Celebratory Mass Participation (Part 1)

27/12/2019

Catherine Thornton

We’re only halfway through the Christmas break and can say that Crusaders have enthusiastically embraced running almost every day and all over the place, including the Goal Mile in Irishtown Stadium on Christmas Day (well-hosted by the club) and even an ad hoc impromptu two-man marathon in Spain (Dominick Branigan and Mick Smyth) We’ve had significant participation from parkruns during this time, one or two of which were also organised on Christmas day thanks to there being a good number of volunteers available to help, through to 4 mile, 5 mile, 10k races as well as a locally-organised marathon.

The week’s races really kicked off on Stephen’s Day. In her native Tyrone and in a time of 35:52, Kathryn Sweeney placed 13th female finisher (160th overall) alongside more than 750 other runners in the 34th running of the Greencastle 5 miler, whilst Eddie Nugent continued his regular participation in the the MSD 4 mile race in Clonmel, enjoying its 31st edition, where, in wet conditions and a field exceeding 450, and behind race winner Sean Tobin who marked his win with both national and course records of 17:45, he came home in 32nd place in a great time of 23:23. Then, in the Streets of Wicklow 5k, Ollie McGrath was our sole representative, placing 33rd and 4th O/40 in 18:23. The field measured nearly 400 runners. We also saw some participation down in Cork, with 3 of our number running in the Belgooly 4 mile race there. Shane Collins led our intrepid group home in 6th place and a super time of 20:40, followed by Tim O’Donnell (53rd in 26:50) and Louise O’Riordan (183rd overall and 41st female finisher in 32:09). However, our largest contingent on the day was, as perhaps to be expected, in the iconic Fields of Athenry 10k, with its substantial field of 1,255 finishers, where we had at least 8 Crusaders take part, crossing the line with excellent times, some of which were PBs. In damp conditions as elsewhere, Brian Hyland was first home in 26th place and a time of 36:18, most likely a PB and an excellent performance for the relative newcomer to the club and a man celebrating the arrival on 23rd December of his nephew, Ben, whose mother, Marie, is also a highly successful member of the club, currently living in Washington DC. Next came Catherine Thornton who enjoyed a stormer of a race in almost even 5k splits with a massive PB improvement of around 75 seconds on her previous best, placing 47th overall, 4th female finisher, in a super time of 37:52, to crown an excellent year of running. Another runner with a PB on the day was Kevin Lambe who came across the line in 76th place and a time of 39:30. Kevin was followed by Andrew Kinneen (107th in 40:16) and by Aine Kenny who also distinguished herself with 16th place in the women’s race (151st overall) in 41:57. Brendan Glynn was next to finish, 271st in 45:28 and he was followed by David Cuddy (303rd in 46:02) and Mary Dolan (682nd and 162nd in 52:43). In a reversal of fortunes, last year's winner Mick Clohisey, who is in training for the Seville marathon in February with a Tokyo Olympics objective, was beaten by 4 seconds into 2nd place in the race by last year’s runner-up, Hugh Armstrong.

The following day, with a heavy head cold, Olwyn Dunne took part in an East of Ireland-organised marathon that took place around Howth (a foretaste of the Fat Turkey run to come on Saturday) and won the women’s race in a time of 4:07:13. She is also intending to run a recovery in the Fat Turkey!

