Here, There and Everywhere over the St. Patrick’s Festival weekend

18/3/2025

L-R: Sarah Brown, Kelly Brown, Neil Brown, Paul E. Kelly, Rebecca Fleming, Mairead Cashman, Lorraine McMahon, Eddie Nugent

It was great to see so many Crusaders out racing over the long weekend, in Ireland and beyond, with some super results too.

On Paddy’s Day we had runners in three races from 3k to half marathon in distance. Our ladies’ captain Kathryn Gibbons acquitted herself well in a quality-packed elite field, many of whom having been invited, in a 3k race in Letterkenny, where, in a field of 133, she placed 47th overall and 7th female finisher in a great time of 11:06. Further south, we had at least 7 runners taking part in the Mullingar Half marathon. It was reported that it was chilly at the start, but otherwise excellent conditions for racing. 1513 runners completed the distance and our contingent was led home by Aaron Farrell who placed 125th in 85:03. Aaron was followed across the line by Kevin Lambe who obtained a late entry into the event and who placed 323rd in 97:54. Triona Quill (356th overall and 53rd female finisher) was not so far behind Kevin and then came Kabir Sala, in his second half in a week, who placed 411th in 1:41:58. Another late entrant was Franky Keane who profited from Alby Allan’s misfortune in having to pull out at the last minute. Franky finished in 447th spot in 1:43:39 and he was followed by Bo Chicoine (756th in 1:53:51) and by Alan Martin (895th in a PB time of 1:57:19).

On the same day, we had at least 13 athletes take part in the Tallaght AC 5k, which took place over 2 laps of a new course. Orla Walsh distinguished herself by coming home in 2nd place in the women’s race (39th overall in a total field of 512) and in a excellent time of 17:22, possibly a PB for her. Eddie Nugent came in next in 101st place in a time of 19:05 and he was followed closely by Yvonne Macauley (105th and 17th in 19:08). Rebecca Fleming was next, in 172nd and 41st in 20:42, and she was followed by Neil Brown (182nd in 20:54). Chris Bannon also ran, placing 256th in 23:04, and he was followed by Paul F. Kelly (402nd in 27:46) who came in just ahead of Lorraine McMahon (404th and 151st in 27:57). The contingent was completed by Mairead Cashman (416th and 161st in 28:46), just ahead of Kelly Brown who ran with her sister Sarah (placing 138th and 165th and 139th and 166th in the same time of 29:03), with Maureen McGinley running 29:36 for 430th and 171st spots.

Earlier in the week on Tuesday, we had runners who joined, respectively, substantial fields of 2163 and 716 in the Sandymount Night Run 5k and 10k races, organised by the Bear Group. The races took place as usual, starting and finishing in Seán Moore Park, conducted otherwise along the beach and the narrow paths along the Strand. Caroline Crowley won the women’s race in the 5k in a time of 18:56, whilst we had at least 4 runners in the 10k, who were led home by Jill O’Flynn (81st and 10th in 48:01), followed by Niall Collins (128th in 50:18), Eilish Keogh (188th and 43rd in 50:13) and Maria Kennedy (230th and 55th in 52:42).

In preparation for the Marathon des Sables in three weeks’ time, Áine Kenny ran in her first ultra marathon, the Tralee 50k, involving five relatively flat loops of 10k, which she completed in a super 4:37:25.

Further afield over the weekend, we had two runners take on the full marathon in Barcelona. Mags Foley was enjoying a decent pace that would have helped her finish close to the 3-hour mark until she turned her ankle after about 16k. After that, it was a game of survival, but she still managed to finish in a highly creditable 3:15:58. On the other hand In her first marathon, ex-elite rower Caoimhe Dempsey enjoyed the experience and also ran extremely well in almost identical splits (9 seconds between the halves!), at a metronomical pace, to record a great time of 3:35:35. Further round the Mediterranean, we had 4 runners take part in the Rome Marathon. Joe and Olwyn Dunne had the distinction of pacing, respectively, the 3:55 and 4:10 runners (apparently, there were pacers for virtually every 5-minute interval), acquitting themselves well by finishing in 3:54:40 and 4:09:23. Conor Parle, one of our London-based exiles, came past Olwyn at one stage and then held on to finish ahead of the pacing group ahead of her, running 3:47:24. Meanwhile, Aitor Arribas Velasco came home in 4:09:23.

