Good Grades in UCD and strong participation in the Women’s mini-marathon and Cork City races

5/6/2023

L-R: Emily Quinlan, Tanja Narancic, Nina Holmes, Aoife Quigley, Emily Glen and Olwyn Dunne

The Summer is really heating up now with so many races to choose from. Take your pick of track, road and mountain running. It’s all up for grabs. We had great participation in those high profile events over the weekend and some excellent results.

The 4th Dublin Athletics graded meet of the season took place on Saturday morning on the new track in UCD and it brought out the best in our athletes. The meet included various Co. Dublin championship events, among them the men’s 10,000m and the men's and women’s 400m and we picked up medals in each of these.

First up was Joe McDermott who ran in the 10,000m where he placed 4th in the race in a great time of 35:40.08, but picking up the silver medal in the championship. Joe was followed by Claire Mooney who took on the 400m, placing 3rd in the race in 56.46 in a close finish and winning gold in the Dublin championship. In the men’s A+B race, Luke Timlin and Finn Boyle appeared together. Luke placed 2nd, taking the silver medal in 51.59, with Finn a little further back in 5th in 52.98. Both finished behind Lee Byrne of Rathfarnham WSAF who trains with us and who placed 1st in 51.14. Many congrats to them.

We had several other runners hone their skills over the day at the meet in 100m, 400m and 1500m events. Laura Garcia Gonzalez ran in the women’s 1500m grade D race where she placed 4th in mid pack in a time of 5:27.09, whilst in the men’s races of the same distance, Finn Boyle placed 4th in the A grade event in 4:08.01 and Paul Kelly finished in 8th place in heat 1 of the D grade in a time of 7:12.39.

The 400m races saw several more of our athletes compete. In the women’s B race, Katie Rose Barry ran 60.84 in a close finish, whilst Oscar Sherry ran in the men's C race, where he placed 7th in 54.95, Paul Kelly taking 5th place in 88.99 in the D grade race.

Finally, two of our male athletes ran in the A and B 100m races. In the A grade race, Mark Inuwa placed 7th in 12.07, whilst Charlie Bastow ran 11.99 for 4th place in the B event. Karl Fitzmaurice also ran on Saturday, but his result appears not to have been recorded.

On the roads, the week started on Tuesday evening in Dunboyne. The race was the familiar 5-mile event sponsored by Govt. Services. However, it had not been certain it would go ahead and as a consequence attracted a smaller field than those of the past with only 186 contesting what is a reasonably flat one loop course conducted mostly on back country roads around Dunboyne (and taking in a large part of the Dunboyne 10k). Local club member Peter Somba won it once again and he was followed by at least 8 Crusaders. Joe McDermott was the first of these, running 28:21 for 13th place overall and 4th M40. Joe was followed on a lovely early summer’s evening by Eddie Nugent (30th in 30:31) and by Adrienne Jordan (42nd and 2nd female finisher in a great time of 31:02). Karl Walsh was next (48th in 31:21) and he was followed by Tony Hackett (91st in 35:43). Kate Murray was the next athlete to cross the line, placing 107th, 17th and 3rd F50 in 37:03, and she was followed by Robbie Moore (113th in 37:48) and Martina White (131st and 27th in 40:18). Members who train with Sean Murphy on Saturday mornings in the Phoenix Park may be interested to hear that Sean ran 31:07 for 44th place.

On Friday, Sean’s wife, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, ran in the flat and fast Bohermeen 5k as the sole representative of the club. Dee placed 170th overall in the 363-strong field, also crossing the line as 45th female finisher and 5th F45. Again, on Friday, we had a runner in the Balbriggan Summerfest 5k. In a field of 251, Seamus Moore placed 10th in a time of 18:58.

Not to be forgotten last week, Máirín Shine participated in a 5k race organised by a new club, West Sligo AC, on the coast near Easky in Co. Sligo on Tuesday evening where she finished in a time of 28:42 for 32nd place in a field of 49.

