A Game of more than Two Halves

29/8/2022

Joe McDermott, Kevin Fitzgibbon, Paul E. Kelly and Ruadhán MacCormaic

The half marathon opportunities are now starting to come thick and fast as we start the Autumn marathon season, helping those runners preparing for the 42.2k challenges to evaluate their training to date. Indeed, we had runners in at least three half marathon races this weekend, with some excellent results.

The week on the roads started on Wednesday with the return of the Pfizer 5k, conducted on the roads around the company’s Grange Castle facility. It involved 3 loops of a relatively flat course and it was a fine evening for the event. At least 10 club-mates took part in the race which enjoyed a field of 180 runners. Garret Dunne led our athletes home in 6th place and a time of 17:17 and Garret was followed by John Healy with an excellent time of 18:56 for 22nd place (1st M60). John was followed by Tim O’Donnell (29th in 19:17 and 3rd M45), Karl Walsh (39th in 19:46) and Gill Earley (43rd overall and 3rd female finisher in 20:01). Next came Amy McGuinness (56th , 6th female and 2nd F35 in 20:41) and Amy was followed by Margaret Foley (82nd, 12th and 3rd F35 in 22:11), Robbie Moore (97th in 22:46), Olwyn Dunne (101st, 18th and 5th F55 in 23:07) and Mairead Cashman (170th and 48th in 28:14).

The following day, we had 4 Crusaders join the quality field of 389 in the Celbridge 5k. Likewise, the race was helped by fine conditions and on a fast course. Brian O’Kelly used the event as a warm up for the Antrim Coast half marathon on Sunday and placed an excellent 3rd in a time of 15:18. Brian was followed by Kevin Fitzgibbon who also ran well, placing 18th in 16:36. Joe McDermott was next, in 31st place and a time of 17:11 and he was followed by Ruadhán MacCormaic (113th in 19:46) and Paul E. Kelly (244th in 24:52).

The weekend was marked by the longer distance events. On a warm Saturday morning, Tullamore held its half marathon, incorporating the Leinster Championships. Among the 839 finishers were 7 Crusaders. The first of our runners across the line placed 6th. Brendan Murphy also took home Leinster masters individual gold with his great time of 1:12:29 on an undulating course. Brendan was followed by Frank Halligan (15th in 1:14:51 and 4th M35 behind Brendan). Michael O’Conor, running with Declan Ryan, a visually impaired athlete, ran 1:24:35 for 85th place. Along with Ger Forde, Michael will be pacing Declan in the Berlin marathon in 4 weeks time. Each will run half of the race as they did in London a while back. Michael and Declan were followed by Bob Cahill (90th in 1:25:08), Mary Fitzsimons (392nd overall in 1:48:36), Maria Kennedy (577th and 147th in 1:59:09) and Kate Murray, who is also training for Berlin, (578th and 148th in 1:59:31).

There were also two half marathons on Sunday. The larger of the two took place up on the Antrim Coast and the non-elite element of the event probably enjoyed a field of nearly 1500 finishers. The results below were calculated with the help of Maurice Kelter who participated alongside at least 4 other clubmates in the race. It has been quite difficult to calculate overall placings, as, for some reason, finishers were only listed by age category, so we are indebted to Maurice for his assistance!

On an out-and-back course, changed from last year after it had been found to be short after review of a possible female world record, which introduced a tough hill towards the end on the coastal route, we had super runs in decent conditions for running. Brian O’Kelly followed his success in Celbridge with a 9th place finish in a time of 1:12:39 and he was followed by Ciarain Kelly, also running strongly, with a time of 1:17:50 for 53rd place. Thomas Vogée and Maurice Kelter did not finish too far apart and both recorded PBs. Maurice placed 92nd in 1:21:04, with Thomas not too far behind with a time of 1:21:37 for 105th place. Charlotte Rufié, in training for the Dublin marathon, placed 763rd overall in 1:48:26.

On the same day, several events took place in Longford. We had one runner in the full marathon and four in the half marathon. 115 runners contested the full marathon, among them, Tara Murphy who placed 95th and 19th in 4:26:19.

In super conditions for distance running (spitting with rain slightly with a temperature around 15 degrees and a gentle breeze) on a reasonably flat one loop course, John Lohan only decided half an hour before the race to join in the half marathon, running a super 1:36:20 for 50th place in a field of 268. Ahead of John came Michael Judge and James Cottle, training for the Berlin marathon. Michael placed 13th in 1:24:20, with James in 18th place and a time of 1:28:05. James ran negative splits in the race, despite the second half having a few more drags than the first half and he was helped by running in a small group in the first half, leaving those in the group behind in the latter stages and finished 1st O/50. Liz Nixon also had an enjoyable run, placing 101st overall and 14th female finisher in 1:47:37.

