Banking the Miles

6/6/2022

Cian Coughlan, Aoife Quigley, Mairead Cashman, Áine Crotty, David McEvoy, Phelim Murray, Tim O'Donnell

The weekend brought several opportunities for racing, with the women’s mini marathon taking place in Dublin on Sunday as well as down south with the Cork City marathon, half marathon and marathon relay on the same day. Conditions were somewhat damp for both locations, it being a bank holiday weekend of course, but this did not seem to affect the outcome of any of the events. Indeed, the conditions may well have helped with the several PBs that were achieved.

The racing week actually started on Tuesday in Dunboyne with the revived BHAA Government Services 5-mile road race. Numbers, though lower than pre-pandemic, were decent enough at just under 250 and the times were excellent in slightly moist conditions. There was a bit of a wind on the anti-clockwise course that was not quite a loop, but runners would not have had much interference from it on the country roads except perhaps in the last few kilometres when it was in front of them.

We had at least 9 Crusaders in the race and they were led home by Paul Cowhie in 18th place and winner of the M55 age category in a super 28:19. Paul was closely followed across the line by John McAuley (20th in 28:25) and by Joe McDermott (23rd in 28:33). Behind this trio came Eddie Nugent (33rd in 29:04), also running well, and Eddie was followed by Ollie McGrath (62nd) in a decent 32:00. Further back, but with a respectable time, came Dee Ni Chearbhaill (98th overall and 10th female), winning the F40 category in 35:00, and Dee was followed by Neil Brown (110th in 35:39), Tony Hackett (115th in 35:59) and Robbie Moore (133rd in 36:54).

Then, on Sunday, at least 11 athletes from the club competed in the rain in the women’s mini marathon, an event that included, for the first time, the County Dublin 10k championships for women. There is some mystery over discrepancies in the times which may have been resolved by now, but the chiptimer seems to have recorded times different from those recorded on athletes’ watches, with some having differences of close to 15 seconds being added to their watch times. Despite this, there were still several PBs. We await the outcome of the analysis of the Dublin results, but it’s likely that Olwyn Dunne picked up a silver or bronze medal in her age category and, given the bunching of our first 4 runners home, we may well have been in with a chance of a team medal, assuming teams did not have to be declared in advance.

The field was perhaps understandably much smaller than in previous years, at just over 12,000 participants, but it was large enough to require as usual that any club runner wanting a decent time had to ensure she was towards the front. The course was the familiar one used in recent years (the reverse of the original), conducted entirely in south Dublin, starting in Fitzwilliam Place and finishing in Baggot Street and taking in Leeson Street to the N11 and the UCD flyover, followed by a descent on an otherwise quite flat course on Nutley Avenue to Merrion Road.

With a PB time of 40:08, Kathryn Sweeney, who is enjoying an excellent period of running, led the contingent home in 37th place. Kathryn was followed by ladies’ captain Rebecca Fleming who also recorded a PB with her time of 41:58 for 53rd place. Not to be outdone on the PB stakes, Joanne Carey came home next in 54th place in a PB time of 42:10 and she was followed by Emily Quinlan, similarly with a PB (57th in 42:19). It will be interesting to see if the 4 women brought home a medal. Sophia Morgan was next, with a PB time of 44:20 for 108th place and Sophia was followed by Olwyn Dunne (135th in in 45:36), Tanja Narancic (174th in 46:47), and Emily Glen who also recorded a PB with her time of 47:03 for 194th place. The contingent was completed by Charlotte Rufié (346th in 49:32), Deirdre Kennedy (1,130th in 56:11) and Liann Leech (4,216th in 75:29).

Cork was equally as wet. The marathon route has quite a lot of twists and turns and a couple of gradual climbs of about 35m, so it can be considered reasonably challenging. There were 1,713 finishers and, among them, at least 4 Crusaders. Men’s captain and Cork native Ciaran Diviney was our first runner home, crossing the line in just over 2:40 (2:40:09) to place 14th and 2nd M45 in the race (just a few months before entering a new age category). If Gary O’Hanlon had achieved a podium place instead of 4th, Ciaran would have won the age category. Adam Flanagan was next with a super time of 2:47:56 for 25th place and he was followed by Eoghan Walsh who’d had to do much of his training on his own but met his sub-3:30 objective with a time of 3:28:18 for a PB (329th place). Finally, Kevin Kenny ran 4:43:01 for 1,404th in his 3rd or 4th marathon this year.