One of the highlights of the bank holiday weekend was the annual running of the Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin, the women-only 10k race that in the past has enjoyed fields of over 40,000 runners. This year’s event, taking place in brilliant sunshine after midday on Sunday and extremely warm conditions, saw a diminished field of under 17,000 runners, but still an impressive event with such numbers. In previous years the race has incorporated the Co. Dublin 10k championships. However, this year, following the introduction of the AAI one day licence fee, otherwise known as the levy, the organisers chose not to seek an AAI race permit or charge the levy and as a result the championships did not take place, a rather odd outcome considering that the championship runners would not have had to pay the levy anyway. The team element of the race was also, unfortunately, absent as a result.

It did not take too much away from the event and we still saw a decent turnout of club runners, including at least 20 Crusaders. They were led home by Aoife Quigley who ran a brilliant race, often in no man’s land, to place 23rd in 39:48, recording negative splits in the process, one of several to do this among our contingent. The race course takes runners from Wilton Terrace in Donnybrook down the N11 to the UCD flyover just after 5k and then back down Nutley and onto the Merrion Road straight into the finish on Pembroke Road. Ordinarily, it’s quite a fast course, but of course with so many runners on it, it would have been harder for those starting further back to achieve anything close to PBs.

Aoife was followed by Kathryn Sweeney who placed 34th in 42:00, just ahead of Cría Dowling who also recorded negative splits in her 42:23 for 41st place. Joanne Carey followed (73rd in 44:37) with Emily Quinlan (78th in 45:06) and Nina Holmes (79th in 45:13) not so far behind. Tara Gavin also had a good race placing 87th in 45:47 with Aoife Matthews (92nd in 46:01) just behind. Olwyn Dunne also ran negative splits in recording a time of 46:14 for a top 100th place finish (98th).

Not so far back came Emily Glen (112th in 46:51) and Emily was followed home by Anna Brown (302nd in a negative split time of 50:29). Another runner with negative splits was Aoife Cowhie who was next (340th in 52:28), and Aoife was followed by Kelly Brown (410th in 53:25). We had 3 more runners recording negative splits. They were Hattie Hall (866th in 52:10), Anna Hernick (1243rd in 55:45) and Amish Mehta (6206th in 1:24:29). In between came Edel Doherty (1318th in 52:26) and Djinn von Noorden (4769th in 1:14:26) and they were followed by Cynthia Perucca (13,969th in 1:53:05). Tanja Narancic also ran but unfortunately had to drop out after about 2k, having not shaken off an injury from which she has been suffering recently.

The other really major event on the roads over the weekend took place in the city of Cork, where, on Sunday runners took part in full and half marathons as well as a new 10k race this year. Again, as in Dublin, the events took place in sunny and extremely warm conditions, and there was likely quite a high level of attrition in the longer races as a result, not ideal conditions for a marathon.

Four Crusaders completed the marathon. In a field of 1,800 finishers, Rob Browne was our first man home, placing 33rd in 2:52:55. Rob was followed by two Frenchmen, Tim Francony (73rd in 3:02:01) and Christophe Marsan (184th in 3:18:34). Further back, and supporting Sanctuary Runners, came Kevin Kenny (962nd in 4:16:49). The field in the half marathon was almost double that of the marathon at about 3,250. We had at least 8 runners in that event, led home by Alby Allan (116th in 1:30:26). Alby was followed by Ciara Lynch, surprisingly with yet another PB, placing 161st and 12th female finisher in 1:33:16. Cian Coughlan was next, running 1:37:03 for 209th spot, and he was followed somewhat further back by Diarmuid Fahey (419th in 1:44:31) and by Conor Lydon (962nd in 1:56:24). Ger Forde paced his nephew running his first half, in 1:57:49, placing 1,047th and Ger was followed by Aitor Arribas Velasco (1083rd in 1:56:26) and Áine Crotty who had volunteered to pace the 2:30 runners, placing 2,761st in an accurate time of 2:29:28!

Members may also be interested to hear that Shane Collins, an ex-Crusader now running in his native county for Leevale, placed 5th in a time of 2:30:58.

