Festival of Running in Edinburgh and Calcutta

30/5/2023

L-R(back row): James Hanway, Gillian Earley, Brian McGuckin, Rebecca Fleming, Kevin Lambe, Miriam Logan, Niall McGeorge, James Cottle, Aoife Quigley, Kevin Kavanagh. Front row: Kieran Martin, Catherine Thornton

There was much to report on this week, both on the track and on the roads, not forgetting the mountains too. The weekend in particular was marked by several events at home and away in which Crusaders featured prominently.

We start as usual with track and field. During the week the 3rd graded meet of the season took place over in Lucan. Over the weekend we had a small number of Crusaders take part in the Leinster Championships down in Carlow and also some of our athletes joined other Irish athletes in Oordegem in Belgium at the IFAM/EA Challenger meeting there.

In Lucan on Wednesday night, Ciara Barry ran in the B race of the 400m where she placed 3rd in 60.46, whilst her sister Katie Rose ran 63.50 in the C grade, also placing 3rd in her race. Sean Owens took 4th place in the men’s 400m A race, finishing in 53.90. Then over the weekend he placed 4th in the junior men’s race in Leinster with a time of 54.05. Henry Griffin took on the 800m in the C grade and in heat 1 he placed 3rd in 2:06.15, whilst Enda Clarke ran in heat 2 of the same grade where he placed 2nd in 2:07.91. We then had a runner in each of the two heats of the men’s 800m grade D event: Paul E. Kelly placed 12th in 3:18.07, whilst Brendan Glynn placed 9th in his heat in 2:49.89.

Down in Carlow, Donal Swift won silver in the M70 category of the 400m in 1:33.52, whilst also placing 5th in the 200m in 39.50. Finally, Liam Lyster won the M65 shot put with a throw of 9.57m.

Onto the roads and, midweek, Toby Benham took part in a Cork BHAA 5k road race, the John Buckley, with an astonishing number of 897 finishers for such an event. Toby placed 37th in a PB time of 16.27 on the fast course. Also on Wednesday evening, further afield, one of our London-based exiles, Kate O'Malley won the women's race in the Run Through Hyde Park 10k in a PB time of 37:28.

We also had a few runners take part in the Staff Relays in the Phoenix Park on Thursday evening. The race involves each runner in a team of 5 completing a 5k leg on a mix of the Acres on grass and along the Military Road (the Snake) and the Khyber Pass. Olwyn and Joe Dunne, Rebecca Fleming, Joe McDermott, Gary Park, Brendan Glynn and Chris Russell were just some of the Crusaders who likely took part in the corporate event on a warm evening.

On Saturday morning, racing returned to the Phoenix Park for the annual Calcutta Run for the legal community conducted there around the zoo and starting and finishing in Blackhall Place. The Run is actually two races, a 5k and a 10k, the latter measuring slightly longer than its name implies. We had 6 runners in the shorter event. Emily Sheils and Maeve Lochrie possibly achieved PBs with their 1st and 2nd placings in the women’s race. Emily ran 17:54 for 4th overall in a field of 579, whilst Maeve placed 6th overall in 18:30. Ahead of them came Patrick Conlon in 2nd place overall in a time of 16:55. Also in the race were Brendan Glynn (34th in 22:00) and Caroline Crowley and Eoghan Corrigan with their son Oisin in a buggy. Caroline placed 72nd and possibly 13th female finisher in a chiptime of 21:45, with Eoghan in 73rd in 21:44.

We also had great results in the 10k. In a field of 323, Stephen Hurley placed 4th in 36:41 with Ross Neill on his shoulder in the same time for 5th place. Paul McNamara was not too far back in 11th place in a time of 40:12.

12 Crusaders travelled to Scotland’s capital city for the Edinburgh Marathon Festival races on Sunday morning. They were joined by some guest runners from Galway City Harriers and Celbridge along with a couple of Crusader exiles who currently live there. It was a super weekend away and a thoroughly enjoyable experience, particularly as the weather, as in Dublin, was sunny and warm.