Moving on to last weekend’s parkruns, which effectively marked the start of the festive holidays, we had masses of participation and some great results. First finishers included John Thuillier in St. Anne’s where he ran 17:26, Caroline Crowley in Royal Canal Kilcock, where she placed 6th overall in 20:16, Eddie Nugent in Cabinteely where he ran 19:01, Esther Requena Ferri who ran 21:22 in Father Collins Park (12th overall) and Anthony O’Reilly, who technically finished 2nd in Cootehill, but was first male finisher, in a time of 20:48. Podium places went to Mark O’Connor who placed 2nd in Clarisford in a time of 19:13, Jason Kehoe, in Tymon, where he ran 17:35, Ger Forde who placed 3rd in Naas in 18:12, Kenan Furlong (2nd in Poolbeg in 17:59) and Peter O’Toole who was in 3rd place behind John in St. Anne’s in a time of 17:45. In Poppintree Sarah Lyons took 4th place (36th overall) in 24:05, ahead of Aoife and Paul Kelly who respectively ran 31:02 and 31:04 for 117th (and 39th) and 119th places. Anthony Owens placed 7th in 23:00 in Fairview, whilst Orla Kennedy took 4th place (16th overall) in a time of 22:49 behind Caroline in Kilcock. Out in Australia, Kris Ryan ran in Main Beach Queensland where she placed 7th (and 71st) in 24:38 in a field of 346, whilst Ronan Moynihan placed 7th in 18:13 in Malahide, ahead of Deirdre Kennedy (117th and 16th in 25:27). Joanne Carey ran in Shanganagh, where she finished 47th overall, 5th female, in a time of 23:11 behind Rob Browne who placed 26th in 22:01 there, whilst Helena O’Keeffe came home in 77th (22nd) in 26:29 in Tralee. Andrej Kujikis returned from Scotland to run in Bushy Park where he placed 38th in 24:26, whilst Rory Goldsmith took it handy in Marlay, where he placed 164th in 24:52. We had large turnouts in both St Anne’s and, to be expected, in Poolbeg. In St. Anne’s, behind John and Peter came Lisa Shine (148th and 30th in 25:26), Fiona Shine (149th and 31st in the same time), Emer Kenny (261st and 75th in 28:45), Anna Shine (275th and 83rd in 29:19), Mairin Shine (276th and 84th in 29:20), Orlaith de Burca (304th and 97th in 30:16) and Mairead Cashman (342nd and 119th in 32:16). Then, in Poolbeg, Kenan was followed home by Tim O’Donnell (13th in 20:17), Russell Murphy (35th in 22:29), Gian Piero Allerta (37th in 22:43), Fiona Bane (42nd and 5th in 23:32), Ali May Hann (53rd and 8th in 24:25), Ava Rose Clarke (54th and 9th in 24:26), Aisling O’Riordan (92nd and 23rd in 27:06), Cliodhna O’Reilly (96th and 25th in 27:20), Maureen McGinley (98th and 27th in 27:31) and Don Anderton (126th in 34:15). Finally, we had runners in at least two parkruns on Christmas Day, one in Dublin and the other in London. In Dublin, the event was held in Waterstown and Caroline Crowley was first finisher there for her 2nd parkrun in a row. Caroline placed 12th overall in a time of 19:51 and she was followed by Laura Flannelly (25th and 3rd in 21:36), Orla Kennedy (30th and 5th in 22:16), Geraldine Clements (131st and 30th in 28:32), Paul Kelly (188th in 32:15), Aoife Kelly (190th and 57th in 32:17), Lisa Shine (199th and 64th in 33:04), Anna Shine (200th and 65th in 33:05) and Mairin Shine (201st and 66th in the same time). In London, Roland and James Cottle ran in Finsbury Park on Christmas Day with other members of their family and a total field of 400. James placed 45th in 21:22, whilst Roland crossed the finish in 240th place in 28:49.
MSD 4 mile (453)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Tobin 1 00:17:45 (IR, CR)
27 Siobhan O’Doherty 1 00:23:10
Crusaders AC runner
32 Eddie Nugent 00:23:23
Full results here: https://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2019-Race-Results/MSD-4-Mile-Race-Results
Inbhear Dee Streets of Wicklow 5k (399)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Doran 1 00:15:47
18 Sarah Mulligan 1 00:17:33
Crusaders AC runner
33 Ollie MGrath 00:18:23
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/inbhear_dee_streets_of_wicklow_5k/2989/results
Dick Copithorne Belgooly 4 mile race (436)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alan O’Shea 1 00:19:25
12 Niamh Moore 1 00:22:51
Crusaders AC runners
6 Shane Collins 00:20:40
53 Tim O’Donnell 00:26:50
183 Louise O’Riordan 00:32:09 (41)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dick_copithorne_belgooly_4_mile/3543/results
Streets of Athenry 10k (1255)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Hugh Armstrong 1 00:29:32
15 Breege Connolly 1 0:34:41
Crusaders AC runners
26 Brian Hyland 00:36:18 (PB)
47 Catherine Thornton 00:37:52 (PB) (4)
76 Kevin Lambe 00:39:30 (PB)
107 Andrew Kinneen 00:40:16
151 Aine Kenny 00:41:57 (16)
271 Brendan Glynn 00:45:28
303 Dave Cuddy 00:46:02
682 Mary Dolan 00:52:53 (162)
Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/
Greencastle 5 mile race (754)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Neil Johnston 1 00:24:53
25 Emma Mitchell 1 00:29:20
Crusaders AC runner
160 Kathryn Sweeney 00:35:52 (13)
Full results here: https://www.greencastle5.com/
Malahide Parkrun #372 (309)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Wesley Grant 1 0:17:15
3 Annette Kealy 1 00:17:35
Crusaders AC runners
7 Ronan Moynihan 00:18:13
117 Deirdre Kennedy 00:25:27 (16)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/malahide/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=372
