Bun agus Barr an Scéil

Back row L-R: Niamh Trihy, Sarah Jameson, Cynthia Perucca, Caitriona Egan, Marie-Claire Daly, Tilde Martinsen, Anna Hernick, Lisa Branigan, Lorraine McMahon, Fiona Shine, Emer Kenny, Laura O'Malley, Ellen Walsh, Yuliia Shebek (Sanctuary Runners), Fionnuala Cogan. Kneeling L-R: Kevin Kenny, Kabir Sala, Luz Estevan, Ciara Hutchinson, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Olwyn Dunne,, Darina Scully, Anna Shine, Lisa Shine, Máirín Shine, Kate Murray

It’s February after all, so no one expects fine weather. So, this weekend provided the expected damp and windy conditions for the National 50k Championships in the Donadea Forest in Kildare on Saturday morning as well as the third edition of the Women’s Meet and Train, held in Marino on Sunday.

We had 5 runners take part in the 50k race, held as usual on the 5k loop in the forest, cleared for the occasion from any debris remaining from Storm Éowyn. There were 267 finishers on the 10-lap 5k course, 240 of them finishing within 5 hours. We had 5 runners take part in the event, led home by Derek Boland completing the distance in an excellent 3:44:23 for 21st place overall. Derek was followed by Dee Lawlor who was running the distance for the first time with a time of 4:12:25 for 78th place. Just a little further back came Donadea veteran Olwyn Dunne in 120th place overall, 15th female finisher and, as a 58-year-old, winner of the F50 category in 4:27:34. Kevin Kenny placed 247th in a PB time of 5:02:45, unfortunately narrowly missing the 5-hour target for another year and our last runner was Joe Dunne who paced for 30k. Congrats to everyone who ran such a challenge, in its 15th running as a national championship.

Sunday morning saw the return of the Women’s Meet and Train 2-mile XC. This was the third edition of the winter league and held on playing fields in Marino under the organisation of the Dublin Front Runners as hosts. The temperature was around 7 degrees Celsius, but felt closer to zero in the strong ENE wind.

At least 25 intrepid clubmates tackled the event, led home once again by Luz Estevan in 8th place in 13:59, and followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (18th in 14:53) with Fiona Shine (23rd in 15:03) and Tilde Martinsen (25th in 15:07) not so far back, just ahead of Lisa Branigan (29th in 15:13). Laura O’Malley came next (33rd in 15:22) alongside Darina Scully (34th in 15:23) and just ahead of Kate Murray (35th in 15:27). Ellen Walsh placed 40th in 15:41, followed by Ciara Hutchinson (42nd in 15:45) and Emer Kenny (43rd in the same time). Amazingly, Olwyn Dunne maintained her daily run-streak (already over 1500 days) following the Donadea 50k and placed 62nd in 16:23, followed by Lisa Shine (89th in 17:17). Next across the line came Sarah Jameson (94th in 17:28) followed closely by Fionnuala Cogan (95th in 17:29), with Caitriona Egan a little further back (99th in 17:35) and Carina Davidson (102nd in 17:41), followed by Anna Hernick (105th in 17:43). The next cohort was led home by Anna Shine (112th in 18:24), followed by Lorraine McMahon (115th in 18:35), Máirín Shine (125th in 19:21), Michelle English (135th in 19:50), Cynthia Perucca (144th in 20:23), Marie-Claire Daly (151st in 21:50) and Niamh Trihy (153rd in 23:09), paced by Kevin Kenny, another Donadea survivor! The 4th and last race of the winter league will take place in Abbotstown on Sunday 2 March and then the team results will be determined (based on the 3 best results of the 4). At this stage, we're well placed in at least 3 of the divisions.
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Further afield, Louise Lancaster (née Van Wildermeersch), currently residing in London, took part in an overnight trail race in Horsham, West Sussex. In the 17k event, Louise placed 6th female finisher in a time of 1:56. Then, in Spain Cristian Vilchez Ceballos improved on his track 3000m track time by placing 7th in a PC race in 9:26.48.  A day or two later he ran in a trail race in Arenas in Spain where he placed 2nd over a distance of 13k and in a time of 73 minutes.

Up in the mountains this weekend, IMRA supported two events. The first was a race in the Irish Ultra Championships and took place in Co. Cork. Two Crusaders took part in the 72-strong field in the Slí Mhúscraí & Slí Naomh Fionnbarra 71.5k race involving a climb of 2140mon a course of extreme difficulty. Donatas Jocius placed 16th in 8:19:43, followed by Raghnall O’Donoghue (19th in 8:35:09).