The half marathon was the first race of the day on Sunday, starting at 8 am in the sun but with a cool temperature from close to the city centre and weaving its way north and eastwards to the coast with lots of twists and turns early on and downhill for the most part (playing havoc with the quads!) but with a few uphill climbs too on what is essentially a net downhill course. There was a short out and back in Holyrood Park, under the shadow of Arthur’s Seat, the site of much international cross-country competition in January of years gone by, and it was fun to see clubmates ahead and behind about 3k into the race. There was another out and back towards the end of the race as, at about 15k as we passed through Musselburgh with its finish on the race course and so we had a good chance to see our positioning as well as those of our friends in the last 6k of the race.

Our first runner home was Chris Russell with a super PB time of 74:04 for 43rd place overall in a field measuring well over 10,500. Not too far behind Chris came Thomas Vogée, another runner to record a PB, with a time of 77:48 for 93rd place and behind Thomas came yet another PB-recording runner, Kevin Kavanagh. Kevin placed 127th in 80:13, knocking off a few seconds from his recent successful half marathon run in Riga. Members may be interested to hear that guest runner, ex-Crusader, now with GCH, Catherine Thornton was next in 157th place overall, 9th female finisher and 3rd in her age category in a well-grounded time of 81:02 and Catherine was followed by Kieran Martin who also had a solid performance (despite his thoughts to the contrary!) in running 82:17 for 182nd place.

Further back came Kevin Lambe (426th in 87:59) fresh from a long sojourn on the French island of Réunion and a parkrun in Ringsend the day before and delighted with his run. Kevin was followed by yet another excellent run from Aoife Quigley (485th overall, 63rd female finisher in 88:47) who considered the race to be a game of two halves, likely recording negative splits. Not too far behind Aoife came another of our guest runners, Celbridge’s James Hanway (517th in 1:29:27) who had Brian McGuckin hard on his tail at the finish (525th in 89:29). Both Brian and James had overtaken James Cottle who was going through a slightly tough patch at around the 8k and 10k marks respectively (after James C had originally passed James H around 3.5k) but James C managed to keep James H in sight for a lot of the second half of the race as he recovered his form, also gradually reeling in Brian. However, on the out and back element at the end, with only about 30m between them Brian overheard James shouting encouragement to Chris as the lead runners approached on the other side of the road and as we turned to come back to the finish he took off with a bang, nearly catching James H and leaving James C in his wake. After that James was able to push a bit but still ended the race 45s back in 573rd place and a time of 90:14. It was a fun battle and at least he had the consolation of beating the other 61 competitors in his M65 age category.

Just behind James came Gillian Earley, another runner with a PB, despite one of her shoes falling apart during the later stages of the race. Gillian ran 91:10 for 621st and 93rd places. One of our Edinburgh exiles, Niall McGeorge, was next, placing 1058th in 96:58, having run much of the race with Rebecca Fleming (1101st and 184th in 97:23). Behind them came Miriam Logan who ran 101:23 for 1555th and 292nd places. Our other GCH guest runners also ran well: Eimear O’Leary placed 547th and 75th in 1:29:48; Sinead Foran placed 952nd and 150th in 1:35:54; and Niamh Hennelly placed 772nd and 120th in her first half marathon with a time of 1:33:28.

The marathon took place 2 hours after the start of the half and so the runners had increasingly warm temperatures to negotiate. The course followed the route of the half but runners kept going along the coast before making the turn at about 27k. In a field of more than 7000 finishers, Charles-Edouard Cattier, who flew into Edinburgh just for the day, recorded another PB, after his recent exploit in Madrid. Charles-Edouard ran 3:08:41 for 380th place, whilst another of our exiles, New Zealand native Andrej Kujikis, ran 3:37:41 for 1339th place.

There were two events in the mountains last week. On Wednesday, in the Leinster League there was the Sugar Bowl 7.5k. The race involved a circuit and climb (of 450m) of Sugarloaf in Co. Wicklow and was considered difficult but on a marked route. Jason Kehoe placed 3rd in 39:02 in a field of 170 and he was followed by Raghnall O'Donoghue (36th in 47:01), Karl Walsh (50th in 49:15) and Gavan Doherty (96th in 55:03).

Then, on Sunday, Becky Quinn took the women's title in the Leinster Championships held in Drumgoff. In a field of 48 Becky placed 13th overall in a time of 1:32:28 on the 14.5k course with it 650m climb in Co. Wicklow.