By far the biggest contingent from the club took part in the half marathon. At least 16 Crusaders joined the field of approx. 3,200 runners. First across the line for the club was Vinnie McGuinness who ran 1:15:14 for 16th place and he was followed home by Michael Kiely (23rd in 1:18:29) just coming off the back of a wrist injury which side-lined him for a short while. Toby Benham ran a huge PB for his 30th place, with a time of 1:18:44 and he was followed by Robert Browne (39th in 1:19:30). John Mulvihill was next in 1:24:09 (72nd) to place inside the top 100. Just outside that came Cian Coughlan, also with a massive PB. Cian ran 1:27:21 for 108th place and he was followed by Ronan Moynihan (119th in 1:28:03) and Diarmuid Sheehan (140th in 1:29:30) for a top 150 finish. David McEvoy was next (196th in 1:32:16) and he was followed by Cork natives Tim O’Donnell (209th in 1:33:00) and Aoife Quigley (234th and 14th female finisher in 1:34:02). Phelim Murray placed 236th just behind in 1:34:05 and he was followed by Áine Crotty (350th and 30th in 1:38:58). The contingent was completed by Miriam Logan and Ciara Lehane, finishing side by side in a time of 1:50:32 for 840th and 122nd and 841st and 123rd places, along with Aitor Arribas Velasco (1,384th in 1:54:15).

Members may be interested to read that ex-Crusaders Shane Collins and Catherine Thornton both finished on the podium. Shane placed 3rd in 1:11:00 and Catherine’s recorded a super PB time of 1:20:31 for 43rd and 2nd in the women’s race. By virtue of Catherine’s placing, it enabled Aoife Quigley to take first place in the F35 category, a fine outcome!

We also had a couple of teams in the 473-team Marathon relay. The first team home was “Between a Walk and a Hard Pace” which came in 33rd overall in a time of 3:25:49 (and included Margaret Foley, Fiona Shine, Emer Kenny, Lisa Shine and anchor Mairead Cashman), whilst the other team, “Lost in Pace”, came home in 116th place in a time of 3:50:47 and its members were Alan Kavanagh (legs 3 and 4), Mairin Shine, Mairead’s brother Liam and Anna Shine.

Further afield, Esther Requena Ferri won a 4k race in Caudete in Spain (recording a time of 17:28 on a 2-lap city course), whilst Italo Giancaterina won a similar city race (the X Corri Marruvium San Benedetto). The distance was just under 9k with multiple laps and Italo finished in 29:46. Enda Clarke took advantage of a trip to San Javier in Spain where he ran just over 9.5k in the Carrera Academia General del Aire. It was meant to be 10k but likely measured slightly short. Enda placed 12th and 4th M35 in 36:15.

Up in the mountains there were 2 races over the past week. The first took place on Trooperstown Hill in Co. Wicklow on Wednesday evening and involved a climb of 430m on an out-and-back moderately difficult route of 9k on forest roads to and from the summit. Warren Swords made the podium with a third-place finish. His time was 45:54. In a field of 143, Brian McGuckin was next in 42nd in 57:21 and he was followed by Kevin Lambe (68th in 63:39), Gavan Doherty (77th in 66:48) and Berndt Heim (133rd in 81:17). Saturday’s race took place in Kerry and was an event in the Irish and Munster Championships. It was considered a race of extreme difficulty and involved a much smaller field of 55. There was one Crusader, Becky Quinn, in the 12.5k race with its climb of 1,137m up and down Carrauntoohil Mountain and she placed 25th and 2nd female finisher in a time of 1:56:35.

We had clubmates take part in 20 parkruns this bank holiday weekend, including three of them in the UK. Michael Wycherley ran in Hackney Marshes in a field of 177 participants, placing 3rd in 18:16, whilst Sarah Lyons placed 27th and 2nd in a time of 21:26 in Milton Keynes, with a field of 418. Then, in Cardiff, Áine Kenny joined 415 other runners, where she placed 46th and 6th in 21:17.

Back home, we had at least two first finishers. Caroline Crowley ran in Mungret Park in Limerick with Eoghan Corrigan, and Caroline was a first finisher (12th overall) in 23:16, whilst Eoghan placed 14th in 24:16 in a field of 52. In Poolbeg Stephen Hurley ran 17:24 ahead of a field measuring 128. Kenan Furlong came home in 3rd place there (18:00) and he was followed by Richard Kavanagh (11th in 20:37), Pat Quill (14th in 21:12), Sharon Woods (17th and 2nd in 21:35), Russell Murphy (32nd in 23:41), Cliodhna O’Reilly (40th and 4th in 24:25), Stephen Mulligan (53rd in 25:02) and Mari Hansen (122nd and 46th in 38:27).

