Great Runs in National 10k road championships

10/4/2022

Great Ireland Run Start (with Kieran Little 2nd from right)

The Great Ireland Run took place this weekend, and, as usual, it incorporated the National 10k Championships. For reasons possibly related to Covid, the early start of 9:00 (in chilly conditions) and the challenges nowadays of parking in the Phoenix Park, the field at just over 1,300 finishers was significantly smaller than in years gone by. Still, we were able to field a super group of runners who were able to make an impact. We had 19 athletes in the race, 15 of whom broke 40 minutes on the new but challenging course.

The new course takes runners from the Chesterfield Ave end of the Furze Road, up to the roundabout just before the Castleknock Gates, then west along the Ordnance Survey Road and down the Upper Glen Road to just below the hospital in the park. Here, runners encountered their first significant hill as they climbed up to the Acres, passing the Papal Cross on their left, then, at the Phoenix Roundabout, back up Chesterfield Avenue (likely into the moderate NW wind) to the top roundabout again and along the Ordnance Survey Road and this time down the Furry Glen beside the small lake at the bottom, only to come up the second significant hill back onto the Upper Glen Road, with a hairpin switchback turn at the top to take the runners back along the Upper Glen Road to the Furze Road and the finish line.

Unsurprisingly, Mick Clohisey dominated the race, with only one runner, Jamie Fallon, remotely close. Indeed, Mick’s attack on the second hill was a sight to behold as he put more distance between himself and the Craughwell runner. Crusaders’ Kieran Little had a truly super race for 11th position in a great time of 33:08 and, together with Michael Kiely (15th in 33:35), Ciaran Diviney (26th in 34:08) and Daniel Lowe (35th in 34:37), likely took home the men’s senior team gold medals. All championship results have to be confirmed, but there should be little doubt about this result once corrections have been made(!). Ciaran also took the bronze medal in the M45 age category, as did Michael Kiley in the M35 age group. The next runner from the club was Michael Wycherley, a mere 7 seconds behind Daniel in a time of 34:44 for 37th place, and Michael likely led Joe McDermott (48th in 35:25) and Jan Manschot (56th in 35:54) to team bronze in the O/35 men’s team competition. Interestingly, Paul Cowhie placed 52nd in 35:53 and, although he placed second M55, because his transfer from Civil Service Harriers only takes effect at the end of the month, he was ineligible for either team or individual medals. Still, he deserves major congratulations for such an excellent result.

The medal winners were followed by our “spoilers” (i.e. those runners whose finishing places push back team scorers from other clubs), who were led home by Toby Benham (72nd in 36:40). Toby was followed by Frank Halligan in his first race in a while (74th in 36:48), Maurice Kelter (121st in 37:50), who is nursing a knee injury, Kevin Fitzgibbon (124th in 38:46), giving himself a dress rehearsal for the following day’s Gaelforce 10k, Rory Goldsmith (159th in 39:39), David Long, another runner (and 59-year old) making a great return to racing (147th in 39:50), David McEvoy (191st in 41:27), Kieran Martin (204th in 39:22), who started from well back in the field, Will Holton (233rd in 42:32), Emily Glen (496th and 105th female finisher in 49:31) and late starter, Carina Davidson (1,054th and 321st in 65:20).

On Sunday, we had three runners in the Gaelforce Kippure 10k in Wicklow, involving two separate 5k loops near Kippure Mountain. The first 4k involved a climb of nearly 300m and was an extremely challenging trail race. The event attracted nearly 500 runners and Kevin Fitzgibbon, fresh from his run in the Phoenix Park the day before distinguished himself with a podium place, taking 3rd position in a time of 50:37. Not too far back came Valentin Akdim, in training for a race in the Pyrenees later this year, who took 6th spot in 51:52. Further back came Stephen McBrinn in 234th place in a time of 79:29.

Further afield, we had 3 runners take part in the Rotterdam Marathon and they were led home in a PB performance from Paul Dempsey who ran 2:38:57 in metronomic style. The anti-clockwise one loop course is relatively flat, except for a few bridges and the odd underpass and the cool conditions were ideal even though there was a reasonably strong wind on the course in places. Marty James followed Paul home in 3:04:36, with our third runner, Cormac McGuire finishing in a satisfying 3:39:23. Many congrats to them. Interestingly and sadly, Stephen Scullion was the leading Irish hope in the race and his 2:14:32 time, although excellent, could have been much better if he had not had to borrow another runner’s shoes that were too tight for him and forced him to walk for a spell at 37km after he was on for a time potentially around 2:11. The shoes that he had brought with him to the race may not have met the current eligibility requirements, necessitating the need to borrow someone else’s. He may also have missed out on automatic qualifying for the European championships by a couple of seconds as a result.