Enjoying the great weather, there was as usual another great turnout for Saturday’s parkruns. Sarah Lyons was a first finisher in Tolka valley where she placed 5th overall in a time of 20:55. In a field of 38, Phelim Murray also ran, placing 4th in 20:46. Máirín Shine also finished ahead of the women’s field in Erris in Co. Mayo, where with a time of 27:55, she also placed 13th overall, just ahead of daughter Lisa who placed 14th and 2nd in 27:56. John Lohan and Tara Murphy ran in Oranmore. In a field of 69, John placed 6th in 21:52, followed by Tara (22nd and 2nd) in 25:48. Toby Benham also took 2nd spot in Tramore Valley, Cork where, alongside 149 other runners, he ran 18:56.

As usual, we had a large turnout in Poolbeg. Michael Wycherley placed 3rd in a field of 140 in a time of 18:23 and he was followed by Josie Ward (23rd and 4th in 22:13), Sharon Woods (30th and 5th in 23:05), Russell Murphy (46th in 24:36), Kevin Lambe (53rd in 25:24), Stephen Mulligan (54th in 25:28), Cliodhna O’Reilly (58th and 14th in 25:38), Gillian Curran (104th and 40th in 30:10) and Maureen McGinley (105th and 41st in 30:11).

Áine Crotty took 31st and 5th places in a field of 250 in Ballincollig in Cork and in a time of 23:17, whilst fiancé Cian Coughlan found a parkrun on a trip to Finland. He joined 50 other runners in Tokoinranta, finishing in 18th place in a time of 22:57. Kate Murray and Mairead Cashman decided not to run in the Calcutta Run this year, opting instead for the Bushy Park run. Kate placed 20th and 4th in 23:35, whilst Mairead took 88th and 29th spots in 29:15. There were 169 runners in the event. Andy Deuser ran in Fairview, where he placed 11th in a field of 215 and in a time of 21:25, whilst Paul F. Kelly and Diarmuid Byrne joined 180 other runners in Poppintree. Paul placed 8th in 19:43, whilst Diarmuid crossed the line in 69th spot in a time of 26:53.

Dee Lawlor ran with his daughter again in Cabinteely where he placed 15th in a field of 159 and in a time of 23:00, whilst Kevin Flynn ran once again in Porterstown. In a field of 78, Kevin placed 69th in 38:31. Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow, where, in a field of 254, he placed 54th in 24:18, whilst Orlaith de Burca and Niamh Quinn ran once again in Shanganagh. Orlaith placed 132nd and 47th in 30:09, whilst Niamh placed 157th and 64th in 31:41. The field measured 203. Finally, Emer Kenny and Tanja Narancic took on Marlay Park. In a field of 517, Emer placed 219th and 50th in 28:29, with Tanja right behind in 220th and 51st in 28:31.

