Altogether Challenges of a different kind

18/11/2024

L-R: Alex Ainsworth, Thomas Vogée, Andrea Rondina, Barry McCarthy, Joe McDermott, Colm Parnell

Two events held within a few days of each other insist on maintaining two different distances at the same time, the Clontarf Half and 5-mile and the Run in the Dark 5k and 10k. The former is a for-profit event and the latter raises funds for a highly laudable charity, but they both seem to suffer from the same complaints each year: the shorter distance runners getting in the way of the longer distance ones, and also for the courses being generally overcrowded in the occupied spaces. More of that below. We start, however, with the challenging event that took place on Sunday afternoon up in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, the National Senior and U23 XC Championships.

The races serve as qualifiers for entry into the Irish teams to compete at the European XC Championships towards the end of the year and so the fields are always packed with quality runners. This year was no exception.

This year, the races for both men and women, senior and U23 alike, were the same distance, 7.5k, conducted on a tricky, twisty, hilly and, in places, quite muddy, course that required runners to complete an initial loop of 1.5k, followed by 3 loops of 2k. There was quite a bite at the end with a short, sharp climb just 50m from the finish line. Conditions were otherwise good, with little or no wind.

Although, the victory for AnnMarie McGlynn (and for Keelan Kilrehill in the men’s race that followed) was not in doubt from around halfway, it was great to see Niamh Allen, who recently transferred from Crusaders to Leevale in her native Cork following her return from Australia and only recently becoming a mother for the first time, battling it out to win not just individual silver (just 11 seconds back in 27:16) but also leading both club and county to team gold. Congrats to her. We had just the one runner in the women’s race, plucky Doireann Hughes, who put in an excellent effort to place 65th in the mixed senior and U23 field of 91. Doireann ran 31:57 for her first national seniors.

The men’s race enjoyed an altogether larger mixed senior and U23 field of 205. Colm Parnell was our leading man home, placing 46th in 25:24. Colm was followed by Barry McCarthy (110th in 27:19), Andrea Rondina (136th in 28:21), U23 runner Alex Ainsworth (173rd in 29:55), Thomas Vogée (179th in 30:18) and Joe McDermott (182nd in 30:35). Well done to all. It was quite the challenge!

There was another XC race taking place on Sunday. This was the first running of the Ledwith Construction 6k organised by the BHAA in Batterstown, Co. Meath. The race took place on slightly undulating but muddy terrain in fields with 3 laps of 2k around their perimeter. The first event of the winter league attracted 78 runners, at least three of whom were from the club. Kate Murray placed 45th overall and 10th female finisher (3rd F50) in 29:06, followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill who placed 49th and 13th in 29:32. The contingent was completed by Robbie Moore who placed 59th in 31:20.

Members may also be interested to learn that Catherine Thornton, the GCH ex-Crusader who trains with us when in Dublin, represented Ireland in the British and Irish Masters international XC competition on Saturday morning, held this year in Belfast. Catherine placed 2nd F35 overall in the 6k race, winning the individual silver medal as well as being the second scorer in the gold-medal-winning F35 team. Congrats to her. Indeed, it proved to be an excellent day for the country, with 14 of the 16 age category teams finishing on the podium and the squad as a whole taking gold in the overall 5-nations competition between Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Earlier in the week, we had runners take part in 3 of the events put together in aid of Mark Pollock. It is possible that the ones organised in Cork went smoothly enough (and we had at least one runner, Helen Finucane, who ran there in the 5k where she placed 245th and 114th in a field of 996 in a time of 28:14). However, the two races in Dublin on Wednesday evening had their challenges, as has been experienced each year. It is extremely difficult to stage races of different lengths simultaneously in Dublin’s docklands, and so it proved, with 2828 finishers in the 5k and 2526 in the 10k, an extremely crowded overall field. Several 10k runners finished early, affecting the results of both events and many of those running the 10k were held up by 5k backmarkers. As a consequence, the published results can probably be considered as unsafe. The times of those Crusaders who ran are provided below (gleaned either from Strava or the races’ website). However, finishing positions were likely incorrect (except possibly John Mulvihill’s 4th place finish in 17:17 in the 5k along with Enda Clarke’s 4th place in the 10k in 38:32) and have been omitted from the report.

Published results for the Clontarf 5 mile and half marathon races on Saturday morning can be relied upon, but needed some tidying up in the immediate aftermath. The races, conducted on narrow paths along the Tolka estuary, suffered similar challenges as those for Run in the Dark, with runners in the 5-mile mixing with those in the half marathon, little demarcation between those running out and those running back. Similar to the Run in the Dark, there was a huge combined field of 4,786, not an easy number to manage on such a course.

