohan (45th in 22:56), Fiona Bane (61st and 7th in 23:53), Josie Ward (71st and 9th in 24:13), Kate Healy (79th and 13th in 24:47), Paul Campbell (86th in 25:02), Tara Murphy (106th and 23rd in 26:08), Maureen McGinley (140th and 40th in 28:21), John McQuaid (143rd in 28:31), Niamh Trihy (188th and 75th in 34:55), with Mari Hansen tailwalking (204th in 48:50). Further afield, once again Richard Morrissey joined 499 other runners in Brockwell, Herne Hill near London, where he placed 4th in 17:59, whilst Toby Benham took 2nd place in a time of 18:14 in the 80-strong field in Meadowvale, Mississauga near Toronto in Canada. Back in London, Felipe de Sousa joined 103 other runners in Wormwood Scrubs(!), where he placed 14th in 23:34. Then, over in Germany, Paul F. Kelly ran in the 131-strong field in Hasenheide where he placed 26th in 23:05. We had a good turnout in Shanganagh with its field of 250. Dee Lawlor placed 5th in 18:04, and he was followed by Jill Nason (151st and 37th in 28:24), Lisa Shine (221st and 82nd in 34:51), Máirín Shine (222nd and 83rd in 34:52) and Carina Davidson (236th and 92nd in 38:29), the last three runners preparing for the following day’s race. Ciara Regan and Kieran Little ran in St. Anne’s where, in a field of 460, Ciara placed 23rd and 3rd in 20:02, whilst Kieran, another runner preparing for the 5-miler, placed 42nd in 21:27. Colm Foley joined 213 other runners in Griffeen Park where he placed 33rd in 23:49, whilst Martina White ran in the 119-strong field in Porterstown where she placed 49th and 13th in 28:13. Darina Scully warmed up for Raheny, placing 43rd and 14th in 29:09 in River Valley Park, where the field measured 98. Finally, Gillian Lyons tailwalked in Fairview with its field of 185. AXA Raheny 5-mile race (4269) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Ryan Creech 1 00:23:58 29 Shona Heaslip 1 00:26:11 Crusaders AC runners 13 Colm Parnell 00:25:14 (PB) 24 Andrea Rondina 00:25:49 (PB) 43 Luke Corcoran 00:26:41 (PB) 48 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:26:57 58 Chris Russell 00:27:07 86 John Mulvihill 00:27:50 87 Patrick Conlon 00:27:50 91 Michael Kiely 00:27:53 110 Alex Ainsworth 00:28:23 119 Paul Cowhie 00:28:29 121 Kevin Kavanagh 00:28:27 (PB) 127 Joe McDermott 00:28:35 142 Brian Regan 00:28:45 213 Peter O’Toole 00:29:35 239 Paul O’Hara 00:29:49 (PB) 251 Rory Goldsmith 00:29:55 273 Kieran Martin 00:30:14 278 Gerard White 00:30:18 294 Alby Allan 00:30:25 (PB) 304 Oisin Corish 00:30:29 370 Aaron Farrell 00:31:16 (PB) 380 Tim O’Donnell 00:31:30 382 Kathryn Sweeney 00:31:36 (PB) (29) 409 Eddie Nugent 00:31:47 444 Sarah Lyons 00:31:58 (PB) (36) 449 Aoife Quigley 00:32:09 (38) 459 Phelim Murray 00:32:11 463 Ollie McGrath 00:32:12 467 Zlatko Kulic 00:32:33 470 Tomás Bradley 00:32:23 505 Robert Browne 00:30:32 592 Simon Kenny 00:32:40 607 James Cottle 00:33:41 610 Ciara Lynch 00:33:33 (PB) (64) 650 Rachael Yorke 00:34:04 (72) 653 Oisin Browne 00:33:42 (PB) 697 Isabelle Cairns 00:34:21 (85) 709 Gerard Moore 00:33:02 770 Ronan Dooley 00:33:13 813 Rebecca Fleming 00:35:05 (108) 824 Adrian Groarke 00:34:26 868 Luke Haran 00:35:15 911 Robbie Moore 00:35:58 918 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:35:35 (125) 920 Hannah Jones 00:35:06 (126) 966 Judy O’Connell 00:35:28 (PB) (136) 968 Emily Glen 00:36:16 (PB) (137) 1020 David O’Donnell 00:36:10 1082 Olwyn Dunne 00:37:01 (162) 1122 Anthony Hackett 00:37:06 1201 Triona Quill 00:37:11 (192) 1214 Gian Piero Allerta 00:37:22 1260 Mark Browne 00:38:14 (PB) 1285 Mauro Fiorio’Pla 00:36:52 1302 Aoife Matthews 00:37:19 (222) 1410 Tomás Dunne 00:38:42 1430 Emer Kenny 00:38:39 (259) 1544 Noel Carr 00:39:10 1587 Kevin Kenny 00:39:20 (PB) 1606 Lydia Bigley 00:40:25 (312) 1625 John Kennedy 00:38:44 1675 Darina Scully 00:40:16 (329) 1744 Elad Solomon 00:40:47 1805 Aoife Cowhie 00:41:08 (373) 1935 Martin Joyce 00:41:36 1957 Amy O’Donoghue 00:42:39 (429) 2005 Emily Quinlan 00:43:20 (443) 2153 Fanny Trébouet 00:43:35 (PB) (509) 2162 Karen McNamara 00:41:05 (517) 2192 Patrick Needham 00:42:30 2626 Carina Davidson 00:44:23 (742) 2698 Máirín Shine 00:46:31 (782) 2699 Fiona Shine 00:46:31 (783) 2787 Mairead Cashman 00:47:14 (831) 2912 Alan Martin 00:47:03 3625 Lisa Shine 00:53:20 (1345) 3920 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:57:54 (1567) 3925 Cynthia Perucca 00:54:07 (1571) 4175 Faeed Faeedi 01:05:28 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/40th_axa_raheny_5_mile_2024/4950/results Kerins O’Rahillys GAA 10k (260) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Oisin Spillane 1 00:33:00 33 Margaret Foley 1 00:43:55 Crusaders AC runner 33 Margaret Foley 00:43:55 (1) Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/kerins_o_rahillys_gaa_club_annual_10km__5km/5020/details?fbclid=IwAR25gFgqFmSfT_GsOzTzLEm17RuwJzN5XT0m1doB3kv-65xFany8L54-E8A Poolbeg Parkrun (210) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kenan Furlong 1 00:17:24 23 Niamh Cotter 1 00:20:52 Crusaders AC runners 1 Kenan Furlong 00:17:24 4 Ross Neill 00:18:07 8 Stephen Hurley 00:18:42 30 Redmond Murphy 00:21:49 45 John Lohan 00:22:56 61 Fiona Bane 00:23:53 (7) 71 Josie Ward 00:24:13 (9) 79 Kate Healy 00:24:47 (13) 86 Paul Campbell 00:25:02 106 Tara Murphy 00:26:08 (23) 140 Maureen McGinley 00:28:21 (40) 143 John McQuaid 00:28:31 188 Niamh Trihy 00:34:55 (75) 204 Mari Hansen 00:48:50 Shanganagh Parkrun (250) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Adam O’Gorman 1 00:16:16 20 Muirna Twomey 1 00:21:11 Crusaders AC runners 5 Derek Lawlor 00:18:04 151 Jill Nason 00:28:24 (37) 221 Lisa Shine 00:34:51 (82) 222 Máirín Shine 00:34:52 (83) 236 Carina Davidson 00:38:29 (92) St. Anne’s Parkrun (460) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Marcus O’Sullivan 1 00:15:42 7 Lauren O’Sullivan 1 00:18:31 Crusaders AC runners 23 Ciara Regan 00:20:02 (3) 42 Kieran Martin 00:21:27 Fairview Parkrun (185) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Marcus Bishop 1 00:17:35 28 Emma Gillam 1 00:23:41 Crusaders AC runner 185 Gillian Lyons 01:01:26 Griffeen Parkrun (214) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary Farrell 1 00:19:38 15 Anne Whelan 1 00:22:40 Crusaders AC runner 33 Colm Foley 00:23:49 River Valley Parkrun (98) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nicholas Ruiter 1 00:18:56 8 Sarah Rossiter 1 00:22:50 Crusaders AC runner 43 Darina Scully 00:29:09 (14) Porterstown Parkrun (119) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:25 4 Caroline McCarthy 1 00:19:53 Crusaders AC runner 49 Martina White 00:28:13 (13) Marlay Parkrun (646) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Fleming 1 00:17:08 19 Ilona McElroy 1 00:20:25 Crusaders AC runners 6 Killian Barry 00:19:15 19 Ilona McElroy 00:20:25 (1) 120 Clare Sullivan 00:24:17 (20) 133 Aoife Quigley 00:24:38 (22) 160 James Cottle 00:25:30 212 Eoghan Corrigan 00:26:39 304 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:28:17 (68) 313 Miriam Logan 00:28:28 (74) 323 Tanja Narancic 00:28:39 (76) 348 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:17 (92) 379 Irene Gorman 00:30:01 (105) 629 Caroline Crowley 00:47:11 (221) There was understandably little racing on the roads in Ireland this weekend, and none which involved the club, but we did have some runners in Madeira for the half and mini marathons there. There was also quite a bit of action on the indoor track in Athlone at the TUS International Arena and abroad. On Saturday morning, we had at least 3 athletes take part in the U20 and U23 national indoor championships. Sean Owens excelled in taking first place in the U20 60mH in a time of 8.38, whilst, although Luke Timlin placed 2nd in his heat 4 of the U20 400m in a time of 51.21, he was unfortunately unable to progress to the final, being the 10th fastest over 6 heats with only the 6 fastest progressing. Finally, Mark Inuwa contested the U23 triple jump, where he placed 4th with a leap of 11.96m. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Mary Horgan ran in a British Milers Club meet in the indoor arena in Cardiff, where she ran in a heat of the 1500m, recording yet another PB for the masters athlete of 4:29.32, placing her 2nd in her race. We had 4 athletes take part in the various race offers on Sunday morning in Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Thankfully, they were able to avoid the ravages of Storm Isha! Conditions were quite warm, starting at 15 degrees and rising throughout the morning (in fact the races were all brought forward because of the heat). On a hilly but scenic course and in a field of just under 500 runners, newcomer to the club Gary Mills came home in 14th place in the half marathon in a time of 1:19:39. He was followed across the line by Enda Currid who placed 86th overall in 1:38:26 and then by Mairead Cashman who ran 2:20:43. Philip Matthews also made the trip and ran in the 10k (mini marathon), where, in a field of 440, he ran 50:08, placing 311th. Then, in Italy on Sunday, our exile there, Italo Giancaterina, ran in the Corsa de Miguel in Rome, where he finished the 9.8k relatively flat course along the banks of the River Tiber in a time of 30:30, possibly placing 2nd overall. Parkrun numbers remained generally high this week and, possibly because there was no racing otherwise, we had quite a decent participation from the club, running in windy-ish conditions, but nothing like the gale that we experienced on Sunday! Top of the list came St. Anne’s Raheny with 567 runners. However, we had only one participant, Michael Maughan, who placed 120th in 24:39. Next came Marlay Park with 508 runners, joined there by Phil Sykes (118th in 24:13). If we were to look for really big numbers we would have to go to the UK. In Brockwell, Herne Hill, London, Richard Morrissey, our UK-base exile, joined 603 other participants. Richard placed 6th in 18:11. Colm Foley ran in the 272-strong field in Griffeen Park, where he placed 55th in 24:26, whilst we had 6 athletes take part in the 229-strong field in Shanganagh. Once more, David Carter led the contingent home, placing 8th in 19:15. Dave was followed by Orlaith de Burca (130th overall and 32nd female finisher in 28:56), Fiona Shine (141st and 37th in 29:13), Emer Kenny (142nd and 38th in the same time), Máirín Shine (144th and 40th in 29:30), Lisa Shine (196th and 72nd in 34:12) and Carina Davidson (204th and 78th in 37:21). Our only first finisher this weekend was Luke Corcoran who led the field of 213 home in a time of 17:30. Luke was followed by Kenan Furlong (2nd in 17:44), Stephen Hurley (13th in 20:35), Franky Keane (53rd in 24:26), Tanja Narancic (55th and 6th in 24:35), Olwyn Dunne, just behind (56th and 7th in 24:37), Russell Murphy (57th in 24:41) not so far back, Kate Healy (83rd and 19th in 26:21), Maureen McGinley (124th and 38th in 29:01), John McQuaid (126th in 29:05), Paul Campbell (145th in 30:18), Louise O’Riordan (148th and 55th in 30:21), Josie Ward (153rd and 58th in 30:27) and Cynthia Perucca (182nd and 77th in 33:40). Rory Goldsmith joined 184 other runners in Cabinteely, where he placed 3rd in 19:39, whilst John Lohan placed 8th in 21:57 in the field of 53 in Athlone. Darina Scully took 28th and 5th places in River Valley Park in a time of 25:14 and in a field of 117, whilst Kelly Brown ran alongside 209 other participants in Bushy Park, where she placed 55th and 11th in a time of 25:09. Down in Australia, Marta Imaz ran in the Centennial parkrun in Sydney where she placed 352nd overall in a field of 721 in a time of 28:31, whilst Kris Ryan ran in Mudgeeraba, where, in a field of 213, she placed 109th and 33rd in 30:38. Finally, Diarmuid Byrne ran with 56 other runners in Tolka Valley Park, where he placed 10th in a time of 22:14, whilst Eoghan Corrigan ran in the 110-strong field in Brickfields, where he placed 41st in a time of 26:59. As usual, if we have missed any results, or results need correcting, please let us know! Thanks. Poolbeg Parkrun (213) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:17:30 21 Laura Pether 1 00:20:54 Crusaders AC runners 1 Luke Corcoran 00:17:30 2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:44 13 Stephen Hurley 00:20:35 53 Franky Keane 00:24:26 55 Tanja Narancic 00:24:35 (6) 56 Olwyn Dunne 00:24:37 (7) 57 Russell Murphy 00:24:41 83 Kate Healy 00:26:21 (19) 124 Maureen McGinley 00:29:01 (38) 126 John McQuaid 00:29:05 145 Paul Campbell 00:30:18 148 Louise O’Riordan 00:30:21 (55) 153 Josie Ward 00:30:27 (58) 182 Cynthia Perucca 00:33:40 (77) Shanganagh Parkrun (229) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oscar Durston 1 00:16:56 23 Eleanor Walsh 1 00:22:01 Crusaders AC runners 8 David Carter 00:19:15 130 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:56 (32) 141 Fiona Shine 00:29:13 (37) 142 Emer Kenny 00:29:13 (38) 144 Máirín Shine 00:29:30 (40) 196 Lisa Shine 00:34:12 (72) 204 Carina Davidson 00:37:21 (78) St. Anne’s Parkrun (567) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dermot Coffey 1 00:18:18 8 Helen Marshall 1 00:19:02 Crusaders AC runners 120 Michael Maughan 00:24:39 Athlone Parkrun (53) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Moore 1 00:19:35 6 Olivia McCartin 1 00:21:24 Crusaders AC runner 8 John Lohan 00:21:57 Griffeen Parkrun (272) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oliver Warren 1 00:18:27 10 Blathnaid Patton 1 00:20:57 Crusaders AC runner 55 Colm Foley 00:24:26 River Valley Parkrun (117) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:19:15 5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:23 Crusaders AC runner 28 Darina Scully 00:25:14 (5) Bushy Parkrun (210) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Joe Warne 1 00:16:45 3 Lydia Callan 1 00:19:05 Crusaders AC runner 55 Kelly Brown 00:25:09 (11) Cabinteely Parkrun (185) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Killian Mooney 1 00:16:33 4 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:20:05 Crusaders AC runner 3 Rory Goldsmith 00:19:39 Tolka Valley Parkrun (57) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:18:19 7 Niamh McDaid 1 00:21:56 Crusaders AC runner 10 Diarmuid Byrne 00:22:14 Marlay Parkrun (508) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Doran 1 00:18:22 12 Lynne Hennessy 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runner 118 Phil Sykes 00:24:13 Brickfields Parkrun (110) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tom O’Dwyer 1 00:18:45 8 Stephanie Bergin 1 00:22:49 Crusaders AC runner 41 Eoghan Corrigan 00:26:59 Despite the cold weather that we are currently experiencing, the year is truly now beginning to heat up in terms of racing activity. We start with the National Masters’ Indoors (or is it now “Short Track”?) races, held in Athlone throughout Saturday. Enda Clarke distinguished himself by winning the M40 gold medal in the 1500m, where he recorded a time of 4:20.21. Medals also went to Donal Swift in the 200m sprint (2nd M70 in a time of 41.15) and Liam Lyster in the shot put (3rd M65 with a throw of 9.80m (his last of 4 efforts). Liam also competed in the long jump, taking the gold medal with a leap of 3.19m, a win by 2 cm. Mick McDermott recorded a time of 9.88 for 9th place in the M45 60m sprints despite tearing his calf coming out of the blocks, whilst Karl Fitzmaurice placed 8th in the M45 3k in a time of 10:30.58. Members may also be interested to learn that Catherine Thornton, a GCH athlete who trains with us from time to time, won the gold medal in the F35 3,000m, leading the entire field across the line in a time of 10:18. Then, on Sunday, we had several athletes running as guests in the 