The second event was Trooperstown Winter in Co. Wicklow. The race involved a climb of 380m over 9.7k and was contested by Clare Sullivan and Gavan Doherty. In the field of 171, Clare placed 36th overall and 2nd female finisher in 52:15, followed by Gavan Doherty (114th in 69:46).

In the parkruns this weekend we had a couple more first finishers. Lorraine Healy ran once again in Corkagh Park, where, in a field of 266, she placed 4th overall and first female finisher in 19:42. Chris Bannon also ran there and placed 47th in 24:43. Then, in Cork, Orla Drumm joined 235 other runners, where she placed 10th and 1st in 19:55. We also had a few runners on different podiums. Darina Scully placed 15th and 3rd in 24:52 in the 121-strong field in River Valley Park, whilst Felipe De Sousa took 3rd spot in 19:47 in Tolka Valley. In a field of 45, Felipe was followed by Maria Pertl (29th and 6th in 29:38). Meanwhile, Aoife McCarthy placed 28th and 2nd in Poolbeg in 22:29. In a field of 247, Aoife was joined by Stephen Hurley (5th in 18:42), Ross Neill (6th in 18:49), Simon Everard (9th in 19:33), Tom Gleeson (15th in 20:42), James Sherry (16th in 20:43), John Lohan (36th in 23:13), Louise O’Riordan (38th and 5th in 23:18), Fiona Bane (49th and 9th in 23:53), Lloyd Hamilton (74th in 24:55), Josie Ward (91st and 24th in 25:33), Tara Murphy (151st and 55th in 28:16), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (155th and 58th in 28:27), Lorraine McMahon (173rd and 70th in 29:22), Luz Estevan (188th and 79th in 30:07), Luke Corcoran (189th in 30:07), Mari Hansen (216th and 96th in 32:26), Cliodhna O’Reilly (217th and 97th in 32:28), Lisa Shine (226th and 101st in 33:50) and Ciara McElligott (227th and 102nd in 33:51).

Piarais Neary headed to Lees Road in Co. Clare where, in a field of 103, he placed 8th in 21:02, whilst, on the Midleton Greenway, Cian Coughlan and Áine Crotty ran alongside 284 other participants with Cian placing 10th in 20:19, followed by Áine (128th and 41st in 29:56). Kabir Sala and Alan Martin ran in Bushy Park, where, in a field of 169, Kabir placed 14th in 21:48 and Alan took 40th in 24:17. We had 3 runners in Brickfields with its field of 115. Kate Murray took 34th and 7th places in 25:11, followed by Eoghan Corrigan with his double buggy (56th in 28:32) and Mairead Cashman (67th and 19th in 31:45).

Kev Moore and Mary Donnelly ran in Marlay Park. In a field of 444, Kev placed 35th in 22:02 followed by Mary (73rd and 12th in 23:41). Meanwhile, Maria Kennedy joined 200 other runners in Kilkenny where she placed 108th and 28th in 29:55, whilst Paul F. Kelly ran in Poppintree with a field of 204 where he placed 65th in 25:52. Orlaith De Burca ran alongside 235 other participants in Shanganagh where she placed 152nd and 44th in 29:14, whilst Brendan Glynn tackled Donabate once more, where, in a field of 187, he placed 139th in 33:26. Carina Davidson joined 147 other runners in Cabinteely, where she placed 132nd and 51st in 42:21, whilst, in London, Kate O’Malley, one of our London exiles, and coming back from injury, placed 355th and 107th in 30:14 in the 684-strong field on Clapham Common and Jeanie Watson, another of our exiles, ran in Finsbury Park, where she placed 347th and 80th in a field of 720 and in a time of 27:43. 

