Chaos Reigns Supreme

10/3/2025

L-R: Eddie Nugent, Dee Lawlor, Kieran Martin, Gerard White, Brian McGuckin, Derek Boland

We had participants in two half marathons on Sunday, one in County Meath, in Bohermeen, and one for the Cru on tour in Lisbon. Each was run in warm and windy conditions and both of them had extremely chaotic starts.

On a weekend when our international athletes did the nation proud in the European Indoor Championships, we can also point to some indoor success among our younger athletes in the National U20 and U23 championships, as well as a master athlete in the National Masters Indoors, in TUS Athlone.

We medalled in 3 events at U20 level. Having qualified for the 60m final in the 2nd heat in 1st place in a time 6.94, Cillian Doherty placed 2nd in the final in an improved time of 6.82. Then in the straight final of the 60mH Sean Owens took gold in a time of 8.10. Finally, Luke Timlin, who won his heat of the 200m, running in lane 6 in a time of 21.81, went on to take silver in the final from lane 5 in 21.93.

In the U23 competition, Charlie Bastow placed 3rd in heat 3 of the 60m in 7.24, but unfortunately did not proceed further. He also placed 3rd in heat 1 of the 200m, running in lane 5 and finishing in a time of 22:73. However, that time also did not qualify him for the final, as was also the case for Leo Gormley who placed 4th in heat 3 where, running in lane 2, he ran 23.70. Emily Lyne was our lone female competitor in the U23 championships. In the 200m, in lane 3, she placed 2nd in 25.78 to qualify for the final where she placed 4th, also running in lane 3, in 25.58. Emily also qualified for the 400m final, having placed 3rd in 59.20 in heat 1. However, she did not contest the final.

In the same location on Saturday, Enda Clarke added to his medal tally by winning gold in the M40 800m in the National Masters Indoor Championships. Enda ran 2:05.68. He also competed in the 3000m, placing 4th in 10:09.76. Congrats to all.

We had at least 13 Crusaders on tour, taking part in the Lisbon 10k and half marathon races, most of them running in the latter event. They reported that, whilst the race was enjoyable, there was considerable chaos at the start in an event that started at around 11 degrees, getting progressively warmer through the morning. They reported also that the point-to-point event (west to east along the coast) had them running into a headwind, which might have been refreshing for them in some ways. The contingent was led home by Thomas Vogée and Joe McDermott, both of them recording PBs. Thomas placed 121st in 77:35, with Joe not so far behind in 136th place in 77:58.

They were followed further back by Cría Dowling in 96:43 and Emily Glen in 99:56 and then by David Pepper (1:49:45), Rebecca Kelly (1:51:26), Patricia Velazques (1:57:20), Camilla Henry (1:57:36), Kevin Kenny (1:59:07), Andres Mino (2:02:49) and Fanny Trébouet who has her eyes firmly set on running in the London marathon and was treating this race as a training run (2:03:29). It was great to see one of our London exiles, Hector Jimenez Perez, take part in the 10k, where he ran 54:04, finishing just ahead of Lorraine McMahon who ran 58:15 and behind Mark McGovern who ran 52:19.

Another event that experienced a start like no other, was this year’s edition of the Bohermeen Half. For some reason, the organisers had established a shuttle service from some distance which delivered runners to the race from a location ahead of the start line. The shuttles had to bring the runners to registration and then make their way back through the runners lined up on the start line, in order to collect those who remained. Apparently, a lot of those availing of the service had turned up in good time, but the slowness of the shuttle operation, requiring multiple trips, meant they had to hang around waiting to be taken. This was bad enough, meaning that many of them did not get an adequate warm up, but then for those who got to the start line around 15-20 minutes as one does before the scheduled time of the race, their warm up became premature and although it was not a cold morning (thankfully) at 12 degrees at the start, it was an unsatisfactory preparation for them. There were at least ten shuttle bus drop offs that took place after the scheduled start at 11 am. Given the looped nature of the event, it seems a little surprising that the shuttles could not have gone round the course to the back of the start line to drop people off. Anyway, finally, the race got under way just over 35 minutes late and it was a war of attrition as the temperatures mounted to around 16 degrees for the second half of the two looped race. There were several to drop out. It is normally considered to be a PB course and apart from Michael Wycherley who recorded a nearly 10 minutes PB improvement (his last half marathon PB was nearly 10 years ago) and Kabir Sala with a 7-minute improvement, it would have been hard for many to do really decent times on what is a reasonably flat course. What wind there was, was refreshing when it was a headwind, but the converse when it was behind runners.