We had only the one athlete in the inaugural 10k. However, he did us proud in that race. Brian O’Kelly joined an amazing field of around 3,800 runners, taking 2nd place in 32:35, just 25s behind the winner Denis Hegarty (32:10).

Further afield over the weekend, Marty James ran in the Mansfield Marathon in Australia where he placed 5th in 3:08:50 and, in Italy, Italo Giancaterina won the XI Corri Marruvium 8.75k set in San Benedetto Dei Marsi on a twisty and slightly undulating street course. Italo’s winning time was 29:26 for the distance.

Moving on to the mountain, there were two IMRA races in which we likely had participation. On Wednesday evening runners competed in a Leinster Trail League race, the Devil’s Glen in Co. Wicklow. It involved a 283m climb in a race of 8km, following the Seamus Heaney and Waterfall walks at Devil’s Glen. Jason Kehoe placed 4th and awarded 1st M40 in the race in a time of 34:43 and he was followed by Gavan Doherty who placed 86 in a field of 165 in a time of 46:54.

The other race was the Leinster Championship event in Fraughan Rock Glen in Co. Wicklow. It involved a climb of 770m in a race measuring just over 10k. We had 2 Crusaders who finished the race. Paul Flynn placed 12th in a field of 36 finishers in 1:28:57, whilst Gavan Doherty took 28th spot in 2:05:11.

We had runners in quite a few parkruns on Saturday morning, some of the runs being less familiar than normal, reflecting the fact that some members were away for the bank holiday weekend and accordingly were taking advantage of there being a parkrun near where they were staying.

Stephen Hurley and Rebecca Fleming took the honours this week as first finishers. Once again, Stephen led the field home in Poolbeg, leaving 121 runners in his wake as he recorded a time of 17:18. Behind Stephen came a smaller contingent than normal from the club. Daniel Sheridan placed 7th in 19:10 and he was followed by Russell Murphy (50th in 24:13), Gillian Curran (61st and 10th in 25:41), Cliodhna O’Reilly (63rd and 11th in 25:50) and Una McCullagh (89th and 21st in 29:28). Rebecca joined 53 other runners in Brickfields, where she placed 6th and 1st in 21:44. The only other podium place went to Eddie Nugent in Cabinteely. In a field of 131, Eddie placed 3rd in 19:24 and he was followed home by Stephen Mulligan in 85th place in 30:26. Meanwhile, just off the podium, Darina Scully joined 119 other participants in Gorey where she placed 24th and 4th in 23:48.

We had a few 5th place finishers, with Máirín Shine placing 22nd and 5th in 27:51 in a field of 40 in Narin Beach, whilst Michael Wycherley, on a trip to Suffolk, ran in Bury St. Edmunds where he also placed 5th in a time of 19:27 in a field of 238. Finally, Michael O’Conor headed north to Lisburn where he ran in Wallace Park, placing 5th in 19:00 in a field of 191.

Maureen McGinley joined 71 other participants on Bere Island in Co. Cork where she ran 28:54 for 20th and 6th places in a time of 28:54, whilst Sharon Woods took 7th female spot in Tymon Park. In a field of 105, Sharon placed 33rd overall in a time of 24:58. Further afield, Kevin Kavanagh and James Moran took on Listowel, where Kevin placed 7th in 18:56 and James took 26th spot in 26:49. The field there measured 59. Lisa Shine ran along with 107 other runners in Oldbridge, where she placed 73rd and 21st in 29:39, whilst Brendan Glynn ran in a field of 173 in Donabate, taking 33rd spot in a time of 23:12. Andy Deuser found himself in a field of 221 in Fairview, where he placed 19th in 22:12, whilst Eoghan Corrigan crossed the finishing line in 7th spot in 21:25 in the 83-strong field in Avondale.

