Good Day Sunshine

29/5/2022

Finn Boyle

There’s again plenty to write about this week, with stories of Crusaders participation and success in the sunny weather we have been enjoying. It was another cracking week, weather-wise. Long may it last!

Midweek saw three events, two on trails and one on or inside an athletics track.

As usual, we’ll start with the track, and Wednesday witnessed the 3rd graded Dublin T&F meet in Tallaght stadium, incorporating the U17/18/19 Dublin Championships. The only field event in which Crusaders featured, the discus, was part of these championships as all the participants were in that age range. Tom Brigg came 1st U19, throwing 38.07m. 4th male was Morgan Brennan (34.29m), followed by our youngest competitor in that particular field, 16-year-old James Quinn, who threw 29.17m for 1st place in the U18 category and he was followed by Shane Cosgrave (silver medallist in the same category) with a throw of 25.26m. Another 16-year-old from the club, Sean Owens, competed in the B1 400m where he placed 5th overall in 56.40, whilst, at the other end of the age spectrum, M70 Donal Swift placed 6th in the D race in 1:28.42.

Finn Boyle won the men’s A3 800m and, with it, the U19 title in a time of 1:59.81, and we can report that the 18-year-old went on to run in Belgium on Saturday where he recorded a super PB time of 1:54.72. Congrats to him.

There were several other 800m races. Sarah Lyons contested the B1 event where she placed 8th in 2:33.29, whilst Ciara Lynch took on the C1 edition, placing 3rd in 2:38.10. Henry Griffin was our sole competitor in the men’s B1, where he finished in 5th place in 2:11.63, whilst another 16-year-old, Oscar Sherry, finished in 2nd place in the C1 race in a time of 2:12.41. Finally, in the D1 and D2 races, Gareth Phelan (4th in 2:27.28), Brendan Glynn (8th in 2:43.62) and Alan Kavanagh (9th in 2:44.07) took on the former, whilst Paul E. Kelly (10th in 3:18.80) ran in the latter event. It was reported that conditions were quite windy, with runners experiencing a strong headwind in the home straight.

Then, over the weekend, we had several Crusaders head down to Carlow to compete in the Leinster junior, senior and masters T&F championships, with some excellent results. On the first day, Enda Clarke ran in the masters 1,500m which he won in a time of 4:21.73. Conall Gallagher placed 6th in the senior 100m in 11.70, whilst John O’Loughlin won both 100m (in 13.64) and 400m (in 1:04.09) in the M55 category. Donal Swift also won the M70 400m in 1:27.02. Then, on the second day of the championships, Karen Conway won both the F40 hammer and discus, her last throws in each being the best recorded. Karen threw 31.51m in the hammer and 22.11 in the discus. In the masters 5,000m Michael Wycherley took the M45 bronze in 16:41.61, whilst Peter O’Toole ran away with gold in the M40 category with a time of 16:48.63. Sinead Moloney won the senior 400mH in 70.47, whilst John O’Loughlin placed 4th in the M55 category in the 200m (28.55). Alan Kavanagh ran 2:42.50 in the M35 category in the 800m and was awarded gold, whilst Luke Timlin ran 22.54 to win the junior 200m unclassified heat which may have been enough to give him 2nd place overall if the results were amalgamated. Similarly, Conall Gallagher won the 2nd heat of the senior 200m, but that appears unlikely to have given him a medal, based on times from the other heat.

Midweek, Ger Forde won the Dublin Airport Central 5k. In a field of 67 and on a course conducted on grass around the ALSAA playing pitches, Ger ran 17:00 for the distance. Also conducted on a mix of grass and trails were the two evenings (Wednesday and Thursday) dedicated to the PWC Staff Relays in the Phoenix Park. There were several hundred teams of 4 runners, each running 5k on the Khyber Pass (downhill), the Military Road (largely uphill), the Acres Road and the Acres itself through a gauntlet of tents set up for the occasion. We had several Crusaders involved, some running multiple legs for otherwise depleted teams. Those running included Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Thom Martini, Luke Haran, Sharon Woods, Robert Browne, Marty James, John Thuillier, Rebecca Fleming, Joe McDermott and Brendan Glynn. No doubt there would have been several more. Another race that wasn’t in the mountains but involved a mix of road and trails was the tough Clare Burren Half marathon Challenge. This took place on Saturday morning and Jonathan Claridge was our sole representative in the race (one of 3 on offer, the others being a marathon and a 10k). In a field of 278, Jonathan placed 18th overall in a time of 1:52:54.