123.ie indoor league at the National Arena. Charlie Bastow won his 400m guest heat in a time of 51.71, whilst Valentinos Goularas and Sean Owens were the only contestants in the men’s guest 60mH. Valentinos took the honours in a time of 8.18, followed by Sean in 8.25. Leo Gormley placed 3rd in his guest 200m heat (the 3rd) in a time of 24.87, whilst Sean ran in the 5th heat, placing 2nd in 23.14. The first BHAA cross-country meet of the year took place in Tymon Park on Saturday morning, enjoying a field of 134, 10% of them Crusaders. In benign but cold conditions and on a course that would have been muddy in parts through grassy fields on the eastern side of the M50, the 6k mixed race, involving 3.75 undulating loops, saw Clare Sullivan come home in first place in the women’s field and 28th overall in a time of 25:02. Ahead of Clare came men's captain Joe McDermott (12th in 23:26), followed by Joe Walsh (17th in 23:58). Clare was then followed across the line by Gary Park (34th in 25:49), just ahead of Eoghan Kerins (35th in 25:51), and they were followed by Neil Brown (52nd and 2nd M55 in 27:33), Rachael Yorke (62nd and 6th in 28:03), Robbie Moore (74th in 29:01), David O’Donnell (84th in 29:39), Tony Hackett (86th in 29:46), Tomás Dunne (97th in 30:33) making is way back from long-term injury, and then by Susan Walsh who managed to pip husband Mike McGovern to the post in the dying moments. Building on her success in the Goal Mile on Christmas Day, Susan placed 110th, 16th female finisher and 1st F60, whilst Mike placed 111th in 32:52. Members may be interested to learn that Sean Murphy who trains with us from time to time placed 39th in 26:21. On Sunday morning in Seán Moore Park, Fiona and Lisa Shine and a bunch of Crusaders, who volunteered to stand in the cold and marshall, hosted the latest round, the second event, of the Women’s Meet & Train Winter League. The event employed much of the Poolbeg Parkrun course, although with a slight deviation regarding the hills in the Irishtown Nature Reserve to create a loop. The race measured about 3.6k. Results are now out and we had at least 27 runners in a field of 162 finishers. Team results are difficult to determine at this stage, but individually the results were as follows, and it is likely that our teams are still holding their own. The winner of the race was Donore's Caroline McCarthy who completed the distance in 14:25. Our first runner home, unsurprisingly, was Jeanie Watson (13th in 15:18) and Jeanie was followed by ladies' captain Rebecca Fleming (23rd in 15:47), Joanna Carey (25th in 15:48) right behind and just ahead of Sophia Morgan (26th in 15:49). Then came Tanja Narancic (30th in 16:07), followed by Cría Dowling (32nd in 16:11), Hannah Jones (35th in 16:17), Laura Gobbi (37th in 16:25), Darina Scully (45th in 16:44), Carmel Higgins (58th in 17:15), Beatriz Novoa (71st in 17:27), Patricia Velasques (74th in 17:36), Lydia Bigley (75th in 17:38), Emer Kenny (80th in 17:42), Kelly Brown (95th in 18:15), Amy Forde (117th in 18:50), Carina Davidson (123rd in 18:57), Laura O'Malley (131st in 19:16), Emma O'Mahony (133rd in 19:25), Anna Shine (139th in 19:48), Caitlin Ni Mhurchu (141st in 20:11), Mairead Cashman (149th in 21:12), Máirín Shine (154th in 23:15), Niamh Trihy (157th in 24:53), accompanied by race organisers Lisa Shine (158th) and Fiona Shine (159th) in the same time. Paula Gonzalez (161st in 28:38) and Ann Arma (162nd in 28:39) completed the picture. Congrats to all on a super event and well done to Fiona and Lisa and all the Cru volunteers! Further afield over the weekend, one of our exiles in France, Clément Rincé, ran in his Championnat Départemental d’Yvelines de Cross in Verneuil-sur-Seine, where over a distance of just over 8.2k he placed 3rd individually in the cross-country race in a time of 27:53 and was a scorer on the third-placed team. Lukasz Batruch ran in the Valencia 10k, recording a time in the streets race of 40:10. Finally, Italo Giancaterina, one of our Italian exiles, ran in 10k XC race in Pineto. Italo placed 6th overall and 1st M35 in a time of 33:14. Finally, Aitor Arribas Velasco ran in a 15k in La Vuelta Pedestre a Tres Cantos near Madrid. On a hilly course in cool and rainy conditions Aitor recorded a time of 1:24:57. For the time being, numbers of participants remain high in parkruns. That New Year’s resolution is holding so far! Maybe this year we will be surprised and see it continuing over the coming months. As usual, Poolbeg had a significant turnout of Crusaders, in a field that itself was quite decent for its 250th running. Indeed, its field almost matched, at 251, its milestone. We had 18 runners in total and the two first finishers in this memorable event were Crusaders. John Mulvihill led the 18-strong contingent and the overall field across the line in a time of 17:22, whilst Annie Hughes was the first female athlete home in 12th place overall and a time of 19:47. In between came Kenan Furlong in 3rd place overall in a PB time of 17:34 and he was followed by Ross Neill (5th in 18:26). After Annie came Adrian Groarke (15th in 20:07) and he was followed by Ciara Regan (19th overall and 2nd female finisher in 20:16), John Lohan (35th in 21:52), Lisa Branigan (38th and 4th in 22:44), Fiona Bane (66th and 8th in 23:42), Franky Keane (81st in 24:36), just ahead of Paul Campbell (83rd in 24:41). Behind Paul came Josie Ward (93rd and 18th in 25:09) and she was followed by Kate Healy (108th and 25th in 25:54), Tara Murphy (116th and 29th in 26:25), Joanne Carey, pacing one of her children (129th and 36th in 27:10), alongside Tanja Narancic keeping her company (130th and 37th in 27:11) and ahead of Maureen McGinley (161st and 53rd in 29:01) and Anna Hernick (164th and 55th in 29:11). Kate Murray was another first finisher, placing 3rd overall in the 57-strong field in Strokestown in a time of 24:12, whilst Toby Benham placed 3rd in the field of 22 in Castlehaven, recording a time of 23:15. Rory Goldsmith also placed 3rd in Cabinteely. Alongside 198 other runners Rory ran 19:36, whilst, Serena Moloney placed 18th and 4th in Templemore in a time of 25:31. In the field of 92, Serena was followed by Lisa Shine (64th and 28th in 35:09) and Máirín Shine (85th and 43rd in 48:21). Dave Carter took eighth place in Shanganagh in a time of 19:01 and, in the field of 229, he was followed across the line by Jill Nason (146th and 46th in 29:38) and Carina Davidson (194th and 74th in 32:59). In Malahide, Darina Scully finished in 85th and 9th places in 23:20 alongside 390 other participants, whilst Phil Sykes ran in Marlay Park where, in a field of 621, he placed 69th in 22:21. Helena O’Keeffe ran once again in Tramore Valley in Cork, where, in a field of 235, she placed 64th and 12th in 25:09, whilst Brendan Glynn ran in Donabate, where, in a field of 248, he ran 23:58 for 55th spot. Once again, St. Anne’s boasted a huge field of 603 where Michael Maughan placed 106th in 23:24, followed by Irene Gorman, who is 4 months pregnant and who ran 26:31 for 210th and 50th places. Our lone runner in Tymon, Enda Currid, placed 11th in 21:27 alongside 145 other runners, whilst Orlaith de Burca joined 78 other participants in Illanmanagh in Co. Clare, where she placed 41st and 13th in 29:52. In Porterstown Martina White ran 28:03 where, in a field of 163, she placed 84th and 20th, whilst Mairead Cashman took 108th and 29th spots in a field of 138 in Brickfields where she recorded a time of 34:40. Meanwhile, in Fairview, we had two runners, Hannah Jones and Gillian Lyons. In a field of 232, Hannah placed 127th and 26th in 28:38, whilst Gillian finished in a time of 32:08 for 172nd and 48th spots. BHAA BoI mixed XC 6k (134) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Doran 1 00:21:35 28 Clare Sullivan 1 00:25:02 Crusaders AC runners 12 Joe McDermott 00:23:26 17 Joe Walsh 00:23:58 28 Clare Sullivan 00:25:02 (1) 34 Gary Park 00:25:49 35 Eoghan Kerins 00:25:51 52 Neil Brown 00:27:33 62 Rachael Yorke 00:28:03 (6) 74 Robbie Moore 00:29:01 84 David O’Donnell 00:29:39 86 Anthony Hackett 00:29:46 97 Tomás Dunne 00:30:33 110 Susan Walsh 00:32:44 (16) 111 Michael McGovern 00:32:52 Full results here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:05568ad1-1456-428b-aad8-691d4a295c35?fbclid=IwAR1-Ta1mX2KzGC9Tf_sCa1bmFQQw3oSfnzG9H8Ec2Nx6j-vCodq9etQESFk Women’s Meet & Train (162) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Caroline McCarthy 00:14:25 Crusaders AC runners 13 Jeanie Watson 00:15:18 23 Rebecca Fleming 00:15:47 25 Sophia Morgan 00:15:49 30 Tanja Narancic 00:16:07 32 Cría Dowling 00:16:11 35 Hannah Jones 00:16:17 37 Laura Gobbi 00:16:25 45 Darina Scully 00:16:44 58 Carmel Higgins 00:17:15 71 Beatriz Novoa 00:17:27 74 Patricia Velasques 00:17:36 75 Lydia Bigley 00:17:38 80 Emer Kenny 00:17:42 95 Kelly Brown 00:18:15 117 Amy Forde 00:18:50 123 Carina Davidson 00:18:57 131 Laura O'Malley 00:19:16 133 Emma O'Mahony 00:19:25 139 Anna Shine 00:19:48 141 Caitlin Ni Mhurchu 00:20:11 149 Mairead Cashman 00:21:12 154 Máirín Shine 00:23:15 157 Niamh Trihy 00:24:53 158 Lisa Shine 00:24:53 159 Fiona Shine 00:24:53 161 Paula Gonzalez 00:28:38 162 Ann Arma 00:28:39 Poolbeg Parkrun (251) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Mulvihill 1 00:17:22 12 Annie Hughes 1 00:19:47 Crusaders AC runners 1 John Mulvihill 00:17:22 3 Kenan Furlong 00:17:34 (PB) 5 Ross Neill 00:18:26 12 Annie Hughes 00:19:47 (1) 15 Adrian Groarke 00:20:07 19 Ciara Regan 00:20:16 (2) 35 John Lohan 00:21:52 38 Lisa Branigan 00:22:44 (4) 66 Fiona Bane 00:23:42 (8) 81 Franky Keane 00:24:36 93 Josie Ward 00:25:09 (18) 108 Kate Healy 00:25:54 (25) 116 Tara Murphy 00:26:25 (29) 129 Joanne Carey 00:27:10 (36) 130 Tanja Narancic 00:27:11 (37) 161 Maureen McGinley 00:29:01 (53) 164 Anna Hernick 00:29:11 (55) Shanganagh Parkrun (229) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:41 13 Hannah Craddock 1 00:20:04 Crusaders AC runners 8 David Carter 00:19:01 146 Jill Nason 00:29:38 (46) 194 Carina Davidson 00:32:59 (74) St. Anne’s Parkrun (603) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cormac Brennan 1 00:17:52 12 Helen Marshall 1 00:18:57 Crusaders AC runners 106 Michael Maughan 00:23:24 210 Irene Gorman 00:26:31 (50) Illanmanagh Parkrun (79) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Noel Marshall 1 00:20:14 8 Katie Downes 1 00:22:37 Crusaders AC runner 41 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:52 (13) Templemore Parkrun (92) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Denis McCullagh 1 00:20:35 7 Mairead Butler 1 00:23:32 Crusaders AC runners 18 Serena Moloney 25:31 (4) 64 Lisa Shine 00:35:09 (28) 85 Máirín Shine 00:48:21 (43) Donabate Parkrun (248) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Samuel Mulhare 1 00:18:12 8 Sheila Bourke 1 00:20:09 Crusaders AC runner 55 Brendan Glynn 00:23:58 Malahide Parkrun (391) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jackson Rendall 1 00:16:58 28 Maura Matthews 1 00:20:53 Crusaders AC runner 85 Darina Scully 00:23:20 (9) Cabinteely Parkrun (192) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alan McAndrew 1 00:19:24 13 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:21:31 Crusaders AC runner 3 Rory Goldsmith 00:19:36 Castlehaven Parkrun (22) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciarán Bouse 1 00:21:10 11 Sharon Poulter 1 00:30:48 Crusaders AC runner 3 Toby Benham 00:23:15 Marlay Parkrun (621) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:23 16 Jennifer O’Sullivan 1 00:19:29 Crusaders AC runner 69 Phil Sykes 00:22:21 Brickfields Parkrun (138) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciaran Aylward 1 00:18:19 17 Catriona Darroch 1 00:22:58 Crusaders AC runner 108 Mairead Cashman 00:34:40 (29) Porterstown Parkrun (163) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Og MacSeoin 1 00:17:33 7 Laura Behan 1 00:19:59 Crusaders AC runner 84 Martina White 00:28:03 (20) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (235) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Briain Madden 1 00:17:37 23 Amy Goggin 1 00:22:30 Crusaders AC runner 64 Helena O’Keeffe 00:25:09 (12) Strokestown Parkrun (57) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Patrick Holmes 1 00:22:31 3 Kate Murray 1 00:24:12 Crusaders AC runner 3 Kate Murray 00:24:12 (1) Fairview Parkrun (232) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:17:52 12 Aoife O’Sullivan 1 00:25:11 Crusaders AC runners 127 Hannah Jones 00:28:38 (26) 172 Gillian Lyons 00:32:08 (48) Tymon Parkrun (146) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Kelly 1 00:19:16 17 Christine Kinsella 1 00:22:23 Crusaders AC runner 11 Enda Currid 00:21:27 What a super start to 2024, with a brilliant afternoon of cross-country racing in St. Anne’s Park in Raheny! Tradition has the Dublin Masters Championship hosted by Raheny Shamrocks there on the first weekend of each year after the holidays. In some years the conditions can be quite benign, particularly as there are no hills on the course and, if there has been no rain or snow, the ground underfoot can be hard and dry. Some years there is no need for spikes of any length. This year wasn’t one of them. Not only did we see some lovely deep mud in places, but also the log across the wooded part of the course, an obstacle that has featured in years gone by, has made a return, albeit a slight shadow of its former self. The course and the cold crispy conditions made for an exciting afternoon of racing, which did not disappoint the masses who turned out to support. The first event of the day was the combined women’s O/50 and men’s O/65 3k. They were probably quite grateful to go off first as the ground where the mud was deepest had yet to be as badly churned as it became for the men’s O/35 race at the end. We had 5 of our club mates in the women’s race involving a field of 66. As usual, Raheny’s Annette Kiely, an international athlete at senior level in her day, stormed ahead of the field to finish well ahead by the end. Our first runner home was Kate Murray in 16th place and in a time of 13:49, just 90 seconds behind Annette. Olwyn Dunne was next, in 30th place in a time of 14:28 and Olwyn was followed home by Aoife Cowhie (58th in 16:17), Máirín Shine (60th and 4th F65 in 17:22) and Mairead Cashman (62nd in 17:57). No medals on this occasion, but a great effort. The second race, for the men’s O/50, involved 4 of our fellow members. They were advised just before the race that the distance would be 7k, and not the 6k previously advertised and experienced in recent editions. Indeed, the starting point of this race and those that followed was much different from previous years. This race was brought back to the home straight (and the women’s O/35 race started even further back), whereas before the start had been in an open field at right angles to the 1500m loop. Ciaran Diviney maintained a strong second place in the race more or less from the outset and, despite a nasty fall in the wooded section, he had enough of a distance margin over the third placed runner, Trevor Sweeney of Sportsworld, for it not to impact the outcome. Ciaran placed 2nd overall and took the silver medal in the M50 category with a time of 26:13. He was followed in 8th place overall by Paul Cowhie, who, as a 59-year-old, soon to be 60, won the M55 category in 27:11. Neil Brown followed in 54th place in a time of 32:13, taking some scalps in the process, and the contingent was completed by Robbie Moore (75th in 34:46). The team of Ciaran, Paul and Neil placed 7th out of 14. We had 9 runners in the field of 105 in the women’s O/35 