![]() New Year resolutions were in clear evidence in the parkruns on Saturday morning with many seeing their usual participations swelled. However, the highlights of the weekend took place in St. Anne’s Park in Raheny on Sunday afternoon with the Dublin Masters’ XC Championships, along with the start of the National Indoor Track and Field League up in Abbotstown, not to mention the return with the New Year of the first of the BHAA cross country meets. We start with the Dublin Championships with its 4 races on a chilly day, involving the participation of nearly 30 Crusaders among the 460 athletes who ran. The flattish 1500m course is much the same as the one used last year, with its mixture of spongy and muddy grass and hardish wooded trail, crossing tarmac paths from time to time (and avoiding the narrow path with the log barrier that we used to have to leap over and try avoid impaling our spikes in the wood). However, this year the start of one or two of the shorter races took place in a slightly different part of the park to ensure a more accurate distance. Conditions were pretty good for the races, in that what wind there was had no real impact and the ground was only a little slippery in places. Runners might have got away with not wearing spikes, but on reflection they did provide an element of confidence in the muddier areas, particularly in the wooded section to maintain the racing line, and also it would not have been cross country without them! The other change this year was the number of races involved. Instead of 2 races there were now 4. The O/50 ladies and the O/65 men were given their own event at the start of the programme and, therefore, for once, they were provided with a much clearer space in which to run, not finding themselves in a stampeding herd of younger and much faster runners, providing them with some limelight and in fact faster times than last year. The result was a much more exciting event for both runners and spectators alike, although the overall winner of the mixed race (international runner Annette Kealy of Raheny) was never going to be in doubt and she duly obliged. However, behind her four of the eighteen O/65 men in the race were quite well bunched and there was a good dogfight between them at least for the first two thirds of the 3k race. James Cottle found himself in that group and managed to hang on for 3rd M65 and the bronze medal, placing 4th overall in the mixed race in a time of 12:58, just 2 seconds off 2nd M65 place, and nearly a minute faster than in 2022, the winner of the age category (Tom Loftus of Raheny in 12:47) successfully defending his title. Máirín Shine also ran in the race and earned herself F65 bronze with a time of 17:50, this despite still being slightly under the weather and suffering from a seasonal cough. We had 5 other runners in the race: Triona Quill placed 10th F50 in 14:20, followed by Olwyn Dunne who placed 8th F55 in 14:34 (highly creditable after having completed a marathon run only a few days earlier), Aoife Cowhie (27th F50 in 16:05), Maureen McGinley (17th F55 in 17:12) and Mairead Cashman (18th F55 in 17:47). The next race involved the men’s 50-64 categories, run over 6k. Paul Cowhie had an exceptional race, running for most of the event in 6th place but finally squeezing through to take 4th place overall and winning the gold medal in the O/55 category in a time of 23:02. Robbie Moore was running in the same age group and he placed 32nd in the category in 30:01. We also had 3 runners in the M50 category. They were led home by Neil Brown who placed 24th in the category in 27:39, followed by Kevin Lambe (26th in 27:44) and Gian Piero Allerta (45th in 31:51). The four scorers of Paul, Neil. Kevin and Robbie placed 11th in the team competition. The following event involved women in a substantial field aged from 35 to 49 and was a race where we collected more medals. Aoife Quigley led the contingent home, with a super performance, running for much of the race in 6th place overall, but, spurred on towards the end by a bit of nip and tuck with fellow Crusader Clare Sullivan, just returning from injury, she managed to grab 5th place overall and the bronze medal in the F35 category in a time of 16:44 for the 4k distance. Clare also performed well to place 7th overall and 5th F35 in 16:49. Another strong run came from Niamh Corby who placed 12th overall and winning the silver medal in the F45 category with a time of 17:12 which she must have been delighted with, as was Miriam Logan who deftly worked her way through the field as the 4th scorer in the team to place 19th overall and 10th in the F35 category in a time of 18:00. The combined score of the 4 women gave them the bronze medal in the team competition, a much-deserved outcome for our club’s contribution in a tough quality field. The "spoilers" who helped push runners from other clubs down the field were Joanne Carey (23rd overall and 7th F40 in 18:14), Gill Earley just behind (24th and 8th F40), Amy Wright (31st and 13th F35), ladies’ captain Rebecca Fleming (33rd and 14th F35 in 18:40), Emer Kenny (46th and 17th in 19:09), Fiona Shine (50th and 19th F35 in 19:16), Lisa Shine (60th and 20th F35 in 19:45) and Kate Murray (71st and 26th F45 in 20:06). The last race of the day was for the men’s 35-49 age categories, another 6k, involving 4 laps of the course, like the earlier men’s race. We had 5 runners in the race with a significant field and the contingent were led home by Ciarain Kelly (29th overall and 11th M35 in 23:20). Incidentally, Ciarain’s twin brother, Sean, runs for Raheny and he placed 34th overall and 14th M35 in 23:38. Daniel Lowe managed to take fellow team-mate Joe McDermott on the line, placing 41st overall and 15th M35 in 23:48 (Joe placing 42nd and 16th M35 in 23:49). The 4th scorer on the men’s team was Eddie Nugent (84th and 25th M45) in 25:03, meaning that the team placed 6th out of 16 teams competing, a noble effort. Karl Walsh was our final runner home on the day, placing 166th overall and 53rd M45 in 29:28. Well done to everyone who competed and also a huge thankyou to the many members who came out to encourage so vociferously! Also, on Sunday we saw the start of the men’s T&F indoor league in the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown. A small contingent from the club did us proud by competing in most of the events on offer. There were also guest events in which we featured too. In the 60m dash Valantinos Goularas placed 3rd in his heat in 7.41, the 7th fastest time across the heats. Oscar Sherry took on the 800m, placing 4th in his heat in 2:10.18 (the 8th fastest overall). Then Hugo Magee was pretty emphatic in his 200m heat, in which he placed 2nd in 22.31, the 3rd fastest on the day. The final two track events were the 3000m, in which we saw Matthew Ryan take place 8th place overall in 10:07.70 and the 4x400m relay (with Peter Murphy, Hugo Magee, Charlie Bastow and Sean Owens) where the team placed 3rd in the heat with the 6th fastest time. We also took part in two field events: Matthew Ryan put the shot 9.31m to place 5th overall, whilst Matt Behan went out of his comfort zone to compete in the long jump where he leapt into 4th place overall with a jump of 6.06m. Valantinos and Matt also ran together in a two man 60mH guest event, with Valantinos just getting the better of his training partner with a run of 8.23. Matt ran 8.28. A good start to the season for them. Back to cross-country where, on Saturday morning, the BHAA organised a combined 6k race, sponsored by Bank of Ireland, in Tymon Park. On a familiar undulating muddy course in chilly conditions, 117 runners took on the multi-lap challenge including at least 11 Crusaders. Michael Kiely led our club-mates home in 3rd place in 23:21 (just 19s behind race winner Luke McMullan), followed by John Mulvihill who took 5th place in 23:54. Michael O’Conor came next (10th in 24:19), followed by Karl Walsh (40th in 27:31), Enda Currid (46th in 29:28), Pat Quill (55th in 29:28), David O’Donnell (61st in 29:53), Robbie Moore (63rd in 30:01), Anthony Hackett (69th in 30:19) and coaches Mike McGovern (82nd and 3rd M65 in 32:06) and Susan Walsh (97th overall, 12th female finisher and 1st F60 in 35:25). Although Crusaders participated in only 13 parkruns on Saturday morning, there were lots of our clubmates in evidence and we had a usual first finish outcome in a couple of them too. Poolbeg witnessed the participation of at least 15 members of the club. Stephen Hurley and Kate O’Malley did the double by both finishing first. In the field of 133 Stephen ran 19:17 followed by Kate in 2nd place overall in 19:27. Behind them came Anthony Owens (14th in 21:21), James Moran (38th in 23:41), Josie Ward (41st and 5th in 23:53), Russell Murphy (47th in 24:45), David Willis (52nd in 24:59), Emily Glen (58th and 10th in 25:28), Gillian Curran (66th and 14th in 26:27), Maureen McGinley (80th and 20th in 27:44), Una McCullagh (89th and 25th in 28:16), Aisling O’Riordan (91st and 26th in 28:20), Kevin Kavanagh (111th in 31:16), Niamh Trihy (114th and 36th in 32:59) and Kevin Kenny (115th and the same time). Luke Davis was a first finisher too in Cabinteely, where he led the field of 150 home in 19:39. Luke was followed by Dee Lawlor who placed 3rd in 19:52 and by Emma O’Mahony (69th and 15th in 28:35), and by Stephen Mulligan (78th in 29:39). Toby Benham took on Tramore Valley in Co. Cork where he placed 2nd in a field of 167 in a time of 18:09, whilst Ross Neill ran in Ormeau Park in Belfast where, in a field of 469., he placed 3rd in 18:22. Darina Scully also managed to make it onto the podium, this time in River valley where she placed 14th and 3rd in 25:06. Darina was followed in the field of 141 by Brian Scanlan (22nd in 26:21). Finally, Peter O’Toole was another podium finisher, placing 2nd in a significant field of 525 in St. Anne’s Raheny. Peter ran 17:24 and he was followed by Paul