Brendan Murphy was well up there throughout the race, but for some reason his chiptime of 76:32 was not recorded and his result not included for team results. Those that did get results were led home by Kevin Fitzgibbon (55th in 76:42), followed by Michael Wycherley with his PB time of 77:44 for 70th spot and 2nd M50. Next came Ciarain Kelly (98th in 78:18), followed by Michael Kiely (138th in 81:37), Gerard White (150th in 82:17) just ahead of Kieran Martin (152nd in 82:19) and Derek Boland, who started out rather far back and was playing catch up during the early stages at least (155th in 81:47). The 6 runners (Kevin, Michael, Ciarain, Gerard, Kieran and Derek) placed 4th as a team in the Rennicks Cup in a competition involving 40 clubs, with the 4 of Kevin, Michael, Ciarain and Gerard placing 6th out of 52 in the open team competition.

Derek was followed by the first of our female runners across the line, Doireann Hughes, who took 187th place overall in a field of 1829 finishers and 7th female finisher in 83:45. Doireann was followed by Luke Clarke (203rd in 84:07) and then by Rory Goldsmith in possibly his last race for the club before he transfers to Bray for logistical reasons (211th in 84:37), Adrienne Jordan (278th overall, 12th female finisher and 1st F45 in 86:51), Eddie Nugent (401st in 89:44), Brian McGuckin (424th in 90:01) and Dee Lawlor (426th in 90:56) who, like several other runners, experienced severe cramping around halfway. For some runners it may have been a hydration issue.

Sean Murphy came in next in 452nd place in a time of 91:08 and he was followed a few minutes later by Kabir Sala (623rd in a 7-minutes PB improvement of 95:44). Kabir was followed by Tim O’Donnell (649th in 97:04) and then by Isabelle Cairns, nursing an injury (764th and 104th in 1:40:26). Louise O’Riordan was almost immediately next, and with Doireann, Adrienne and Isabelle, the 4-women team placed 5th in the 35-strong team competition for both the open result and the Delany Cup.

Louise was followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (838th and 122nd in 1:42:06), Laura O’Malley (1039th and 175th in 1:47:24), Mark Browne (1167th in 1:50:47) and James Moran (1419th in 1:58:16 as part of a much longer run). We did have at least one casualty with Alan Martin experiencing difficulty around the half way mark and having to pull out.

There were other road races taking place over the weekend in Ireland and abroad. Chris Bannon took part in the 352-strong field in the Liberties 5k, where he placed 52nd in 24:21. Then, in the Tullamore AC 5k, Brian Regan joined 401 other runners, placing 9th in 16:42. Elsewhere, Djinn von Noorden took part in the Semi-marathon de Paris, where, despite having a fall in the “disco tunnel”, she ran 2:08:00. She was joined by one of our London exiles, Louise Lancaster, who ran 1:41:41. Then, Aoife McCarthy took part in the Richmond half marathon, around Richmond Park in London, which she completed in 1:48:12. Finally, another of our London-based exiles, Kate O’Malley, took part in the Cambridge Half marathon in which she recorded a 2-minute PB improved time of 83:14.

The last two races in the BHAA XC season took place on Saturday morning up at the airport on the playing pitches of ALSAA, with modest fields. We had runners in only one of the events, the men’s 5-miler with a field of 47. Karl Walsh placed 16th and 2nd M45 in 25:25, followed by Neil Brown (28th and 4th M55 in 34:48) and Robbie Moore (32nd and 5th M55 in 35:55).

There were two events organised by IMRA in the mountains this weekend, both taking place on Saturday morning. The results of one of these, the Clonmel Trail half marathon in Co. Tipperary. In the field of 147, on a course with a climb in excess of 815m, Donatas Jocius ran in the race, recording a time of 1:52:14, placing him 12th overall and 2nd in his M40 age category. The other event was the Wicklow Way half marathon with the participation of at least 5 Crusaders. In the field of 304, Richie Phelan placed 63rd in 2:18:05, followed closely by Daniel O’Mahony (66th in 2:19:33). Further back came Tom Gleeson (98th in 2:26:19), with Charles Cartledge (188th in 2:49:01) and Tom’s brother, Daniel (244th in 3:01:17), making up the contingent.

On International Women’s Day on Saturday it was fitting that we had two Crusaders, Ciara Regan and Rebecca Fleming, finishing first females in their respective parkruns.