The IMRA website is currently down, but it looks as though there were no races this weekend on which to report. If this proves not to have been the case, then the report will be updated.

Word comes from Italy where, once again, our Italian exile, Italo Giancaterina, has recorded another PB. This time was on the track in a 10k race in Palaindoor Ancona, where Italo placed 10th in a PB time of 32:34. Also, news from Spain indicates that Pablo Sanchez, our Spanish exile, won the Spanish National 1 mile road championships over the weekend in a time of 4:31, one second ahead of his closest rival. Also, over the weekend congrats should go to Donnacha McCarthy, our visually impaired triathlete, who with his partner became middle distance European duathlon champion.

Numbers in the parkruns were all over the place this weekend. Some were significantly up and some significantly down. We participated in more than 15 of them and had podium places in a few. Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri led the 10-person contingent home in a field of 106 in Poolbeg. In our local parkrun where we regularly feature, Cristian was first finisher for the men in 17:39, with Esther 3rd overall in a PB time of 19:54. Behind Cristian came Daniel Sheridan in 2nd place with a time of 19:48 and he was followed by David Timoney (7th in 20:54), Kenan Furlong (10th in 21:21), Sharon Woods (12th and 4th in a PB time of 21:32), Josie Ward (27th and 7th in 23:27), Gillian Curran (36th and 12th in 24:12), Kate Healy (69th and 26th in 26:36) and Una McCullagh (70th and 27th in 26:46). Alma Hanevy and Caroline Crowley were first finishers in their respective events. Alma ran in Mullingar, where, in a field of 94, she placed 6th overall in a time of 21:23, whilst Caroline ran in Castletown, where, in a field of 148, she placed 16th overall in a time of 21:25. In a modest field of 8 in Narin Beach, Aoife Kelly placed 4th overall and 1st female finisher in a time of 29:03, followed by Paul F. Kelly in 5th in a time of 29:04. Paul McNamara ran in Tramore, and led a field of 76 home in a time of 18:26. Richard Healy placed 2nd in Shanganagh in 18:40, followed by Stephen Mulligan (24th in 23:12). The field there measured 173. Further afield, our London-based exile Kate O’Malley placed 11th and 2nd in a field of 260 and in time of 19:43. Meanwhile, Karl Walsh took 4th spot in Naas in a time of 18:33 as he joined 100 other runners, whilst Eddie Nugent placed 5th in Cabinteely in 20:09. Among the 113 runners, Lisa Shine placed 49th and 13th in 29:11, followed by Mairin Shine (56th and 19th in 29:59) and Emma O’Mahony (57th and 20th in 30:01). In Bushy Park, Kate Murray placed 39th and 9th in a field of 158 and in a time of 24:15, whilst Brian Scanlan, shortly on his way to compete with Olwyn Dunne, Warren Swords and Lydia Bigley among others from the club no doubt in Boston, had a blow out in Malahide where he placed 7th in 20:05. Among the field of 224, Deirdre Kennedy also ran, recording a time of 28:27 for 135th and 34th places. Colm Foley ran with 122 other participants in Griffeen Park where he placed 17th in 22:57, whilst Mary Noelle Rohan joined 44 other runners in Waterstown where she placed 28th and 8th in 31:36. In River Valley, Mairead Cashman took 41st and 12th places in 29:18, with Darina Scully tailwalking at the back of the field of 83 runners, whilst Kevin Flynn ran in Portstown in a field of 66. He recorded a time of 32:37 for 49th spot. Finally, several of our female clubmates joined Sarah Lyons for her “hen” parkrun in St. Anne’s Raheny. Sarah, Isabelle Cairns, Kathryn Sweeney, Emer Kenny and Rebecca Fleming all recorded a time of around 29:35 for 76th through 80th places (228 through 232nd overall). The field measured 357.

As usual, please let us know of any errors or omissions. Many thanks!