race which measured nearly 4k. Alongside each other for much of the race, both Aoife Quigley and Clare Sullivan demonstrated loads of confidence negotiating the deep and sticky mud at the start of the home straight of each loop. In a pair of borrowed spikes, Aoife led the Cru contingent across the line in 8th place overall, taking the F35 gold medal in a time of 15:54. Just behind her at the finish in 10th place came Clare in a time of 16:04, and then, further back, came Nina Holmes (18th in 16:47), just ahead of Amy McGuinness (20th overall and 4th F35 in a time of 16:56). The four runners won the team bronze medal, agonisingly missing out on silver by 1 point to Sportsworld who were a further 14 points behind Raheny. There were 13 club teams in the race. The remaining runners all had a good outing, with at least one of them running in a cross-country event for the first time. Joanne Carey placed 35th in 17:45, followed by Mags Foley, running her first XC race, in 47th place in 18:20. Mags was followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill, no stranger to this event, who ran 18:37 for 52nd place, and who managed to pip Sophia Morgan (53rd in 18:38) at the post. Finally, Darina Scully, in her first masters’ event, ran 19:45 for 74th spot. The final race of the day was the men’s O/35 7k, which enjoyed a large field of 179 runners. We had 6 athletes in the event, led to the finish by John Mulvihill who placed 23rd in 26:19. John was followed by Kevin Fitzgibbon (35th in 27:14), Peter O’Toole (55th in 28:14) and Joe McDermott (81st in 29:13), who was obliged to race in normal runners as his Achilles flared up after initially putting on his spikes. It meant that Joe had to tread quite carefully through the sticky places on the course and this affected his time. Eddie Nugent was next, placing 93rd in 29:39, and he was followed by Gary Park (107th in 30:16), who had an inspiring sprint for the line, passing at least 4 other competitors. The team of John, Kevin, Peter and Joe placed 8th in a competition involving 18 clubs. Many congrats to everyone who ran in the Championships. It was a great effort and enormous fun to watch and support! There was a major uptick in numbers participating on Saturday morning in parkruns. New Year’s resolutions may have had something to do with it! As usual, our largest contingent appeared in Poolbeg, where, once again, we enjoyed a Crusader finishing first in their category. This was Emma Rowe who placed 6th overall and first female runner home in a time of 19:36. In a significant field of 236, Emma was followed closely by Tom Gleeson (7th in 19:46) and then by Adrian Groarke (21st in 21:07), John Lohan (33rd in 22:07), Pat Quill (41st in 23:07), Jessica Norris (51st and 6th in 23:45), Josie Ward (60th and 9th in 24;07), Fiona Bane (73rd and 16th in 24:36), Franky Keane (74th in 24:38) right behind Fiona, Tara Murphy (115th and 35th in 27:00), Louise O’Riordan (118th and 38th in 27:03), Maureen McGinley (186th and 78th in 31:06), Anna Hernick (187th and 79th in 31:08), Gillian Curran (191st and 82nd in 31:11) and Cynthia Perucca (214th and 95th in 34:34). Rob Glascott also ran in Poolbeg, as part of a much longer run, but his result has not been recorded. In a much smaller field (but a higher number than in previous weeks) Áine Kenny placed 4th and 1st in a field of 41 in Mountbellew Forest in a time of 22:09, whilst Serena Molony joined the field of 93 in Templemore in her native county of Tipperary where she placed 22nd and 4th in a time of 24:45. Tomás Bradley took 3rd place in the field of 42 in Tolka Valley Park in a time of 20:54, followed by Fiona Shine (18th and 7th in 28:00), Gillian Lyons (29th and 12th in 32:14) and Máirín Shine (31st and 14th in 33:42). We had 4 runners in Shanganagh alongside 243 other participants. Our athletes were led home by Chris Russell in 10th place in a time of 19:58 and Chris was followed by Eoghan Corrigan (78th in 25:46), Orlaith de Burca (148th and 32nd in 28:59) and Carina Davidson (227th and 73rd in 37:42). Darina Scully tailwalked in Malahide, whilst Colm Foley took 55th place in the 231-strong field in Griffeen Park, where he finished in a time of 24:54. Olwyn Dunne and Irene Gorman ran in the 560-strong field in St. Anne’s where Olwyn placed 136th and 21st in 25:05 and Irene, 353rd and 111th in 30:57. Paul and Aoife Kelly took to the paths of Poppintree where, alongside 223 other runners, Paul placed 26th in 23:06 and Aoife placed 70th and 10th in 27:34. Meanwhile, Gian Piero Allerta returned from his new home in Cork to run in Cabinteely along with 191 other participants. Gian Piero placed 49th in 25:30. Then, in Donabate, Brendan Glynn placed 54th in 24:26 in a field of 253, whilst Mairead Cashman took on Bushy Park where she placed 184th and 52nd in a time of 34:08 in a field of 247. Finally, and further afield, Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 408, he placed 76th in a time of 24:27, whilst Kris Ryan ran in Paradise Point in Queensland Australia once again, where, in a field of 355, she placed 86th and 14th in a time of 26:09. Women’s O/50 3k (66) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Annette Kealy 00:12:19 Crusaders AC runners 16 Kate Murray 00:13:49 30 Olwyn Dunne 00:14:28 58 Aoife Cowhie 00:16:17 60 Máirín Shine 00:17:22 62 Mairead Cashman 00:17:57 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_masters_xc_champs_2024/4995/club-team-results?runnerClass=women%27s%2050%2B&type=Team&category=OVER_ALL Men’s O/50 7k (88) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Ciaran McCarthy 00:25:53 Crusaders AC runners 2 Ciaran Diviney 00:26:13 8 Paul Cowhie 00:27:11 54 Neil Brown 00:32:13 75 Robbie Moore 00:34:46 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_masters_xc_champs_2024/4995/club-team-results?runnerClass=women%27s%2050%2B&type=Team&category=OVER_ALL Women’s O/35 4k (105) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Maria McCambridge 00:14:47 Crusaders AC runners 8 Aoife Quigley 00:15:54 10 Clare Sullivan 00:16:04 18 Nina Holmes 00:16:47 20 Amy McGuinness 00:16:56 35 Joanne Carey 00:17:45 47 Margaret Foley 00:18:20 52 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:18:37 53 Sophia Morgan 00:18:38 74 Darina Scully 00:19:45 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_masters_xc_champs_2024/4995/club-team-results?runnerClass=women%27s%2050%2B&type=Team&category=OVER_ALL Men’s O/35 7k (179) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Paul Stephenson 00:23:58 Crusaders AC runners 23 John Mulvihill 00:26:19 35 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:27:14 55 Peter O’Toole 00:28:14 81 Joe McDermott 00:29:13 93 Eddie Nugent 00:29:35 107 Gary Park 00:30:16 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_masters_xc_champs_2024/4995/club-team-results?runnerClass=women%27s%2050%2B&type=Team&category=OVER_ALL Poolbeg Parkrun (236) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:18:02 6 Emma Rowe 1 00:19:36 Crusaders AC runners 6 Emma Rowe 00:19:36 (1) 7 Tom Gleeson 00:19:46 10 Paul O’Hara 00:20:03 21 Adrian Groarke 00:21:07 33 John Lohan 00:22:07 41 Pat Quill 00:23:07 51 Jessica Norris 00:23:45 (6) 60 Josie Ward 00:24:07 (9) 73 Fiona Bane 00:24:36 (16) 74 Franky Keane 00:24:38 115 Tara Murphy 00:27:00 (35) 118 Louise O’Riordan 00:27:03 (38) 186 Maureen McGinley 00:31:06 (78) 187 Anna Hernick 00:31:08 (79) 191 Gillian Curran 00:31:11 (82) 214 Cynthia Perucca 00:34:34 (95) Shanganagh Parkrun (247) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Callery 1 00:17:37 25 Emily Feighan 1 00:22:12 Crusaders AC runners 10 Chris Russell 00:19:58 78 Eoghan Corrigan 00:25:46 148 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:59 (32) 227 Carina Davidson 00:37:42 (73) St. Anne’s Parkrun (560) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mark Naylor 1 00:17:54 12 Helen Marshall 1 00:19:22 Crusaders AC runners 136 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:05 (21) 353 Irene Gorman 00:30:57 (111) Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (41) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Gary McDonnell 1 00:19:59 4 Áine Kenny 1 00:22:09 Crusaders AC runner 4 Áine Kenny 00:22:09 (1) Templemore Parkrun (93) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Garoid Pierse 1 00:19:43 3 Eileen McCullagh 1 00:20:00 Crusaders AC runner 22 Serena Moloney 24:45 (4) Donabate Parkrun (253) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 S. Jenkinson 1 00:18:33 9 Julia Masotti 1 00:21:08 Crusaders AC runner 54 Brendan Glynn 00:24:26 Malahide Parkrun (393) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Fergal Cassin 1 00:18:35 24 Sarah Hawkshaw 1 00:20:39 Crusaders AC runner 390 Darina Scully 00:51:26 (tailwalking) Cabinteely Parkrun (192) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Bryan O’Connor 1 00:18:24 30 Deirdre McGing 1 00:23:50 Crusaders AC runner 49 Gian Piero Allerta 00:25:30 Griffeen Parkrun (231) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eoghan Gallagher 1 00:18:11 9 Ana Jones 1 00:21:27 Crusaders AC runner 55 Colm Foley 00:24:54 Tolka Valley Parkrun (42) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:18:51 10 Elise Phillips 1 00:25:34 Crusaders AC runners 3 Tomás Bradley 00:20:54 18 Fiona Shine 00:28:00 29 Gillian Lyons 00:32:14 (12) 31 Máirín Shine 00:33:42 (14) Bushy Parkrun (247) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Simon Ollo 1 00:19:14 21 Anne Linton 1 00:23:34 Crusaders AC runner 184 Mairead Cashman 00:34:08 (52) Poppintree Parkrun (225) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Branock 1 00:19:32 19 Paulette Thomson 1 00:22:24 Crusaders AC runner 26 Paul F. Kelly 00:23:06 70 Aoife Kelly 00:27:34 (10) Following another hugely successful Goal Mile organised by Jim O’Neill on Christmas Day, the competitive element of the festive period really began on St. Stephen’s Day with a plethora of races around the country and finished on New Year’s Day with the Tom Brennan Memorial 5k, organised by Liffey Valley AC in the Phoenix Park to kickstart the year with a bang! The major event on St. Stephen’s Day was the Fields of Athenry 10k with its field of nearly 1500 finishers. We had three runners in the event, with Joe McDermott leading the charge in 54th place in a time of 36:22. He was followed by Áine Kenny (238th and 30th female finisher in 42:32). Quite possibly, Áine placed 3rd in the F40 category. Finally, the contingent was completed by Brendan Glynn who took 476th place in 47:51. Members may be interested to learn that Catherine Thornton, the ex-Crusader, now with GCH, who trains with us periodically, finished 3rd woman home (62nd overall) in a time of 36:52. Over in Tipperary, Eddie Nugent ran once again in the Clonmel AC-organised 4-mile road race. In a race won by Sean Tobin in 17:46 and with Shona Heaslip marking her 20:46 finish with a course record, Eddie placed 73rd in 24:45, just ahead of the legendary Joe Gough. Going round the country, Kathryn Gibbons ran in the Finn Valley 5k in County Donegal, where she placed 18th overall and 4th female finisher, behind the Flanagan twins, in a great time of 18:47. Rachael Yorke won the women’s race in the Longford-based Shane Brennan 5k. In a field measuring 341 runners, Rachael placed 21st overall in a time of 19:42. On the same day, we had two runners in the Farranfore-Maine Valley AC-organised 5k in Tralee, Co. Kerry. In a field of 293, Tomás Bradley placed 63rd in 19:22, followed by Margaret Foley with yet another PB result, placing 69th and 10th in 19:37. Finally, on that day, Ciara Regan won the women’s race in the South Sligo 5k in a time of 19:11. Full results have, unfortunately, not been posted for this event. A day later, we had 3 runners take part in the demanding Fat Turkey Run 10k up and down Howth Head. In a field of 370, Olwyn Dunne placed 123rd overall in 50:02 and quite likely 2nd F55, and Olwyn was followed by Emer Kenny (135th in 50:58) and Darina Scully (156th in 53:03). On Sunday 31 December, Togher AC hosted its end of year 5k with 663 runners choosing to take part. We had two athletes in the event: Colm Parnell placed 6th in 15:52 and he was followed by Tim O’Donnell who placed 104th in 19:25 in an event in which at least 125 runners ran under 20 minutes. Again, on Sunday, Olwyn Dunne participated in the Across the Years Marathon that took place entirely on the le Chéile track in Leixlip. Olwyn’s time was 3:44:16. Leo Lundy also ran in the event (his 381st marathon). Further afield, during this period, our two exiles in Spain, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, have been busy competing in a myriad of races. On 23 December Esther ran in a 5k in Novelda, finishing in 20:05. A day later she took part in the San Silvestre Monovera 5k, placing 2nd in 21:15. On 28 December, Cristian placed 2nd in the San Silvestre Las Gabias 4k, running 13:59 for the distance and then the following day Esther placed 3rd in the San Silvestre Canals 3.5k where she ran 13:07. Finally, Esther took 3rd place in the San Silvestre Villena street race of just under 7k where she ran 28:11, whilst Cristian ran on the track in the San Silvestre Atarfe 9.5k, finishing in a time of 33:08. Two of our German members, Thomas Vogée and Anna Hoesl- ran in races on Sunday 31 December. Thomas ran in a race measuring about 10.8k, the Silvestre Lauf 2023, in Bietighheim-Bissingen just north of Stuttgart. His finishing time was 44:33. Anna ran in Munich, near the Olympic Village, in a 10k which she completed in 44:03. Finally, on New Years Day, at least 14 members of the club ran in a field of 654 in the annual Tom Brennan Memorial 5k organised by Liffey Valley AC in the Phoenix Park, conducted on 2 laps of the Furze, Ordnance Survey and Chesterfield Roads. Our first runner home was Brian O’Kelly who placed 14th in 15:09. Brian, who is also in training for the Barcelona Half marathon, finished as 1st M40 too. He was followed by Luke Corcoran (26th in 15:47) and by Ciarain Kelly (30th in 15:58). The three of them placed 6th as a team out of 18 clubs. Ciarain was followed by Kieran Little (68th in 17:10) and then by William Quill (80th in 17:26). Saoirse McGrath was our first female runner across the line, in 8th place, 87th overall, in a time of 17:40, to be followed by Clare Sullivan who must have started further back too (90th and 9th in 17:39), but who also took 2nd place in the F40 age category. Together with Dee Ni Chearbhaill who placed 211th and 47th in 21:16, the ladies’ team came home in 4th place out of 14 clubs. Eoghan Kerins ran 18:42 for 122nd place and he was followed by Michael Keegan (168th in 19:35), Gian Piero Allerta (259th in 22:52), Amy O’Donoghue (308th and 92nd in 24:39), Paul E. Kelly (440th in 28:54) and Lorraine Fitzsimons (481st and 200th in 30:56). We have two weekends and 4 sets of parkruns on which to report, which includes an attempt to list those who ran on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day (not easy to find!). On Saturday 23 December numbers of participants generally were reasonable and in parallel with this we had quite a few of our clubmates out running before the traditional period of over-indulgence. Áine Kenny ran once again in Mountbellew Forest, where, in a field of 38 she was the first woman home in 5th place overall and a time of 22:59. Meanwhile, in Poolbeg, Stephen Hurley, once again, led the field, which measured 118, across the line. Stephen recorded a time of 17:57 and he was followed by Kenan Furlong in 2nd place (18:00) , Alby Allan (5th in 19:23), Kevin Lambe (6th in 19:31), John Lohan (10th in 21:30), Lisa Branigan (18th and 3rd female in 22:28), Emily Glen (34th and 6th in 23:58), Josie Ward (35th and 7th in 23:59) just behind, Russell Murphy (48th in 25:07), Tara Murphy (71st and 24th in 27:47) and Maureen McGinley (88th and 31st in 30:20). Sarah Lyons and husband Phelim Murray joined 26 other runners in Tolka Valley Park where Sarah placed 6th and 2nd in 23:00, followed by Phelim who placed 9th in 25:02. In Malahide, with its field of 302, Paul Cowhie took 2nd place in 17:56, followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (57th and 12th in 22:42) and Aoife Cowhie (143rd and 31st in 25:53). Further away, Hannah Jones joined 8others on a windy Narin Beach, where she placed 5th and 3rd in 33:02, whilst Kate Murray ran in Griffeen Park where, in a field of 201, she placed 42nd and 5th in a time of 23:19. Toby Benham tailwalked in Worthing, whilst Ross Neill took 12th spot in Ormeau Park in Belfast in a time of 18:58. He was joined by 455 other runners. Emma O’Mahony placed 62nd and 17th in a field of 111 in Enniskillen where she recorded a time of 29:53, whilst Barry O’Neill ran in Marlay Park alongside 637 other participants, where he placed 273rd in 26:01. Karl Walsh crossed the line in 6th place in Naas where he ran 18:43, in a field of 154, whilst Mairead Cashman took 131st and 28th spots in 27:44 in the 228-strong field in Tramore Valley, Cork. Dale Whelehan ran in Russborough where, in a field of 106, he placed 7th in 21:57, whilst Luke Haran ran once again in Mungret Park, where he placed 34th in 24:43, in a field of the same size. In Strokestown, Liam Lyster placed 13th in a time of 30:05 and in a field of 47, whilst, in Mullingar, Franky Keane finished in 25th spot in 22:42 in a field of 145. Gillian Lyons joined 319 other participants in Ballincollig where she placed 263rd and 91st in 33:51, whilst Dee Lawlor and Olwyn Dunne took on Cabinteely, where, in a field of 188 runners, Dee placed 47th in 24:07 whilst pacing his daughter, with Olwyn further back in 107th and 23rd places in 29:00. We had a substantial turnout in St. Anne’s Raheny. In a field of 416, our contingent of 10 was led home by Eugene O’Neill (67th in 22:07) and he was followed by Julian Callan (127th in 24:29), Paul F. Kelly (151st in 25:35), Fiona Shine (188th and 45th in 26:44), Anna Shine (300th and 94th in 30:49), Máirín Shine (308th and 99th in 30:57), Emer Kenny (355th and 130th in 34:02), Lisa Shine (357th and 131st in 34:05), Orlaith de Burca (393rd and 155th in 41:08) and Aoife Kelly, tailwalking. Finally, for that morning, we had two runners in Shanganagh. In a field of 212, Jill Nason placed 160th and 43rd in 30:23, followed by Carina Davidson (199th and 65th in 35:50). Then, on Christmas Day, we had runners in at least 3 parkruns. Not realising that parkruns start half an hour earlier in England than in Ireland, Kevin Kavanagh rocked up to the Bury St. Edmunds parkrun at just before 9:00 and starts his warm up well away from the start line. In the end he ran a lot further than everyone else to get to the finish, reeling in masses of participants and placing 23rd in a field of 293 in a time of 21:29. Meanwhile, Gillian Lyons took on Ballincollig where, in a field of 392, she placed 300th and 79th in 31:51. Lastly, Shane Egan took on Sligo, where, in a field of 102, he placed 4th in a time of 19:45. The penultimate set of parkrun results come from this weekend and, although numbers were generally lower than previously, again we still had a decent level of participation with the usual number of podium results. Peter O’Toole headed to Belfast where in the Waterworks Parkrun with its field of 116, he led everyone home in a time of 18:13. Darina Scully ran in River Valley where she placed 8th and 1st in 24:35 in a field of 49. We had some impressive running in Marlay Park in extremely wet and windy conditions. In a field of 265, Kevin Kavanagh was the first Crusader across the line, in 2nd place in a time of 17:51. Kevin was followed by Clare Sullivan who was first female finisher, 10th overall, in a time of 18:58. Clare was followed by Aoife Quigley (12th and 2nd in 19:41) and then by Sarah Lyons (32nd and 4th in 21:51), Alma Hanevy (34th and 5th in 21:59), James Cottle (36th in 22:04), Phelim Murray (43rd in 22:34), Tanja Narancic (60th and 6th in 23:09), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (97th and 17th in 24:51) and Olwyn Dunne (119th and 25th in 25:53). Henry Griffin was first across the line ahead of a field of 89 in the University of Galway, where he ran 19:24 and followed by Barry O’Neill who placed 33rd in 25:59. In Tipperary, in the Fethard Town Parkrun, Joanne Carey placed 12th and 2nd in a field of 60 and in a time of 22:12, whilst Diarmuid Byrne ran in a modest field of 20 in Tolka Valley, where he placed 3rd in 22:58. Dee Lawlor also placed 3rd, in Vandeleur in Co. Clare in a time of 19:06. The field there measured 68. Closer to home, we had a small turnout in a reduced field of 63 in Poolbeg. Stephen Hurley took 3rd spot in 20:16, followed by Lisa Branigan (14th and 3rd in 22:37), Neil Brown (17th in 23:08), Franky Keane (19th in 23:31), Neil’s daughter, Kelly (35th and 11th in 26:12) and Sharon Ward tailwalking. Ross Neill ran once again in Ormeau Park where he placed 7th in 19:23 alongside 183 other runners, whilst Luke Haran came home in 8th place in Mungret in a time of 22:33 and in a field of 84. Mairead Cashman ran in Glen River where, in a field of 55, she placed 36th and 9th in 32:49, whilst Dave Carter took 4th place in the 83-strong field in Cabinteely in a time of 20:34. Kris Ryan ran once again in Coomera in Australia, where, in a field of 88, she placed 28th and 6th in 26:40, whilst Gillian Lyons placed 212th and 63rd in 30:21 in Tramore Valley, Cork in a field of 259. Máirín Shine joined 40 other runners on Jill Nason placed 160th and 43rd in 30:23, followed by Carina Davidson (199th and 65th in 35:50). Finally, Paul and Aoife Kelly ran in St. Anne’s Raheny where, in a field of 253, Paul placed 84th in 25:57 and Aoife finished in 99th and 21st places in a time of 27:24. There were at least four parkruns on New Years’ Day. In Ormeau Park Ross Neill joined 314 other runners, placing 8th in 18:39, whilst we had at least 8 runners in Cabinteely, including some faces from the past. In a field of 224, John Lohan ran 23:30 for 31st spot and he was followed by Andrea Talpo (50th in 24:40), Barry O’Neill (72nd in 26:19), Tara Murphy (98th and 26th in 28:02), Olwyn Dunne (100th and 27th in 28:09) and Marie Hyland (106th and 28th in 28:42). Joe Dunne also ran, but his result was not recorded. Kevin Lambe placed 2nd in a time of 18:56 in Mullingar in a field of 102, whilst we had three runners in Bushy Park. In a field of 180, Kate Murray placed 40th and 4th in 24:55, followed by Orlaith de Burca (116th and 35th in 31:15) and Mairead Cashman (127th and 42nd in 32:53). Fields of Athenry 10k (1481) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Travers 1 00:30:00 15 Alice Goodall 1 00:34:12 Crusaders AC runners 54 Joe McDermott 00:36:02 238 Áine Kenny 00:42:32 (30) 476 Brendan Glynn 00:47:51 Full results here: https://redtagtiming.com/results/FoA2023.pdf Clonmel AC 4-mile road race (424) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Sean Tobin 1 00:17:46 19 Shona Heaslip 00:20:46 (CR) Crusaders AC runner 73 Eddie Nugent 00:24:45 Full results here: https://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2023-Race-Results/MSD-4-Mile-Race-Results Farranfore-Maine Valley AC 5k (293) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Oisin Spillane 1 00:14:44 12 Brigid Dennehy 1 00:16:40 Crusaders AC runners 63 Tomás Bradley 00:19:22 69 Margaret Foley 00:19:37 (PB) (10) Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/farranfore-maine-valley-ac-5k-2023 Finn Valley 5k (453) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oisin Toye 1 00:15:44 4 Roisin Flanagan 1 00:16:59 Crusaders AC runner 18 Kathryn Gibbons 00:18:47 (4) Full results here: https://www.facebook.com/FinnValleyAthletics Shane Brennan 5k (341) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Patrick Sharkey 1 00:16:47 21 Rachael Yorke 1 00:19:42 Crusaders AC runner 21 Rachael Yorke 00:19:42 (1) Full results here: https://coretiming.ie/events/shane-brennan-5km-23/ Fat Turkey Run 10k (370) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Kirwan 1 00:34:27 17 Carmel Ward 1 00:40:15 Crusaders AC runners 123 Olwyn Dunne 00:50:02 135 Emer Kenny 00:50:58 156 Darina Scully 00:53:03 Full results here: https://fatturkeyrun.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/1-overall-results.pdf Togher AC 5k (663) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Durcan 1 00:15:21 25 Lizzie Lee 1 00:17:19 Crusaders AC runners 6 Colm Parnell 00:15:52 104 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:25 Full results here: https://www.corkathletics.org/latest-results/2023/441-december/3057-togher-ac-5k-road-race-results-2023.html?fbclid=IwAR2CaJcouYDOutDcFptImvFFaVhLdlqaJ8yDiPP2JzS_40QXaL-XXbA_ZpE&mibextid=xfxF2i Tom Brennan 5k (654) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Efrem Gidey 1 00:13:43 37 Ciara Wilson 1 00:16:10 Crusaders AC runners 14 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:09 26 Luke Corcoran 00:15:47 30 Ciarain Kelly 00:15:58 68 Kieran Little 00:17:10 80 William Quill 00:17:26 87 Saoirse McGrath 00:17:40 (8) 90 Clare Sullivan 00:17:39 (9) 122 Eoghan Kerins 00:18:42 168 Michael Keegan 00:19:35 211 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:16 (47) 259 Gian Piero Allerta 00:22:52 440 Paul E. Kelly 00:28:54 481 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:30:56 (200) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/tom_brennan_memorial_5k_2024/4933/results 23/12/23 Poolbeg Parkrun (118) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:57 13 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:55 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:57 2 Kenan Furlong 00:18:00 5 Alby Allan 00:19:23 6 Kevin Lambe 00:19:31 10 John Lohan 00:21:30 18 Lisa Branigan 00:22:28 (3) 34 Emily Glen 00:23:58 (6) 35 Josie Ward 00:23:59 (7) 48 Russell Murphy 00:25:07 71 Tara Murphy 00:27:47 (24) 88 Maureen McGinley 00:30:20 (31) Shanganagh Parkrun (212) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Drew Donohoe 1 00:17:20 23 Ruby Dowd 1 00:20:55 Crusaders AC runners 160 Jill Nason 00:30:23 (43) 199 Carina Davidson 00:35:50 (65) St. Anne’s Parkrun (416) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Karl Nolan 1 00:16:25 16 Beth Reamsbottom 1 00:19:18 Crusaders AC runners 67 Eugene O’Neill 00:22:07 127 Julian Callan 00:24:29 151 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:35 188 Fiona Shine 00:26:44 (45) 300 Anna Shine 00:30:49 (94) 308 Máirín Shine 00:30:57 (99) 355 Emer Kenny 00:34:02 (130) 357 Lisa Shine 00:34:05 (131) 393 Orlaith de Burca 00:41:08 (155) 416 Aoife Kelly 00:56:04 Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (38) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Declan Fahey 1 00:19:53 5 Áine Kenny 1 00:22:59 Crusaders AC runner 5 Áine Kenny 00:22:59 (1) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (228) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Timothy Hawkins 1 00:16:41 7 Michelle Kenny 1 00:17:53 Crusaders AC runner 131 Mairead Cashman 00:27:44 (28) Ormeau Parkrun (456) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Lochlainn Connolly 1 00:16:31 16 Grainne McGrath 1 00:19:29 Crusaders AC runner 12 Ross Neill 00:18:58 Malahide Parkrun (302) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jack Maughan 1 00:15:52 14 Jenny Johnston 1 00:19:28 Crusaders AC runners 2 Paul Cowhie 00:17:56 57 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:22:42 (12) 143 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:53 (31) Enniskillen Parkrun (111) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jason Wilson 1 00:18:47 4 Nadine McIntyre 1 00:19:31 Crusaders AC runner 62 Emma O’Mahony 00:29:53 (17) Naas Parkrun (154) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane Coffey 1 00:15:08 5 Deirdre McDermot 1 00:18:22 Crusaders AC runner 6 Karl Walsh 00:18:43 Cabinteely Parkrun (188) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alex Mulvihill 1 00:17:58 9 Noreen Brouder 1 00:20:25 Crusaders AC runners 47 Derek Lawlor 00:24:07 107 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:00 (23) Narin Beach Parkrun (9) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Keith Boyle 1 00:24:21 2 Claire Tonry 1 00:28:13 Crusaders AC runner 5 Hannah Jones 00:33:02 (3) Strokestown Parkrun (47) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Farrell 1 00:20:47 5 Sarah Dixon 1 00:24:39 Crusaders AC runner 13 Liam Lyster 00:30:05 Marlay Parkrun (638) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Karl Ennis 1 00:16:32 38 Caoimhe McCormack 1 00:19:32 Crusaders AC runner 273 Barry O’Neill 00:26:01 Griffeen Parkrun (201) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michal Gil 1 00:17:40 19 Breda Smyth 1 00:21:34 Crusaders AC runner 42 Kate Murray 00:23:19 (5) Mullingar Parkrun (145) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew Molloy 1 00:17:10 8 Amy Mahony 1 00:20:15 Crusaders AC runner 25 Franky Keane 00:22:42 Ballincollig Parkrun (320) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conrad Watt 1 00:17:27 37 Pamela Lopes 1 00:21:46 Crusaders AC runner 263 Gillian Lyons 00:33:51 (91) Russborough Parkrun (106) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Liam Mooney 1 00:18:30 23 Shania Cashin 1 00:25:47 Crusaders AC runner 7 Dale Whelehan 00:21:57. Tolka Valley Parkrun (28) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kieron Sexton-Campbell 1 00:16:40 5 Aoife Donaghy 1 00:22:17 Crusaders AC runners 6 Sarah Lyons 00:23:00 (2) 9 Phelim Murray 00:25:02 Mungret Parkrun (106) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Kelly 1 00:16:47 11 Mary Donnelly 1 00:21:32 Crusaders AC runner 34 Luke Haran 00:24:43 25/12/23 Ballincollig Parkrun (392) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Twohig 1 00:17:46 30 Jane O’Connor 1 00:20:40 Crusaders AC runner 300 Gillian Lyons 00:31:51 (79) Sligo Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Kinsella 1 00:17:18 22 Aoife Burns 1 00:23:15 Crusaders AC runner 4 Shane Egan 00:19:45 30/12/23 Poolbeg Parkrun (118) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:57 13 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:55 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:57 2 Kenan Furlong 00:18:00 5 Alby Allan 00:19:23 6 Kevin Lambe 00:19:31 10 John Lohan 00:21:30 18 Lisa Branigan 00:22:28 (3) 34 Emily Glen 00:23:58 (6) 35 Josie Ward 00:23:59 (7) 48 Russell Murphy 00:25:07 71 Tara Murphy 00:27:47 (24) 88 Maureen McGinley 00:30:20 (31) Shanganagh Parkrun (212) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Drew Donohoe 1 00:17:20 23 Ruby Dowd 1 00:20:55 Crusaders AC runners 160 Jill Nason 00:30:23 (43) 199 Carina Davidson 00:35:50 (65) St. Anne’s Parkrun (253) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Butler 1 00:16:55 13 Carmel Ward 1 00:20:12 Crusaders AC runners 84 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:57 99 Aoife Kelly 00:27:24 (21) Marlay Parkrun (265) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:38 10 Clare Sullivan 1 00:18:58 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kevin Kavanagh 00:17:51 10 Clare Sullivan 00:18:58 12 Aoife Quigley 00:19:41 (2) 32 Sarah Lyons 00:21:51 (4) 34 Alma Hanevy 00:21:59 (5) 36 James Cottle 00:22:04 43 Phelim Murray 00:22:34 60 Tanja Narancic 00:23:09 (6) 97 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:24:51 (17) 119 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:53 (25) Wexford Racecourse Parkrun (41) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Callery 1 00:17:40 10 Annemarie Doyle 1 00:23:45 Crusaders AC runner 29 Máirín Shine 00:29:48 (11) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (259) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Fintan Kerins 1 00:16:07 12 Teresa Murphy 1 00:19:50 Crusaders AC runner 212 Gillian Lyons 00:30:21 (63) Ormeau Parkrun (456) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Neill Weir 1 00:17:46 17 Lia Campbell 1 00:22:38 Crusaders AC runner 7 Ross Neill 00:19:23 Waterworks Belfast Parkrun (116) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter O’Toole 1 00:18:13 10 Fionnuala O’Hare 1 00:22:17 Crusaders AC runner 1 Peter O’Toole 00:18:13 Vandeleur Parkrun (68) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gerard Dunne 1 00:17:01 7 Dympna O’Dwyer 1 00:21:54 Crusaders AC runner 3 Derek Lawlor 00:19:06 Fethard Town Parkrun (60) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Joe Meagher 1 00:19:44 3 Angela McCann 1 00:20:07 Crusaders AC runner 12 Joanne Carey 00:22:12 (2) Cabinteely Parkrun (83) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tom Moran 1 00:19:51 6 Ciara Brady 1 00:22:07 Crusaders AC runner 4 David Carter 00:20:34 University of Galway Parkrun (89) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Henry Griffin 1 00:19:24 5 Elizabeth Maher 1 00:19:55 Crusaders AC runner 33 Barry O’Neill 00:25:59 Glen River Parkrun (55) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kieran Ruby 1 00:20:52 11 Deborah O 1 00:25:31 Crusaders AC runner 36 Mairead Cashman 00:32:49 (9) River Valley Parkrun (49) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel O’Brien 1 00:17:26 8 Darina Scully 1 00:24:35 Crusaders AC runner 8 Darina Scully 00:24:35 (1) Tolka Valley Parkrun (20) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dermot Twomey 1 00:16:50 7 Mary Gavin 1 00:24:51 Crusaders AC runner 3 Diarmuid Byrne 00:22:58 Mungret Parkrun (106) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kieran O’Brien 1 00:18:28 10 Gillian O’Regan 1 00:22:39 Crusaders AC runner 8 Luke Haran 00:22:33 01/01/24 Ormeau Parkrun (315) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Watts 1 00:16:48 27 Georgina Garland 1 00:21:09 Crusaders AC runner 8 Ross Neill 00:18:39 Cabinteely Parkrun (224) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ian Hurley 1 00:17:57 6 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:21:01 Crusaders AC runners 31 John Lohan 00:23:30 50 Andrea Talpo 00:24:40 72 Barry O’Neill 00:26:19 98 Tara Murphy 00:28:02 (26) 100 Olwyn Dunne 00:28:09 (27) 106 Marie Hyland 00:28:42 (28) Mullingar Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Evan McCormack 1 00:18:46 6 Fiona Nevin 1 00:19:54 Crusaders AC runner 2 Kevin Lambe 00:18:56 Bushy Parkrun (180) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Kearney 1 00:18:52 15 Susan Murnane 1 00:21:48 Crusaders AC runners 40 Kate Murray 00:24:55 (4) 116 Orlaith de Burca 00:31:15 (35) 127 Mairead Cashman 00:32:53 (42) It should come as no surprise that, with there being few races on offer in Ireland now this side of Christmas, this short report is almost exclusively focused on parkruns around the country and elsewhere. Indeed, our members seemed to be out in force on Saturday morning and, as usual, several featured on the podiums. Clearly, numbers were up generally around the country in mostly ideal running conditions.
There was, however, at least one race event outside Ireland in which a Crusader featured. Aitor Arribas Velasco ran in the Pisa Half marathon on Sunday morning, recording a chiptime of 1:57:18. Conditions looked great for running. Back to park-running, and we had at least 6 first finishers on the day. Ciarain Kelly headed a field of 85 in Vicarstown where he recorded a time of 17:09, with Dale Whelehan following behind in 8th place in 22:06. Dee Lawlor crossed the line ahead of 127 other runners in Cabinteely in a time of 18:27, whilst Darina Scully took the opportunity of a trip to Finland to run in the Puolarmaari parkrun there, placing 10th and first finisher in 27:37 in a field of 25. Saoirse McGrath ran once again in Marlay Park where, in a field of 477, she placed 12th and 1st in a time of 18:32, followed by Killian Barry who took 21st spot in 19:51. Meanwhile, Aine Kenny placed 5th and 1st in the 27-strong field in Mountbellew Forest in a time of 23:30. Naturally, we had a first finisher once again in Poolbeg from the contingent of at least 20 Crusaders who took part in a field of 169. Ella Quinn placed 6th and 1st in 19:33, preceded by Kenan Furlong (2nd in 17:58), followed closely by Ciara Regan (7th and 2nd female finisher in 19:41), and then by Adrian Groarke (18th in 20:45), Luke Corcoran (20th in 20:57), just ahead of Ross Neill and Kevin Kavanagh (21st and 22nd in the same time of 20:58), Cría Dowling (31st and 6th in 22:05), Joanne Carey (32nd and 7th in 22:07), John Lohan (35th in 22:58), Lisa Branigan (39th and 8th in 23:12), Paul Campbell (41st in 23:21), Josie Ward (49th and 10th in 23:46), Fiona Bane (56th and 13th in 24:15), Franky Keane (81st in 26:15), Maureen McGinley (109th and 41st in 29:38), Cynthia Perucca (132nd and 56th in 32:33) and Niamh Trihy (142nd and 64th in 34:58), with Mari Hansen (on her birthday) and Tara Murphy tailwalking. Karl Walsh took 2nd place in a time of 18:31 in Naas, with its field of 120, whilst Peter O’Toole, along with Paul F. Kelly and Michael Maughan joined 395 other runners in St. Anne’s. Peter placed 3rd in 17:45, followed by Paul (51st in 21:31) and Michael (131st in 25:55). Máirín, Fiona and Lisa Shine joined 88 other runners in Darndale where Máirín placed 39th and 4th in 30:08, followed by Fiona (40th and 5th in 30:09) and Lisa (41st and 6th in 30:10), whilst Hannah Jones ran in Fairview alongside 128 other participants. Hannah placed 45th and 6th in 25:42, whilst Kevin Lambe also placed 6th in Sligo with its field of 83. Kevin’s time was 20:06. Our Scottish exile, Aidan Hudner, ran in the 309-strong field in Pollok in Glasgow, where he recorded a time of 24:25 for 76th spot, whilst Toby Benham ran in Tramore Valley, Cork, where, in a field of 147, he placed 28th in a time of 22:16. Janet McManus ran with 233 other runners in Shanganagh, placing 98th and 17th in 24:35, whilst, further afield, in Karkarook near Melbourne, Martina White Placed 93rd and 17th in a field of 328 there. Finally, whilst visiting family on the west coast, Mairead Cashman took part in only the third running of the University of Galway parkrun, where, in a field of 92, she placed 69th and 19th in 29:37. Poolbeg Parkrun (169) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew McCullagh 1 00:17:35 6 Ella Quinn 1 00:19:33 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:58 6 Ella Quinn 00:19:33 (1) 7 Ciara Regan 00:19:41 (2) 18 Adrian Groarke 00:20:45 20 Luke Corcoran 00:20:57 21 Ross Neill 00:20:58 22 Kevin Kavanagh 00:20:58 31 Cría Dowling 00:22:05 (6) 32 Joanne Carey 00:22:07 (7) 35 John Lohan 00:22:58 39 Lisa Branigan 00:23:12 (8) 41 Paul Campbell 00:23:21 49 Josie Ward 00:23:46 (10) 56 Fiona Bane 00:24:15 (13) 81 Franky Keane 00:26:15 109 Maureen McGinley 00:29:38 (41) 132 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:33 (56) 142 Niamh Trihy 00:34:58 (64) 165 Mari Hansen 00:53:27 (75) 168 Tara Murphy 00:53:37 (77) Shanganagh Parkrun (234) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nickolas Colyn 1 00:15:35 12 Eleanor Foot 1 00:19:17 Crusaders AC runner 98 Janet McManus 00:24:35 (17) St. Anne’s Parkrun (398) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Horgan 1 00:17:10 12 Maire Nic Amhlaoibhe 1 00:18:48 Crusaders AC runners 3 Peter O’Toole 00:17:45 51 Paul F. Kelly 00:21:31 131 Michael Maughan 00:25:55 Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (27) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary McDonnell 1 00:21:40 5 Áine Kenny 1 00:23:30 Crusaders AC runner 5 Áine Kenny 00:23:30 (1) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (57) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michael Byrne 1 00:17:38 25 Lara Byrne 1 00:21:58 Crusaders AC runner 28 Toby Benham 00:22:16 Darndale Parkrun (91) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Lyons 1 00:20:38 14 Annabelle O’Toole 1 00:24:40 Crusaders AC runners 39 Máirín Shine 00:30:08 (4) 40 Fiona Shine 00:30:09 (5) 41 Lisa Shine 00:30:10 (6) University of Galway Parkrun (92) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Chris Jonker 1 00:16:44 20 Claire O’Sullivan 1 00:23:38 Crusaders AC runner 69 Mairead Cashman 00:29:37 (19) Fairview Parkrun (129) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Toal 1 00:18:38 8 Roisin Vance 1 00:21:45 Crusaders AC runner 45 Hannah Jones 00:25:42 (6) Naas Parkrun (120) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cian Connolly 1 00:18:25 25 Siobhan O’Sullivan 1 00:23:06 Crusaders AC runner 2 Karl Walsh 00:18:31 Cabinteely Parkrun (128) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Derek Lawlor 1 00:18:27 21 Naoise Ni Bhroin 1 00:22:27 Crusaders AC runner 1 Derek Lawlor 00:18:27 Sligo Parkrun (81) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oskar Szmyt 1 00:18:20 5 Caroline Coulter 1 00:19:56 Crusaders AC runner 6 Kevin Lambe 00:20:06 Vicarstown Parkrun (85) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciarain Kelly 1 00:17:09 10 Paula Guinan 1 00:22:54 Crusaders AC runners 1 Ciarain Kelly 00:17:09 8 Dale Whelehan 00:22:06 Marlay Parkrun (477) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:04 12 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:18:32 Crusaders AC runners 12 Saoirse McGrath 00:18:32 (1) 21 Killian Barry 00:19:51 Understandably, perhaps, there are few races on offer in the weeks leading into the festive period and we had a Crusader in only one local event that took place last weekend, the Aware Christmas 5k, conducted around Leopardstown Racecourse. Indeed, even the number of runners in parkruns during this time was much reduced. However, events in Australia seem to come thick and fast at this time, perhaps because of longer days in the southern hemisphere sun. Southern Spain also continues to provide significant competition, as we saw last week with Valencia and repeated in Malaga. In the Aware 5k Carina Davidson was our lone runner, joining 186 other participants, placing 15th overall and 6th female finisher, recording a time of 22:58. Down under, we had just two exiled members in the Port Stephens Marathon in New South Wales but they were both winners. In a field of 99 runners, Maurice Kelter recorded a guntime and course record of 2:54:52 to lead the field home and he was followed in second place overall, winner of the women’s race, by Niamh Allen, possibly running her first marathon, in a guntime of 3:01:46 and, like Maurice, continuing to record considerable success in 2023. The race was conducted along two largely flat out-and-back halves along the coastline road of Nelson Bay. Closer to home, Charles-Edouard Cattier followed up his recent Dublin marathon success by running in the Malaga marathon where he recorded a time of 3:14:35. Otherwise, we had several runners, but fewer than usual, participating in parkruns last Saturday, nevertheless, again with success. Ella Quinn was one of our first finishers, also placing 3rd overall in a field of 104 in a time of 19:43. Ella was joined by Paul F. Kelly who placed 43rd in 26:21. Then, in Poolbeg, where we saw at least 20 Crusaders run, Saoirse McGrath led the women home in a time of 19:02, placing 5th overall in a field of 125. Saoirse was joined by Stephen Hurley who crossed the line in 2nd place overall in 18:11 and he was followed by Kenan Furlong (3rd in 18:15), Oisin Corish (7th in 19:22), Oisin Browne (14th in 22:15), John Lohan (16th in 22:22), Ross Neill (27th in 23:43), Josie Ward (36th and 3rd in 23:58), Andrea Talpo (35th in 24:25), Franky Keane (40th in 24:52), Tanja Narancic (41st and 7th in the same time), Olwyn Dunne (71st and 21st in 28:29), Evelyn Neary (75th and 25th in 28:40), Michael Fitzsimons (76th in the same time), Anna Hernick (80th and 29th in 29:35), Maureen McGinley (90th and 33rd in 30:37), Linda Walsh (94th and 37th in 31:20), Cynthia Perucca (109th and 49th in 34:28), Niamh Trihy (110th and 50th in 34:53) and Kevin Kenny (111th in 34:34). Sarah Lyons appeared on the podium in Avondale Forest, placing 8th overall and 2nd female finisher in a time of 23:32. In the field of 57, Sarah was joined by Phelim Murray who placed 11th in 26:11. Darina Scully also placed 2nd female finisher in River Valley Park, where she also took 13th place in the field of 88 and in a time of 24:21. Janet McManus ran in Shanganagh where, alongside 141 other participants, she placed 53rd and 4th in 25:41, whilst Eoghan Corrigan finished in 8th spot in Waterstown. In a field of 68, Eoghan ran 22:34. Irene Gorman was our sole runner in the 346-strong St. Anne’s parkrun where she placed 221st and 67th in 29:58, whilst three members of the Shine family ran in the Sport Ireland Campus parkrun, where, in a field of 47, Lisa placed 24th and 11th in 31:55, Fiona placed 32nd and 15th in 34:47 and Máirín placed 33rd and 16th in the same time. Finally, Mairead Cashman took on Poppintree, where, in a field 156-strong, she placed 101st and 29th in 30:56. Aware Christmas 5k (187) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Matthe Dunne 1 00:18:24 4 Muireann O’Sullivan 1 00:20:46 Crusaders AC runner 15 Carina Davidson 00:22:58 (6) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/aware-christmas-5k-2023/ Poolbeg Parkrun (125) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:52 5 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:19:02 Crusaders AC runners 2 Stephen Hurley 00:18:11 3 Kenan Furlong 00:18:15 7 Oisin Corish 00:19:22 14 Oisin Browne 00:22:15 16 John Lohan 00:22:22 27 Ross Neill 00:23:43 31 Josie Ward 00:23:58 (3) 35 Andrea Talpo 00:24:25 40 Franky Keane 00:24:52 41 Tanja Narancic 00:24:52 (7) 71 Olwyn Dunne 00:28:29 (21) 75 Evelyn Neary 00:28:40 (25) 76 Michael Fitzsimons 00:28:40 80 Anna Hernick 00:29:35 (29) 90 Maureen McGinley 00:30:37 (33) 94 Linda Walsh 00:31:20 (37) 109 Cynthia Perucca 00:34:28 (49) 110 Niamh Trihy 00:34:53 (50) 111 Kevin Kenny 00:34:54 Shanganagh Parkrun (141) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen McQuinn 1 00:18:15 27 Sandra Armstrong 1 00:24:03 Crusaders AC runner 53 Janet McManus 00:25:41 (4) St. Anne’s Parkrun (346) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Anthony Brady 1 00:17:19 13 Helen Marshall 1 00:19:19 Crusaders AC runner 221 Irene Gorman 00:29:58 (67) Waterstown Parkrun (68) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michael Comer 1 00:19:05 14 Katarzyna Zaremba 1 00:26:39 Crusaders AC runner 8 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:34 Avondale Forest Parkrun (57) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Walter 1 00:18:49 7 Alaoise Geraghty 1 00:21:57 Crusaders AC runners 8 Sarah Lyons 00:23:32 (2) 11 Phelim Murray 00:26:11 Sport Ireland Campus Parkrun (47) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Bob Brannigan 1 00:22:53 6 Eva Crowe 1 00:23:30 Crusaders AC runners 24 Lisa Shine 00:31:55 (11) 32 Fiona Shine 00:34:47 (15) 33 Máirín Shine 00:34:47 (16) Poppintree Parkrun (156) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mahad Mohamed 1 00:15:58 8 Fiona Hayden 1 00:22:23 Crusaders AC runner 101 Mairead Cashman 