Rebecca ran in Naas, where, in a field of 191, she placed 23rd overall and 1st in 22:49, whilst, in Poolbeg, Ciara placed 10th overall and 1st in 19:33. Ahead of Ciara came Stephen Hurley (3rd in 17:48), followed by John Mulvihill (5th in 18:03), with Kenan Furlong a little further back in 6th place in 19:23. Behind Ciara came Richie Phelan’s brother, Marcus (15th in 20:15), followed by Piarais Neary (16th in 20:28). Zlatko Kulic (27th in 21:17) was next, followed by David O’Donnell (31st in 21:37), Maeve Lochrie (37th and 4th in 22:14), John Lohan (40th in 22:23), Pat Quill (47th in 22:06). Claire Reidy came across the line next (54th and 9th in 23:13) alongside her partner Ronan Walsh (55th in 23:14) and they were followed by Aitor Arribas Velasco (64th in 23:39), Kabir Sala (69th in 24:09), Stephen Mulligan (70th in 24:11), Tanja Narancic (78th and 13th in 24:33, pacing 25 minutes runners), John Corish (81st in 25:00), Ellen Walsh (94th and 16th in 25:48), Josie Ward (111th and 24th in 27:05, pacing 27 minutes runners) and Gerard Moore (117th in 27:21). Louise O’Riordan, pacing 30 minutes runners was next, recording a time of 29:29 for 160th and 48th places, and she was accompanied by Frankie Keane (161st in 29:30), followed by Tara Murphy (190th and 69th in 31:21), with Fiona Bane tailwalking.

Further afield, on a trip to Singapore, one of our exiles in Australia, Maurice Kelter, led the field of 111 home in the hot and humid East Coast parkrun in a super time of 16:27.

Darina Scully ran as usual in River Valley Park where she placed 23rd and 3rd in a field of 129 and in a time of 24:39, whilst in Brickfields with its field of 116, Caoimhe Dempsey who is preparing for her first marathon in Barcelona next weekend ran 22:06 for 17th and 3rd places, followed by Mairead Cashman (86th and 27th in 31:02).

Máirín and Lisa Shine ran in Russborough, where, in a field of 81, Máirín placed 40th and 13th in 30:53, followed by Lisa (51st and 22nd in 32:54), whilst Martina White joined 177 other runners in Kilkenny where she placed 88th and 20th in 28:41. Orlaith de Burca placed 102nd and 25th in the 258-strong field in Shanganagh where she recorded a time of 27:36, whilst Brendan Glynn placed 129th in 31:36 in the field of 216 in Donabate and Luke Haran ran in Mungret Park in Limerick where he placed 8th in 22:36.

Just before heading out to Lisbon, Kevin Kenny joined the field of 576 in Marlay Park where he placed 99th in 24:17, and he was followed by Kev Moore (182nd in 26:31), Mary Donnelly (211th and 44th in 27:00) and Carina Davidson (470th and 183rd in 34:55). Meanwhile, in the 231-strong field in Poppintree, Paul F. Kelly placed 66th in 24:57, with Aoife Kelly tailwalking, whilst in St. Anne’s, Sarah Lyons placed 159th and 37th in 26:21. Followed by Áine Crotty (412th and 171st in 37:40) in a field of 448.

Further afield, our London-based exiles, Jeanie Watson, Rob Glascott and Thom Martini ran in parkruns there. Jeanie placed 155th and 25th in the 782-strong field in Finsbury Park, whilst Rob ran on Clapham Common where he placed 29th in 19:53 in a field of 824. Thom ran in Gunnersbury where he placed 76th in 22:32 in a field of 732. They were joined by Georgina Hawkins who ran in Cassiobury Park in Watford where she placed 224th and 40th in a field of 626 and in a time of 26:24. Finally, Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 388, he placed 39th in 23:20.