Great Ireland Run National 10K championships (1316)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mick Clohisey 1 00:30:49
30 Sinead O’Connor 1 00:34:20
Crusaders AC runners
11 Kieran Little 00:33:08
15 Michael Kiely 00:33:35
26 Ciaran Diviney 00:34:08
35 Daniel Lowe 00:34:37
37 Michael Wycherley 00:34:44
48 Joe McDermott 00:35:25
52 Paul Cowhie 00:35:53
56 Jan Manschot 00:35:54
72 Toby Benham 00:36:40
74 Frank Halligan 00:36:48
121 Maurice Kelter 00:37:50
124 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:38:46
147 David Long 00:39:50
159 Rory Goldsmith 00:39:39
191 David McEvoy 00:41:27
204 Kieran Martin 00:39:22
233 Will Holton 00:42:32
496 Emily Glen 00:49:31
1054 Carina Davidson 01:5:20 (321)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/great_ireland_run_2022/4371/results
Gaelforce Kippure 10k (486)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Edward O’Connor 1 00:44:37
24 Eulogy van Dyk 1 00:57:41
Crusaders AC runners
3 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:50:37
6 Valentin Akdim 00:51:52
234 Stephen McBrinn 01:19:29
Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/GF_Kippure2022.html
Mullingar Parkrun (94)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Micheal Conway 1 00:18:49
6 Alma Hanevy 1 00:21:23
Crusaders AC runner
6 Alma Hanevy 00:21:23 (1)
Griffeen Parkrun (123)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gary Farrell 1 00:18:38
12 Karrie Hill-Hughes 1 00:21:54
Crusaders AC runner
17 Colm Foley 00:22:57
River Valley Parkrun (83)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Ryan 1 00:20:54
2 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:21:12
Crusaders AC runners
41 Mairead Cashman 00:29:18 (12)
83 Darina Scully 00:55:39
Naas Parkrun (101)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Barrett 1 00:18:02
9 Louise Long 1 00:20:37
Crusaders AC runner
4 Karl Walsh 00:18:33
Waterstown Parkrun (45)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dylan McKenna 1 00:19:00
15 Loretta McHugh 1 00:25:15
Crusaders AC runner
28 Mary Noelle Rohan 00:31:36 (8)
St Anne’s Parkrun (357)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel De Palol 1 00:16:59
27 Helen Carr 1 00:21:14
Crusaders AC runners
228 Isabelle Cairns 00:29:35 (76)
229 Sarah Lyons 00:29:35 (77)
230 Kathryn Sweeney 00:29:36 (78)
231 Emer Kenny 00:29:29:36 (79)
232 Rebecca Fleming 00:29:36 (80)
Malahide Parkrun (224)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:17:41
5 Aine Crimin 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runners
7 Brian Scanlan 00:20:05
135 Deirdre Kennedy 00:28:27 (34)
Poolbeg Parkrun (106)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 1 00:17:39
3 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:19:54
Crusaders AC runners
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 00:17:39
2 Daniel Sheridan 00:19:48
3 Esther Requena Ferri 00:19:54 (PB) (1)
7 David Timoney 00:20:54
10 Kenan Furlong 00:21:21
12 Sharon Woods 00:21:32 (PB) (4)
27 Josie Ward 00:23:27 (7)
36 Gillian Curran 00:24:12 (12)
69 Kate Healy 00:26:36 (26)
70 Una McCullagh 00:26:46 (27)
Shanganagh Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alex Gray 1 00:17:14
10 Emily Kane 1 00:20:40
Crusaders AC runners
2 Richard Healy 00:18:40
24 Stephen Mulligan 00:23:12
Cabinteely Parkrun (113)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ted Burke 1 00:18:43
22 Aisling Joyce 1 00:24:17
Crusaders AC runners
5 Eddie Nugent 00:20:09
49 Lisa Shine 00:29:11 (13)
56 Mairin Shine 00:29:59 (19)
57 Emma O’Mahony 00:30:01 (20)
Castletown Parkrun (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Diarmuid O’Donovan 1 00:19:06
16 Caroline Crowley 1 00:21:25
Crusaders AC runner
16 Caroline Crowley 00:21:25 (1)
Porterstown Parkrun (66)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Justin Pieterse 1 00:20:12
2 Gara Williams 1 00:20:55
Crusaders AC runner
49 Kevin Flynn 00:32:37
Tramore Parkrun (76)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul McNamara 1 00:18:26
8 Libby Maher 1 00:21:31
Crusaders AC runner
1 Paul McNamara 00:18:26
Bushy Parkrun (158)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ross Neill 1 00:18:44
15 Jean McAdam 1 00:21:48
Crusaders AC runner
39 Kate Murray 00:24:15 (9)
Narin Beach Parkrun (8)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Eamonn Boyle 1 00:24:18
4 Aoife Kelly 1 00:29:03
Crusaders AC runners
4 Aoife Kelly 00:29:03 (1)
5 Paul F. Kelly 00:29:04