Cork BHAA John Buckley 5k road race (897)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Doyle 1 00:14:55
47 Lizzie Lee 1 00:16:41
Crusaders AC runner
37 Toby Benham 00:16:27 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.corkbhaa.com/race-results/
Calcutta Run 10k (323)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Conor Deane 1 00:33:35
14 Jennifer O’Sullivan 1 00:41:03
Crusaders AC runners
4 Stephen Hurley 00:36:41
5 Ross Neill 00:36:41
11 Paul McNamara 00:40:12
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-calcutta-run-2023/
Calcutta Run 5k (579)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Molloy 1 00:15:19
4 Emily Sheils 1 00:17:54
Crusaders AC runners
2 Patrick Conlon 00:16:55
4 Emily Sheils 00:17:54 (1)
6 Maeve Lochrie 00:18:30 (2)
34 Brendan Glynn 00:22:00
72 Caroline Crowley 00:21:45 (13)
73 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:44
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-calcutta-run-2023/
Edinburgh Half Marathon (10659)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kieran Walker 1 01:05:24
52 Emma Houchell 1 01:14:48
Crusaders AC runners
43 Chris Russell 01:14:04
93 Thomas Vogée 01:17:48 (PB)
137 Kevin Kavanagh 01:20:13 (PB)
182 Kieran Martin 01:22:17
426 Kevin Lambe 01:27:59
485 Aoife Quigley 01:28:47 (63)
525 Brian McGuckin 01:29:29
573 James Cottle 01:30:14
621 Gillian Earley 01:31:10 (PB) (93)
1058 Niall McGeorge 01:36:58
1101 Rebecca Fleming 01:37:23 (184)
1555 Miriam Logan 01:41:23 (292)
Full results here: https://www.edinburghmarathon.com/results?name=&running_number=&event=930&gender=M&age_category=
Edinburgh Marathon (7057)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alex Gladley 1 02:21:34
22 Jemima Farley 1 02:39:38
Crusaders AC runners
380 Charles-Edouard Cattier 03:08:41 (PB)
1339 Andrej Kujikis 03:37:41
Full results here: https://www.edinburghmarathon.com/results?name=&running_number=&event=930&gender=M&age_category=
IMRA Drumgoff 14.5k (48)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Edward O’Connor 1 01:15:30
13 Becky Quinn 1 01:32:28
Crusaders AC runner
13 Becky Quinn 01:32:28 (1)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2317/
IMRA Sugar Bowl 7.5k (170)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Roche 1 00:36:37
25 Sarah Brady 1 00:45:46
Crusaders AC runners
3 Jason Kehoe 00:39:02
36 Raghnall O'Donoghue 00:47:01
50 Karl Walsh 00:49:15
96 Gavan Doherty 00:55:03
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2308/
OranmoreParkrun (69)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Fergus Kelly 1 00:18:05
19 Ashling Downes 1 00:24:25
Crusaders AC runners
6 John Lohan 00:21:52
22 Tara Murphy 00:25:48 (2)
Marlay Parkrun (517)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:44
6 Lynn Hennessy 1 00:19:08
Crusaders AC runners
219 Emer Kenny 00:28:29 (50)
220 Tanja Narancic 00:28:31 (51)
Erris Parkrun (30)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Damien Padden 1 00:18:33
13 Máirín Shine 1 00:27:55
Crusaders AC runners
13 Máirín Shine 00:27:55 (1)
14 Lisa Shine 00:27:56 (2)
Shanganagh Parkrun (203)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen McGuinn 1 00:17:31
18 Sheelagh Jones 1 00:21:33
Crusaders AC runners
132 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:09 (47)
157 Niamh Quinn 00:31:41 (64)
Fairview Parkrun (215)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Lahcen Aouissar 1 00:18:23
30 Aoife O’Sullivan 1 00:23:05
Crusaders AC runner
11 Andy Deuser 00:21:25
Ballincollig Parkrun (250)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Twohig 1 00:18:18
6 Nollaigh O’Neill 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runner
31 Áine Crotty 00:23:17 (5)
Poppintree Parkrun (182)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Rawling 1 00:18:33
24 Elizabeth Daly 1 00:22:17
Crusaders AC runners
8 Paul F. Kelly 00:19:43
69 Diarmuid Byrne 00:26:53
Poolbeg Parkrun (140)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hare 1 00:17:48
8 Miranda Spencer 1 00:20:18
Crusaders AC runners
3 Michael Wycherley 00:18:23
23 Josie Ward 00:22:13 (4)
30 Sharon Woods 00:23:05 (5)
46 Russell Murphy 00:24:36
53 Kevin Lambe 00:25:24
54 Stephen Mulligan 00:25:28
58 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:38 (14)
104 Gillian Curran 00:30:10 (40)
105 Maureen McGinley 00:30:11 (41)
Tramore Valley Parkrun (150)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conrad Watt 1 00:17:14
11 Fiona Riordan 1 00:20:32
Crusaders AC runner
2 Toby Benham 00:18:56
Cabinteely Parkrun (159)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ted Burke 1 00:19:15
3 Cristin Scollard 1 00:19:48
Crusaders AC runner
15 Derek Lawlor 00:23:00
Tolka Valley Parkrun (38)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cian Ó Raghaillaigh 1 00:19:37
5 Sarah Lyons 1 00:20:55
Crusaders AC runners
4 Phelim Murray 00:20:46
5 Sarah Lyons 00:20:55 (1)
Bushy Parkrun (169)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:19:14
5 Hannah Pollak 1 00:20:11
Crusaders AC runners
20 Kate Murray 00:23:35 (4)
88 Mairead Cashman 00:29:15 (29)
Porterstown Parkrun (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kevin Kelly 1 00:18:54
12 Cate McMahon 1 00:24:32
Crusaders AC runner
69 Kevin Flynn 00:38:31