F. Kelly (27th in 20:38) and Michael Maughan (84th in 23:13). In Oldbridge Susanne English ran 28:36 for 72nd and 7th places in a field of 102, whilst Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok, Glasgow, where in a field of 304 he placed 83rd in a time of 25:12. Mairead Cashman took 146th and 49th spots in Bushy Park. In a field of 218, Mairead ran 30:40, whilst Diarmuid Byrne and Maria Pertl participated in Poppintree. In a field of 165, Diarmuid placed 100th in 31:02, whilst Maria tailwalked. We had three runners alongside the 209 other participants in Shanganagh: Carina Davidson took 74th and 11th spots in 26:04, followed by Olwyn Dunne (88th and 19th in 26:49) and Orlaith de Burca (160th and 55th in 31:01). John Lohan and Tara Murphy took advantage of a trip to London to run in the Burgess Parkrun in Camberwell, south of the river, where, in a field of 516, John placed 94th in 22:31 and Tara took 235th and 42nd spots in 25:59. Finally, we had at least 10 participants run in Marlay Park, several of them, like others listed elsewhere, doing the event as a warm up for the following day’s cross country. In a huge field of 623 (numbers swelled by juvenile GAA players doing their annual parkrun), Eoghan Corrigan placed 84th in 22:50, followed by Caroline Crowley with a buggy (121st and 9th in 23:58), Ruairi Short (239th in 26:40), Áine Crotty (347th and 70th in 29:23), Regina Kelly (383rd and 83rd in 30:18) and Emer Kenny (427th and 105th in 31:17). Irene Gorman, Aoife Quigley, James Cottle and Rebecca Fleming also had decent runs there. BHAA Bank of Ireland 6k XC (117) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Luke McMullan 1 00:23:02 4 Laura Buckley 1 00:23:43 Crusaders AC runners 3 Michael Kiely 00:23:21 5 John Mulvihill 00:23:54 10 Michael O’Conor 00:24:19 40 Karl Walsh 00:27:31 46 Enda Currid 00:28:25 55 Pat Quill 00:29:28 61 David O’Donnell 00:29:53 63 Robbie Moore 00:30:01 69 Anthony Hackett 00:30:19 82 Michael McGovern 00:32:06 97 Susan Walsh 00:35:25 (12) Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Race%20Master%202023%20Bank%20of%20Ireland%206k%20CC-2.pdf Ormeau Parkrun (469) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brendan Mullan 1 00:18:06 12 Caitlin Malone 1 00:20:07 Crusaders AC runner 3 Ross Neill 00:18:22 Marlay Parkrun (623) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eoin Molloy 1 00:15:50 24 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:25 Crusaders AC runners 84 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:50 121 Caroline Crowley 00:23:58 239 Ruairi Short 00:26:40 347 Áine Crotty 00:29:23 (70) 383 Regina Kelly 00:30:18 (83) 427 Emer Kenny 00:31:17 (105) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (167) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John O’Mahony 1 00:17:31 7 Orla Byrne 1 00:19:07 Crusaders AC runner 2 Toby Benham 00:18:09 Shanganagh Parkrun (212) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Callery 1 00:17:41 26 Maria O’Dwyer 1 00:22:40 Crusaders AC runners 74 Carina Davidson 00:26:04 (11) 88 Olwyn Dunne 00:26:49 (19) 160 Orlaith de Burca 00:31:01 (55) Oldbridge Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Robbie Keane 1 00:17:26 2 Dearbhla Allen 1 00:18:47 Crusaders AC runner 72 Susanne English 00:28:36 (7) Poppintree Parkrun (165) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Henry 1 00:17:50 8 Amy Greene 1 00:20:18 Crusaders AC runner 100 Diarmuid Byrne 00:31:02 160 Maria Pertl 00:55:27 (61) Cabinteely Parkrun (150) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Davis 1 00:19:39 5 Cristin Scollard 1 00:20:08 Crusaders AC runners 1 Luke Davis 00:19:39 3 Dee Lawlor 00:19:52 69 Emma O’Mahony 00:28:35 (15) 78 Stephen Mulligan 00:29:39 River Valley Parkrun (141) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Damien Purcell 1 00:20:52 2 Ciara Sheedy 1 00:20:53 Crusaders AC runners 14 Darina Scully 00:25:06 (3) 22 Brian Scanlan 00:26:21 Bushy Parkrun (218) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Kenny 1 00:18:59 19 Bernadette Crowley 1 00:22:07 Crusaders AC runner 146 Mairead Cashman 00:30:40 (49) Poolbeg Parkrun (133) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:19:17 3 Kate O’Malley 1 00:19:27 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:19:17 3 Kate O’Malley 00:19:27 (1) 14 Anthony Owens 00:21:21 38 James Moran 00:23:41 41 Josie Ward 00:23:53 (5) 47 Russell Murphy 00:24:45 52 David Willis 00:24:59 58 Emily Glen 00:25:28 (10) 66 Gillian Curran 00:26:27 (14) 80 Maureen McGinley 00:27:44 (20) 89 Una McCullagh 00:28:16 (25) 91 Aisling O’Riordan 00:28:20 (26) 111 Kevin Kavanagh 00:31:16 114 Niamh Trihy 00:32:59 (36) 115 Kevin Kenny 00:32:59 St. Anne’s Parkrun (525) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Lyons 1 00:17:11 4 Siobhan Eviston 1 00:17:56 Crusaders AC runners 2 Peter O’Toole 00:17:24 27 Paul F. Kelly 00:20:38 84 Michael Maughan 00:23:13 Comments are closed.
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