![]() It was a weekend with a code yellow warning for snow and icy conditions, not to mention the gale force wind-gusts. But we start with the calm of the masters national indoor championships in Athlone, where everyone from the club who competed came home with a medal of some description, mostly gold. Jonathan Miller was our most prodigious medal hauler, taking 3 in total, with a gold in the M35 200m in 23.99, gold in the 400m in 52.09 and silver in the 60m in 7.43. Not far behind him on the medal table were Simon Everard and John O’Loughlin, with Simon taking bronze in both the M35 400m (54.42) and 60m (7.64), whilst John took silver in the M50 200m (26.01) and gold in the 400m (57.50). We also had gold medallists in the modest fields of the 3000m walk, with Bob Lyne taking gold in the M50 category (18:30.57) and Lisa Shine, repeating her success in Leinster, taking gold in the F35 category (18:15.22). In terms of road racing, the blue riband event of the weekend was the Meath Spring Marathon organised by Bohermeen AC, celebrating its 50th year. The sold-out race has become a staple for spring marathoners and is a PB course, made significantly more challenging this year because of the weather. Given the incredibly strong westerly wind we experienced on large parts of the 2 lap course along with the hailstones and snow flurries just before the start in near freezing conditions, it is amazing how many PBs were recorded among the 24 or so Crusaders who took part, several of whom would have gleaned significant confident boosts ahead of their upcoming spring marathon efforts in Rotterdam, Paris and London, among others. On a less windy day, it is likely that the PBs would have been even better as we generally reckoned the wind added more than a minute to our times. It seems to be an accepted fact that there is no equality where the same headwind in places is a tailwind elsewhere. The course is largely flat, except for a couple of drags up and over the M3 motorway encountered on each lap, and is quite well supported for a country race. In a field of 1233 our first man home was Brendan Murphy who crossed the line in 6th place in a great time of 1:12:24. In a race won by Yared Dersese of Carrick Aces (on whom we’ve reported a few times this year, having taken 3rd in the Raheny 5 and then likely being disqualified for lack of eligibility in the national masters cross country even though he appeared to have won the race), our next runner home was Paul Dempsey (52nd in 1:19:36), followed by John Fahy (66th in 1:21:35). Barry McGuire was next (69th in a PB time of 1:21:55), pacing himself brilliantly after a really controlled start, along with Rory Goldsmith who did likewise (101st in a PB time of 1:23:45) in his preparations for Paris. James Cahill was next with a PB run (111th in 1:24:25), followed by Andrea Talpo (148th in 1:26:30) to whom James Cottle tried to hang on as he came past at the end of the first lap, but only managing to stay for about 3k as Andrea picked up the pace. James found himself in no man’s land on the 2nd lap as the field thinned out, making running into the wind challenging, particularly at the bottom end of the course. Patrick Needham, in 154th place, was another runner with a PB, running 1:27:02, coming in ahead of James who ran 1:27:58 for 171st place and winner of his M60 age category. He was followed by Catherine Thornton (193rd overall and 12th female finisher, behind race winner and Rotterdam-bound Caitriona Jennngs, in an excellent time of 1:28:46) who was paced towards the latter stages of the race by Dave Carter (196th in 1:28:43) and then came Kiera Roche who ran a super PB time of 1:29:00 to place 210th overall, 16th female finisher, and probably with more to come. Kiera was followed by Bob Cahill, coming back from injury (248th in 1:31:06), Cormac McGuire, another runner with a PB (283rd in 1:33:02) and Katie McElroy, yet another to improve well on her previous half marathon time (326th overall, 34th female, in 1:34:49). Jemma Lyons also recorded a great PB, with a time of 1:36:23 (383rd and 47th) and Jemma was followed by Triona Quill, recovering from a chest infection, who will have taken much satisfaction from her 1:40:05 (468th, 66th and 5th F50). Likewise, Olwyn Dunne had an excellent outing, placing 511th (72nd) and 7th F50 in 1:42:07. Next came Maria del Carmen Jimenez Campos, again a runner with a PB. Maria ran 1:46:39 to place 672nd and 124th, followed by Maria Esteban (786th and 172nd) in a PB time of 1:50:21 and Louise Dobbyn (787th and 173rd in 1:51:31), who was suffering from severe muscle tightness early on but managed courageously nonetheless to finish the race. The contingent was completed by Liz Nixon (791st and 176th) who ran 1:50:20 and Mary Dolan (938th and 241st) in 1:58:00. There was also a club team element to the race and both our men and women acquitted themselves extremely well. The scorers on the women’s team, led home by Catherine Thornton, were also Kiera Roche, Katie McElroy and Jemma Lyons, who took home the 3rd placed prize in a field of 21 club teams. Meanwhile, the men were competing