Further afield, Steven Walker, one of our exiles in Australia, followed up his recent marathon exploit with a run in the Bridge to Brisbane 10k where he ran 39:28 (261st out of 4,848 finishers).

Also, members may be interested to know that Isabelle Cairns, Mairead Cashman and Liam O’Brien took part in the Dublin City sprint triathlon on Sunday. Isabelle finished the event in 1:18:16, placing 108th overall and 14th female finisher, whilst Mairead completed the challenge in 1:57:16 to place 617th and 188th female finisher. Liam finished in 348th place in a time of 1:31:40.

There was quite a bit of action in the parkruns on Saturday morning and as usual we had some podium results to show for our efforts. Irene Gorman placed 9th and first finisher in Gorey. Irene’s time was 23:02 and the field measured 92. Once again, Stephen Hurley and Peter O’Toole were first finishers in their events. Each led the field home, with Stephen running 18:00 in Poolbeg ahead of a field of 133, whilst Peter did the same in St. Anne’s in 17:34 in a field of 359. In Poolbeg, Stephen was followed home by Sam Carvill (7th in 19:29), John Lohan, the day before Longford (15th in 21:01), Tanja Narancic (43rd and 5th in 24:04), Kevin Kenny (88th in 28:55), Maureen McGinley (99th and 31st in 30:22), Una McCullagh (100th and 32nd in 30:26) and with Tara Murphy tailwalking before her marathon. In St. Anne’s, Peter was followed home by Michael Maughan (25th in 21:01). Another first finisher was Sarah Lyons in Tolka Valley Park. Sarah placed 5th overall in a field of 31 and a time of 21:45, whilst, in Waterstown, Sharon Woods did the same thing in a field of 78, where she also placed 10th in 23:05. Kevin Flynn followed Sharon home in 48th place (33:05).

Louise Dobbyn took 2nd place (13th overall) in Cabinteely (with its field of 118) in a time of 22:57. Louise was followed by Dee Lawlor, working his way back from injury (14th in 23:13), Lisa Shine (69th and 22nd in 30:01) and Mairin Shine (70th and 23rd in 30:08). Meanwhile, in Brickfields, Enda Currid joined 47 other runners, finishing in 3rd place in a time of 20:40. Further west, Fiona Shine on her holidays in Canada, ran in the 43-strong field in the Meadowvale Parkrun in Mississauga near Toronto, where she placed 5th and 1st finisher in a time of 22:00. Also, outside Ireland, Jonathan Claridge placed 9th in a field of 119 in Toyen in Oslo where he completed the course in 20:18, whilst, closer to home, Olwyn Dunne and Darina Scully ran alongside 171 other participants in Avondale Forest, with Olwyn placing 28th and 5th in 24:10 and Darina placing 36th and 9th in 25:19. Eoghan Corrigan ran 20:40 to place 3rd in Kilcock with its field of 96, whilst Aoife Kelly ran in Fairview where she placed 71st and 30th in 33:08 alongside 107 other participants. Paul F. Kelly took on Corkagh Park where, in a field of 149, he placed 62nd in a time of 26:55, whilst Colm Foley ran with 155 other runners in Griffeen Park, where he placed 26th in 23:05. In Donabate, Brian Scanlan joined 150 other participants, where he placed 60th in 26:23, whilst Mairead Cashman warmed up for Sunday’s triathlon with a run in Bushy Park. In a field of 137, Mairead ran 31:05 for 89th and 30th places. Deirdre Kennedy was our sole runner in the 231-strong field in Malahide where she placed 150th and 38th in 28:53, whilst we had 3 runners in Shanganagh. In a field of 148, Stephen Mulligan placed 21st in 21:50, followed by Carina Davidson (82nd and 19th in 27:18) and Orlaith de Burca (99th and 30th in 29:15).

