Everyone’s A Winner...

Niamh Allen and coach Mike McGovern

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​Or at least it seemed like that, following a study of the first BHAA race in about 2 years. No fewer than 30 Crusaders took part in the event that attracted 178 runners overall and produced some great results in the mixed 6k cross country race in Tymon Park. In fact, the real winner was cross-country racing itself, in that the BHAA is really the only organisation providing such competition outside the county, provincial and national championships.

The race, sponsored by Bank of Ireland, was held on a reasonably fast course familiar to many of us. It is mostly flat and involves largely running around a series of fields 3.75 times in an anti-clockwise direction. It was not particularly muddy and little in the way of wind. The only thing missing from the event was the after-race feasting!

Niamh Allen was a convincing winner of the women’s race, taking some decent male scalps in the process. Finishing in a time of 21:17, she was only about 70 seconds behind the overall race winner, in 5th place overall, with a similar margin ahead of the 2nd placed female runner. Niamh followed Michael Kiely who was 3rd overall in 20:57 and was just ahead of Ger Forde (6th in 21:19), who also won his M40 age category. John Mulvihill was next, coming back into form, placing 9th in 21:40, ahead of Ciaran Diviney (10th and 1st M45 in 21:53). Daniel Lowe ran well to place 12th in 22:01, followed by Michael O’Conor (14th in 22:34), who had the consolation of sharing in a team prize with Joe Walsh who followed, in a time of 22:45, placing 18th and 3rd M45. Frank Hague was a few seconds behind in 21st place and 2nd M40 in 22:54. Joe McDermott continues to make progress, taking 26th spot in 23:11 and he was followed by Michael Wycherley who is also returning from injury (29th in 23:26). John McAuley ran well to place 30th in 23:36, followed by Paul McNamara in his first race in a long while (36th in 23:53). The men’s field was completed by Eddie Nugent (46th in 24:28), Eoghan Kerins (47th in 24:35), Conor Macguinness (49th in 24:37), Neil Brown (88th in 26:24), Michael Maughan (97th in 26:53), Pat Quill (107th in 27:25), Tom Dunne (109th in 27:32), Robbie Moore (118th in 28:01), Mike McGovern with a satisfying return to racing (141st in 30:00) and Paul E. Kelly (174th in 38:34).

We also had some super results among the club’s female competitors. Niamh Corby once again distinguished herself, placing 52nd overall, 5th woman home and 1st F45 in a time of 24:43. Niamh was followed by Maura Mahoney (61st and 6th in 25:12), Suzanne Martin, in her first race in 7 years (105th, 10th and 2nd F40 in 27:13), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (114th, 11th and 3rd F40 in 27:43), Kate Murray (131st, 14th and 3rd F45 in 28:55), Olwyn Dunne (139th, 16th and 1st F55 in 29:50) and Mairead Cashman (172nd and 29th in 37:04), another team prize winner.

Further west, in Co. Kildare, Adrienne Jordan, in training for the Seville marathon towards the end of February, took part in the rather unusually-and-grandly-named World Half Marathon Festival in the Donadea Forest. There were 3 starts (9:00, 11:30 and 14:00) and Adrienne ran in the second race, placing 5th overall in that race and 1st woman home in a field of 94 and in a great time of 85:55. The races involved 1 short and 4 long laps on a trail path, and, across the 3 races, there were 300 who took part. Once the smoke had cleared, Sean Hehir, who ran in the first race (in a field of 116), was the overall winner in 70:52 (10 minutes ahead of his closest rival!), with Adrienne placing 8th overall and clear women’s winner across the 3 races.