Saturday also saw the return of the lawyers’ road races, the Calcutta Run 5k and 10k, that start and finish in Blackhall Place but take in the south east corner of the Phoenix Park (Chesterfield Avenue and the North Road behind the zoo). In the 5k Margaret Foley took 2nd place in the women’s race (25th overall, in a field of 446) in a time of 23:28. Margaret was preceded by Dee Lawlor (4th in 19:01) and by Robert Glascott (8th in 20:21) and followed across the line by Kate Murray (31st and 3rd in a chiptime of 23:24). Then, in the 801-strong field of the 10k, Paul Dempsey took 5th spot in 37:02, followed closely by Kenan Furlong (6th in 37:18) and then by Brendan Glynn (37th in 46:04) and David O’Donnell (53rd in 47:33). Staying with road racing, members will be interested to hear that recent ex-Crusader Catherine Thornton recorded a PB of 17:45 in placing 16th and 2nd, just 5s behind the female winner of the Athenry edition of the Galway 5k series, and Catherine was followed in 21st place overall in the field of 516 by ex-Crusader Michael Costello who now runs for Tuam in his native county. Michael ran 17:57.

Further afield, on Saturday, Pablo Sanchez, one of our exiles in Spain, ran in a 5k race, recording a time of 15:59. Also abroad, Kieran Martin and Julie McGrath tackled the Edinburgh Half marathon on Sunday, finishing with super times. In a field measuring nearly 10,000 and in relatively benign conditions from a wind point of view, Kieran placed 167th in 1:21:20, whilst Julie recorded yet another PB, with an 18th placing in the women’s race (229th overall) and a time of 1:23:00. Alma Hanevy and Joe Walsh, with their infant son Iarla, are taking a holiday in France and decided to run in a 2 person relay. Joe ran 14.5k and Alma, 6.5k, in the Courses Atlantiques d'Alstom, with Iarla as the baton (!) Despite Alma missing the final turn and, as a consequence, adding 800m to her race, the family still finished in 2nd place in the relay!

There was a midweek IMRA event in the Leinster League, this time around Howth, and it featured at least 7 Crusaders. In a field of 139 on a course of 11k that involved a 368m climb (at close to walking pace!) to Howth summit and down again (at breakneck speed!), our contingent was led home by Kevin Kavanagh, just getting back to some decent training after suffering a broken wrist back in February. Kevin crossed the finish line in 67:10 (47th) and he was followed by Brian McGuckin (52nd in 68:17), Cian Coughlan (62nd in 71:26), Will Holton (66th in 72:09), Kevin Lambe (82nd in 75:16), Gerald Hoare (108th in 84:16) and Berndt Heim (137th in 115:57).

There appears to be no rhyme nor reason (no obvious pattern) as to why the numbers in some parkruns were down this week, whilst others are up, given the gorgeous weather. Maybe people were racing!

As usual, we had some first finishers in the 20 or so events that Crusaders participated in. Emily Glen joined the modest field of 26 in Waterford, where she placed 4th overall and 1st female in 23:27. Maura Mahoney was also a first finisher in Bushy Park where she placed 5th overall in a field of 146 and a time of 19:40. Maura was followed by Andy Deuser (22nd in 22:04) and Garret Dunne (60th in 26:35). Warren Swords led the field of 87 home in Tymon where he ran 17:55. Warren was followed by John Lohan (15th in 21:27) and Tara Murphy (38th and 4th in 24:44). Kieran Little ran 18:08 to finish in first place in Cabinteely. In the field of 118, Tim O’Donnell took 4th place (20:55) and he was followed by Louise Dobbyn (23rd and 5th in 24:11), Mairin Shine (58th and 17th in 29:14) and Lisa Shine (64th and 21st in 29:53). Stephen Hurley led a quality field of Crusaders home in the 131-strong field in Poolbeg with a time of 17:46. 15 clubmates were in the field and Stephen was followed by Alby Allan (2nd in 19:03), Sam Carvill (3rd in 19:20), Kieran Finucane (7th in 19:58), Aoife Quigley (11th and 2nd in 20:11), Pat Quill (15th in 20:50), Sharon Woods (26th and 3rd in 21:55). Next came Emer Kenny (36th and 6th in 23:15), Tanja Narancic (39th and 7th in 23:30), Russell Murphy (42nd in 23:39), Stephen Mulligan (43rd in 23:45), Rebecca Byrne (79th and 20th in 28:08), Mary Dolan (84th and 22nd on the eve of her birthday in 28:42), Maureen McGinley (90th and 27th in 29:06), with Fiona Bane tailwalking. Another podium place was recorded by John Fahy who ran with 53 others in Brickfields, where he placed 2nd in 18:55, ahead of Enda Currid (7th in 21:17). Olwyn Dunne also claimed a podium place in Castletown. In a field of 173, Olwyn finished in 33rd and 2nd in 24:12, just 4 seconds behind the first woman home.