00:30:56 (29) Fairview Parkrun (104) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Toal 1 00:18:34 3 Ella Quinn 1 00:19:43 Crusaders AC runners 3 Ella Quinn 00:19:43 (1) 43 Paul F. Kelly 00:26:21 River Valley Parkrun (88) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:20:06 4 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:43 Crusaders AC runner 13 Darina Scully 00:24:28 (2) This week’s report is two for the price of one. Readers will be interested to know that we have two weeks of racing covered in one rather long read. Apologies to those who prefer bite size chunks and for any confusion in the presentation. We start with the events of this weekend, followed by the highlights of last weekend and finishing with a report on the International Running Challenge that took place over four days in Lanzarote last week. The collated results are presented below in the same order. On Sunday, we sent two teams to run in the National XC Novices in Navan. The events took place on a golf course and is familiar to many of our athletes, having been used for the Leinster Novices in the past. It is hilly, and conditions on Sunday were chilly with a light northeasterly breeze. Thankfully, the underfoot conditions were reasonably firm. The women’s race was staged first, and, in the field of 106 runners, we had five of our clubmates. They were led home in the 4k race (involving 3 loops of the course) by women’s club captain Kathryn Gibbons in 31st place in a time of 16:26. Kathryn was followed by Saoirse McGrath (47th in 16:58), and then by Kim Hickey (54th in 17:12) with Nina Holmes not too far behind (60th in 17:22). Carina Davidson also ran, placing 105th in 22:04 and the women’s team placed 7th. The men’s race enjoyed a larger field of 154 and conducted on 4 loops of the same course over 6k. Colm Parnell distinguished himself once again, placing 19th overall in 20:20 and 4th scorer on the gold-winning Co. Dublin team. Colm was followed by Barry McCarthy (23rd in 20:37), Andrea Rondina (69th in 22:12), John Mulvihill (74th in 22:21), Dee Lawlor (112th in 23:53), men’s club captain Joe McDermott (114th in 24:01) and Eddie Nugent (140th in 25:32). The men’s team also placed 7th. The start of this weekend was marked by the 31st running of the iconic Donore Harriers-organised Jingle Bells 5k on Saturday morning. Because of the cold snap that had arrived since the beginning of the week and freezing conditions at night, there had been fears that the race might be at risk of cancellation. As it turned out, although conditions were cold, worries about an icy course were unjustified and possibly one could not have asked for a faster race environment. Nearly 1300 runners, including a quality club field, set out along the narrow start on the Acres, hemmed in by the grassy banks along the Acres Road. Once clear of the Papal Cross carpark, however, and turning at the Phoenix roundabout to head towards the Castleknock Gate, the elongated field was able to expand. The course is fast and furious, as, although the route that takes runners up along Chesterfield Avenue, the main drag, is a bit of a climb, it does not take long to get into a stride and power on down the Ordnance Survey Road and then allows the athletes to hurtle down the Upper Glen Road to the finish line, which is at the end of a deceptively long and flattish straight below St. Mary’s Hospital. The finish line is well below the start, but, because of the initial climb on Chesterfield and a part of the Ordnance Survey Road, the race is only a marginally net downhill and is a PB opportunity. We had at least 36 runners from the club who took part in cold but sunny conditions with only a light wind from the southwest refreshing runners as they headed for home down the Upper Glen Road. The contingent was led home by Brian O’Kelly who placed 17th and 1st M40 in a time of 15:02. Brian was followed further back by Chris Russell (60th in 16:10), Ciarain Kelly (72nd in 16:23), just ahead of Patrick Conlon (73rd in a PB time of 16:26), with Stephen Hurley just behind (76th in 16:27) along with Kevin Kavanagh (78th in 16:29). Newcomer William Quill was next (174th in 17:43), followed by Gerard White (177th in the same chiptime), Kevin Lambe (246th in a PB time of 18:14), Paul Reidy (258th in 18:20), Rachael Yorke (280th and 36th female finisher in a PB time of 18:40). Rachael was just ahead of 3 other female clubmates who finished close together, starting with Annie Hughes (283rd and 38th in a PB time of 18:43), Aoife Quigley (287th and 39th just a couple of seconds off her time last year, in a time of 18:46) and finishing with Amy McGuinness (299th and 44th in a PB time of 18:49, encouraged by husband Vinnie). The team of Rachael, Annie and Aoife placed 6th in the 102-strong competition, whilst the men’s team of Brian, Ciarain and Patrick took 9th spot in the competition of 111 teams. Next across the line came Simon Kenny (315th in 18:58) and he was followed by Tim O’Donnell, like Patrick Conlon just back from racing in Lanzarote (335th in 19:16). Behind Tim we saw Paul Campbell (359th in 19:20) and Carolyn O’Reilly (364th and 55th in a PB time of 19:27) to complete the sub-20 results (of which we had at least 19 out of the 35 who took part). The next runner to complete the course was Will Holton (440th in 20:16) and he was followed by Joanne Carey (448th and 86th in 20:22), Daniel Cullen who started further back (476th in 20:21), Sophie Morgan (535th and 118th in 21:17), David O’Donnell (536th in 20:54), Franky Keane (540th in a PB time of 21:03), Tanja Narancic, another runner to record a PB (543rd and 121st in 21:04), Hannah Jones (574th and 138th in a likely PB time of 21:13), Joe Green (579th in 21:27), Justin O’Connor (590th in 21:28), Emily Glen (599th and 147th in 21:43), Darina Scully (662nd and 189th in 22:29), Kevin Kenny (767th in 24:18), Catriona Egan (859th and 319th in 25:53), Linda Walsh (958th and 395th in 27:42), Paul E. Kelly (986th in 28:22) and Maureen McGinley (1074th and 475th in 31:17). On the same day, Conor Macguinness headed down to Waterford to join more than 1750 runners in the Waterford AC-organised half marathon there. Conor ran a decent tine of 1:28:09 to place 182nd. Further afield over this weekend, we had runners in two marathons. In Valencia, Rory Goldsmith thought he might have been denied a PB by a false start, runners being called back, but the clock possibly not stopping and he was originally given a time of 2:51:53. Common sense, however, prevailed and he was subsequently recorded having run a super PB time of 2:51:27 (a 7s improvement on his previous best) in perfect conditions (chilly but sunny on a flat course). Rory was followed home by Joe Dunne who was hoping to break 3:40 on the day and did so with a time of 3:37:37 in negative splits and like Rory with almost metronomic pacing, his fastest times coming towards the end. Then, in Sacramento on Sunday, one of our exiles in the USA, Cormac McGuire, ran in the California International Marathon which he completed in 3:24:54. Luke Davis reported that he participated in another hyrox event, this time in Stockholm, completing the challenge in a PB time of 71 minutes, 12 minutes behind the winner. Because of the Jingle Bells race, there was much lower participation by the club in parkruns on Saturday morning than would be considered usual. As it happens, the largest turnout was as might be expected in Poolbeg, with our only first finisher of the morning. Anna Gallo placed 18th overall in 20:41 in a field of 146, and witnessed by her father who was visiting from Italy who also took part. Kenan Furlong took 2nd spot overall in 17:47 and he was followed by Kevin Lynch (17th in 20:32), Anna, Rachel Calvey (31st and 5th in 21:56), Josie Ward (56th and 8th in 24:00), Russell Murphy (62nd in 24:40), Una McCullagh (115th and 46th in 30:12), Louise O’Riordan (118th and 48th in 30:28), Evelyn Neary (124th and 53rd in 31:48), Cynthia Perucca (129th and 57th in 32:51) and Niamh Trihy (135th and 63rd in 35:10). Nevertheless, we had some podium finishes. Dave Carter joined a field of 124 to place 3rd in 19:53 in Cabinteely. Ross Neill headed back to Northern Ireland where he ran in Ormeau Park in Belfast, placing 3rd in a field of 384 and a time of 18:27. Whilst placing 24th overall, Kate Murray took 3rd spot in 23:34 in the 148-strong field in Griffeen Park. Then, Orlaith de Burca ran in Shanganagh where, alongside 176 other runners, she placed 116th and 30th in 29:22, whilst Irene Gorman, in the middle stages of pregnancy, placed 131st and 28th in 25:30 in St. Anne’s where the field measured 352. Finally, several runners joined Brendan Glynn in his new home parkrun in Donabate. Brendan ran 23:10 for 29th place in the field of 135, and he was followed by Máirín Shine (75th and 16th in 28:18), Fiona Shine (76th and 17th in 28:19), Emer Kenny (82nd and 21st in 28:32) and Lisa Shine (83rd and 22nd in 28:33). Moving on now to the events of last weekend, Emer Kenny took part in the Florence Marathon and finished it in almost perfectly even splits in an excellent time of 3:30:09. On the same weekend, both Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, our Spanish exiles, achieved PBs in the Cordoba Half marathon, where Esther placed 10th female in 1:26:41 and Cristian ran 1:17:47. Then, two of our French runners took part in races in France. In Chantepie near Rennes in the north part of the country, Sébastien Le Roy made a welcome return to racing with a 38:14 finish in a 10k there, whilst Clément Rincé ran in the Bois de Boulogne Half marathon in Paris where he finished in 1:11:25. Indeed, he then went on to run a cross country race this weekend just west of Paris, placing 3rd on the 4.3k course in 14:14. Because of the lack of much road racing last weekend in Ireland, we had a reasonable amount of participation in parkruns, with the usual amount of podium finishes. Saoirse McGrath ran in Marlay Park, where, in a field of 530, she placed 8th overall and first female finisher in 18:44, whilst we had a big turnout in Poolbeg with podium finishes included. In a field of 153, Stephen Hurley took 2nd place in 17:30, whilst Kenan Furlong placed 4th in 17:49. Further back came Paul O’Hara in 5th place with a time of 18:43 and he was followed by Paul Campbell (13th in 20:23), John Lohan (24th in 21:27), Tanja Narancic (37th and 2nd in 22:04), Jessica Norris (57th and 7th in 23:50), Russell Murphy (70th in 25:14), Tara Murphy (72nd and 14th in 25:22), Kevin Kenny (78th in 25:53), Linda Walsh (107th and 26th in 28:39), Anna Hernick (119th and 33rd in 29:43), Una McCullagh (135th and 42nd in 30:58), Maureen McGinley (143rd and 46th in 32:46) and Cynthia Perucca (144th and 47th in 32:47). Along with Tanja, we had 3 more female runners placing second in each of their respective parkruns. Aoife Quigley ran in Tramore Valley in her native Cork, where she placed 9th and 2nd in a field of 155 in 19:11, whilst Áine Kenny ran once again in Mountbellew Forest where, in a field of 45, she placed 8th and 2nd in 24:39. Not to be outdone, Lisa .Shine joined 24 other runners in Deerpark Forest, Virginia, where she placed 10th and 2nd in 25:55. We had 3 runners in Shanganagh alongside 174 other participants. Dee Lawlor placed 5th in 18:32 and he was followed by Joe Dunne (29th in 22:18) and Orlaith de Burca (117th and 38th in 29:10). Meanwhile, in Vicarstown, Dale Whelehan ran 22:14 for 8th place in a field of 65, whilst we had 3 runners in St. Anne’s. Ross Neill led the contingent home in 12th place in 19:04, followed by Michael Maughan (66th in 22:25) and Irene Gorman (327th and 124th in 32:14). The field there measured 427. Paul F. Kelly took part in the 131-strong field in Poppintree where he placed 16th in 20:34, whilst Gian Piero Allerta, on his last weekend in Dublin before heading down to Cork to work, ran 24:46 for 33rd place in the 141-strong field in Cabinteely. The 34th running of the International Running Challenge, organised by Club La Santa at the northern end of the island of Lanzarote, took place last week. As members may be aware, the overall Challenge is 4 races of different lengths and terrain conducted over 4 days (from Sunday through Wednesday), but it is possible to run just one or two of the races. There is also a team element involved in the overall Challenge. So, we had two men’s teams, one of 4 and one of 3, with 3 to score, and 2 women’s teams of 4, with 3 to score. 15 Crusaders completed the full Challenge. The races are described as 10k, 13k, 5k and half marathon. However, it has always amused us that not one of them is accurate. The 10k, depending on the line being taken, rarely measures more than 9.8k, the 13k ridge run is actually 13.2k, the 5k beach run measures differently each year depending on the tidal conditions and how much of the beach has been naturally eroded and this year measured 4.6k, whilst the half marathon has never measured more than 20k! The event is well contested between large contingents from Ireland (including for example Sportsworld, Tullamore, Edenderry, Drogheda and Galway City Harriers) and the UK, as well as good representation from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France and Sweden, to name a few. Teams from different clubs will unite just for the occasion, so that we were up against a combined team from Offaly and also a team from Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes, two different clubs, but with their own special singlet: the Leighton Buzzards. Prizes are given each day for podium places and age category winners and the winners of the overall challenge are those with the lowest aggregate times over the 4 days. It becomes quite clear that those who master the last race of 20k have a distinct edge, assuming they have not given their opponents too big a lead after the first three days. A 2 minutes cushion can evaporate quickly! Last year the races had taken place in almost gale force conditions, whilst this year the wind was not a major factor in the outcome. It was however, much sunnier and warmer than recently experienced, with the average temperature for each race being about 20-21 degrees Celsius. We had only one day to get acclimatised! The first race was the 10k, starting and finishing on 300m of a 400m track in the sports complex and thereafter conducted on 3 asphalt loops of just over 3k around a lagoon that borders the resort. There is a descent early on in the loop but matched by a long drag on the far side of the clockwise route. Thankfully, on the drag we were facing into the northeasterly wind that was more refreshing than a hindrance. 18 Crusaders contested the race, including guest runner Catherine Thornton who actually easily won the women’s event following behind Colm Parnell who was the overall winner of the race, having caught at least 3 other runners coming on to the track. 