BHAA ALSAA Men’s 5-mile XC (47)
Overall place Name Guntime
1 Sean Doran 00:25:25
Crusaders AC runners
16 Karl Walsh 00:31:59
28 Neil Brown 00:34:48
32 Robbie Moore 00:35:55
Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Race_Master_Alsaa_2m_and_5m_2025.pdf
Bohermeen Half marathon (1829)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Fox 1 01:07:23
53 Nicola Sheridan 1 01:16:30
Crusaders AC runners
XX Brendan Murphy 01:16:32
55 Kevin Fitzgibbon 01:16:42
70 Michael Wycherley 01:17:44 (PB)
98 Ciarain Kelly 01:18:46
138 Michael Kiely 01:21:37
150 Gerard White 01:22:17
152 Kieran Martin 01:22:19
155 Derek Boland 01:21:47
187 Doireann Hughes 01:23:45 (7)
203 Luke Clarke 01:24:07
211 Rory Goldsmith 01:24:37
278 Adrienne Jordan 01:26:51 (12)
401 Eddie Nugent 01:29:44
424 Brian McGuckin 01:30:01
426 Derek Lawlor 01:30:56
452 Sean Murphy 01:31:08
623 Kabir Sala 01:35:44 (PB)
649 Tim O’Donnell 01:37:04
764 Isabelle Cairns 01:40:26 (104)
766 Louise O’Riordan 01:41:54 (121)
838 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 01:42:06 (122)
1039 Laura O’Malley 01:47:24 (175)
1167 Mark Browne 01:50:47
1419 James Moran 01:58:16
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/bohermeen_ac_half_marathon/5540/results
Liberties 5k (352)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 James Kelly 1 00:17:49
18 Alison Shorten 1 00:22:08
Crusaders AC runner
52 Chris Bannon 00:24:21
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/the_liberties_rc_5k_2025/5602/results
Tullamore Harriers AC 5k (402)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jamie Battle 1 00:14:48
5 Cheryl Nolan 1 00:16:16
Crusaders AC runner
9 Brian Regan 00:16:42
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/tullamore-harriers-ac-5k-2025/
IMRA Wicklow Way Half (304)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Adam Cunningham 1 01:45:13
12 Áine Gosling 1 01:58:25
Crusaders AC runners
63 Richard Phelan 02:18:05
66 Daniel O’Mahony 02:19:33
98 Tom Gleeson 02:26:19
188 Charles Cartledge 02:49:01
244 Daniel Gleeson 03:01:17
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2686/category/O/
IMRA Clonmel Trail Half Marathon (147)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Kinsella 1 01:37:14
13 Kealey Tideswell 1 01:52:18
Crusaders AC runner
12 Donatas Jocius 01:52:14
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2640/category/O/
Russborough Parkrun (81)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Caolan McGorman 1 00:20:03
11 Niamh Craul 1 00:25:29
Crusaders AC runners
40 Máirín Shine 00:30:53 (13)
51 Lisa Shine 00:32:54 (22)
Kilkenny Parkrun (178)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruairidh Livingstone 1 00:18:21
3 Breda McDonald 1 00:19:36
Crusaders AC runner
88 Martina White 00:28:41 (20)
Naas Parkrun (191)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dave Courtney 1 00:17:55
23 Rebecca Fleming 1 00:22:49
Crusaders AC runner
23 Rebecca Fleming 00:22:49 (1)
Mungret Parkrun (84)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry Crowe 1 00:18:56
3 Alison Donnelly 1 00:21:20
Crusaders AC runner
8 Luke Haran 00:22:36
Poolbeg Parkrun (238)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher O’Reilly 1 00:16:44
10 Ciara Regan 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runners
3 Stephen Hurley 00:17:48
5 John Mulvihill 00:18:03
6 Kenan Furlong 00:19:23
10 Ciara Regan 00:19:33 (1)
15 Marcus Phelan 00:20:15
16 Piarais Neary 00:20:28
27 Zlatko Kulic 00:21:17
31 David O’Donnell 00:21:37
37 Maeve Lochrie 00:22:14 (4)
40 John Lohan 00:22:23
47 Pat Quill 00:22:06
54 Claire Reidy 00:23:13 (9)
55 Ronan Walsh 00:23:14
64 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:23:39
69 Kabir Sala 00:24:09
70 Stephen Mulligan 00:24:11
78 Tanja Narancic 00:24:33 (13)
81 John Corish 00:25:00
94 Ellen Walsh 00:25:48 (16)
111 Josie Ward 00:27:05 (24)
117 Gerard Moore 00:27:21
160 Louise O’Riordan 00:29:29 (48)
161 Franky Keane 00:29:30
190 Tara Murphy 00:31:21 (69)
238 Fiona Bane 00:54:50
Brickfields Parkrun (116)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Maxim Bondarenko 1 00:18:26
12 Roisin McMahon 1 00:21:45
Crusaders AC runners
17 Caoimhe Dempsey 00:22:06 (3)
86 Mairead Cashman 00:31:02 (27)
Poppintree Parkrun (231)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Branock 1 00:17:35
9 Marie Howard 1 00:19:22
Crusaders AC runners
66 Paul F. Kelly 00:24:57
251 Aoife Kelly 00:51:59
St. Anne’s Parkrun (448)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert Lea 1 00:17:14
24 Caoimhe Duffy 1 00:20:53
Crusaders AC runners
159 Sarah Lyons 00:26:21 (37)
412 Áine Crotty 00:37:40 (171)
River Valley Parkrun (129)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:19:26
15 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:48
Crusaders AC runner
23 Darina Scully 00:24:39 (3)
Donabate Parkrun (216)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Seamus Walsh 1 00:19:13
6 Niamh Coughlan 1 00:20:59
Crusaders AC runner
129 Brendan Glynn 00:31:36
Marlay Parkrun (576)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:48
23 Catriona Dowling 1 00:21:03
Crusaders AC runners
99 Kevin Kenny 00:24:17
182 Kev Moore 00:26:31
211 Mary Donnelly 00:27:00 (44)
470 Carina Davidson 00:34:55 (183)
Shanganagh Parkrun (258)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Neill Foley 1 00:17:39
25 Lara Woods 1 00:21:47
Crusaders AC runner
102 Orlaith de Burca 00:27:36 (25)