Elsewhere, Karl Walsh placed 6th in the 118-strong field in Naas in a time of 19:04, whilst Brian Scanlan joined 151 other runners in Donabate where he placed 8th in 21:10. Cormac McGuire ran in Tolka Valley Park and alongside 39 other participants he placed 8th in 23:35, whilst Ronan Moynihan took 21st place in Marlay Park in a time of 19:14. The field measured 362. Thom Martini ran with 462 other runners in Gunnersbury Park in Ealing, where he placed 37th in 21:13, whilst Eoghan Corrigan took 28th place in Kilcock, where he ran 22:46 in a field of 100 participants. Colm Foley ran 23:27 in a field of 179 in Griffeen Park where he placed 41st, whilst Paul F. Kelly ran in St. Anne’s alongside 363 other participants, placing 80th in 22:46. Deirdre Kennedy was our lone representative in Malahide where, in a field of 214, she placed 112th and 19th in 27:25, whilst Darina Scully ran 34:46 for 69th and 21st places in the 101-strong field in River Valley Park. It was good to see Bivor Pradhan back running in Fairview where he placed 48th in a field of 69. Bivor’s time was 29:36. Maria Pertl and Diarmuid Byrne took on Poppintree again where they placed, 58th (and 19th) and 59th in 29:56 and 29:59. The field measured 92. Finally, we had 3 runners in Shanganagh. Marty James placed 6th in the field of 134, in a time of 19:37 and he was followed by Carina Davidson (61st and 13th in 26:07) and Orlaith de Burca (90th and 28th in 29:34).

