We were all glued to the livestream from the Billy Neill Country Park in Belfast on Saturday afternoon, watching Niamh Allen running her heart out, for the first time in an Irish senior vest, in the Celtic Challenge, part of an International meet involving teams from the UK and Ireland, and guests (e.g. Italy in the senior men’s race). In a race dominated by Kenya’s Hellen Obiri (inter alia 2019 World XC Champion and Olympic 5000m silver medallist), stretching over 8k on a truly challenging (blustery, hilly and muddy) course necessitating the longest of spikes (15mm has been mentioned), Niamh found herself early on in the top 20 and settling in at the end of the first lap in about 16th place alongside 2 of her Irish team-mates. Gradually, over the 4-lap course, and particularly in the second half of the race, she pulled away and picked up several places, coming home in 12th place overall out of a field of 37 that also contained some impressive U23 runners. Niamh’s time was a super 28:08, and she was followed by her two scoring team mates some distance behind. Niamh Kearney was 14th in 28:36 and Meghan Ryan was 16th in 28:49. The so-called Irish “development” squad, led home by Niamh, managed to take silver in the Celtic challenge with 42 points, behind Northern Ireland with 32 points and ahead of Wales (91). Many congratulations to Niamh, who goes from strength to strength. Earlier on in the week we had a few Crusaders take part in the NIA Live indoor competition on the six-lane track in Abbotstown. The races appeared to be structured such that, where there were several heats, they were graded, in a similar way to the events we normally see around Dublin during the Summer months. The men’s 1500m featured 3 heats and Enda Clarke ran in the first of them alongside 6 other runners of similar standard. This arrangement helped him to a PB time of 4:38.23 and 2nd place in the race. New member Paul Cowhie also ran in the race and the O/55 athlete took 4th place in an impressive 4:41.09. Heat 3 of the same distance featured another new member, Robbie Fitzgibbon who is based in the UK. Robbie ran 3:51.64 for a clear 2nd place and only 1 second of 1st place in a 6-man race. We had just the one runner in the men’s 400m. Kevin Woods ran 51.01 in heat 5 to win in a 2-man race. Whilst Kevin’s time was excellent, arguably he might have secured an even faster time if he had been placed in heat 4 which would have given him more competition. Finally, in heat 1 of the men’s 800m, Henry Griffin placed 4th in 2:13.46. We move back to cross-country and the second event of the year organised by the BHAA. This time, there were 2 races, one a women’s only 2 miler and the other a 5-mile race that would have welcomed women (however, it appears to have ultimately just had men running it). The races took place on a course at the southern end of Tymon Park starting near the National Basketball Arena. The course is well-known to several of us, as it has been used in the past for such races as the Dublin intermediates. Among the 40 female athletes to contest the 2-mile race were 3 Crusaders and they were led home by Sharon Woods who took 13th spot in 15:34 (also claiming 3rd place as an F50). Emma O’Mahony was next, in 33rd place in a time of 18:55 and finishing as 2nd F35. Finally, Mairead Cashman took 39th position in a time of 20:44. Members might also be interested to learn that Hilary McGee, who trains with us on Saturday mornings, placed 9th in 15:08. The 5-mile race enjoyed a substantially larger field of 132, among them at least 19 Crusaders. Michael Kiely continues to show great form, taking 2nd place in 28:44, ahead of Ciaran Diviney just off the podium in 4th place in a time of 29:13, but still able to claim 1st M45. Next came a resurgent John Mulvihill (5th in 29:24), just ahead of 6th placed Aaron Cashman (29:29). Michael O’Conor was next, placing 9th in 29:45 and behind him came Daniel Lowe (11th in 30:15), Vinnie McGuinness (12th and 1st M40 in 30:33), working his way back to form, Frank Hague (16th