Hard Rock and Soggy Streets

14/8/2019

Andrew Mellon

There was considerable action on the roads this weekend as nearly 9,000 runners took part in the various Rock and Roll races in Dublin, whilst more than 2,500 participated in the Streets of Galway 8k, including nearly 30 Crusaders.

We start, however, with news of the success of the Irish team last weekend in managing to retain its First League status in the biennial European competition, helped by Andrew Mellon in the 4x400 relay. After it looked bleak for the Irish team to survive heading into the second day, along with several other excellent results, the relay team managed to finish ahead of Romania by 1.13 seconds, thus dooming the Balkan country to the relegation that had looked certain for Ireland for most of the day. The relay team recorded a season’s best time of 3:08.83.

On the road racing front, the probable highlight was the Rock and Roll Half marathon which incorporated the national half marathon championships. Sadly, we did not win any medals this year, despite having at least 16 runners in the event, although Ciaran Diviney came close, placing 4th in his age category whilst guiding visually impaired athlete Declan Ryan of Thurles AC who trains with us. The course is notoriously challenging, taking in hills inter alia at Christchurch and Kilmainham and thereafter towards the finish in the Phoenix Park, so not a likely race for PBs. The day was overcast but conditions weren’t too bad with just a little drizzle in the air. John Mulvihill, in training, like Ciaran, for the Chicago marathon in early October, led our runners across the line, picking up 26th place in 75:41, followed by Adam Flanagan, another marathoner in training, who placed 37th in 77:46. Adam was followed by Ciaran (53rd in 79:11) and Rob Cross (66th in 81:18). Ciairain Kelly came next in 79th place (82:40), followed by Eoin Fitzpatrick (105th in 84:34). Rory Goldsmith followed, and he, like Eoin, is in training for the Dublin marathon. Rory placed 162nd in a field of nearly 5,500, in 87:26 and behind him came Alex Kennedy (172nd in 95:11) followed by Marty James (in training for Berlin and perhaps Dublin) who took 200th place in 89:05. Further back came Karl Walsh (353rd in 1:33:56) and Simon Kenny (453rd in 1:37:38). The first of our female competitors was next. Ciara Lynch placed 918th overall in 1:43:59, followed by Louise Vanwildermeersch (992nd overall in 1:44:57), Mary Dolan (3,323rd overall in 2:10:35), Eimear Deegan (3,821st overall in 2:16:29) and Lucy Collender (3,899th overall in 2:17:32). There were two other races on the day and we had at least one runner who took part in both. Enda Currid, who is just coming back from injury, placed 12th in the 5k in 19:37 ahead of more than 1,500 other runners, and also went on to place 30th in the 10k in 41:54 ahead of Gearoid Grogan who picked up 88th place in a field exceeding 1,700 in 46:16.