323 runners took part overall with Colm placing 1st, Patrick Conlon was 11th, Eugene McDonough came home in 19th, followed by Catherine (30th overall), Eddie Nugent (34th), Phelim Murray, who enjoyed a stormer of a race (51st), Simon Everard (56th), James Cottle (58th), Ciara Regan (64th and 8th), Sarah Lyons (70th and 9th), Margaret Foley (92nd and 17th), Philip Matthews (130th), Olwyn Dunne (131st and 30th), Cría Dowling (133rd and 32nd), Maeve Lochrie (141st and 34th), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (158th and 38th), Louise O'Riordan (175th and 50th) and Fanny Trébouet (247th and 83rd). Once the smoke cleared, we had a few runners doing well in their age categories, with two of our number (Cría and James) building a lead over their age cat opposition. The following day’s race was the 13k ridge run, conducted about 70% on trail and 30% on road, involving a 6.5k climb from the track to the ridge of an extinct volcano and then a return around the back of the ridge down towards sea level and the finish as usual on the track. The final climb to the top of the ridge can be run, but a lot of the athletes end up walking the last 30 odd metres. Then there is a perilous run along the ridge and a sharp slippery descent on the sandy and rocky surface of the volcano. The race was completed with a climb up a steep ramp to the track. The winner of the 340-strong race, an Englishman, took off like a bat out of hell, not realising that, the man who had beaten him the previous day, Colm, had decided to run the race as an easy training run with Patrick Conlon and ran for a while alongside Catherine, who once again won the women’s race. Eugene was our first runner home in 13th place, followed by Patrick and Colm (26th and 27th), Catherine (28th overall), Simon (46th, the 400m specialist continuing to surprise us with his endurance!), Eddie (50th), James (56th), Tim (70th), Phelim (84th), Ciara (92nd and 16th), Sarah (97th and 19th), Mags (101st and 21st), Maeve (105th and 23rd), Philip (122nd), Olwyn (128th and 29th), Cría (138th and 32nd), Dee (146th and 36th), Robbie Moore (149th), Brendan Glynn (173rd), Fanny (246th and 85th) and Mairead Cashman (284th and 104th). Age category winners on the day were Ciara, Cría and James. James was trying to build up a cushion over one of his adversaries who had beaten him overall the last time they raced together in 2018. He had a 1-minute lead over the Dane going into the second race and they were both a long way clear of their opposition. In the second race, James managed to build a gap of about 40s at one point only to see his opponent come barrelling past him with less than 600m to go. Surprisingly, however, the Dane suddenly stopped 40m later as he had put too much effort to narrow the gap. Still, he got his act together after James had retaken the lead to finish only 6s behind James at the finish. James’ lead was then only about 70s going into the third race the following day down in Puerto del Carmen on the beach there. It was hard to work out what was happening in the team competition. However, we were confident that our women’s A team was leading the competition and one of our men’s team was midpack in theirs. This year’s conditions for the beach race were arguably better for the most part than they have been in recent years. We had hard sand for most of each of the two loops. However, where it was soft, it was like running through treacle and we had these conditions for at least 300m from the start line and then at the furthest turn after about 1k and then again heading back to the finish. The race is somewhat surreal in that the tight turns at each end of the beach closely pass by sunbathers on recliners who patiently accept the disruption to their morning. There were 302 participants in the beach race, with Eugene, once again, leading our contingent home in 14th place. Catherine placed 35th overall and came home in 2nd place, with little damage to her overall lead. Amazingly, Simon was next (38th), followed by Tim (57th), James (64th and 5 seconds ahead of his adversary), Eddie (69th), Phelim (74th), Mags (79th and 11th), Maeve (86th and 14th), Ciara (87th and 15th), Sarah (92nd and 18th), Philip (125th), Olwyn (138th and 35th), Cría (141st and 36th), Dee (149th and 39th), Fanny (208th and 70th) and Mairead (250th and 94th). Once again, Cría and James were age category winners, Cría having an enormous cushion going into the last race, whilst James’ lead was only 76s and he was up against a Dane who specialises in mountain and trail running, a feature of the last race. The 20k, a point-to-point from the village of Tinajo south of La Santa to finish on the track, enjoyed a field of 273 runners. Although, the race is a net downhill, there are several relatively steep climbs on the way down, ending with the steep ramp to the track used for the Ridge run. 200m from the start there is a sharp right-hand bend and James found himself boxed in, having to resort to climbing over a low wall and, taking it slightly awkwardly, hyperextending his knee. Still, although an irritation, it was not a major impediment, just a distraction throughout the race. James was able to stay with his adversary for 6k, but then the Danish runner surged hard twice for 2k each time and James was obliged to let the runner go. The difference in finishing times gave the overall age category to the Dane. It had been a good battle all the same with mutual respect and the two runners finished the challenge only about 90s apart, but half an hour ahead of the rest of the field. Once again, Eugene led our runners home in 17th place, followed by Catherine who won the women’s race and the overall competition (26th in the race), Ciara (storming across the line for 57th and 11th and taking the age category win), James (60th), Sarah (65th and 14th), Eddie (67th), Phelim (68th), Tim (69th), Simon (80th), Mags (83rd and 16th), Maeve (87th and 18th), Olwyn (101st and 24th), Cría (121st and 32nd and winner of her age cat. in the race and overall), Dee (131st and 35th), Philip (likely 132nd), Robbie (138th), Brendan (178th), Fanny (200th and 66th) and Neil Brown (216th). The women’s team of Catherine, Ciara, Sarah and Mags placed 1st, ahead of Sportsworld and Milton Buzzards, with the team of Maeve, Olwyn, Cría and Dee placing 4th, whilst the men’s team of Eugene, Eddie, Tim and James placed 6th and it is likely that the team of Simon, Philip and Phelim took 12th place in the men’s competition. Although Catherine, Ciara and Cría were the only outright individual winners, we had several runners take podium age category places: Olwyn (2nd), James (2nd), Sarah (2nd), Mags (3rd) and Maeve (3rd). It had been another classic series of races! Donore Harriers Jingle Bells 5k (1265) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mitchell Byrne 1 00:14:13 49 Ann-Marie McGlynn 1 00:15:56 Crusaders AC runners 17 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:02 60 Chris Russell 00:16:10 72 Ciarain Kelly 00:16:23 73 Patrick Conlon 00:16:26 (PB) 76 Stephen Hurley 00:16:27 78 Kevin Kavanagh 00:16:29 134 Derek Lawlor 00:17:13 174 William Quill 00:17:43 177 Gerard White 00:17:43 246 Kevin Lambe 00:18:14 (PB) 258 Paul Reidy 00:18:20 280 Rachael Yorke 00:18:40 (PB) (36) 283 Annie Hughes 00:18:43 (PB) (38) 287 Aoife Quigley 00:18:46 (39) 299 Amy McGuinness 00:18:49 315 Simon Kenny 00:18:58 335 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:16 359 Paul Campbell 00:19:20 364 Carolyn O’Reilly 00:19:27 (PB) (55) 440 Will Holton 00:20:16 448 Joanne Carey 00:20:22 (86) 476 Daniel Cullen 00:20:21 535 Sophia Morgan 00:21:17 (118) 536 David O’Donnell 00:20:54 540 Franky Keane 00:21:03 (PB) 543 Tanja Narancic 00:21:04 (PB) (121) 574 Hannah Jones 00:21:13 (138) 579 Joe Green 00:21:27 590 Justin O’Connor 00:21:28 599 Emily Glen 00:21:43 (147) 662 Darina Scully 00:22:29 (189) 767 Kevin Kenny 00:24:18 859 Catriona Egan 00:25:53 (319) 958 Linda Walsh 00:27:42 (395) 986 Paul E. Kelly 00:28:22 1074 Maureen McGinley 00:31:17 (475) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/donore-harriers-jingle-bells-5km-2023/#1_7336A4 Waterford Half Marathon (1767) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 David McGlynn 1 01:05:26 21 Ciara Wilson 1 01:16:43 Crusaders AC runner 182 Conor Macguinness 01:28:09 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/waterford__ac_half_marathon_2023/4942/results Women’s National Novices XC 4k (106) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Lucy Holmes 00:14:43 Crusaders AC runners 31 Kathryn Gibbons 00:16:26 47 Saoirse McGrath 00:16:58 54 Kim Hickey 00:17:12 60 Nina Holmes 00:17:22 105 Carina Davidson 00:22:04 Men’s National Novices XC 6k (154) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Kevin McGrath 00:19:32 Crusaders AC runners 19 Colm Parnell 00:20:20 23 Barry McCarthy 00:20:37 69 Andrea Rondina 00:22:12 74 John Mulvihill 00:22:21 112 Derek Lawlor 00:23:53 114 Joe McDermott 00:24:01 140 Eddie Nugent 00:25:32 Poolbeg Parkrun (146) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jared Dobson 1 00:17:41 18 Anna Gallo 1 00:20:41 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:47 17 Kevin Lynch 00:20:32 18 Anna Gallo 00:20:41 (1) 31 Rachel Calvey 00:21:56 (5) 56 Josie Ward 00:24:00 (8) 52 Russell Murphy 00:24:40 115 Una McCullagh 00:30:12 (46) 118 Louise O’Riordan 00:30:28 (48) 124 Evelyn Neary 00:31:48 (53) 129 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:51 (57) 135 Niamh Trihy 00:35:10 (63) Shanganagh Parkrun (177) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Risteard MacEoin 1 00:18:48 15 Suzanne Foot 1 00:21:06 Crusaders AC runner 116 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:22 (30) St. Anne’s Parkrun (352) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Karl Swan 1 00:18:07 21 Ciara Brady 1 00:20:39 Crusaders AC runner 131 Irene Gorman 00:25:30 (28) Ormeau Parkrun (384) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Reuben Crothers 1 00:17:58 13 Shileen O’Kane 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runner 3 Ross Neill 00:18:27 Cabinteely Parkrun (124) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Callery 1 00:18:11 23 Heather Crowley 1 00:24:10 Crusaders AC runner 3 David Carter 00:19:53 Griffeen Parkrun (148) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary Farrell 1 00:18:58 19 Nicola Kavanagh 1 00:22:52 Crusaders AC runner 24 Kate Murray 00:23:34 (3) Donabate Parkrun (135) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Vincent Mulvey 1 00:18:21 8 Deirdre Deegan 1 00:20:53 Crusaders AC runners 29 Brendan Glynn 00:23;10 75 Máirín Shine 00:28:18 (16) 76 Fiona Shine 00:28:19 (17) 82 Emer Kenny 00:28:32 (21) 83 Lisa Shine 00:28:33 (22) Vicarstown Parkrun (65) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kristian Redmond 1 00:18:29 11 Maria Cuddy 1 00:23:23 Crusader AC runner 8 Dale Whelehan 00:22:14 Brickfields Parkrun (88) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew Dunne 1 00:17:40 18 Rachel Agnew 1 00:23:51 Crusaders AC runner 11 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:23 Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (155) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry Twohig 1 00:16:07 4 Nicole Dinan 1 00:17:47 Crusaders AC runner 9 Aoife Quigley 00:19:11 (2) Bushy Parkrun (139) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alfie Davis 1 00:19:06 27 Emer Fitzpatrick 1 00:23:33 Crusaders AC runner 30 Kate Murray 00:23:41 (2) Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (45) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Cunningham 1 00:19:00 5 Catherine Finnerty 1 00:23:43 Crusaders AC runner 8 Áine Kenny 00:24:39 (2) Poolbeg Parkrun (153) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:28 27 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:34 Crusaders AC runners 2 Stephen Hurley 00:17:30 4 Kenan Furlong 00:17:49 5 Paul O’Hara 00:18:43 13 Paul Campbell 00:20:23 24 John Lohan 00:21:27 37 Tanja Narancic 00:22:04 (2) 57 Jessica Norris 00:23:50 (7) 70 Russell Murphy 00:25:14 72 Tara Murphy 00:25:22 (14) 78 Kevin Kenny 00:25:53 107 Linda Walsh 00:28:39 (26) 119 Anna Hernick 00:29:43 (33) 135 Una McCullagh 00:30:58 (42) 143 Maureen McGinley 00:32:46 (46) 144 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:47 (47) Deerpark Forest, Virginia Parkrun (25) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Joseph Hopkins 1 00:21:14 9 Sinéad Lynch 1 00:25:08 Crusaders AC runner 10 Lisa Shine 00:25:55 (2) Shanganagh Parkrun (177) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nickolas Colyn 1 00:15:36 23 Ciara Kennedy 1 00:21:34 Crusaders AC runners 5 Dee Lawlor 00:18:32 29 Joe Dunne 00:22:18 117 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:10 (38) Poppintree Parkrun (131) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cathal McHale 1 00:15:51 18 Maura Matthews 1 00:20:51 Crusaders AC runner 16 Paul F. Kelly 00:20:34 St. Anne’s Parkrun (427) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Toal 1 00:17:18 8 Carmel Ward 1 00:18:46 Crusaders AC runners 12 Ross Neill 00:19:04 66 Michael Maughan 00:22:25 327 Irene Gorman 00:32:14 (124) Fairview Parkrun (133) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dom Truslove 21 00:18:30 21 Patrick Gaynor 1 00:22:16 Crusaders AC runner 22 Andy Deuser 00:22:22 Cabinteely Parkrun (141) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rían MacMaolain 1 00:17:47 6 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:20:30 Crusaders AC runner 33 Gian Piero Allerta 00:24:46 Porterstown Parkrun (108) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:33 15 Joan O’Callaghan 1 00:22:06 Crusaders AC runners 34 Martina White 00:26:13 (8) Marlay Parkrun (530) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:34 8 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:18:44 Crusaders AC runner 8 Saoirse McGrath 00:18:44 (1) River Valley Parkrun (99) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Ryan 1 00:19:18 5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:25 Crusaders AC runner 10 Darina Scully 00:23:33 (2) Back row L-R: Paul Campbell, Emily Glen, Tanja Narancic, Franky Keane, Rachael Yorke, Stephen Hurley, Sophia Morgan, Aoife Quigley, Darina Scully, Patrick Conlon, Kieran Martin. Middle row L_R: Tim O'Donnell, Joanne Carey, Paul E. Kelly, Joe Green. Front row, L-R: Catriona Egan, Kevin Kenny, Amy McGuinness, Kevin Lambe, Vinnie McGuinness Back row standing L-R: Philip Matthews, Susan Walsh, Tim O'Donnell, Eddie Nugent, Eugene McDonough, Louise O'Riordan, Colm Parnell, Fanny Trébouet, Olwyn Dunne, Patrick Conlon, Mike McGovern. Middle row: Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Maeve Lochrie. Front row kneeling L-R: Ilona McElroy, Phelim Murray, Sarah Lyons, James Cottle, Margaret Foley, Ciara Regan, Cría Dowling, Catherine Thornton and Rebecca Fleming. There was a decent amount of choice this weekend for those looking to race, from cross-country, to roads, paths and beach and to events in the mountains, and we had strength in some numbers, running in windy conditions. The first event of the racing week, however, took place on the Dublin quays, using the entirety of the route we use for the Docklands 5k, but also bringing in the inclines of the Samuel Beckett bridge and starting and finishing at the Point. There were two races on offer on Tuesday evening, the latest edition of Dublin’s contribution to the Run in the Dark in aid of research on behalf of Mark Pollock, and, as usual, they did not fail to produce their brand of mayhem. The first race to go was the 10k, which may have been a mistake, in that, because the race was an out-and-back two laps, the front runners soon came up against the back markers in the following race, the 5k, and so did the front runners in the 5k come across the back markers in the 10k. A total bottleneck by all accounts! It seems inexplicable that the organisers persist with two different races on the same course and involving over 4000 runners! It’s the same each year. Also, in years gone by, some of the 10k runners ended up running only 5k because of the confusion on the course. This may well have happened again this year and, for this reason, along with the fact that at least one male runner finished up on the women’s podium of the 5k, it is hard to