Halfway There

14/9/2025

L-R: Tim O'Donnell, Kathryn Gibbons, Ciara Regan and Margaret Foley

We’re really getting into the swing of things now in preparation for marathons this season with loads of long runs being completed and also plenty of runners competing in half marathons. Also, several of those preparing for next weekend’s Berlin marathon took to participating in parkruns on Saturday to get a good shakeout before the trip.

The report starts, however, with a couple of short distance events that took place on Friday evening. We are indebted to Sonia O’Sullivan for drawing our attention, during live coverage of the World Championships on RTE on Saturday morning, to the fact that Orla Drumm won an all-women’s mile race down in Cork the previous evening. The event was the Rob Heffernan 1 mile road race, which Orla won in a time of 5:09. Also, on the night, we had two runners compete in the Clane AC 4-mile road race, part of a 4-mile race series that started a few months back with a trail race in Donadea Forest (on which we reported at the time). In a field of 130, Enda Clarke finished just in front of Donatas Jocius. Enda placed 4th in 22:29 (also likely winning the M40 age-category) with Donatas finishing in 5th spot in 22:35. The race was won by ex-Crusader, Kieran Little, in 20:24.

Then, on Saturday morning, several of our club-mates took part in one of at least three half marathons in Ireland over the weekend. In Ratoath, where the race finished on Fairyhouse racecourse, in decent conditions with wind really only coming into play towards the end of the event, we fielded a contingent of at least 21 runners from the club.

In the field of 1639 finishers, our first athlete home was Ciarain Kelly (29th in 77:24). Ciarain was followed across the line by Kathryn Gibbons who recorded a 4-minutes PB improvement of 85:32 for 140th place overall and 4th female finisher. Peter Beddy finished not too far behind with a probable PB too, placing 153rd in 86:03, and he was followed by Jamie Symmons, another runner with a PB (170th in 86:50). David Carter was next across the line (216th in 88:20) and he was followed by Brian McGuckin (270th in 90:17) showing remarkable consistency in half marathons this year.

Nina Holmes had a strong run, placing 301st and 14th in 92:10, with Tim O’Donnell and Gill Earley not so far behind. Tim ran 93:15 for 333rd place, with Gill placing 344th and 23rd in 93:39. Further back came Grattan O’Brien who was pacing a friend (475th in 98:12) and David O’Donnell, another runner with a likely PB time (489th in 98:36). David was followed by Orla O’Flynn (510th and 59th in 99:16) who, along with Kathryn, Nina and Gill, made up a team of 4 placing 2nd in the team competition of 25 club teams.

Joanne Carey was next, placing 556th and 66th in 1:41:00, followed by Olwyn Dunne (607th and 77th in 1:43:01) and not pacing for once. Olwyn was followed, however, by 1:45 pacer Miriam Logan (685th in 1:44:56) and then by GianPiero Allerta (802nd in 1:48:47). Mags Foley and Ciara Regan stood in for Louise O’Riordan (who is currently unfortunately injured) and Emily Glen as pacers for the 1:50 runners. Mags placed 843rd in 1:49:23, with Ciara placing 857th in 1:49:41. A great job by all our pacers as always! The contingent was completed by Alan Martin (1108th in 1:57:37), Bo Chicoine (1271st in 2:03:37) and Joe Dunne whose time was not recorded, his having arrived late to the start line after the chiptiming mat had been removed.

Another half marathon in Ireland took place on Sunday morning. This was the iconic Charleville half, conducted on an out-and-back course which this year proved to be quite windy. In a race of 1577 finishers, with a quality elite element, Ciara Lynch worked her way through the field to place 344th and 30th in 90:45. Ciara was followed home by Ronan Moynihan (422nd in 93:53) and by Seamas Bulaeir (586th in 99:23) with a PB.

Also, on Sunday morning, we had two runners take part in the Lahinch Half marathon, which was conducted on a course of rolling hills along the Co. Clare coastline in what was described as a gale. In a field of 435, Luke Davis took 30th spot in 97:04, followed by Chris Bannon (121st in 1:50:02).

Further afield over the weekend, Brian Regan competed in the Copenhagen Half marathon on Sunday morning, finishing in a PB time of 75:45, a PB time, in wet conditions. Members may be interested to know that Liz Maher, a GCH athlete who trains with us, ran 87:22 in the same race.

Fergal Morrissey also ran a half over the weekend. This took place in his native Guernsey and he ran a time of 1:56:29. Meanwhile, two of our Spanish exiles, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, ran in two races over the weekend. The first on Saturday evening was the Carrera Urbana Villa de Campillos 8.5k, where Esther placed first female finisher in 34:20. Cristian ran a time of 30:30, placing 1st M35. Then on Sunday morning, in the Torre del Mar quarter of Velez-Malaga, the duo competed in a 5.7k race along the seafront, with Esther placing 2nd woman in 23:14, whilst Cristian again placed 1st M35 in 20:36.