The previous Saturday evening saw the 34th running of the Streets of Galway 8k, organised by Galway City Harriers. More than 30 Crusaders made the trip to the west coast. It was a soggy day there with the heavens really opening during the afternoon. As the race started at 7pm, the sky cleared for about 25 minutes and then the deluge started again as the majority of the field came into the finish. No one seemed to mind the weather as the atmosphere was as usual excellent, although we did have to dodge fairly deep puddles in places. It was also quite blustery, but that didn’t seem to affect us either. In what proved to be a quality field which included several top athletes who’d made the trip from Dublin, both our men’s and women’s teams likely podiumed (although we have yet to have confirmation of what prizes we won). In a field of more than 2,500 competitors, the men’s team were led across the line by club captain Michael Kiely who placed 7th in 25:49. Michael was followed by Berlin marathon-bound Joe Walsh who, despite arriving late for the race and slightly stressed, flew round the course in a PB time of 28:30 for 34th place and 2nd in his age category. Joe was followed by Alan Sheehy who surprised himself with a time of 29:34 for 76th place. Next came John Fahy with 30:04 (79th) and Michael Maughan in his 2nd race in 3 days (114th in 31:04). Michael was followed by Will Owens (another runner headed for Chicago) who placed 125th in 31:26 and David Timoney (135th in 31:34). The first of our female runners, Alma Hanevy, was next. Alma, who like Joe, is prearing for Berlin, is racing incredibly well at the moment and consistently is able to start out steadily but then step it up throughout the race, reeling in loads of runners in the process. Saturday was no different and her performance was impressive. Alma placed 138th overall, 9th woman finisher and 2nd in her age category in a time of 31:39. Eddie Nugent came next, limping over the line as he felt a problem with his hamstring early in the race, but still with an excellent time of 32:10 for 151st place. Eddie was followed by the ever-improving Kevin Lambe who took 164th place in 32:30 and then came Irene Gorman who recovered from a stitch early in the race to reel in several runners in the last 2km of the hilly course for 168th place overall, 13th female, in 32:40. Irene was followed by James Cottle who found that last 2k along Salthill Strand tough, placing 181st and 2nd in his age category in 32:54. Close behind James came Tim O’Donnell (187th in 33:01) just ahead of Aine Kenny (194th and 18th in 33:04). Members will be interested to know that Lorraine Healy of Moyne AC, who trains with the club and who joined us for the weekend trip, came next (198th and 19th in 33:11) and Lorraine was followed home by Luke Haran whose place and time remain to be verified but likely to be around 227th in a possible 34:00. The remainder of the contingent was led home by Gian Piero Allerta (262nd in 34:22) who will be running the Longford marathon in two weeks’ time, followed by Brendan Glynn (268th in 34:35), Fin Lawler (294th in 34:35), Dave Tuohy (297th in 34:38) who also ran a parkrun in Dublin the same morning, Gary Park (306th in 35:05), Rebecca Fleming (370th and 42nd in 35:43), Miriam Logan (393rd and 44th in 36:04), Kevin Lynch (405th in 36:28), Maria Kennedy (430th and 49th in 36:32), Grainne Regan (455th and 55th I 37:19), the Dublin marathon-bound athlete nursing a tight hamstring, Olivia McEvoy (490th and 64th in 37:31), Elaine Curran (875th and 181st in 41:32) and Emer Kenny (1,048th and 248th in 43:18), treating the race as a training run. The weekend was as usual great fun, the majority of us staying in the same block of apartments on the quays that we have enjoyed each year for the last 7 or so in which we have come en masse. There was much celebrating after the race, starting with consumption of the fine spread laid on by the organisers immediately after the race and finishing in the traditional musical manner as the sun came up to a much drier morning on Sunday.

Leo Lundy reported that he ran a wine themed trail marathon (his 87th) on Saturday in Surrey and his next milestone will be his 100th official ultra this coming Sunday at the Two Tunnels 50k in Bath. Leo aims to be the first Irishman to reach that milestone and join the 100 Ultra club. All the best to him!

Last Wednesday evening there was action on the track and in the mountains with the last grade meet of the season in Tallaght and a Leinster League mountain race in Wicklow.

On the track, Mary Horgan ran in the women’s A1 graded 400m placing 2nd in 60.44, whilst John O’Loughlin also placed 2nd in the men’s C1 400m in 58.49. In the ABC1 1 mile race Rebecca Fleming placed 7th in 6:03.02, followed by Lisa Shine (10th in 6:16.63) and Maria Kennedy (11th in 6:21.36). Michael Kiely took on the men’s A1 mile race, placing 7th in 4:53.43, whilst we had 3 athletes in the D1 race: Antonios Gkogkakis who placed 2nd in 5:40.64, Brendan Glynn who placed 6th in 5:4752 and Paul Kelly (10th in 7:18.37). Joe McDermott was our lone competitor in the BC1 3,000m race, where he placed 3rd in 9:53.12.

Then, on Wednesday evening, IMRA runners took on an ascent of Sugar Loaf Mountain. In a field of 184 on a course over and around the mountain involving difficult terrain over 7.5km, Warren Swords (another Dublin marathoner in training) took 5th place and 2nd in his age category in a time of 41:34. He was followed by Michael Maughan (who went onto run the Streets of Galway 3 days later) who placed 81st in 57:40. Next came Emily Glen (157th and 25th in 1:11:32), followed by Berndt Heim (77th in 1:23:23).

On Saturday, Becky Quinn posted a winning time of 2:33:47 in the latest of the Leinster championship races. On the 25.5km circuit of Avonbeg with a climb of 1,345m over extreme terrain and in a modest field of 21 athletes, Becky took 7th place overall.