Participation in the parkruns this weekend was well up on the previous Saturday and, despite the club providing so many runners in the BHAA event, we had a good showing. As usual, our largest turnout was in Poolbeg. Leading the 14-strong contingent in a total field of 171, Kenan Furlong placed 5th in 18:18. Kenan was followed immediately by Stephen Hurley (6th in 18:19), with Peter Shearmer next (10th in 19:27), followed by Neil Monahan (14th in 19:54).  Further back came Barry O’Mahony (23rd in 21:23) who was followed by Paul Campbell (40th in 22:34), Josie Ward (45th and 4th in 22:54), Gillian Curran (52nd and 6th in 23:28), John Lohan (54th in 23:30), Fiona Bane (64th and 11th in 24:20), Ailsa Berkeley (75th and 16th in 25:00), Tara Murphy (98th and 25th in 26:26), Maureen McGinley (104th and 28th in 26:37) and Una McCullagh (134th and 37th in 28:11). Fiona Shine placed 26th and 2nd in a time of 23:45 in Cabinteely. In a field of 144, Fiona was followed by Kevin Lambe (63rd in 27:28) and by Stephen Mulligan (87th in 29:55). Andy Deuser joined Gillian Lyons in running in Fairview with its field of 97. Andy placed 10th in 22:18, whilst Gillian took 63rd and 18th spots in 31:14. Tomas Mahony ran alongside 134 other participants in Pobalscoil Na Trionoide where he crossed the line in 14th place in a time of 20:44. Whilst Cormac McGuire ran once again in Tolka Valley, finishing in 15th position in 24:29 and a field of 44. Lisa Shine ran in Glen River where she placed 56th and 15th in a time of 29:05 in a field of 102, whilst her mother, Mairin, travelled down to New Ross where she joined 142 other runners, placing 77th and 29th in 29:47. Ronan Moynihan and Marty James ran in Marlay Park where they finished 6th in 18:27 and 26th in 19:57, respectively. The field measured 465. We had 3 runners in St. Anne’s Raheny. In a field of 508, Peter O’Toole placed 4th in 17:55. He was followed by Henry Griffin (7th in 18:10) and Simon Kenny (27th in 19:51). Carina Davidson and Orlaith de Burca ran in Shanganagh where Carina placed 88th and 21st in 27:05, whilst Orlaith was just behind (92nd and 24th in 27:11). The field measured 204. Brian scanlan and Deirdre Kennedy ran in Malahide in a field of 337, where Brian ran 21:44 for 43rd place and Deirdre ran 29:55 for 247th and 69th spots. We should note that Kevin Flynn and Darina Scully were tailwalkers in River Valley Park with its 119 participants.
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Outside Ireland, Aine Crotty and Cian Coughlan took advantage of a trip to England to run in the Clevedon parkrun with a field of 365. Cian ran 18:18 to place 6th overall, with Aine taking 39th and 3rd places in 20:58. Further east, in London, Kate O’Malley ran in Highbury Fields with 362 other runners, where she placed 26th and 2nd in 20:06. Then, further north, in Edinburgh, Andrej Kujikis ran alongside 556 other participants, placing 112th in 21:58.
BHAA Bank of Ireland 6k XC race (178)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ieuan Hopkins 1 00:20:08
5 Niamh Allen 1 00:21:17
Crusaders AC runners
3 Michael Kiely 00:20:57
5 Niamh Allen 00:21:17 (1)
6 Ger Forde 00:21:19
9 John Mulvihill 00:21:40
10 Ciaran Diviney 00:21:53
12 Daniel Lowe 00:22:01
14 Michael O’Conor 00:22:34
18 Joe Walsh 00:22:45
21 Frank Hague 00:22:54
26 Joe McDermott 00:23:11
29 Michael Wycherley 00:23:26
30 John McAuley 00:23:36
36 Paul McNamara 00:23:53
46 Eddie Nugent 00:24:28
47 Eoghan Kerins 00:24:35
49 Conor Macguinness 00:24:37
52 Niamh Corby 00:24:43 (5)
61 Maura Mahoney 00:25:12 (6)
88 Neil Brown 00:26:24
97 Michael Maughan 00:26:53
105 Suzanne Martin 00:27:13 (10)
107 Pat Quill 00:27:25
109 Tomas Dunne 00:27:32
114 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:27:43 (11)
118 Robbie Moore 00:28:01
131 Kate Murray 00:28:55 (14)