We had at least 8 Crusaders take part in the half marathon. Kevin (Billy) O’Sullivan placed 64th in 86:45, followed by Adrian Groarke (90th in 88:10), Sarah Diamond (115th and 10th in 89:22), Seamas Bulaeir (504th in 1:41:46), Diarmuid Fahey (832nd in 1:42:42), Phil Sykes (1027th in 1:48:05), Bo Chicoine (922nd in 1:50:19) and Mark Browne (1876th in 1:57:17) in a field measuring 3476 finishers. Members may be interested to read that recent ex-Crusader Kieran Little placed 8th in 75:44.

The 5-mile race enjoyed a field of 1310, with Mikel Crisostomo placing 22nd in 31:09 and he was followed by Luke Haran (58th in 34:51), Stephen Hurley (60th in 34:50), Louise O’Riordan (79th and 7th in 35:58) and Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (330th and 109th in 44:20).

On the same day, Maria Kennedy joined 327 other runners on the Waterford Greenway, running the Beat the Train 10-mile race. Maria placed 163rd and 35th in 82:40.

Further afield, Lisa Branigan took part in the Verona marathon, which she completed in 3:42:05, whilst London exile Jeanie Watson ran in the half marathon there, recording a PB time of 92:00. Other London-based exiles, Thom Martini and Louise Van Wildermeersch ran in the London XC championships on the famous XC course on Parliament Hill at the southern end of Hampstead Heath in North London, with Thom completing the 10.5k hilly course in 51:42 and Louise completing her 6k course in 30:32. Over in Florida, Frank Renehan ran in the St. Petersburg Run Fest half marathon where he ran 2:02:00.

In the mountains over the weekend, we had 3 clubmates take part in the Run the Line long course, a 25k race around Three Rock Mountain and Tibradden Wood in Co. Wicklow. The field measured 452 and our first runner home was Donatas Jocius who placed 6th in 2:14:15. Donatas was followed by Aaron Farrell (35th in 2:28:02) and then by Kevin Kenny (400th in 3:35:59).

Numbers in Saturday’s parkruns were significantly down on the previous week, perhaps because there were more races elsewhere on offer. Nevertheless, we left our mark on several podiums. Our largest contingent contested Poolbeg and was notable for including 3 of our U17 XC relay team, preparing for the nationals in December, who performed well, all finishing inside the top 10. Ciara Regan was our first finisher, placing 10th overall in 19:51. She was preceded by Lucas Ryan (the U17 placing 2nd in 17:35), Michael Wycherley (4th in 17:50) just ahead of Ross Neill (5th in 17:51), Joe Murphy and Senan McDonnell (the two U17s placing 6th and 8th in 19:08 and 19:35). All the best to the relay team in December.

Ciara was then followed in the field of 204 by Alby Allan (likely around 13th place, but no time recorded), preparing for the Valencia Marathon, now that it has been confirmed, and then by Ronan Walsh (23rd in 21:13), Piarais Neary (24th in 21:29), Kevin Lambe (25th in 21:30), Zlatko Kulic (31st in 21:58), Claire Reidy (55th and 7th female finisher in 23:17), Josie Ward (56th and 8th in 23:23), Sharon Woods (64th and 10th in 24:07), Maureen McGinley (122nd and 32nd in 28:02), Lorraine McMahon (133rd and 39th in 28:53) and Cynthia Perucca (150th and 49th in 30:15).

Brian O’Kelly was another first finisher. He led the field of 156 in Fairview across the line in 17:34, followed by Felipe De Sousa (6th in 19:46), Raphael Crueyze (7th in 19:50) and Kabir Sala (14th in 21:20). Mary Donnelly also finished first (overall 26th) in 21:36 in the 187-strong field in Bushy Park. Mary was preceded by Luke Clarke (2nd in 18:49) and her partner Kev Moore (7th in 19:46). The field of 400 in Marlay witnessed another Crusader first finisher. Alban Coghlan submitted his barcode this week after he placed first in 17:45. He was followed by Carina Davidson (379th and 160th in 40:42), accompanied by her dog who needed several pitstops.