John Lohan and Tara Murphy ran in Deerpark Forest in Virginia, Cavan, where John ran 26:05 for 18th place and Tara, 34th and 9th in 30:44, in a field of 51, whilst Liam Lyster took 22nd spot in 43:20 in a field of 33 in Strokestown. Kevin Flynn placed 75th in 37:07 in the 89-strong field in Porterstown, whilst Diarmuid Byrne and Paul F. Kelly ran in Poppintree. Alongside 144 other runners, Diarmuid placed 28th in 23:20, whilst Paul ran 25:04 for 49th spot. Finally, we had 3 runners in Shanganagh. Olwyn Dunne took 77th and 14th places in 25:29, ahead of Orlaith de Burca (119th and 35th in 29:06) and Carina Davidson (166th and 65th in 38:03). The field measured 177.

BHAA Govt. Services 5-mile road race (186)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:24:59
33 Jane Cahill 1 00:30:41
Crusaders AC runners
13 Joe McDermott 00:28:21
30 Eddie Nugent 00:30:31
42 Adrienne Jordan 00:31:02 (2)
48 Karl Walsh 00:31:21
91 Anthony Hackett 00:35:43
107 Kate Murray 00:37:03 (17)
113 Robbie Moore 00:37:48
131 Martina White 00:40:18 (27)
Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/BHAA%202023%20Govt%20Services%205%20mile%20result.pdf
Balbriggan Summer Fest 5k (251)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ronan Dunphy 1 00:16:47
14 Grace Culhane 1 00:19:40
Crusaders AC runner
10 Seamus Moore 00:18:58
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/balbriggan_summerfest_5k_2023/4783/results
Women’s Mini Marathon (16506)
Overall place Name Chiptime
1 Nakita Burke 00:34:25
Crusaders AC runners
23 Aoife Quigley 00:39:48
34 Kathryn Sweeney 00:42:00
41 Cría Dowling 00:42:23
73 Joanne Carey 00:44:37
78 Emily Quinlan 00:45:06
79 Nina Holmes 00:45:13
87 Tara Gavin 00:45:47
92 Aoife Matthews 00:46:01
98 Olwyn Dunne 00:46;14
112 Emily Glen 00:46:51
302 Anna Brown 00:50:29
340 Aoife Cowhie 00:52:28
410 Kelly Brown 00:53:25
866 Hattie Hall 00:52:10
1243 Anne Hernick 00:55:45
1318 Edel Doherty 00:52:26
5769 Djinn von Noorden 01:14:26
6206 Amisha Mehta 01:24:29
13969 Cynthia Perucca 01:53:05
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=3930#0_2CA866
Bohermeen 5k (363)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Aaron Hanlon 1 00:15:07
28 Aine Cotter 1 00:16:57
Crusaders AC runner
170 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:43 (45)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/patrick_bell__nicky_philips_5k_bohermeen_ac/4661/results
Cork Marathon (1800)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Pawel Kosek 1 02:28:22
26 Georgie Bruinvels 1 02:49:56
Crusaders AC runners
33 Robert Browne 02:52:55
73 Tim Francony 03:02:01
184 Christophe Marsan 03:18:34
962 Kevin Kenny 04:16:49
Full results here: https://www.corkcitymarathon.ie/
Cork Half Marathon (3250)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ryan Creech 1 01:06:44
36 Aoife O’Leary 1 01:23:38
Crusaders AC runners
116 Alby Allan 01:30:26
161 Ciara Lynch 01:33:16 (PB) (12)
209 Cian Coughlan 01:37:03
419 Diarmuid Fahey 01:44:31
962 Conor Lydon 01:56:24
1047 Ger Forde 01:57:49
1083 Aitor Arribas Velasco 01:56:26
2761 Áine Crotty 02:29:28 (PACER)
Full results here: https://www.corkcitymarathon.ie/
Cork 10k (3800)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Denis Hegarty 1 00:32:10
19 Lizzie Lee 1 00:35:13
Crusaders AC runner
2 Brian O’Kelly 00:32:35
Full results here: https://www.corkcitymarathon.ie/
IMRA Fraughan Rock Glen (36)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Bernard Fortune 1 01:14:00
16 Anna Michael 1 01:35:16
Crusaders AC runners
12 Paul Flynn 01:28:57
28 Gavan Doherty 02:05:11
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2319/
IMRA Devil’s Glen 8k (165)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Karol Cronin 1 00:31:33
5 Edel Monaghan 1 00:34:45