in two competitions, one involving 4 runners and the other 6. With 4 to score, the team of Brendan Murphy, Paul Dempsey, John Fahy and Barry McGuire came home in 4th place in a competition involving 36 club teams. Then, in the Rennick Cup, our 6 scorers, comprising the top 4 male Crusaders listed above together with Rory Goldsmith and James Cahill, took 3rd place behind Donore and Clonliffe in a field of 23 club teams. Well done to all! We had runners in at least two other road races in Ireland over the weekend. On Saturday morning, in similar blustery conditions to Sunday (the wind being more northerly), but slightly less cold and without the showers, we had at least 6 runners take part in the Simon Home 5 miler in the Phoenix Park. On a course that started and finished on the Acres Road and taking a counter-clockwise direction up Chesterfield Avenue (into the wind), along the Ordnance Survey Road, down the Upper Glen, onto Military (and the Snake) and ultimately up the Khyber Pass (again into the wind), we had some excellent performances. There was a good turnout of nearly 1300 for the race and so it was a satisfying run for Maurice Kelter, a newcomer to our ranks and who is training for the Rotterdam marathon in early April, when he came home in a PB time of 31:52 for 27th place. This was no real surprise as he took a PB for 10k in marathon training earlier in the week, breaking 40 minutes for the first time! Behind Maurice came Brendan Glynn who managed 65th in a time of 35:16. Next to finish was Paul Kelly, in a PB time of 36:51 9109th) and sandwiched between Paul and his wife Aoife (who placed 178th overall, 23rd female finisher, in 39:12) came William Ralph, another newcomer to the club, who took 143rd place in what is likely to be a PB time of 38:16. Lastly, Mary Fitzsimons was guided home by brother Michael up the Khyber Pass, finishing in 182nd place overall, 24th female, in 39:36. On Sunday, Mairead Cashman took part in the Duhallow 10 mile road race, which saw similar conditions to those experienced in Co. Meath. In a race won by DSD’s Hiko Tonosa in 52:19 and, among 362 other runners, Mairead placed 273rd overall, 65th woman home, in a time of 1:30:17. There was also some racing going on in the mountains on Saturday morning. In the IMRA Maulin Winter race that took place in Wicklow, we had 5 runners. The race involved a 477m climb on an 8.8km course on moderate terrain. 92 hardy souls took on the challenge and our contingent was led across the line by Warren Swords in 6th place in a time of 47:27. Warren was followed by John McAuley in 9th in a time of 48:07. Next came the 2nd female finisher, Becky Quinn, winning her F40 age category in a time of 52:06 and placing 17th overall, and Becky was followed by the competing duo of Brian McGuckin and Michael Maughan. Michael would have the edge over Brian on the uphill elements, but Brian’s mastery of mountain descents eventually won the day. Brian, who had recorded, along with Warren and several others, a DNF in the previous race on Ticknock after taking a wrong turn, came home in 30th place in 57:40, with Michael in his first mountain race of the year, not too far behind in 31st (57:58). For the record, the finishers in last week’s Ticknock race (the results listed below) were our London exile, Niall McGeorge (43rd in 52:05) and Berndt Heim (99th in a field of 106, in a time of 1:07:15). Numbers for our members participating in parkruns on Saturday morning seemed a little down on previous weeks, possibly because people were deterred by the weather. Nevertheless, we had some noteworthy runs on which to report. On the day before her PB run in Bohermeen, Maria del Carmen Jimenez Campos was first finisher in Cabinteely. Placing 28th overall, Maria ran 24:11. Joe O’Donoghue was also a first finisher, in St. Anne’s (17:25), where he was joined by Luke Haran (25th in 21:02). Our Australian exile, Kris Ryan, was also a first finisher. In Mudgeeraba Kris placed 23rd overall in a field 296 and finishing in a time of 22:52. Elsewhere, Kate Murray placed 2nd (18th overall) in 23:53 in Lough Key, whilst Sarah Lyons headed up to Craigavon where she took 4th spot (42nd overall) in a time of 22:39. As usual, there was a decent showing in Poolbeg, where Kenan Furlong led our contingent home in 7th place (19:27). Kenan was followed by Ava Rose Clarke (71st and 18th in 25:04), Gillian Curran (86th and 23rd in 26:09), Mari Hansen (108th and 30th in 27:43), Maureen McGinley (113th and 33rd in 27:52) and Kate Healy (132nd and 43rd in 29:24). In Tolka Valley, the day before his half marathon PB, Cormac McGuire ran 23:03 to take 6th spot, whilst Jonathan Claridge ran in Burgess Park in Camberwell, south London, where he placed 12th in 19:01 in a field of 504. Aidan Hudner ran in Glasgow where he finished in 22:02 and 60th place out of a field of 349, whilst Orlaith de Burca took 18th place (88th overall) in Shanganagh in a time of 27:34. Amy Brogan was our sole representative in Porterstown where she placed 39th (91st overall) in 30:03, whilst Olwyn Dunne and Mairead Cashman prepared in Marlay Park for their