IMRA Howth Summer 11k (139)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry McEvoy 1 00:49:01
8 Jennifer Elvin 1 00:57:39
Crusaders AC runners
47 Kevin Kavanagh 01:07:10
52 Brian McGuckin 01:08:17
62 Cian Coughlan 01:11:26
66 Will Holton 01:12:09
82 Kevin Lambe 01:15:16
108 Gerald Hoare 01:24:16
137 Berndt Heim 01:55:57
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2159/
Calcutta Run 5k (446)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Molloy 1 00:16:21
12 Katie Nugent 1 00:21:12
Crusaders AC runners
4 Dee Lawlor 00:19:01
8 Robert Glascott 00:20:21
25 Margaret Foley 00:23:28 (2)
31 Kate Murray 00:23:24 (3)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/calcutta-run-2022/
Calcutta Run 10k (801)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Conor Deane 1 00:33:13
10 Siobhan O’Doherty 1 00:38:44
Crusaders AC runners
5 Paul Dempsey 00:37:02
6 Kenan Furlong 00:37:18
37 Brendan Glynn 00:46:04
53 David O’Donnell 00:47:33
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/calcutta-run-2022/
Clare Burren Half Marathon Challenge (278)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Colm Fitzgerald 1 01:38:03
11 Maeve Flannery 1 01:50:44
Crusaders AC runner
18 Jonathan Claridge 01:52:54
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/clare_burren_marathon_challenge_2022/4392/results
Dublin Airport Central 5k (67)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ger Forde 1 00:17:00
17 Lynda Fay 1 00:21:30
Crusaders AC runner
1 Ger Forde 00:17:00
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_airport_central_5k/4425/results
St. Anne’s Parkrun (364)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Anthony Dorran 1 00:17:42
35 Mary Cronin 1 00:21:14
Crusaders AC runner
80 Paul Kelly 00:22:46
Naas Parkrun (118)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Niall Barrett 1 00:17:52
21 Elsa Browne 1 00:21:52
Crusaders AC runner
6 Karl Walsh 00:19:04
Castletown Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Regan 1 00:17:52
32 Lorraine Gleeson 1 00:24:08
Crusaders AC runner
33 Olwyn Dunne 00:24:12 (2)
Poppintree Parkrun (92)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Bobby Bedford 1 00:18:11
5 Ruth Shaw 1 00:20:21
Crusaders AC runners
58 Maria Pertl 00:29:56 (19)
59 Diarmuid Byrne 00:29:59
Griffeen Parkrun (179)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Canny 1 00:18:09
35 Maria Ryan 1 00:22:56
Crusaders AC runner
41 Colm Foley 00:23:27
Tymon Parkrun (87)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Warren Swords 1 00:17:55
20 Donna Mahon 1 00:21:56
Crusaders AC runners
1 Warren Swords 00:17:55
15 John Lohan 00:21:27
38 Tara Murphy 00:24:44 (4)
Waterford Nature Parkrun (26)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher Aylward 1 00:17:27
4 Emily Glen 1 00:23:27
Crusaders AC runner
4 Emily Glen 00:23:27 (1)
Bushy Parkrun (146)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Karl Fleming 1 00:17:09
5 Maura Mahoney 1 00:19:40
Crusaders AC runners
5 Maura Mahoney 00:19:40 (1)
22 Andy Deuser 00:22:04
60 Garret Dunne 00:26:35
Malahide Parkrun (214)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Iain Jordan 1 00:17:13
11 Cindy Hickey 1 00:19:42
Crusaders AC runner
112 Deirdre Kennedy 00:27:25 (19)
Poolbeg Parkrun (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:46
9 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:03
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:46
2 Alby Allan 00:19:03
3 Sam Carvill 00:19:20
7 Kieran Finucane 00:19:58
11 Aoife Quigley 00:20:11 (2)
15 Pat Quill 00:20:50
26 Sharon Woods 00:21:55 (3)
36 Emer Kenny 00:23:15 (6)
39 Tanja Narancic 00:23:30 (7)
42 Russell Murphy 00:23:39
43 Stephen Mulligan 00:23:45
79 Rebecca Byrne 00:28:08 (20)
84 Mary Dolan 00:28:42 (22)
49 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:24:29 (7)
90 Maureen McGinley 00:29:06 (27)
131 Fiona Bane 01:02:04 (47)
Shanganagh Parkrun (134)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Golden 1 00:18:03
11 Emily Kane 1 00:20:53
Crusaders AC runners
6 Marty James 00:19:37
61 Carina Davidson 00:26:07 (13)
90 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:34 (28)
Cabinteely Parkrun (118)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kieran Little 1 00:18:08
6 Cristin Scollard 1 00:21:34
Crusaders AC runners
1 Kieran Little 00:18:08
4 Tim O’Donnell 00:20:55
23 Louise Dobbyn 00:24:11 (5)
58 Mairin Shine 00:29:14 (17)
64 Lisa Shine 00:29:53 (21)
River Valley Parkrun (101)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciaran McCarthy 1 00:17:01
5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:20:56
Crusaders AC runner
69 Darina Scully 00:34:46 (21)
Marlay Parkrun (214)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:07
34 Rachel Riordan 1 00:20:30
Crusaders AC runner
21 Ronan Moynihan 00:19:14
Fairview Parkrun (69)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Richard Berry 1 00:18:22
3 Rachel Berry 1 00:20:29
Crusaders AC runner
48 Bivor Pradhan 00:29:36
Tolka Valley Parkrun (40)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Lee Duddy 1 00:19:01
7 Miriam Kearney 1 00:23:14
Crusaders AC runner
8 Cormac McGuire 00:23:35
Brickfields Parkrun (54)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Freddie Skarbek 1 00:18:43
14 Niamh Williams 1 00:24:28
Crusaders AC runners
2 John Fahy 00:18:55
7 Enda Currid 00:21:17
Royal Canal, Kilcock Parkrun (100)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gavin Kelly 1 00:17:05
6 Aoife McNerney 1 00:19:32
Crusaders AC runner
28 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:46
Donabate Parkrun (152)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Garreth Hogan 1 00:18:11
5 Holly Brady 1 00:19:56
Crusaders AC runner
8 Brian Scanlan 00:21:10