Numbers of runners in parkruns were, with a few exceptions, generally lower this week.

Áine Kenny, preparing for the Snowdonia marathon at the end of October, placed first finisher (6th overall) in a time of 22:05 in the Mountbellew Forest parkrun with a field of 40. Aoife Quigley’s Garmin died halfway through the St. Anne’s parkrun and she ran without a tag, but she likely ran a time of around 19:45 for 7th place overall and first female finisher in the field of 435. Aoife was preceded by Kieran Martin (5th in 19:35), with Michael Maughan further back (83rd in 24:38). Aoife and Kieran are preparing for the Berlin marathon next week.

Karl Walsh took 3rd spot in Naas with its field of 190 and a time of 19:27, whilst it was great to see John Frazer making a return to running after a long break. He and Sean Murphy ran in Father Collins Park, with John placing 2nd in 19:12 and Sean taking 4th spot in 19:41 in a field of 137. Aoife McCarthy placed 36th and 6th in 22:58, with Orlaith de Burca taking 120th and 33rd in 28:47 in the 220-strong field in Shanganagh, whilst our best placings in Poolbeg this week were 31st overall and 5th female finisher from Claire Reidy in 22:50 and 6th place overall from Ross Neill (6th in 19:27). They were accompanied by Saketh Ravuluri (7th) who was paced to a PB time of 19:28, his first time breaking 20 minutes, by Sebastian Hansen (8th in 19:29). Further back came Conor Kilkenny (14th in 20:44) who was followed by Claire and then by Ronan Walsh (33rd in 22:52), Josie Ward (47th and 10th in 24:10), Ellen Walsh (78th and 20th in 26:24), Franky Keane (81st in 26:32), Maureen McGinley (125th and 33rd in 29:43), Djinn Von Noorden (134th and 39th in 30:12), Cynthia Perucca (147th and 47th in 30:59), Lieze Verberght (191st and 76th in 38:07), pacing another member of her family, and by Don Anderton, tailwalking.

Kate Murray is another runner preparing for next week’s marathon major in Berlin. Kate joined 455 other runners in Marlay Park, where she placed 79th and 15th in 23:52. Enda Currid ran in the 97-strong field in Brickfields where he placed 19th in 23:03, whilst Mairead Cashman joined a field of 125 in Tymon Park, where she took 85th and 22nd spots in 32:17. Paul F. Kelly ran once again in Poppintree where, in a field of 164, he ran 27:22 for 57th place, whilst, in Porterstown, Martina White placed 73rd and 23rd in 33:38. The field there measured 103. In Cabinteely members of the Shine family joined the field of 152 there. Fiona placed 86th and 26th in 31:55, followed by Máirín who placed 91st and 29th in 32:05 and by Lisa who ran 36:57 for 117th and 48th spots. Down in Co. Cork, Lorraine McMahon ran again on Midleton Greenway, where, in a field of 107, she placed 57th and 17th in 28:59, whilst, Helena O’Keeffe joined 308 other participants in Ballincollig, placing 168th and 55th in 30:14.

Meanwhile, in the UK, we had at least 3 exiles in action. Before competing a day later in the Bournemouth triathlon where she ran the 5k leg in 19:57, Kate O’Malley ran in the 914-strong field in the Poole parkrun, placing 61st and 3rd in 20:10. Jeanie Watson ran once again in Hackney Marshes, where, in a field of 395, she placed 197th and 39th in 26:46. Finally, Thom Martini ran in Battersea Park where, in a field of 1014, he placed 179th in 20:21.