longer races a day later. Olwyn ran 25:30 (165th and 24th), whilst Mairead ran 27:38 (284th and 75th). With thanks to Peter Mooney for his Bohermeen photos. Simon Home 5 mile race (1284) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Valter Valente 1 00:27:58 34 Suzanne Foot 1 00:33:05 Crusaders AC runners 27 Maurice Kelter 00:31:52 (PB) 65 Brendan Glynn 00:35:16 109 Paul F. Kelly 00:36:51 (PB) 143 William Ralph 00:38:16 (PB) 178 Aoife Kelly 00:39:12 (23) 182 Mary Fitzsimons 00:39:36 (24) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/simon_home_run_2019/2899/results Duhallow 10 mile road race (363) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Hiko Tonosa 1 00:52:19 5 Aoife Cooke 1 00:56:45 Crusaders AC runner 273 Mairead Cashman 01:30:17 (65) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/duhallow_10_mile_road_race/2956/results Bohermeen Meath Spring Half marathon (1233) Overall place Name Cat Place Chiptime 1 Yared Dersese 1 01:07:04 38 Caitriona Jennings 1 01:18:18 Crusaders AC runners 6 Brendan Murphy 01:12:24 52 Paul Dempsey 01:19:36 66 John Fahy 01:21:35 69 Barry McGuire 01:21:55 (PB) 101 Rory Goldsmith 01:23:45 (PB) 111 James Cahill 01:24:25 (PB) 148 Andrea Talpo 01:26:30 154 Patrick Needham 01:27:02 (PB) 171 James Cottle 01:27:58 193 Catherine Thornton 01:28:46 (12) 196 David Carter 01:28:43 210 Kiera Roche 01:29:00 (PB) (16) 248 Bob Cahill 01:31:06 283 Cormac McGuire 01:33:02 (PB) 326 Katie McElroy 01:34:49 (PB) (34) 383 Jemma Lyons 01:36:23 (PB) (47) 468 Triona Quill 01:40:05 (66) 511 Olwyn Dunne 01:42:07 (72) 672 Maria del Carmen Jimenez Campos 01:46:39 (PB) (124) 786 Maria Esteban 01:50:21 (PB) (172) 787 Louise Dobbyn 01:51:31 (173) 791 Liz Nixon 01:50:20 (176) 938 Mary Dolan 01:58:00 (241) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/bohermeen_half_marathon_2019/2906/# IMRA Ticknock Winter Race (106) (3/3/19) Overall place Name Cat Place Guntime 1 Killian Mooney 1 00:37:53 13 Aoife Coffey 1 00:43:06 Crusaders AC runners 43 Niall McGeorge 00:52:05 99 Berndt Heim 01:07:15 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/1693 IMRA Maulin Winter Race (92) Overall place Name Cat Place Guntime 1 Killian Mooney 1 00:45:05 13 Kate Cronin 1 00:50:02 Crusaders AC runners 6 Warren Swords 00:47:27 9 John McAuley 00:48:07 12 Becky Quinn 00:52:06 (2) 30 Brian McGuckin 00:57:40 31 Michael Maughan 00:57:58 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/1696 Citypark Craigavon Parkrun #331 (258) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 unknown 1 00:16:25 13 Martsje Hell 1 00:19:32 Crusaders AC runner 42 Sarah Lyons 00:22:39 (4) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/citypark/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=331 Marlay Parkrun #296 (609) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Liam McKelvey 1 00:18:15 7 Maura Kearns 1 00:19:06 Crusaders AC runners 165 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:30 (24) 284 Mairead Cashman 00:27:38 (75) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=296 Shanganagh Parkrun #204 (206) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 unknown 1 00:17:18 29 Marie Louise Maddison 1 00:23:04 Crusaders AC runner 88 Orlaith de Burca 00:27:34 (18) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=204 St. Anne’s Parkrun #275 (493) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Joe O’Donoghue 1 00:17:25 20 Vanessa Fenton 1 00:20:14 Crusaders AC runners 1 Joe O’Donoghue 00:17:25 25 Luke Haran 00:21:02 Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=275 Poolbeg Parkrun #81 (201) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:18:03 12 Blaithin Sheil 1 00:20:16 Crusaders AC runners 7 Kenan Furlong 00:19:27 71 Ava Rose Clarke 00:25:04 (18) 86 Gillian Curran 00:26:09 (23) 108 Mari Hansen 00:27:43 (30) 113 Maureen McGinley 00:27:52 (33) 132 Kate Healy 00:29:24 (43) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=81 Tolka Valley Parkrun #55 (63) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Deiric O’Nuallain 1 00:19:51 14 Aisling Murnane 1 00:26:44 Crusaders AC runner 6 Cormac McGuire 00:23:03 Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tolkavalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=55 Cabinteely Parkrun #205 (172) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aidan Reilly 1 00:19:02 28 Maria del Carmen Jimenez Campos 1 00:24:11 Crusaders AC runner 28 Maria del Carmen Jimenez Campos 00:24:11 (1) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=205 Porterstown Parkrun #178 (176) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mark Horan 1 00:17:38 10 Joan O’Callaghan 1 00:21:48 Crusaders AC runner 91 Amy Brogan 00:30:03 (39) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=178 Lough Key Parkrun #144 (163) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aidan Dowler 1 00:20:29 7 Aisling Conry 1 00:22:16 Crusaders AC runner 18 Kate Murray 00:23:53 (2) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/loughkey/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=144 Comments are closed.
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