trust the results. In addition, for some reason, at least 3 of our clubmates who did not run on the night had their bibs used by others without their knowledge although their names appeared in the results. So, it appears that the following Crusaders did run on the night: Will Owens was our first runner home in the 10k in 43rd place in a field of more than 1900 participants. Will’s time was given as 40:47. He was followed by Tom Gleeson (67th in 41:55), Adrian Groarke (100th in 43:37) and Kevin Kenny (889th in 54:59). It is possible that Anna Hoesl ran in the race too, finishing in 43:38. However, her result and that of Daniel Gleeson has not been recorded. We had at least 2 runners in the 2105-strong 5k, and it is possible that Annie Hughes won the women’s race, although, officially, she was placed 4th in 20:03 (26th overall). The recorded winner (running under the name of one of our athletes!) was actually a man (and we have ignored his result in the results below) and it is possible that the runners awarded second and third places finished the 10k early. Given that the results are essentially gun-time, it is impossible to tell. The other runner was Kelly Brown who placed 256th overall and 60th female finisher in 25:53. Another event that may have had more than its fair share of critics over the years, but, like the RITD, remains popular all the same, is the Clontarf half marathon and 5 miler, conducted back and forth along the Tolka estuary coast. There has often been congestion with the front runners and back markers clashing on the narrow paths on the route, without there being adequate demarcation between those running out and those running back. However, this year, there do not appear to have been any major complaints on a course that traditionally experiences quite windy conditions, Saturday’s event being little different. Indeed, we even saw some PB results amongst our finishers. We had at least 7 runners take part in the half, led home by Jamie Symmons who placed 74th in the field of 2821, in a time of 1:29:36. Jamie was followed by Annie Hughes, in her second race of the week, recording a PB time of 1:33:14 for 126th and 10th places. Just behind Annie came Anna Gallo, who really enjoyed the race, placing 152nd and 12th in a PB time of 1:34:18, and she was followed by Gareth Phelan (353rd in 1:41:52). Next to cross the line was Diarmuid Fahey, who placed 399th in 1:43:26, and he was followed by another runner with a PB, Séamas Bulaeir. Séamas ran 1:46:37 FOR 614th place. Finally, Phil Sykes recorded a time of 1:53:15, placing 1463rd. The 5-miler also produced a PB, this time for Alex Ainsworth. Alex placed 3rd in a field of 1116 and in a great time of 28:22. He was followed by Ronan Smith, making a welcome return to racing, who placed 50th in 35:32. Much more straightforward was the combined 6k cross-country race held in Tymon Park on Saturday morning, the first race of the cross-country season organised by the BHAA. Having said that, it is a shame that the fields for such events nowadays are reasonably modest, with only 111 turning out on the day, given that the BHAA cross-country races are really the only game in town outside of the county, provincial and national championship events. Still, it was enjoyable for those who did get to race, completing four and a bit laps of the course used by the Dublin novices on the west side of the park across the M50, near the national basketball arena. It is quite hilly in places and a true test of cross-country racing. Our clubmates made up nearly 10% of the field, led across the line by Joe Walsh in 16th place and in a time of 23:05. Joe placed 2nd M45. He was followed by Donatas Jocius who ran 23:37 for 21st place and then by the third-placed M45, Eddie Nugent, who took 29th spot overall in 24:39. Rachael Yorke was next, placing 37th and 3rd female finisher in 25:32, and further back came a bunch of Crusaders led by David O’Donnell. David placed 65th in 28:14, ahead of Neil Brown (66th in 28:22), Kate Murray (69th overall, 11th woman home and 2nd F50 in 28:30) and Robbie Moore (70th and given the same time). The contingent was completed by Mairead Cashman (107th, 24th and 4th F55 in 38:01) in her second run of the day, having completed the Bushy Park parkrun just over an hour earlier. Members may be interested to know that Sean Murphy, who sometimes trains with us, ran 25:42 for 38th spot. The other major event to take place on Saturday was the Run the Line in aid of the Dublin and Wicklow mountain rescue teams, in the mountains of Co. Dublin, on two courses starting and finishing in Glencullen. The short course of 13k took in a loop around Three Rock Mountain and Ticknock, whilst the long course added another loop to the west around Tibradden Mountain and Cruagh Wood. It was quite a windy affair. At least 5 Crusaders took on the short course, and they were led across the line by Conor Macguinness, placing 14th in a field of 679 and in a time of 63:13. Conor was followed closely by Dave Carter who placed 16th in 63:31. Slightly further back came Kim Hickey who took 2nd place in the women’s race, placing 29th overall, in a time of 65:26, and Kim was followed home by Áine Kenny (105th and 19th in 74:31) and Daniel Gleeson, in 149th spot (77:16) in what was likely to have been his second race of the week. The long course enjoyed a field of 523 and among the participants were at least 3 Crusaders. Aaron Farrell was our first athlete home, in 44th spot, with a time of 2:30:10. Aaron was followed by Kevin Fitzgibbon (64th in 2:33:26) and Kevin Kenny, further back in 3:29:46, placing 395th. Further afield over the weekend, we saw a super result from Maurice Kelter who ran the 30k race in the Stromlo Running festival, west of Canberra, Australia. On an undulating series of loops on trails, Maurice completed the distance in 2:05:18, taking 2nd place in the race (reporting, that for the first time he saw kangaroos in the wild!). Members may be interested to learn that Maurice’s partner, Pauline Parker, ran in the 15k event which she completed in 1:40:31. On Sunday, our Italian exile, Italo Giancaterina, ran in the Verona Marathon where he placed 10th overall, 2nd M35, in a fabulous time of 2:23:04, a new PB. Earlier in the weekend, and much further west, one of our exiles in the USA, Damien O’Brien, took part in the Philadelphia Half Marathon which he completed in an excellent 1:23:54. Although numbers in the parkruns on Saturday morning appeared generally to be down, there was no real shortage of Crusaders taking part. As usual, we had a number of first and podium finishers across the board. Saoirse Mcgrath placed 59th and first in Marlay Park, with its field of 473. Saoirse’s time was 19:17, and she was followed by Gary Park who took 22nd spot in 20:13. Then in the Mountjoy Prison Progression parkrun, in a field of 38, Sarah Lyons placed 7th and 1st in 22:22. Sarah was joined by husband Phelim Murray (9th in 22:45) and Mags Foley (10th and 2nd in 22:52). Finally, completing the first finishers, Tara Murphy ran once again in the US, in the Delaware and Raritan Canal parkrun. In a field of 68, Tara placed 13th and first in 25:29. Other podium place finishers were recorded by several Crusaders. Toby Benham placed 2nd in 19:19, alongside 47 other runners, in Pobalscoil na Tríonóide down in Youghal, whilst Emer Kenny placed 38th and 2nd in Ardgillan in a time of 25:50. Emer was followed home, in the field of 174, by Lisa Shine (44th and 3rd in 26:10), Fiona Shine (77th and 6th in 29:46) and Máirín Shine (81st and 8th in 30:01). We had 10 club-mates running in the 147-strong field in Poolbeg, led home by Stephen Hurley in 2nd place in a time of 17:31. Close behind came Kenan Furling, for third place, in 17:53 and he was followed a little further back by Oisin Corish (6th in 19:38). Kevin Lynch was the next runner home in 11th place in a time of 20:45 and he was followed by Louise O’Riordan (54th and 7th in 25:04), Franky Keane (56th in 25:06), Caitlin Ni Mhurchu (77th and 19th in 27:59), Una McCullagh (96th and 28th in 29:24), Jeanie Watson (103rd and 35th in 29:51) and Evelyn Neary (115th and 42nd in 30:27). Ross Neill ran in Woking in Surrey where, in a field of 270, he placed 5th in 19:10, whilst Richard Morrissey ran once again in Brockwell, Herne Hill, where he also placed 5th in 17:55 in a field of 353. Another 5th place performance came from Kevin Lambe, fresh from his marathon exploits in Athens. Kevin joined 91 other runners in Mullingar where he finished in a time- of 19:52. Dale Whelehan took 7th spot in a time of 21:56 in the 98-strong field in Vicarstown, whilst Maria Pertl also placed 7th (30th overall) in 33:02 in the 43-strong field in Tolka Valley. Enda Currid ran 25:54 in Brickfields for 32nd place in a field of 98, whilst Darina Scully placed 59th and 8th in 23:43 in the 295-strong field in Malahide. We had 2 runners in St. Anne’s where Zlatko Kulic took 51st spot in 20:49 and Michael Maughan crossed the line in 22:52 for 90th place. The field there measured 385. Meanwhile, we had 3 runners in Shanganagh. Alongside 207 other runners, Tanja Narancic placed 80th and 19th in 25:26, followed by Olwyn Dunne (88th and 22nd in 25:47) and Carina Davidson (178th and 74th in 33:33). Andy Deuser finished in 12th place in a time of 22:11 in Fairview alongside 110 other participants, whilst Eoghan Corrigan took 31st spot in 23:05 in Poppintree with its field of 173. Finally, as reported above, Mairead Cashman ran in Bushy Park where, in a field of 166, she placed 106th and 32nd in 31:43, whilst our exile in Scotland, Aidan Hudner, ran once again in Pollok, Glasgow, where, in a field of 260, he placed 54th in 24:21. BHAA Eir AC Combined 6k XC (111) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Doran 1 00:21:08 14 Laura McDonnell 1 00:2:50 Crusaders AC runners 16 Joe Walsh 00:23:05 21 Donatas Jocius 00:23:37 29 Eddie Nugent 00:24:39 37 Rachael Yorke 00:25:32 (3) 65 David Odonnell 00:28:14 66 Neil Brown 00:28:22 69 Kate Murray 00:28:30 (11) 70 Robbie Moore 00:28:30 107 Mairead Cashman 00:38:01 (24) Full results here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:9a51d0af-747b-4d22-967c-2235b94cadc7?fbclid=IwAR1asuwD7Hy_-RvoNVyAovNrGNWboW_6mjcaIgP0YcKMQaB1vT3UE4fBJCs Run the Line Short Course 13k (679) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alex Gray 1 00:49:14 13 Niamh Murphy 1 01:03:10 Crusaders AC runners 14 Conor Macguinness 01:03:13 16 David Carter 01:03:31 29 Kim Hickey 01:05:26 (2) 105 Áine Kenny 01:14:31 (19) 149 Daniel Gleeson 01:17:16 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-the-line-2023/#2_9D70EA Run the Line Long Course 26k (523) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Killian Mooney 1 01:52:50 24 Elizabeth Wheeler 1 02:25:20 Crusaders AC runners 44 Aaron Farrell 02:30:10 64 Kevin Fitzgibbon 02:33:26 395 Kevin Kenny 03:29:46 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-the-line-2023/#2_9D70EA Clontarf Half Marathon (2821) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Anthony O’Brien 1 01:10:34 9 Becky Woods 1 01:21:28 Crusaders AC runners 74 Jamie Symmons 01:29:36 126 Annie Hughes 01:33:14 (PB) (10) 152 Anna Gallo 01:34:18 (PB) (12) 353 Gareth Phelan 01:41:52 399 Diarmuid Fahey 01:43:26 614 Séamas Bulaeir 01:46:37 (PB) 1463 Phil Sykes 01:53:15 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_half_marathon__5_mile/4767/results Clontarf 5-mile race (1116) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Johnpaul Williamson 1 00:25:45 28 Sive Duncan 1 00:33:51 Crusaders AC runners 3 Alex Ainsworth 00:28:22 (PB) 50 Ronan Smith 00:35:32 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_half_marathon__5_mile/4767/results Run in the Dark 10k (1903) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Evan Reid 1 00:34:21 2 Sinead Fitzpatrick 1 00:34:28 Crusaders AC runners 43 Will Owens 00:40:47 67 Tom Gleeson 00:41:55 100 Adrian Groarke 00:43:37 889 Kevin Kenny 00:54:59 Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/run-in-the-dark-dublin-2023/events/1?page=1 Run in the Dark 5k (2105) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jack Maughan 1 00:16:07 9 Lynette Richardson 1 00:18:18 Crusaders AC runners 26 Annie Hughes 00:20:03 (3) 256 Kelly Brown 00:25:53 (60) Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/run-in-the-dark-dublin-2023/events/2/ Vicarstown Parkrun (98) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kristian Redmond 1 00:19:05 3 Niamh O’Boyle 1 00:21:11 Crusader AC runner 7 Dale Whelehan 00:21:56 Brickfields Parkrun (98) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Christopher McMahon 1 00:18:13 24 Mairead Conlon 1 00:24:42 Crusaders AC runner 32 Enda Currid 00:25:54 Malahide Parkrun (295) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Liam Duffy 1 00:17:53 27 Caroline Hynes 1 00:21:40 Crusaders AC runner 59 Darina Scully 00:23:43 (8) Bushy Parkrun (166) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Daniel Tallon 1 00:19:36 28 Anne Linton 1 00:23:53 Crusaders AC runner 106 Mairead Cashman 00:31:43 (32) Pobalscoil na Tríonóide Parkrun (48) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jack Murphy 1 00:19:04 11 Ornaith Keane 1 00:23:30 Crusaders AC runner 2 Toby Benham 00:19:19 Poolbeg Parkrun (147) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:29 24 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:22:20 Crusaders AC runners 2 Stephen Hurley 00:17:31 3 Kenan Furlong 00:17:53 6 Oisin Corish 00:19:38 11 Kevin Lynch 00:20:45 54 Louise O’Riordan 00:25:04 (7) 56 Franky Keane 00:25:06 77 Caitlin Ni Mhurchu 00:27:59 (19) 96 Una McCullagh 00:29:24 (28) 103 Jeanie Watson 00:29:51 (35) 115 Evelyn Neary 00:30:27 (42) Tolka Valley Parkrun (43) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Owen Robinson 1 00:19:31 18 Kate Brazier 1 00:26:06 Crusaders AC runner 30 Maria Pertl 00:33:02 Shanganagh Parkrun (209) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rían MacMaoláin 1 00:17:33 6 Sarah Baryga 1 00:20:03 Crusaders AC runners 80 Tanja Narancic 00:25:26 (19) 88 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:47 (22) 178 Carina Davidson 00:33:33 (74) Poppintree Parkrun (173) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dermot Coffey 1 00:17:33 16 Maura Matthews 1 00:21:23 Crusaders AC runner 31 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:05 St. Anne’s Parkrun (385) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oisin McKinley 1 00:15:41 24 Aisling Ahern 1 00:19:29 Crusaders AC runners 51 Zlatko Kulic 00:20:49 90 Michael Maughan 00:22:52 Fairview Parkrun (111) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jake Butler 1 00:19:04 30 Orla Deighan 1 00:23:32 Crusaders AC runner 12 Andy Deuser 00:22:11 Mullingar Parkrun (92) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eddie Newman 1 00:18:00 26 Mia Flynn 1 00:25:29 Crusaders AC runner 5 Kevin Lambe 00:19:52 Ardgillan Parkrun (174) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 K. Downey 1 00:19:31 37 Loretto Lacey 1 00:25:47 Crusaders AC runners 38 Emer Kenny 00:25:50 (2) 44 Lisa Shine 00:26:10 (3) 77 Fiona Shine 00:29:46 (6) 81 Máirín Shine 00:30:01 (8) Marlay Parkrun (473) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:39 15 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:19:17 Crusaders AC runners 15 Saoirse McGrath 00:19:17 (1) 22 Gary Park 00:20:13 Progression Parkrun (38) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Timothée Laurent 1 00:20:15 7 Sarah Lyons 1 00:22:22 Crusaders AC runners 7 Sarah Lyons 00:22:22 (1) 9 Phelim Murray 00:22:45 10 Margaret Foley 00:22:52 |