Ger Forde took 2nd place in the 79-strong field in Naas where he ran a super 16:51, whilst Louise Dobbyn also placed 2nd (15th overall) in Cabinteely. There were 126 runners on that hilly course and our first Crusader home was Eddie Nugent (4th in 18:44). Louise was followed by Tanja Narancic (63rd and 9th in 28:16), along with Olwyn Dunne (75th and 14th in 29:07), both loosening up for the following day’s WMM. Zlatko Kulic also placed 2nd in his parkrun. Zlatko ran in Tolka Valley with a field of 35, recording a time of 21:05. Toby Benham prepared for the Cork half by running in the Macroom Castle Demesne. Alongside 37 other runners, Toby placed 4th in 21:19.

Luke Haran ran in Knocknacarra, where, in a field of 72, he placed 7th in 21:48, whilst Colm Foley placed 23rd in 23:11 in the 103-strong field in Griffeen Park. Deirdre Kennedy placed 192nd and 55th in 29:37 alongside 256 other runners in Malahide, whilst Tim Hyland pitched himself against the field of 198 in Dundalk where he placed 19th in 24:29. Brian Scanlan ran 21:01 for 14th place in Donabate, alongside 170 other participants, whilst Mairead Cashman ran in Bushy Park where she placed 79th and 25th in 29:33. The field there measured 141. We had 3 runners in Fairview: Andy Deuser placed 21st in 22:32 and he was followed by Paul F. Kelly (68th in 27:30) and Bivor Pradham (108th in 31:15). The field measured 148. Diarmuid Byrne and Maria Pertl ran once again in Poppintree in a field of 114. Diarmuid placed 68th in 29:12, whilst Maria followed in 74th and 19th places in 29:58. Brendan Glynn headed to Portumna where, alongside 34 other runners, he placed 11th in 22:57. We had 2 runners in Shanganagh. David Carter placed 8th in 19:20, followed by Carina Davidson (85th and 26th in 28:50). There were 125 runners in that event. Finally, the were 5 Crusaders among the 87 who ran in Mallow Castle. Emer Kenny led the contingent home in 38th and 9th places (29:36). Emer was followed by Lisa Shine (39th and 10th in 29:46), Fiona Shine (44th and 15th in 30:06), Anna Shine (56th and 20th in 32:40) and Mairin Shine (57th and 21st in 33:03).

IMRA Trooperstown Hill 9k (143)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Bell 1 00:43:39
6 Ali Armstrong 1 00:47:33
Crusaders AC runners
3 Warren Swords 00:45:54
42 Brian McGuckin 00:57:21
68 Kevin Lambe 01:03:39
77 Gavan Doherty 01:06:48
133 Berndt Heim 01:21:17
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2162/
IMRA Carrauntoohil 12.5k (55)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruairi Long 1 01:22:05
18 Roisin Howley 01:50:11
Crusaders AC runner
25 Becky Quinn 01:56:35 (2)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2163/
BHAA Govt. Services Dunboyne 5-miler (247)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:24:23
46 Maura Kearns 1 00:30:22
Crusaders AC runners
18 Paul Cowhie 00:28:19
20 John McAuley 00:28:25
23 Joe McDermott 00:28:33
33 Eddie Nugent 00:29:04
62 Ollie McGrath 00:32:00
98 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:35:00 (10)
110 Neil Brown 00:35:39
115 Anthony Hackett 00:35:59
133 Robbie Moore 00:36:54
Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/BHAA%20Govt%20Services%205%20Mile%20road%20race%20Dunboyne%202022.pdf
Cork Marathon (1700+)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Tim O’Donoghue 1 02:18:37
16 Lizzie Lee 1 02:44:54
Crusaders AC runners
14 Ciaran Diviney 02:40:09
25 Adam Flanagan 02:47:56
329 Eoghan Walsh 03:28:18 (PB)
1404 Kevin Kenny 04:43:01
Full results here: https://www.corkcitymarathon.ie/race-results/
Cork Half marathon (3200+)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jake O’Regan 1 01:04:04
37 Courtney McGuire 1 01:19:22
Crusaders AC runners
16 Vinnie McGuinness 01:15:14
23 Michael Kiely 01:18:29
30 Toby Benham 01:18:44 (PB)
39 Robert Browne 01:19:30
72 John Mulvihill 01:24:09
108 Cian Coughlan 01:27:21
119 Ronan Moynihan 01:28:03
140 Diarmuid Sheehan 01:29:30
196 David McEvoy 01:32:16
209 Tim O’Donnell 01:33:00
234 Aoife Quigley 01:34:02 (14)
236 Phelim Murray 01:34:05
350 Áine Crotty 01:38:58 (30)
840 Ciara Lehane 01:50:32 (122)
841 Miriam Logan 01:50:32 (123)
1384 Aitor Arribas Velasco 01:54:15
Full results here: https://www.corkcitymarathon.ie/race-results/
Women’s Mini Marathon (12,160)
Overall place Name Chiptime
1 Aoife Kilgallon 00:33:07
Crusaders AC runners
36 Kathryn Sweeney 00:40:08 (PB)
53 Rebecca Fleming 00:41:58 (PB)
54 Joanne Carey 00:42:10 (PB)
58 Emily Quinlan 00:42:19 (PB)
108 Sophia Morgan 00:44:20 PB)
135 Olwyn Dunne 00:45:36
174 Tanja Narancic 00:46:47
194 Emily Glen 00:47:03 (PB)
346 Charlotte Rufié 00:49:32
1130 Deirdre Kennedy 00:56:11
4216 Liann Leech 01:15:29
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/event-results/events
Dundalk Parkrun (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brendan Havern 1 00:19:37
22 Katherine McGinnity 1 00:25:21
Crusaders AC runner
Tim Hyland 00:24:29
Naas Parkrun (79)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Shane Coffey 1 00:15:12
21 Siobhan O’Sullivan 1 00:24:01
Crusaders AC runner
2 Ger Forde 00:16:51
Knocknacarra Parkrun (72)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor O’Rourke 1 00:19:48

