10 Miles High

19/8/2024

L-R standing: Louise Dobbyn, Cría Dowling, Aoife Quigley, Paul E. Kelly, Kevin Kenny, Neil Brown, Olwyn Dunne, Lisa Branigan, Judy O'connell, John O'Donnell, friend, Emily Quinlan. Kneeling: Paula Bradshaw

Just like Dublin buses, you wait for a quality 10-mile road race to come along and two come at once. That was the case this weekend, with the Irish Life Race Series Frank Duffy 10-miler, incorporating as always the Co. Dublin 10-mile championships, on Saturday morning, followed a day later by the St. Coca’s-organised 10-mile race in Kilcock Co. Kildare. Both had super representation from the club.

We start, however, earlier in the week, with the Streets of Thurles 5k, a fast race through the town centre with a quality field, organised by Thurles Crokes AC on Thursday evening. In the first of two races in which he participated this week, Daniel Cullen joined 375 other runners, recording a time of 20:48 for 84th place.

At least 38 Crusaders took part in the Race Series Frank Duffy 10-miler and it is likely that we accumulated two or three medals in the Dublin championships from the event. On a challenging, hilly, course with a few twists and turns in the Phoenix Park, breezy mild conditions, we had some excellent times. The contingent was led across the line by Ger Forde who placed 15th overall, 2nd M45 (but possibly gold medal winner) in a time of 56:30. Ger was followed by Dee Lawlor in a PB time of 58:59 for 32nd place and 4th M45 (but possibly on the podium in Dublin for an M45 silver or bronze), and then by Robert Browne (86th in 62:05) and Rory Goldsmith (118th in 63:30). Between them, 3 of the 4 athletes may well have picked up the bronze O/35 team medal.

Next home was Adrienne Jordan (149th overall, 8th female finisher and 1st F45 in 64:40) and she was followed by Karl Walsh (216th in 66:46), Paul O’Hara (217th in 67:09), Aoife Quigley (no place given in 67:52), John O’Donnell (274th in 68:39), Adrian Groarke (304th in 68:51) and Brian McGuckin (307th in 68:59).

Orla Flynn (538th, 56th and 4th F55 in 74:21) was next, followed closely by Graham Tucker (539th in 74:26) and then by Robbie Moore (560th in 74:18), Cría Dowling (566th and 60th in 73:44), Triona Quill (571st and 61st in 74:10), David O’Donnell (578th in 74:48), Emily Quinlan (598th and 67th in 74:21), Kabir Sala (762nd in 77:55), Liam O’Brien (813th in 78:00) Lisa Branigan (816th and 111th in 78:00), Judy O’Connell (886th and 124th in 78:40), Louise Dobbyn (899th and 128th in 79:16), Tony Hackett (960th in 79:51), Olwyn Dunne, pacing (969th and 140th in 79:34) and Paula Bradshaw, following physio’s orders (1010th and 153rd in 80:01).

The large group of Crusaders in the field of 3288 was completed by Kevin Kenny (1327th in 85:14), Neil Brown (1557th in 85:48), Emer Kenny (1602nd and 337th in 86:40), Adam Kinch (1700th in 84:28), Alan Martin (1995th in 90:36), Suzanne Martin (1964th and 476th in 90:15), Laura O’Malley (2039th and 508th in 90:45), Amy Forde (2229th and 610th in 94:38), Gabriela Segura (2288th and 639th in 96:05), Ciara Black (2322nd and 660th in 96:51), Carina Davidson (2373rd and 692nd in 95:55) and Joe Dunne, pacing (2614th in 1:40:01). Liz Nixon also ran, but her time and place were not recorded. Members may be interested to know that Sean Murphy, who trains with us, ran 69:18 for 328th spot. Well done to all!

Sunday morning saw the running of the latest edition of the Kilcock 10-mile road race, conducted on relatively flat roads and the Royal Canal Greenway towpath there, where the runners had to run on a gravelly surface. Again, in similar conditions to those experienced on the previous day, but with a bit of a headwind in the second half of the race, there was a quality field with 355 participants, among them at least 8 Crusaders. Cian Coughlan was the first home, in 86th place in a time of 68:5. Cian was followed by Phelim Murray (95th in 68:48), Gillian Earley (109th and 16th female finisher in 70:32), Eoghan Corrigan (111th in 71:12), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (141st and 26th in 75:04), Daniel Cullen in his second race of the week (169th in 78:43), Áine Crotty (174th and 37th in 79:27) and Sharon Woods (182nd and 40th in 80:03).