Finally, we had some excellent results in Saturday’s parkruns. In Poolbeg Stephen Hurley and Katie Roger were first finishers, with Fiona Bane 2nd. Stephen ran 18:16, whilst Katie ran 20:23 (for 14th overall) and Fiona, 23:36 (for 44th overall). Meanwhile, Peter O’Toole, our lone runner in Fairview, was first finisher there in 19:23 and Derek Lawlor took first place in Shanganagh in 18:20, followed by Janet McManus (50th and 7th in 25:46). Further afield, Kris Ryan ran in Paradise Point in Queensland where she placed 3rd (23rd overall in a field of 208) in 22:05. Also, Niamh Corby, on her way back from a knee injury, ran in Cabinteely where she placed 2nd (8th overall) in a time of 22:06, whilst Olwyn Dunne ran in Athlone where she placed 3rd (20th overall) in 25:39. In Marlay, Luke Davis took7th place in a time of 19:11, followed by Kate Murray (90th and 11th in 23:44), whilst Diarmuid Byrne ran 21:11 to place 8th in Poppintree, followed by Maria Pertl who placed 9th (and 58th overall) in 25:34. Also in Poolbeg, Zlatko Kulic placed 7th in 19:42, follwed by Dave Tuohy (22nd in 20:53, before heading off to Galway). Niamh Quinn took 5th place (60th overall) in 25:16, followed by Mari Hansen (104th and 26th in 29:35), Karla Woods (124th and 40th in 31:56) and tailwalker Sharon Woods. Paul F. Kelly ran in Tolka Valley where he placed 19th in 26:12, whilst Liam Lyster placed 11th in Strokestown in 26:43. Darina Scully took on the parkrun in Belfast’s Victoria Park, where she placed 176th and 48th in 29:36, whilst Aidan Hudner ran in the park of the same name in Glasgow as usual. In a field of 402, Aidan placed 55th in 21:53. Colm Foley placed 39th in Griffeen Park in a time of 23:31, whilst Lisa and Mairin Shine ran in Bere Island where they placed respectively 62nd (and 24th) and 63rd (and 25th) in 34:47 and 34:58.