8 Karen Raine 1 00:21:53
Crusaders AC runner
7 Luke Haran 00:21:48
Poppintree Parkrun (114)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean McGrath 1 00:16:48
8 Siobhan Devaney 1 00:19:51
Crusaders AC runners
68 Diarmuid Byrne 00:29:12
74 Maria Pertl 00:29:58 (19)
Griffeen Parkrun (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alex O’Brien 1 00:17:30
12 Breda Smyth 1 00:21:07
Crusaders AC runner
23 Colm Foley 00:23:11
Macroom Castle Demesne Parkrun (38)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jude Murphy 1 00:19:28
15 Isla Yore 1 00:25:01
Crusaders AC runner
4 Toby Benham 00:21:19
Bushy Parkrun (141)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Marcus Bishop 1 00:18:05
16 Sinead Staunton 1 00:21:59
Crusaders AC runner
79 Mairead Cashman 00:29:33 (25)
Malahide Parkrun (257)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:17:08
7 Aine Crimin 1 00:19:13
Crusaders AC runner
192 Deirdre Kennedy 00:29:37 (55)
Poolbeg Parkrun (128)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:24
10 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:29
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:24
3 Kenan Furlong 00:18:00
11 Richard Kavanagh 00:20:37
14 Pat Quill 00:21:12
17 Sharon Woods 00:21:35 (2)
32 Russell Murphy 00:23:41
40 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:24:25 (4)
53 Stephen Mulligan 00:25:02
122 Mari Hansen 00:38:27 (46)
Shanganagh Parkrun (125)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Derek Crammond 1 00:16:56
4 Sarah Baryga 1 00:17:56
Crusaders AC runners
8 David Carter 00:19:20
85 Carina Davidson 00:28:50 (26)
Cabinteely Parkrun (126)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Asher Cook 1 00:17:40
7 Noreen Brouder 1 00:19:23
Crusaders AC runners
4 Eddie Nugent 00:18:44
15 Louise Dobbyn 00:22:56 (2)
63 Tanja Narancic 00:28:16 (9)
75 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:07 (14)
Portumna Parkrun (34)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dermot Larkin 1 00:19:58
5 Petra Booij 1 00:21:28
Crusaders AC runner
11 Brendan Glynn 00:22:57
Mungret Parkrun (52)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Griffin 1 00:18:50
12 Caroline Crowley 1 00:23:16
Crusaders AC runners
12 Caroline Crowley 00:23:16 (1)
14 Eoghan Corrigan 00:24:16
Fairview Parkrun (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Donal Egan 1 00:19:09
29 Michelle Steers 1 00:23:26
Crusaders AC runners
21 Andy Deuser 00:22:32
68 Paul F. Kelly 00:27:30
108 Bivor Pradhan 00:31:15
Tolka Valley Parkrun (34)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Fenlon 1 00:19:11
7 Mary Gavin 1 00:24:14
Crusaders AC runner
2 Zlatko Kulic 00:21:05
Donabate Parkrun (171)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Shane O’Farrell 1 00:16:59
17 Sarah Scott-Minto 1 00:21:20
Crusaders AC runner
14 Brian Scanlan 00:21:01
Mallow Castle Parkrun (87)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Donal Collins 1 00:18:38
12 Johannah McSweeney 1 00:24:07
Crusaders AC runners
38 Emer Kenny 00:29:36 (9)
39 Lisa Shine 00:29:46 (10)
44 Fiona Shine 00:30:06 (15)
56 Anna Shine 00:32:40 (20)
57 Mairin Shine 00:33:03 (21)