Crusaders AC runners
5 Jason Kehoe 00:34:43
86 Gavan Doherty 00:46:54
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2301/
Deerpark Forest, Virginia Parkrun (69)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Pauric Brady 1 00:19:58
6 Cindy Hickey 1 00:21:50
Crusaders AC runners
18 John Lohan 00:26:05
34 Tara Murphy 00:30:44 (9)
Wallace, Lisburn Parkrun (191)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gary Green 1 00:18:00
29 Stephanie Hawkins 1 00:22:36
Crusaders AC runner
5 Michael O’Conor 00:19:00
Narin Beach Parkrun (40)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Eimear English 1 00:19:45
2 Kevin Haughey 1 00:20:25
Crusaders AC runner
22 Máirín Shine 00:27:51 (5)
Shanganagh Parkrun (177)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Drew Donohoe 1 00:18:45
5 Cynthia Parsons 1 00:20:05
Crusaders AC runners
77 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:29 (14)
119 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:06 (35)
166 Carina Davidson 00:38:03 (65)
Fairview Parkrun (221)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Patrick Keeney 1 00:18:39
12 Alannah Neff 1 00:21:38
Crusaders AC runner
19 Andy Deuser 00:22:12
Avondale Parkrun (83)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Karl Milligan 1 00:19:12
4 Catherine O’Connor 1 00:19:53
Crusaders AC runner
7 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:25
Poppintree Parkrun (146)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Lee Duddy 1 00:18:08
4 Celine Gavin 1 00:18:59
Crusaders AC runners
28 Diarmuid Byrne 00:23:20
49 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:04
Poolbeg Parkrun (122)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:18
24 Orla Felcey 1 00:22:00
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:18
7 Daniel Sheridan 00:19:10
50 Russell Murphy 00:24:13
61 Gillian Curran 00:25:41 (10)
63 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:50 (11)
89 Una McCullagh 00:29:28 (21)
Tymon Parkrun (105)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Nagle 1 00:17:55
2 Clara Kinsella 1 00:19:19
Crusaders AC runner
33 Sharon Woods 00:24:58 (7)
Cabinteely Parkrun (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ros Clancy 1 00:18:51
19 Lynn McMahon 1 00:22:50
Crusaders AC runners
3 Eddie Nugent 00:19:24
85 Stephen Mulligan 00:30:26
Donabate Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Catherina McKiernan 1 00:18:56
2 Dino Higgins 1 00:19:26
Crusaders AC runner
33 Brendan Glynn 00:23:12
Gorey Parkrun (120)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Colin McShane 1 00:19:33
13 Freyja O’Carroll 1 00:22:28
Crusaders AC runner
24 Darina Scully 00:23:48 (4)
Porterstown Parkrun (89)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kevin Kelly 1 00:18:42
7 Maria Kaczmarek 1 00:22:08
Crusaders AC runner
75 Kevin Flynn 00:37:07
Oldbridge Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Vincent McQuillan 1 00:19:17
17 Bernie Balfe 1 00:22:32
Crusaders AC runner
73 Lisa Shine 00:29:39 (21)
Bere Island Parkrun (72)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Thomas Owens 1 00:20:31
4 Michelagh Murphy 1 00:22:01
Crusaders AC runner
20 Maureen McGinley 00:28:54 (6)
Listowel Parkrun (59)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 James Dillon 1 00:17:33
11 Noelle Dillon 1 00:21:54
Crusaders AC runners
7 Kevin Kavanagh 00:18:56
26 James Moran 00:26:49
Brickfields Parkrun (54)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Charlie Johnston 1 00:19:12
6 Rebecca Fleming 1 00:21:44
Crusaders AC runner
6 Rebecca Fleming 00:21:44 (1)
Strokestown Parkrun (33)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Arthur Donnelly 1 00:19:57
3 Maura Ginty 1 00:24:09
Crusaders AC runner
22 Liam Lyster 00:43:20