Ciara Lehane made the podium in Mallow Castle, where, in a field of 58, she placed 15th and 2nd in 22:50, whilst Emily Glen placed 29th and 2nd in the 226-strong field in Shanganagh. Emily was followed home by Fiona Bane (49th and 8th in 23:36) and Franky Keane (66th in 24:20),Darina Scully pushed her buggy round Malahide in a field of 297 to place 182nd and 54th in 28:59, whilst John Lohan and Tara Murphy headed to Montalto Estate in Ballynahinch, where, in a field of 119, John placed 9th in 23:49 and Tara placed 29th and 8th in 27:59. Colm Foley took 43rd spot in the 220-strong Griffeen Park field in a time of 23:12, whilst Emer Kenny ran in St. Anne’s where, alongside 385 other runners, she placed 107th and 25th in 25:19. Karl Walsh took 28th place in Naas. In the field of 131, he ran 23:05, whilst, in Avondale Forest, Orlaith de Burca placed 87th and 24th in 30:26 in a field of 154.

Mairead Cashman joined 65 other participants in Glen River, where she recorded a time of 32:46 to place 48th and 16th, whilst Paul and Aoife Kelly ran once again in Poppintree. In a field of 108, Paul placed 29th in 25:48 with Aoife crossing the line in 59th and 23rd places in 28:52. Further afield, one of our exiles in Australia, Marta Imaz, ran in St. Peters in Sydney where, in a field of 476, she placed 204th overall in 27:35.