Rock and Roll Half (National Half Marathon Championships) (5495)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Yared Derese 1 01:04:58
34 Katherine Wood 1 01:17:21
Crusaders AC runners
26 John Mulvihill 01:15:41
37 Adam Flanagan 01:17:46
66 Rob Cross 01:21:18
79 Ciairain Kelly 01:22:40
105 Eoin Fitzpatrick 01:24:34
162 Rory Goldsmith 01:27:26
172 Alex Kennedy 01:35:11
200 Marty James 01:29:05
353 Karl Walsh 01:33:56
453 Simon Kenny 01:37:38
918 Ciara Lynch 01:43:59
992 Louise Vanwildermeersch 01:44:57
3323 Mary Dolan 02:10:35
3821 Eimear Deegan 02:16:29
3899 Lucy Collender 02:17:32
Full results here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/6565928492099696128/races/450808
Rock and Roll 10k (1723)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Roger Gabarro Sole 1 00:35:28
13 Rosanna Andrews 1 00:39:19
Crusaders AC runners
30 Enda Currid 00:41:54
88 Gearoid Grogan 00:46:16
Full results here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/6565928492099696128/races/450808
Rock and Roll 5k (1552)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Flynn 1 00:15:57
43 Melissa Migliaro 1 00:21:24
Crusaders AC runner
12 Enda Currid 00:19:37
Full results here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/6565928492099696128/races/450808
Streets of Galway 8k (2533)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Damien Landers 1 00:24:07
15 AnnMarie McGlynn 1 00:26:41
Crusaders AC runners
7 Michael Kiely 00:25:49
34 Joe Walsh 00:28:30 (PB)
76 Alan Sheehy 00:29:54
79 John Fahy 00:30:04
114 Michael Maughan 00:31:04
125 Will Owens 00:31:26
135 David Timoney 00:31:34
138 Alma Hanevy 00:31:39 (9)
151 Eddie Nugent 00:32:10
164 Kevin Lambe 00:32:30
168 Irene Gorman 00:32:40 (13)
181 James Cottle 00:32:54
187 Tim O’Donnell 00:33:01
194 Aine Kenny 00:33:04 (18)
198 Lorraine Healy 00:33:11 (19)
2XX Luke Haran 00:33:54
262 Gian Piero Allerta 00:34:22
268 Brendan Glynn 00:34:35
294 Fintan Lawler 00:34:35
297 Dave Tuohy 00:34:38
306 Gary Park 00:35:05
370 Rebecca Fleming 00:35:43 (42)
393 Miriam Logan 00:36:04 (44)
405 Kevin Lynch 00:36:28
430 Maria Kennedy 00:36:32 (49)
455 Grainne Regan 00:37:19 (55)
490 Olivia McEvoy 00:37:31 (64)
875 Elaine Curran 00:41:32 (181)
1048 Emer Kenny 00:43:18 (248)
Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/
IMRA Great Sugarloaf 7.5km (184)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Niall McCarthy 1 00:41:05
26 Aoife Coffey 00:47:39
Crusaders AC runners
5 Warren Swords 00:41:34
81 Michael Maughan 00:57:40
157 Emily Glen 01:11:32 (25)
177 Berndt Heim 01:23:23
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/1733/
IMRA Circuit of Avonbeg 25.5km (21)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Adrian Hennessy 1 02:06:46
7 Becky Quinn 1 02:33:47
Crusaders AC runner
7 Becky Quinn 02:33:47 (1)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/1740/
Marlay Parkrun #314 (260)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Matthew Hyland 1 00:17:54
19 Lilly Jones 1 00:20:34
Crusaders AC runners
7 Luke Davis 00:19:11
90 Kate Murray 00:23:44 (11)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=314
Belfast Victoria Parkrun #430 (260)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul Carroll 1 00:17:04
8 Kirsti Foster 1 00:19:10
Crusaders AC runner
176 Darina Scully 00:29:36 (48)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/belfastvictoria/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=430
Griffeen Parkrun #322 (152)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Gary Farrell 1 00:17:56
35 Deirdre Gallagher 1 00:23:20
Crusaders AC runner
39 Colm Foley 00:23:31
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/griffeen/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=322
Bere Island Parkrun #268 (137)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
Sam Beesley 1 00:19:39
10 Hannah Willis 1 00:23:12
Crusaders AC runners
62 Lisa Shine 00:34:47 (24)
63 Mairin Shine 00:34:58 (25)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=268
Poppintree Parkrun #247 (139)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:16:44
4 Sorcha Loughnane 1 00:19:51
Crusaders AC runners
8 Diarmuid Byrne 00:21:11
58 Maria Pertl 00:25:34 (9)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=247
Shanganagh Parkrun #225 (149)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Derek Lawlor 1 00:18:20
16 Suzane Foot 1 00:21:58
Crusaders AC runners
1 Derek Lawlor 00:18:2
50 Janet McManus 00:25:46 (7)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=225
Cabinteely Parkrun #226 (148)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
David Walsh 1 00:20:19
5 Malika Hammani 1 00:21:30
Crusaders AC runners
8 Niamh Corby 00:22:06 (2)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=226
Athlone Parkrun #202 (45)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Neil Campbell 1 00:19:48
16 Eileen Gaynor 1 00:24:35
Crusaders AC runner
20 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:39 (3)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/athlone/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=202
Fairview Parkrun #106 (129)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter O’Toole 1 00:19:23
11 Stacey Clark 1 00:22:19
Crusaders AC runner
1 Peter O’Toole 00:19:23
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=106
Poolbeg Parkrun #103 (139)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:16
14 Katie Rogers 1 00:20:23
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:16
7 Zlatko Kulic 00:19:42
13 Kieran Finucane 00:20:16
14 Katie Rogers 00:20:23 (1)
22 Dave Tuohy 00:20:53
44 Fiona Bane 00:23:36 (2)
60 Niamh Quinn 00:25:16 (5)
104 Mari Hansen 00:29:35 (26)
124 Karla Woods 00:31:56 (40)
139 Sharon Woods 00:39:27 (51)
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=103
Tolka Valley Parkrun #77 (45)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mick Bermingham 1 00:19:24
6 Aoife Donaghy 1 00:22:39
Crusaders AC runner
19 Paul F. Kelly 00:26:12
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/tolkavalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=77
Strokestown Parkrun #47 (33)
Overall Place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Patrick Holmes 1 00:20:31
9 Pauline Dennigan 1 00:26:15
Crusaders AC runner
11 Liam Lyster 00:26:43
Full results here: https://www.parkrun.ie/strokestown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=47

Maria Kennedy, Rebecca Fleming and Lisa Shine

Michael Kiely

Rebecca Fleming

Maria Kennedy

Lisa Shine

Fintan Lawler, Tim O'Donnell, Luke Haran, Irene Gorman, Maria Kennedy, Lorraine Healy, Miriam Logan, Rebecca Fleming, Gary Park, Grainne Regan

Back row: Eddie Nugent, Tim O'Donnell, David Timoney, Michael Kiely, Gian Piero Allerta, Aine Kenny, Gary Park, Maria Kennedy, Kevin Lambe, Grainne Regan, Will Owens, Miriam Logan, Luke Haran, Rebecca Fleming, Brendan Glynn, Joe Walsh, Alma Hanevy, Lorraine Healy and Alan Sheehy. Front row: Kevin Lynch, Fintan Lawler, James Cottle and Irene Gorman