BHAA Pfizer 5k road race (180)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Burke 1 00:15:43
24 Ciara Peelo 1 00:19:00
Crusaders AC runners
6 Garret Dunne 00:17:17
22 John Healy 00:18:56
29 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:17
39 Karl Walsh 00:19:46
43 Gillian Earley 00:20:01 (3)
56 Amy McGuinness 00:20:41 (6)
82 Margaret Foley 00:22:11 (12)
97 Robbie Moore 00:22:46
101 Olwyn Dunne 00:23:07 (18)
170 Mairead Cashman 00:28:14 (48)
Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Pfizer%205k%202022.pdf
Celbridge 5k (389)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Everard 1 00:15:07
21 Edel Monaghan 1 00:16:45
Crusaders AC runners
3 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:18
18 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:16:36
31 Joe McDermott 00:17:11
113 Ruadhán MacCormaic 00:19:46
244 Paul E. Kelly 00:24:52
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/celbridge-ac-5k-road-race-2022/
Tullamore Half Marathon (839)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 01:07:24
73 Catherine O’Connor 1 01:23:27
Crusaders AC runners
6 Brendan Murphy 01:12:29
15 Frank Halligan 01:14:51
85 Michael O’Conor 01:24:35
90 Bob Cahill 01:25:08
392 Mary Fitzsimons 01:48:36
577 Maria Kennedy 01:59:09 (147)
578 Kate Murray 01:59:31 (148)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/bord_na_mona_tullamore_half_marathon/4267/results
Antrim Coast (non-elite) Half Marathon (1490)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Andrew Annett 1 01:07:39
16 Courtney McGuire 1 01:13:52
Crusaders AC runners
9 Brian O’Kelly 01:12:39
53 Ciarain Kelly 01:17:50
92 Maurice Kelter 01:21:04 (PB)
105 Thomas Vogée 01:21:37 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/antrim-coast-half-marathon-2022/
Longford Marathon (115)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Collins 1 02:35:36
13 Carmel Ward 1 03:08:44
Crusaders AC runner
95 Tara Murphy 04:26:19 (19)
Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Longford Half Marathon (268)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry Sheil 1 01:11:26
5 Margaret Ludick 1 01:18:51
Crusaders AC runners
13 Michael Judge 01:24:20
18 James Cottle 01:28:05
50 John Lohan 01:36:20
101 Liz Nixon 01:47:37 (14)
Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Malahide Parkrun (231)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:18:04
4 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:32
Crusaders AC runner
150 Deirdre Kennedy 00:28:53 (38)
Griffeen Parkrun (156)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Simon Cattley 1 00:19:19
4 Ciara Foster 1 00:20:03
Crusaders AC runner
26 Colm Foley 00:23:05
St. Anne’s Parkrun (359)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter O’Toole 1 00:17:34
8 Fiona Stack 1 00:19:22
Crusaders AC runners
1 Peter O’Toole 00:17:34
25 Michael Maughan 00:21:01
Poolbeg Parkrun (133)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:00
20 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:27
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:00
7 Sam Carvill 00:19:29
15 John Lohan 00:21:01
43 Tanja Narancic 00:24:04 (5)
88 Kevin Kenny 00:28:55
99 Maureen McGinley 00:30:22 (31)
100 Una McCullagh 00:30:26 (32)
133 Tara Murphy 00:50:01
Waterstown Parkrun (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Fenyvesi 1 00:19:02
10 Sharon Woods 1 00:23:05
Crusaders AC runners
10 Sharon Woods 00:23:05 (1)
48 Kevin Flynn 00:33:05
Avondale Forest Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Donal Flannery 1 00:18:30
20 Laura O’Connor Ryan 1 00:22:59
Crusaders AC runners
28 Olwyn Dunne 00:24:10 (5)
36 Darina Scully 00:25:19 (9)
Cabinteely Parkrun (118)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 George Callery 1 00:19:09
3 Caroline Poonan 1 00:20:11
Crusaders AC runners
13 Louise Dobbyn 00:22:57 (2)
14 Dee Lawlor 00:23:13
69 Lisa Shine 00:30:01 (22)
70 Mairin Shine 00:30:08 (23)
Donabate Parkrun (151)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Wesley Grant 1 00:17:28
20 Jennifer Carpenter 1 00:22:22
Crusaders AC runner
60 Brian Scanlan 00:26:23
Bushy Parkrun (137)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:18:53
3 Jill Horan 1 00:20:39
Crusaders AC runner
89 Mairead Cashman 00:31:05 (30)
Corkagh Parkrun (149)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jacek Latala 1 00:18:33
16 Sharon Tighe 1 00:22:16
Crusaders AC runner
62 Paul F. Kelly 00:26:55
Tolka Valley Parkrun (31)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert de Lacy 1 00:18:53
5 Sarah Lyons 1 00:21:45
Crusaders AC runner
5 Sarah Lyons 00:21:45 (1)
Shanganagh Parkrun (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alex Gray 1 00:16:00
15 Joanna Smith 1 00:21:00
Crusaders AC runners
21 Stephen Mulligan 00:21:50
82 Carina Davidson 00:27:18 (19)
99 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:15 (30)
Gorey Parkrun (92)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:43
9 Irene Gorman 1 00:23:02
Crusaders AC runner
9 Irene Gorman 00:23:02 (1)
Royal Canal, Kilcock Parkrun (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark MacSweeney 1 00:18:50
8 Louise Reilly 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
17 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:37
Fairview Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jamie Coulter-Smyth 1 00:17:02
17 Sorcha Loughnane 1 00:24:11
Crusaders AC runner
71 Aoife Kelly 00:33:08 (30)
Brickfields Parkrun (48)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom O’Dwyer 1 00:19:00
16 Ann Collins 1 00:25:39
Crusaders AC runner
3 Enda Currid 00:20:40