Donadea National 50k Championships (267) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Wayne Waldron 1 03:01:48
6 Caitriona Jennings 1 03:16:32
Crusaders AC runners
21 Derek Boland 03:44:23 (PB)
78 Derek Lawlor 04:12:25 (PB)
120 Olwyn Dunne 04:27:34 (15)
247 Kevin Kenny 05:02:45 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/donadea-50k-2025/
WM&T 2-mile XC (159) 
Overall place Name Guntime
1 Lisa Gaughran 00:12:45
Crusaders AC runners
8 Luz Estevan 00:13:59
18 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:14:53
23 Fiona Shine 00:15:03
25 Tilde Martinsen 00:15:07
29 Lisa Branigan 00:15:13
33 Laura O’Malley 00:15:22
34 Darina Scully 00:15:23
35 Kate Murray 00:15:27
40 Ellen Walsh 00:15:41
42 Ciara Hutchinson 00:15:45
43 Emer Kenny 00:15:45
62 Olwyn Dunne 00:16:23
89 Lisa Shine 00:17:17
94 Sarah Jameson 00:17:28
95 Fionnuala Cogan 00:17:29
99 Caitriona Egan 00:17:35
102 Carina Davidson 00:17:41
105 Anna Hernick 00:17:43
112 Anna Shine 00:18:24
115 Lorraine McMahon 00:18:35
126 Máirín Shine 00:19:21
135 Michelle English 00:19:50 
144 Cynthia Perucca 00:20:23
151 Marie-Claire Daly 00:21:50
153 Niamh Trihy 00:23:09
IMRA Slí Chorcaí 71.5k (72) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Enda Cloake 1 06:27:39
12 Kristen O’Sullivan 1 07:57:02
Crusaders AC runners
16 Donatas Jocius 08:19:43
19 Raghnall O’Donoghue 08:35:09
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2596/category/O/
IMRA Trooperstown Winter 9.7k (171) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Emmet McNamara 1 00:42:05
20 Nicola Soraghan 1 00:48:58
Crusaders AC runners
36 Clare Sullivan 00:52:15 (2)
114 Gavan Doherty 01:09:46
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2644/category/O/
Lees Road Parkrun (86) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kenneth Rodgers 1 00:16:03
14 Dympna O’Dwyer 1 00:22:29
Crusaders AC runner
8 Piarais Neary 00:21:02
Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (236) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robbie Mulhall 1 00:17:06
10 Orla Drumm 1 00:19:55
Crusaders AC runner
10 Orla Drumm 00:19:55 (1)
Kilkenny Parkrun (201)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robbie McGee 1 00:18:16
6 Kate Kelly 1 00:21:06
Crusaders AC runner
108 Maria Kennedy 00:29:55 (28)
Donabate Parkrun (187)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor McGuirk 1 00:16:37
19 Niamh Coughlan 1 00:21:37
Crusaders AC runner
139 Brendan Glynn 00:33:26
Poolbeg Parkrun (247)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Gallagher 1 00:17:35
11 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:19:58
Crusaders AC runners
5 Stephen Hurley 00:18:58
6 Ross Neill 00:18:49
9 Simon Everard 00:19:33
15 Tom Gleeson 00:20:42
16 James Sherry 00:20:43
28 Aoife McCarthy 00:22:29 (2)
36 John Lohan 00:23:13
38 Louise O’Riordan 00:23:18 (5)
49 Fiona Bane 00:23:53 (9)
74 Lloyd Hamilton 00:24:55
91 Josie Ward 00:25:33 (24)
151 Tara Murphy 00:28:16 (55)
155 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:28:27 (58)
173 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:22 (70)
188 Luz Estevan 00:30:07 (79)
189 Luke Corcoran 00:30:07
216 Mari Hansen 00:32:26 (96)
217 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:32;28 (97)
226 Lisa Shine 00:33:50 (101)
227 Ciara McElligott 00:33:51 (102)
Brickfields Parkrun (115)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Shane Heneghan 1 00:17:21
2 Laura McDonnell 1 00:18:55
Crusaders AC runners
34 Kate Murray 00:25:11 (7)
56 Eoghan Corrigan 00:28:32
67 Mairead Cashman 00:31:45 (19)
Marlay Parkrun (444)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Donal Brennan 1 00:18:05
9 Doireann Mullany 1 00:19:25
Crusaders AC runners
35 Kev Moore 00:22:02
73 Mary Donnelly 00:23:41 (12)
Corkagh Parkrun (266)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Patrick Fox 1 00:18:29
4 Lorraine Healy 1 00:19:42
Crusaders AC runners
4 Lorraine Healy 00:19:42 (1)
47 Chris Bannon 00:24:43
Midleton Greenway Parkrun (286) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Howie 1 00:17:26
19 Maire Walsh 1 00:22:14
Crusaders AC runners
10 Cian Coughlan 00:20:19
128 Áine Crotty 00:29:56 (41)
Shanganagh Parkrun (236) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 George Callery 1 00:17:09
14 Sarah Baryga 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
152 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:14 (44)
River Valley Parkrun (121)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:18:56
5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:54
Crusaders AC runner
15 Darina Scully 00:24:52 (3)
Cabinteely Parkrun (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Terek 1 00:19:48
11 Derval Devaney 1 00:23:04
Crusaders AC runner
132 Carina Davidson 00:42:21 (51)
Poppintree Parkrun (204) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jason Boland 1 00:18:07
13 Kate Cleary 1 00:22:26
Crusaders AC runner
65 Paul F. Kelly 00:29:55 (28)
Bushy Parkrun (169) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Neil Collins 1 00:19:00
29 Irene Falvey 1 00:23:12
Crusaders AC runners
14 Kabir Sala 00:21:48
40 Alan Martin 00:24:17

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L-R: Olwyn Dunne, Joe Dunne, Dee Lawlor and Kevin Kenny

Derek Boland