National Senior and U23 Women’s 7.5k XC (91)
Overall place Name Guntime
1 Ann-marie McGlynn 00:27:05
Crusaders AC runner
65 Doireann Hughes 00:31:57
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/123ie_national_senior__u23_xc_2024/5533/results
National Senior and U23 Men’s 7.5k XC (205)
Overall place Name Guntime
1 Keelan Kilrehill 00:23:00
Crusaders AC runners
46 Colm Parnell 00:25:24
110 Barry McCarthy 00:27:19
136 Andrea Rondina 00:28:21
173 Alex Ainsworth 00:29:55
179 Thomas Vogée 00:30:18
182 Joe McDermott 00:30:35
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/123ie_national_senior__u23_xc_2024/5533/results
Run the Line 25k (453)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Matthew McConnell 1 01:56:44
2 Nicola Soraghan 1 02:20:55
Crusaders AC runners
6 Donatas Jocius 02:14:15
35 Aaron Farrell 02:28:02
400 Kevin Kenny 03:35:59
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-the-line-2024/#2_9D70EA
Beat the Train 10-miler (328)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Warren Roche 1 00:54:01
30 Grainne Brennan 1 01:08:14
Crusaders AC runner
163 Maria Kennedy 01:22:40 (35)
Full results here: https://my.raceresult.com/317327/#0_3EF1B7
Clontarf Half Marathon (3476)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Tuohy 1 01:13:08
24 Helen Butterly 1 01:21:17
Crusaders AC runners
64 Kevin (Billy) O’Sullivan 01:26:45
90 Adrian Groarke 01:28:10
115 Sarah Diamond 01:29:22 (10)
504 Seamas Bulaeir 01:41:46
832 Diarmuid Fahey 01:42:42
922 Bo Chicoine 01:50:19
1027 Phil Sykes 01:48:05
1876 Mark Browne 01:57:17
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_half_marathon__5_mile/5124/results
Clontarf 5-miler (1310)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Igor Radev 1 00:26:24
29 Bernadette Bruen 1 00:31:57
Crusaders AC runners
22 Mike Crisostomo 00:31:09
58 Luke Haran 00:34:51
60 Stephen Hurley 00:34:50
79 Louise O’Riordan 00:35:58 (7)
330 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:44:20 (109)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_half_marathon__5_mile/5124/results
Run in the Dark 10k Dublin (2526)
Name Chiptime
Crusaders AC runner
Enda Clarke 00:38:32
Derek Boland 00:39:28
Tom Gleeson 00:41:24
Emma Rowe 00:44:12
Kabir Sala 00:44:28
Thomas O’Dwyer 00:46:16
Kevin Kenny 00:48:22
Brandon Lai 00:48:51
John Corish 00:51:19
Alan Martin 01:04:21
Full results here: https://sportmaniacs.com/en/races/run-in-the-dark---dublin-2024
Run in the Dark 5k Dublin (2828)
Name Chiptime
Crusaders AC runners
John Mulvihill 00:17:17
Ryan Hoey 00:20:14
Orla O’Neill 00:23:51
Paul E. Kelly 00:28:53
Joy Flaherty 00:32:07
Full results here: https://sportmaniacs.com/en/races/run-in-the-dark---dublin-2024
Run in the Dark 5k Cork (996)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Casey 1 00:15:00
2 Hannah O’Mahony 00:15:01
Crusaders AC runner
245 Helen Finucane 00:28:14 (114)
Full results here: https://sportmaniacs.com/en/races/run-in-the-dark---cork-2024
BHAA Ledwith Construction 6k XC (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Fleming 1 00:21:49
16 Eimear English 1 00:25:01
Crusaders AC runners
45 Kate Murray 00:29:06 (10)
49 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:29:32 (13)
59 Robbie Moore 00:31:20
Full results here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:1513a8aa-1e50-4d80-910a-881b3191163c?fbclid=IwY2xjawGm7VVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHagSENu_4jv80TtnHtFuuZ7QGvCwL0KX6ifrJ0K5CZRZP97tSUSaQ-51hw_aem_BNFDW7JFU_SITKofm26sig
Griffeen Parkrun (220)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Oliver Warren 1 00:18:04
26 Eimear Arthur 1 00:21:54
Crusaders AC runner
43 Colm Foley 00:23:12
Avondale Forest Parkrun (154)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel Mitchell 1 00:18:46
10 Alaoise Geraghty 1 00:20:54
Crusaders AC runner
87 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:26 (24)
Glen River Parkrun (66)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Marcus Bishop 1 00:18:09
12 Deborah O 1 00:23:23
Crusaders AC runner
48 Mairead Cashman 00:32:46 (16)
Poolbeg Parkrun (204)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark Hanlon 1 00:16:50
10 Ciara Regan 1 00:19:51
Crusaders AC runners
2 Lucas Ryan 00:17:35
4 Michael Wycherley 00:17:50
5 Ross Neill 00:17:51
6 Joe Murphy 00:19:08
8 Senan McDonnell 00:19:35
10 Ciara Regan 00:19:51 (1)
23 Ronan Walsh 00:21:13
24 Piarais Neary 00:21:29
25 Kevin Lambe 00:21:30
31 Zlatko Kulic 00:21:58
55 Claire Reidy 00:23:17 (7)
56 Josie Ward 00:23:23 (8)
64 Sharon Woods 00:24:07 (10)
122 Maureen McGinley 00:28:02 (32)
133 Lorraine McMahon 00:28:53 (39)
150 Cynthia Perucca 00:30:15 (49)
Montalto Estate Parkrun (119)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Lily Foster 1 00:21:26
3 Ryan Warnock 1 00:22:05
Crusaders AC runners
9 John Lohan 00:23:49
29 Tara Murphy 00:27:59 (8)
Naas Parkrun (154)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Steven Loughlin 1 00:18:09
4 Maura Kearns 1 00:19:23
Crusaders AC runner
28 Karl Walsh 00:23:05
St. Anne’s Parkrun (386)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aidan Jones 1 00:17:14
19 Helen Marshall 1 00:19:30
Crusaders AC runner
107 Emer Kenny 00:25:19 (25)
Shanganagh Parkrun (226)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rob Cross 1 00:17:02
11 Sarah Baryga 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runners
29 Emily Glen 00:22:17 (2)
49 Fiona Bane 00:23:36 (8)
66 Franky Keane 00:24:20
Fairview Parkrun (156)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian O’Kelly 1 00:17:34
10 Clare Cummings 1 00:20:59
Crusaders AC runners
1 Brian O’Kelly 00:17:34
6 Felipe De Sousa 00:19:46
7 Raphael Crueyze 00:19:50
14 Kabir Sala 00:21:20
Bushy Parkrun (187)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Kenny 1 00:17:39
26 Mary Donnelly 1 00:21:36
Crusaders AC runners
2 Luke Clarke 00:18:49
7 Kev Moore 00:19:46
26 Mary Donnelly 00:21:36 (1)
Malahide Parkrun (297)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Fitzpatrick 1 00:16:27
2 Ellie Hartnett 1 00:17:14
Crusaders AC runner
182 Darina Scully 00:28:59 (54)
Poppintree Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jonathan Eadie 1 00:18:06
12 Kate Cleary 1 00:22:30
Crusaders AC runners
29 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:48
59 Aoife Kelly 00:28:52 (23)
Marlay Parkrun (400)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alban Coghlan 1 00:17:45
11 Ruth Wilson 1 00:19:28
Crusaders AC runner
379 Carina Davidson 00:40:42 (160)
Mallow Castle Parkrun (58)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Patrick Maher 1 00:16:20
10 Marina Quinlan 1 00:22:02
Crusaders AC runner
15 Ciara Lehane 00:22:50 (2)
Brickfields Parkrun (87)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Richard Twohig 1 00:18:51
7 Stephanie Bergin 1 00:21:59
Crusaders AC runner
10 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:28