and 3rd M40 in 30:41), Michael Wycherley (21st in 31:31), John McAuley (25th in 32:21), Paul McNamara (27th in 32:34), Eddie Nugent (37th in 33:29), just ahead of Eoghan Kerins (38th in 33:31), with Ronan Moynihan (49th in 34:25) completing a strong first 50 places for the club. Enda Currid was next in 60th place (35:36) and he was followed by Karl Walsh (78th in 36:48), Pat Quill (84th in 37:18), Robbie Moore (92nd in 37:55) and Alan Kavanagh (93rd in 38:01), with all the Crusaders making the top 100. Members might also be interested to read that Sean Murphy, who trains with us, placed 34th in 33:22. Also, on Saturday morning Olwyn Dunne headed to Co. Kildare to compete in the Donadea marathon. Thinking she was heading for the usual laps of Donadea Forest, Olwyn got a rude awakening when told she would have to run 46 laps of a local GAA pitch! Still, she embraced the challenge with gusto. 39 runners contested the race and Olwyn came home with victory in the women’s race, running 3:50:40 for 9th place overall. Olwyn recounted that she thought she had completed the challenge, but was disabused by Anto Lee, the organiser, and told that she still had one more lap to go. It was easy to miscount! On Sunday we had one participant in the Ballyroan 10 miler in Co. Laois. The race was conducted on two laps of a looped course, with a significant climb at the beginning of each lap and a downhill finish. Marty James joined 217 other runners, placing 45th in a time of 67:29. We now turn to the mountains and this weekend saw two events. The first was the annual running of the 60k Art O’Neill Challenge which took place overnight on Friday to Saturday. It is a re-enactment of the famous escape from Dublin Castle, ending up at Glenmalure Lodge in Co. Wicklow. Runners are expected to navigate their way in the dark, starting out at midnight. For safety reasons the field was limited to 200, among them several Crusaders. In the solo Ultra challenge Lean Ni Chiobhain distinguished herself coming 2nd in the women’s event, completing the trip in 7:07:40, just over 2 minutes behind the winner of the women’s race and 3 seconds behind Conor Greenan who placed 9th in the men’s race. Darran Lovely (14:21:52), Barry Smith (14:25:18), Dave Lennon (14:22:28) and Conor Kelly (14:25:03) took a more leisurely pace, but still it was a great effort in freezing conditions. David Timoney and Gerry Moore also ran with 4 other runners, but the outcome of their efforts has not been posted. The second mountain event was the IMRA-organised circuit of Howth, known as the Howth Winter Race and covering a distance of some 7.33k with a climb of 220m on moderately challenging terrain. We had 4 runners in the 156-strong field, led home by Brian McGuckin in 31st place and a time of 40:54 (also placing 2nd M50). Becky Quinn was next (47th overall, 6th female finisher and 1st F45 in 43:53). The contingent was completed by Michael Maughan (57th in 44:39) and Berndt Heim (149th in 63:39). There was a lot of Crusader activity in the parkruns on Saturday with several first finishes. Alma Hanevy joined 159 other runners in Kilkenny, placing 10th overall and first female in 21:27, whilst Tim O’Donnell headed to Co. Mayo where he headed a field of 64 in 19:55. Meanwhile, in Tolka Valley Park, Cristian Vilchez Velasco ran 17:40 for first place with Esther Requena Ferri placing 3rd overall and first female in 19:40. In a field of 37, Cormac McGuire Rn 24:58 for 15th spot, followed by Maria Pertl (30th and 11th in 31:19). Lisa Shine ran in Macroom Castle Demesne where she placed 15th and 2nd in a time of 23:41 and a field of 77, whilst Ali May Hann did the same thing, finishing overall in 36th place in Oldbridge (the field measured 84 and her time was 25:01) and, likewise, so did Fiona Shine in Shanganagh where she placed 20th overall in 20:48 in a field of 173. Her mother Mairin also ran there where she placed 99th and 36th in 29:23. Toby Benham placed 2nd in Tymon in 19:14 and a field of 157 (with Mairead Cashman running 30:40 for 96th