139 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:50 (16)
141 Michael McGovern 00:30:00
172 Mairead Cashman 00:37:04 (29)
174 Paul E. Kelly 00:38:34
Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Race%20Master%202022%20Bank%20of%20Ireland%206km%20CC.pdf
World Half Marathon Festival (consolidated results) (300)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean Hehir 1 01:10:51
8 Adrienne Jordan 1 01:25:55
Crusaders AC runner
8 Adrienne Jordan 01:25:55 (8)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/world-half-marathon-festival-2022/#1_7AAEAD
Malahide Parkrun (337)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Hugh Armstrong 1 00:14:44
10 Catherina McKiernan 1 00:17:46
Crusaders AC runners
34 Toby Benham 00:21:13
43 Brian Scanlan 00:21:44
247 Deirdre Kennedy 00:29:55 (69)
Bushy Parkrun (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Treanor 1 00:19:03
18 Suzette Das 1 00:23:15
Crusaders AC runner
77 Mairead Cashman 00:29:29 (22)
Fairview Parkrun (57)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 1 00:18:19
4 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:21:08
Crusaders AC runners
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 00:18:19
4 Esther Requena Ferri 00:21:08 (1)
26 Hannah Jones 00:25:10 (4)
Pobalscoil na Trionoide Parkrun (75)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Henry Milward 1 00:19:12
12 Chloe McCarthy 1 00:21:48
Crusaders AC runner
10 Tomas Mahony 00:21:23
Marlay Parkrun (465)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom O’Brien 1 00:17:00
5 Paula Grant 1 00:18:27
Crusaders AC runners
6 Ronan Moynihan 00:18:27
26 Marty James 00:19:57
St. Anne’s Parkrun (508)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Fintan Kerins 1 00:16:46
40 Ciara Brady 1 00:20:43
Crusaders AC runners
4 Peter O’Toole 00:17:55
7 Henry Griffin 00:18:10
27 Simon Kenny 00:19:51
Cabinteely Parkrun (144)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 George Callery 1 00:19:08
14 Joanne Ryan 1 00:21:54
Crusaders AC runners
26 Fiona Shine 00:23:45 (2)
63 Kevin Lambe 00:27:28
87 Stephen Mulligan 00:29:55
Poolbeg Parkrun (171)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Burke 1 00:17:09
25 Aisling Fegan 1 00:21:39
Crusaders AC runners
5 Kenan Furlong 00:18:18
6 Stephen Hurley 00:18:19
10 Peter Shearman 00:19:27
14 Neil Monahan 00:19:54
40 Paul Campbell 00:22:34
45 Josie Ward 00:22:54 (4)
52 Gillian Curran 00:23:28 (6)
54 John Lohan 00:23:30
64 Fiona Bane 00:24:20 (11)
75 Ailsa Berkeley 00:25:00 (16)
98 Tara Murphy 00:26:26 (25)
104 Maureen McGinley 00:26:37 (28)
134 Una McCullagh 00:28:11 (37)
Fairview Parkrun (97)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Thomas Vogee 1 00:18:48
13 Carmel Moran 1 00:22:53
Crusaders AC runners
10 Andy Deuser 00:22:18
63 Gillian Lyons 00:31:14 (18)
New Ross Parkrun (143)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 William Park 1 00:17:48
8 Sandra Young 1 00:21:10
Crusaders AC runner
77 Mairin Shine 00:29:47 (29)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (44)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Eyley 1 00:17:54
8 Miriam Kearney 1 00:22:51
Crusaders AC runner
15 Cormac McGuire 00:24:29
Glen River Parkrun (102)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cian McCafferty 1 00:20:16
3 Anita Locke 1 00:20:59
Crusaders AC runner
56 Lisa Shine 00:29:05 (15)
Pobalscoil Na Trionoide Parkrun (135)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Padraig Mahony 1 00:18:16
17 Chloe McCarthy 1 00:20:58
Crusaders AC runner
14 Tomas Mahony 00:20:44
Shanganagh Parkrun (204)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Oscar Legge 1 00:17:18
24 Katherine Kilcullen 1 00:21:47
Crusaders AC runners
88 Carina Davidson 00:27:05 (21)
92 Orlaith de Burca 00:27:11 (24) 

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Adrienne Jordan

Adrienne Jordan