St Anne’s Parkrun #313 (415)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Thuillier 1 00:17:26
19 Niamh Corbett 1 00:19:14
Crusaders AC runners
1 John Thuillier 00:17:26
3 Peter O’Toole 00:17:45
148 Lisa Shine 00:25:26 (30)
149 Fiona Shine 00:25:26 (31)
261 Emer Kenny 00:28:45 (75)
275 Anna Shine 00:29:19 (83)
276 Mairin Shine 00:29:20 (84)
304 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:16 (97)
342 Mairead Cashman 00:32:16 (119)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=313
Naas Parkrun #297 (147)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Shane Coffey 1 00:15:59
11 Kana Akimoto 1 00:19:07
Crusaders AC runner
3 Ger Forde 00:18:12
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/naas/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=297
Marlay Parkrun #333 (489)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Shane O’Neill 1 00:16:33
10 Amy Moran 1 00:18:41
Crusaders AC runner
164 Rory Goldsmith 00:24:52
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=333
Poolbeg Parkrun #122 (138)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen McGuinn 1 00:17:52
28 Ruth Comerford 1 00:21:59
Crusaders AC runners
2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:59
13 Tim O’Donnell 00:20:17
35 Russell Murphy 00:22:29
37 Gian Piero Allerta 00:22:43
42 Fiona Bane 00:23:32 (5)
53 Ali May Hann 00:24:25 (8)
54 Ava Rose Clarke 00:24:26 (9)
92 Aisling O’Riordan 00:27:06 (23)
96 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:27:20 (25)
98 Maureen McGinley 00:27:31 (27)
126 Don Anderton 00:34:15
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=122
Royal Canal Kilcock Parkrun #37 (121)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Shane McNerney 1 00:19:14
6 Caroline Crowley 1 00:20:16
Crusaders AC runners
6 Caroline Crowley 00:20:16 (1)
16 Orla Kennedy 00:22:49 (4)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/royalcanakilcock/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=37
Tymon Parkrun #286 (105)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brendan Beere 1 00:17:07
16 Sharon Tighe 1 00:22:18
Crusaders AC runner
2 Jason Kehoe 00:17:35
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tymon/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=286
Bushy Parkrun #148 (164)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Dermot Kenny 1 00:16:50
10 Bernadette Crowley 1 00:20:09
Crusaders AC runner
38 Andrej Kujikis 00:24:26
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/bushydublin/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=148
Tralee Parkrun #259 (260)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Derek Griffin 1 00:17:40
20 Hannah Mitchell 1 00:21:40
Crusaders AC runner
77 Helena O’Keeffe 00:26:29 (22)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tralee/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=259
Shanganagh Parkrun #244(206)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Robin Mooney 1 00:17:40
37 Suzanne Foot 1 00:22:34
Crusaders AC runners
26 Robert Browne 00:22:01
47 Joanne Carey 00:23:11 (5)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=244
Cabinteely Parkrun #245 (188)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eddie Nugent 1 00:19:01
5 Ciara Brady 1 00:19:57
Crusaders AC runner
1 Eddie Nugent 00:19:01
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=245
Waterstown Parkrun #288 (288)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Nick Bowker 1 00:17:10
12 Caroline Crowley 1 00:19:51
Crusaders AC runners
12 Caroline Crowley 00:19:51 (1)
25 Laura Flannelly 00:21:36 (3)
30 Orla Kennedy 00:22:16 (5)
131 Geraldine Clements 00:28:32 (30)
188 Paul F. Kelly 00:32:15
190 Aoife Kelly 0:32:17 (57)
199 Lisa Shine 00:33:04 (64)
200 Anna Shine 00:33:05 (65)
201 Mairin Shine 00:33:05 (66)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/waterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=288
Father Collins Parkrun #223 (88)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Declan Power 1 00:16:04
12 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:21:22
Crusaders AC runner
12 Esther Requena Ferri 00:21:22 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=223
Fairview Parkrun #125 (73)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean O’Fathaigh 1 00:19:43
5 Ember Randall1 00:21:18
Crusaders AC runner
7 Anthony Owens 00:23:00
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=125
Clarisford Parkrun #266 (43)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Kelly 1 00:19:04
11 Sheila Lonergan 1 00:25:36
Crusaders AC runner
2 Mark O‘Connor 00:19:13
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/clarisford/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=266
Poppintree Parkrun #266 (153)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Noel Selorm 1 00:18:46
10 Julie Cleary 1 00:20:21
Crusaders AC runners
36 Sarah Lyons 00:24:05 (4)
117 Aoife Kelly 00:31:02 (39)
119 Paul F. Kelly 00:31:04
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=266
Cootehill Parkrun #266 (31)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Lisa Clarkin 1 00:19:54
2 Anthony O’Reilly 1 00:20:48
Crusaders AC runner
2 Anthony O’Reilly 00:20:48
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cootehill/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=266
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