There was action in the mountains of Co. Tipperary, organised by IMRA on Sunday morning. In the latest race of the All Ireland Championships, involving a climb of 1300m over a distance of 13k to the top of Galtymore and back over the peaks of Cush and Galtybeg, Becky Quinn placed 15th overall and 2nd female finisher in a time of 1:44:24 in a field of 61. The unmarked course was described as extreme.

With such significant participation in the Frank Duffy, although numbers were generally up in parkruns on Saturday morning, Crusaders' participation was a little reduced compared to the norm.

We did have at least one first finisher, however. Saoirse McGrath joined 479 other runners in Marlay Park where she placed 9th overall in 19:04. Saoirse was followed by Barry O’Neill (125th in 25:16) and Mairead Cashman (376th and 139th in 32:29).

Elsewhere, Dan Lowe and Julie McGrath ran in Bushy Park, where, in a field of 184, Daniel placed 10th in 21:10 and Julie placed 38th and 4th whilst pushing a buggy in 24:53. Darina Scully joined 86 other runners in River Valley where she placed 31st and 5th in 28:09, whilst Sharon Woods placed 12th and 4th in the 124-strong field in Sligo. Sharon’s time was 23:27. Ronan Moynihan took 6th spot in Cabinteely with its field of 135. Ronan’s time was 20:34 and he was followed by Tomás Dunne (34th in 24:46), whilst Stephen Hurley ran 18:28 in a field of 180 to place 5th. Stephen was followed by a smaller contingent than usual: John Lohan (28th in 21:38), Kenan Furlong (55th in 23:46), Fiona Bane (57th and 6th in 23:57), Tara Murphy (92nd and 19th in 26:33) and Mikel Cristosomo (97th in 27:03).

Brendan Glynn ran 24:46 to place 24th in the 165-strong field in Donabate, where the female first finisher, Sheelagh Jones, recorded a remarkable 96% age graded result as an F65 in a time of 21:40 for 12th place overall. Meanwhile, Kevin Flynn placed 81st in 39:48 in the 94-stromg field in Porterstown, whilst we had three runners in St. Anne’s. In a field measuring 412, Cian Coughlan took 119th spot in 26:20, followed by Áine Crotty (206th and 49th in 29:03) and Rebecca Fleming (207th and 50th in 29:04). Chris Bannon placed 8th in Brickfields with a time of 22:14, alongside 61 other participants, whilst Lorraine McMahon placed 28th and 8th in 28:32 in a field involving 46 runners in Pobalscoil na Tríonóide. Franky Keane joined 113 other runners in Mullingar where he placed 34th in 25:57, whilst we had 4 runners in Shanganagh with its field of 247. Our small contingent was led home by David Carter (12th in 19:32) and followed by Orlaith de Burca (159th and 38th in 30:05), Cynthia Perucca (171st and 44th in 30:45) and Jill Nason (204th and 63rd in 33:55). Finally, Rob Glascott ran once again on Clapham Common where, in a field of 1043, he placed 116th in 21:59, whilst John Reidy placed 50th in 22:45 in 320-strong field in Perth in Scotland.