Ratoath Half Marathon (1639)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 01:10:38
58 Fiona Stack 1 01:20:29
Crusaders AC runners
29 Ciarain Kelly 01:17:24
140 Kathryn Gibbons 01:25:32 (PB) (4)
153 Peter Beddy 01:26:03 (PB)
170 Jamie Symmons 01:26:50 (PB)
216 David Carter 01:28:20
270 Brian McGuckin 01:30:17
301 Nina Holmes 01:32:10 (14)
333 Tim O’Donnell 01:33:15
344 Gillian Earley 01:33:39 (23)
475 Grattan O’Brien 01:38:12
489 David O’Donnell 01:38:36 (PB)
510 Orla O’Flynn 01:39:16 (59)
556 Joanne Carey 01:41:00 (66)
607 Olwyn Dunne 01:43:01 (77)
685 Miriam Logan 01:44:56 (PACER)
802 GianPiero Allerta 01:48:47
843 Margaret Foley 01:49:23 (PACER)
857 Ciara Regan 01:49:41 (PACER)
1108 Alan Martin 01:57:37
1271 Bo Chicoine 02:03:37
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/ratoath_ac_half_marathon_2025/5652/resultshttps://www.myrunresults.com/events/ratoath_ac_half_marathon_2025/5652/results
Charleville Half marathon (1577)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David McGlynn 1 01:05:43
32 Ava Crean 1 01:15:21
Crusaders AC runners
344 Ciara Lynch 01:30:45 (30)
422 Ronan Moynihan 01:33:53
586 Seamas Bulaeir 01:39:23 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/charleville-international-half-marathon-2025/
Lahinch Half marathon (435)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John O’Brien 1 01:19:53
11 Ellis Ryan 1 01:30:53
Crusaders AC runners
30 Luke Davis 01:37:04
121 Chris Bannon 01:50:02
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/lahinch_half_marathon__6_mile/5830/results
Clane AC 4-mile road race (130)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kieran Little 1 00:20:24
16 Emily Fagan 1 00:25:03
Crusaders AC runners
4 Enda Clarke 00:22:29
5 Donatas Jocius 00:22:35
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/clane-ac-4-mile-series-2025-race-2-road/
Marlay Parkrun (456)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jurian Glas 1 00:17:33
7 Louise Gaffney 1 00:19:19
Crusaders AC runner
79 Kate Murray 00:23:52 (15)
Tymon Parkrun (125)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Barry 1 00:18:00
17 Grainne Black 1 00:21:40
Crusaders AC runner
85 Mairead Cashman 00:32:17 (22)
Shanganagh Parkrun (220)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark Thornton-Smith 1 00:17:42
13 Karla Murray 1 00:20:57
Crusaders AC Runners
36 Aoife McCarthy 00:22:58 (6)
120 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:47 (33)
Poolbeg Parkrun (211)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sam McDermaid 1 00:18:37
11 Annie McEvoy 1 00:20:02
Crusaders AC runners
6 Ross Neill 00:19:27
7 Saketh Ravuluri 00:19:28 (PB)
8 Sebastian Hansen 00:19:29
14 Conor Kilkenny 00:20:44
31 Claire Reidy 00:22:50 (5)
33 Ronan Walsh 00:22:52
47 Josie Ward 00:24:10 (10)
78 Ellen Walsh 00:26:24 (20)
81 Franky Keane 00:26:32
125 Maureen McGinley 00:29:43 (33)
134 Djinn Von Noorden 00:30:12 (39)
147 Cynthia Perucca 00:30:59 (47)
191 Lieze Verberght 00:38:07 (76)
211 Don Anderton 00:58:55
Poppintree Parkrun (164)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Robb 1 00:17:58
16 Gail Bamber 1 00:23:22
Crusaders AC runner
57 Paul F. Kelly 00:27:22
Naas Parkrun (190)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James O’Brien 1 00:17:17
13 Shannon Denagher 1 00:21:05
Crusaders AC runner
3 Karl Walsh 00:19:27
Porterstown Parkrun (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:17:39
8 Joan O’Callaghan 1 00:22:30
Crusaders AC runner
73 Martina White 00:33:38 (23)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (435)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Harry Hession 1 00:18:43
42 Deirbhile O’Keeffe 1 00:22:40
Crusaders AC runners
5 Kieran Martin 00:19:35
83 Michael Maughan 00:24:38
Midleton Greenway Parkrun (107)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Struan Simpson 1 00:18:07
6 Emily O’Shea 1 00:20:04
Crusaders AC runner
57 Lorraine McMahon 00:28:59 (17)
Ballincollig Parkrun (309)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Govinda O’Sullivan 1 00:16:59
6 Karen Hayes 1 00:19:40
Crusaders AC runner
168 Helen O’Keeffe 00:30:14 (55)
Cabinteely Parkrun (152)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Terek 1 00:19:14
22 Louise Murphy 1 00:24:33
Crusaders AC runner
86 Fiona Shine 00:31:55 (26)
91 Máirín Shine 00:32:05 (29)
117 Lisa Shine 00:36:57 (48)
Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (40)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Adrian Wrobel 1 00:19:38
6 Áine Kenny 1 00:22:05
Crusaders AC runner
6 Áine Kenny 00:22:05 (1)
Father Collins Parkrun (137)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Richard Myers 1 00:18:33
14 Caitriona Costello 1 00:21:35
Crusaders AC runner
2 John Frazer 00:19:12
4 Sean Murphy 00:19:41
Brickfields Parkrun (97)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Maxim Bondarenko 1 00:17:53
11 Eimear Nic An Bhaird 1 00:21:25
Crusaders AC runner
19 Enda Currid 00:23:03