and 26th places) whilst Kevin Fitzgibbon also placed 2nd in Poolbeg in 17:21. The field in Poolbeg measured 158, among the runners 15 Crusaders. Behind Kevin came Stephen Hurley (4th in 18:00), Kenan Furlong (5th in 18:03), Neil Monahan (8th in 19:26), young Daniel Sheridan (10th in 19:36), Josie Ward (39th and 5th in 23:13), Russell Murphy (45th in 23:40), Paul Campbell (50th in 24:12), Gillian Curran (52nd and 6th in 24:20), Kevin Lambe (82nd in 25:38), Sarah Lyons, enjoying a cooldown after her session (88th and 18th in 25:53), Donna Barry (89th and 19th in 25:54), Maureen McGinley (96th and 22nd in 26:15), Aisling O’Riordan (111th and 27th in 27:34) and Una McCullagh, tailwalking. David Carter took 8th spot in Cabinteely in a time of 20:08. In the 178-strong field, David was followed by Padraig Walsh (24th in 22:24). Kevin Flynn ran with 131 others in Porterstown where he recorded a time of 31:52 for 102nd place, whilst Brian Scanlan was also a singleton runner in River Valley Park where, in a field of 116, he placed 6th in a time of 22:01. Darina Scully was a tailwalker in the 304-strong field in Malahide which also saw Deirdre Kennedy run 28:36 for 190th and 52nd places. Phil Sykes ran in Marlay Park where he placed 112th in 23:33. Phil ran alongside 462 other participants, whilst, in Griffeen Park, Colm Foley ran with 149 other runners, taking 23rd spot in 23:43. Ciaran Smyth and Kate Murray ran in Bushy Park where they placed respectively 29th in 23:01 and 57th (and 9th) in 24:24 in a field of 178, whilst in Fairview, Paul and Aoife Kelly ran with 109 other runners, respectively placing 80th and 84th (and 20th) in 30:52 and 31:11. Newcomer Martin Jones was our lone runner in Waterford Nature Park, where in a field of 52 he placed 10th in 23:51. We also had one runner in St. Anne’s with its 505 participants. Brian Kelleher ran 20:19 for 30th place. Further afield, Kris Ryan was a tailwalker in Tamborine Mountain Park whilst Aidan Hudner ran in Pollok Park in Glasgow once again. In a field of 272 Aidan ran 24:38, placing 63rd. Please let us know of any errors or omissions! Thanks. BHAA Eir 5-mile men’s XC race (132) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Colm Turner 1 00:27:38 Crusaders AC runners 2 Michael Kiely 00:28:54 4 Ciaran Diviney 00:29:23 5 John Mulvihill 00:29:24 6 Aaron Cashman 00:29:29 9 Michael O’Conor 00:29:45 11 Daniel Lowe 00:30:15 12 Vinnie McGuinness 00:30:33 16 Frank Hague 00:30:41 21 Michael Wycherley 00:31:31 25 John McAuley 00:32:21 27 Paul McNamara 00:32:34 37 Eddie Nugent 00:33:29 38 Eoghan Kerins 00:33:31 49 Ronan Moynihan 00:34:25 60 Enda Currid 00:35:36 78 Karl Walsh 00:36:48 84 Pat Quill 00:37:18 92 Robbie Moore 00:37:55 93 Alan Kavanagh 00:38:01 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Eir%20Results%202022.pdf BHAA Eir 2-mile women’s XC race (40) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Laura McDonnell 1 00:12:31 Crusaders AC runners 13 Sharon Woods 00:15:34 33 Emma O’Mahony 00:18:55 39 Mairead Cashman 00:20:44 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Eir%20Results%202022.pdf Donadea Marathon (39) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Rex Brilliantes 1 03:05:07 9 Olwyn Dunne 1 03:50:40 Crusaders AC runner 9 Olwyn Dunne 03:50:40 (1) Full results here: https://my.raceresult.com/190469/live?fbclid=IwAR0MaahKvf2rL65z4jSa2WCexyl1SakwUv0QERuCBPrK_KOvB-eZ9NKsXno Ballyroan 10-miler (218) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Martin Hoare 1 00:51:15 11 Siobhan O’Doherty 00:58:04 Crusaders AC runner 45 Marty James 01:07:29 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/ballyroan_10_mile_and_5k/4275/results IMRA Howth Winter 7k race (156) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mark Stitch 1 00:36:02 4 Jennifer Elvin 1 00:37:01 Crusaders AC runners 31 Brian McGuckin 00:40:54 47 Becky Quinn 00:43:53 (6) 57 Michael Maughan 00:44:39 149 Berndt Heim 01:03:39 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2132/ Macroom Castle Demesne Parkrun (77) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Lucey 1 00:18:47 12 Jennifer Ring 1 00:22:55 Crusaders AC runner 15 Lisa Shine 00:23:41 (2) Malahide Parkrun (304) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jack Maughan 1 00:16:32 7 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:22 Crusaders AC runners 190 Deirdre Kennedy 00:28:36 (52) 303 Darina Scully 00:53:19 Bushy Parkrun (178) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Edwin Keville 1 00:18:22 11 Catriona Dowling 1 00:20:26 Crusaders AC runners 29 Ciaran Smyth 00:23:01 57 Kate Murray 00:24:24 (9) Tolka Valley Parkrun (37) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 1 00:17:40 3 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:19:40 Crusaders AC runners 1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 00:17:40 3 Esther Requena Ferri 00:19:40 (1) 15 Cormac McGuire 00:24:58 30 Maria Pertl 00:31:19 (11) Fairview Parkrun (111) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Fionn Brennan 1 00:20:43 12 Aisling Kirby 1 00:22:47 Crusaders AC runners 80 Paul F. Kelly 00:30:52 84 Aoife Kelly 00:31:11 (20) Marlay Parkrun (463) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:56 31 Laura Ryan 1 00:20:10 Crusaders AC runner 112 Phil Sykes 00:23:33 St. Anne’s Parkrun (505) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Joe McCracken 1 00:16:32 43 Maria O’Sullivan 1 00:20:57 Crusaders AC runner 30 Brian Kelleher 00:20:19 Cabinteely Parkrun (178) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Killian Mooney 1 00:16:37 7 Yvette Tsang 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runners 8 David Carter 00:20:08 24 Padraig Walsh 00:22:24 Poolbeg Parkrun (158) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Donagher 1 00:16:17 22 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:27 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:17:21 4 Stephen Hurley 00:18:00 5 Kenan Furlong 00:18:03 8 Neil Monahan 00:19:26 10 Daniel Sheridan 00:19:36 39 Josie Ward 00:23:13 (5) 45 Russell Murphy 00:23:40 50 Paul Campbell 00:24:12 52 Gillian Curran 00:24:20 (6) 82 Kevin Lambe 00:25:38 88 Sarah Lyons 00:25:53 (18) 89 Donna Barry 00:25:54 (19) 96 Maureen McGinley 00:26:15 (22) 111 Aisling O’Riordan 00:27:34 (27) 158 Una McCullagh 00:55:28 Tymon Parkrun (157) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michael McEnery 1 00:18:45 14 Louise English 1 00:22:14 Crusaders AC runners 2 Toby Benham 00:19:14 96 Mairead Cashman 00:30:40 (26) Oldbridge Parkrun (84) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Andrew White 1 00:18:44 24 Maria Moran 1 00:23:44 Crusaders AC runner 36 Ali May Hann 00:25:01 (2) Waterford Nature Parkrun (52) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dermot Gorman 1 00:16:48 12 Francesca Maher 1 00:24:57 Crusaders AC runner 10 Martin Jones 00:23:51 Griffeen Parkrun (150) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alex O’Brien 1 00:17:46 21 Anne Whelan 1 00:23:02 Crusaders AC runner 23 Colm Foley 00:23:43 Kilkenny Parkrun (160) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Robbie McGee 1 00:17:37 10 Alma Hanevy 1 00:21:27 Crusaders AC runner 10 Alma Hanevy 00:21:27 (1) Shanganagh Parkrun (204) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ben Mitchell 1 00:18:13 3 Sarah Baryga 1 00:18:47 Crusaders AC runners 20 Fiona Shine 00:20:48 (2) 64 Carina Davidson 00:26:33 (13) 99 Mairin Shine 00:29:23 (36) Porterstown Parkrun (132) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David McConn 1 00:16:59 5 Aisling Murphy 1 00:20:19 Crusaders AC runner 102 Kevin Flynn 00:31:52 Erris Parkrun (64) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tim O’Donnell 1 00:19:55 4 Teresa Doherty 00:22:09 Crusaders AC runner 1 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:55 River Valley Parkrun (116) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Kirwin 00:16:27 5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:21:10 Crusaders AC runner 6 Brian Scanlan 00:22:01 Comments are closed.
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