Frank Duffy 10-miler (Co. Dublin Championships) (3288)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Hugh Armstrong 1 00:49:27
37 Caitlyn Harvey 1 00:59:26
Crusaders AC runners
15 Ger Forde 00:56:30
32 Derek Lawlor 00:58:59 (PB)
86 Robert Browne 01:02:05
118 Rory Goldsmith 01:03:30
149 Adrienne Jordan 01:04:40 (8)
216 Karl Walsh 01:06:46
217 Paul O’Hara 01:07:09
XXX Aoife Quigley 01:07:52 (xx)
274 John O’Donnell 01:08:39
304 Adrian Groarke 01:08:51
307 Brian McGuckin 01:08:59
538 Orla O’Flynn 01:14:21 (56)
539 Graham Tucker 01:14:26
560 Robbie Moore 01:14:18
566 Cría Dowling 01:13:44 (60)
571 Triona Quill 01:14:10 (61)
578 David O’Donnell 01:14:48
598 Emily Quinlan 01:14:21 (67)
762 Kabir Sala 01:17:55
813 Liam O’Brien 01:18:00
816 Lisa Branigan 01:18:00 (111)
886 Judy O’Connell 01:18:40 (124)
899 Louise Dobbyn 01:19:16 (128)
960 Anthony Hackett 01:19:51
969 Olwyn Dunne 01:19:34 (140) PACER
1010 Paula Bradshaw 01:20:01 (153)
1327 Kevin Kenny 01:25:14
1557 Neil Brown 01:25:48
1602 Emer Kenny 01:26:40 (337)
1700 Adam Kinch 01:24:28
1964 Suzanne Martin 01:30:15 (476)
1995 Alan Martin 01:30:36
2039 Laura O’Malley 01:30:45 (508)
2229 Amy Forde 01:34:38 (610)
2288 Gabriela Segura 01:36:05 (639)
2322 Ciara Black 01:36:51 (660)
2373 Carina Davidson 01:35:55 (692)
2614 Joe Dunne 01:40:01 PACER
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=4052
St. Coca’s AC Kilcock 10 miler (355)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Vinny Connolly 1 00:53:13
27 Faye Dervan 1 01:00:09
Crusaders AC runners
86 Cian Coughlan 01:08:05
95 Phelim Murray 01:08:48
109 Gillian Earley 01:10:32 (16)
111 Eoghan Corrigan 01:11:12
141 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 01:15:12 (26)
169 Daniel Cullen 01:18:43
174 Áine Crotty 01:19:27 (37)
182 Sharon Woods 01:20:03 (40)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/st_cocas_ac_kilcock_10_from_10/4972/results
Streets of Thurles 5k (376)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean Tobin 1 00:14:58
10 Dymphna Ryan 1 00:17:12
Crusaders AC runner
84 Daniel Cullen 00:20:48
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/thurles-crokes-streets-of-thurles-5k-2024/
IMRA Galtymore 13k (61)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew McConnell 1 01:23:07
12 Esther Dickson 1 01:42:36
Crusaders AC runner
15 Becky Quinn 01:44:24 (2)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2448
Sligo Parkrun (124)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor McCullagh 1 00:17:09
7 Clare O’Connor 1 00:21:53
Crusaders AC runner
12 Sharon Woods 00:23:27 (4)
Shanganagh Parkrun (247)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Hanton 1 00:17:30
26 Monica Samuel 1 00:21:53
Crusaders AC runners
12 David Carter 00:19:32
159 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:05 (38)
171 Cynthia Perucca 00:30:45 (44)
204 Jill Nason 00:33:55 (63)
Brickfields Parkrun (62)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciarán Ó Meachair 1 00:19:23
3 Hannah Gichrist 1 00:20:58
Crusaders AC runner
8 Chris Bannon 00:22:14
Poolbeg Parkrun (180)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dimitri Jeannon 1 00:16:11
44 Gen Morgan 1 00:23:11
Crusaders AC runners
5 Stephen Hurley 00:18:28
28 John Lohan 00:21:38
55 Kenan Furlong 00:23:46
57 Fiona Bane 00:23:57 (6)
92 Tara Murphy 00:26:33 (19)
97 Mikel Cristosomo 00:27:03
Donabate Parkrun (165)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Anthony Mannix 1 00:17:35
12 Sheelagh Jones 1 00:21:40
Crusaders AC runner
24 Brendan Glynn 00:23:34
Bushy Parkrun (184)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Luz 1 00:19:13
28 Shauna O’Callaghan 1 00:23:43
Crusaders AC runners
10 Daniel Lowe 00:21:10
38 Julie McGrath 00:24:53 (4)
Mullingar Parkrun (114)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Whelehan 1 00:20:03
9 Hannah Farrell 1 00:22:20
Crusaders AC runner
34 Franky Keane 00:25:57
Pobalscoil na Tríonóide Parkrun (46)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Noel Early 1 00:18:34
7 Shannon Sotok 1 00:20:55
Crusaders AC runner
28 Lorraine McMahon 00:28:32 (8)
River Valley Parkrun (87)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian McGlade 1 00:20:02
5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:20
Crusaders AC runner
31 Darina Scully 00:28:09 (5)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (412)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Kinsella 1 00:16:40
5 Natasha Self 1 00:18:15
Crusaders AC runners
119 Cian Coughlan 00:26:20
206 Áine Crotty 00:29:03 (49)
207 Rebecca Fleming 00:29:04 (50)
Porterstown Parkrun (94)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:17:52
5 Alanna Mills 1 00:22:00
Crusaders AC runner
81 Kevin Flynn 00:39:48
Marlay Parkrun (480)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ethan Bramhill 1 00:16:28
9 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:19:04
Crusaders AC runners
9 Saoirse McGrath 00:19:04 (1)
125 Barry O’Neill 00:25:16
376 Mairead Cashman 00:32:29 (139)
Cabinteely Parkrun (135)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Nick Bowker 1 00:18:18
11 Rachel McArdle 1 00:22:37
Crusaders AC runners
6 Ronan Moynihan 00:20:34
34 Tomás Dunne 00:24:46