Elsewhere around the World, Damien O’Brien, one of our Manhattan-based exiles, ran in the NYC Half marathon on Sunday where, in foggy conditions, he ran a time of 83:15. Raphael Crueyze, now based in France, ran 38:12 in the 10K Foulées de Savigny-sur-Orge near Paris, whilst Valentin Akdim, another of our French exiles, ran in the 55km Trail de Frontfroide in SW France, where he placed 26th in a time of 5:44. In Spain, our exiles in Malaga, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos ran in the Carrera Urbana Popular Torre del Mar 10k, with Cristian running 34:28 and Esther placing 2nd in the women’s race in 39:01. Finally, Thom Martini, based in London, ran in the Fleet Half marathon on Sunday which he completed in 1:42.

There were two races in the mountains this weekend with Crusader participation. On Friday night, Gavan Doherty joined a field of 112 in the Crone Maulin 7.4k Night Challenge in Co. Wicklow. On a course with a climb of over 400m, Gavan placed 62nd in 56:55. Then, on Saturday morning, Donatas Jocius and Becky Quinn ran with 62 other runners in the 8.5k race on Askanagap Hill, also in Co. Wicklow, with Donatas placing 5th overall and likely 1st M40 (there being an M40 runner on the podium) in 45:58, with Becky not too far behind in 13th and 2nd in 51:15. The race involved a climb of 522m.

The glorious sunshine brought runners out in droves on Saturday morning for parkruns.

Stephen Hurley led the field of 263 home in Poolbeg in a super time of 16:52, and he was followed by Kenan Furlong in the contingent of Crusaders that was at least 27-strong. Kenan placed 6th in 18:11, and he was followed by Simon Kenny (7th in 18:58), Ronan Walsh (19th in 20:27), Piarais Neary (20th in 20:29), Adrian Groarke (24th in 20:52), James Sherry (25th in 21:02), Kabir Sala (32nd in 22:17), Mark McGovern (44th in 22:50), Jade Murphy (46th and 6th in 22:57), Stephen Mulligan (47th in 23:03), Claire Reidy (48th and 7th in 23:04), Zlatko Kulic (53rd in 23:23), Kevin Lambe (60th in 23:40), Russell Murphy (78th in 24:50), Josie Ward (81st and 17th in 25:05), Bo Chicoine (87th in 25:17), Emily Glen (90th and 23rd in 25:39), Franky Keane (93rd in 25:47), Fiona Bane (103rd and 26th in 26:47), John Corish (107th in 27:05), Ellen Walsh (112th and 30th in 27:21), Tara Murphy (123rd and 36th in 28:09), Lorraine McMahon (138th and 46th in 28:45), Fanny Trébouet (160th and 64th in 29:56), Maureen McGinley (182nd and 82nd in 31:31) and Cynthia Perucca (184th and 84th in 31:40, just behind Maureen.

Dee Lawlor placed 2nd in 18:42 in the 270-strong field of 270 in Shanganagh, whilst Kate Murray took 16th and 2nd places in 24:02 the 150-strong field in Lough Key. Darina Scully joined 121 other runners in River Valley Park, where she placed 27th and 4th in 24:35, whilst Eoghan Corrigan placed 4th in a PB time of 19:20 in Corkagh Park with its field of 248. Chris Bannon joined 23 other runners in Darndale, where he placed 7th in 25:36, whilst Ger Forde placed 16th in 21:41 in the 214-strong field in Naas.

We had parkrunners supporting the Irish rugby team in Rome on Saturday morning, running in 2 parkruns there. Aoife McCarthy ran in the Roma Pineto parkrun with its field of 134, where she placed 22nd and 3rd in 25:09, whilst Kev Moore and Mary Donnelly ran in Caffarella, where Kev placed 19th in 21:27 and Mary placed 28th and also 3rd in 22:36. The field measured 259.

Maria Kennedy tailwalked in Kilkenny with its field of 212, whilst Maria Pertl was our lone runner in Tolka Valley park, where, in a field of 63, she placed 41st and 17th in 32:06. Lisa and Máirín Shine joined 128 other runners on Wexford Racecourse, where Lisa placed 51st and 16th in 28:10 and Máirín placed 62nd and 22nd in 29:10. Carina Davidson was also a singleton Crusader in Marlay Park, where alongside 583 participants, she placed 571st and 267th in 49:45, whilst, in Malahide, Emer Kenny joined a field of 317, placing 80th and 16th in 24:09. John Lohan ran a time of 22:57 for 16th place in the 119-strong field in Templemore, whilst Emma O’Mahony joined 123 other runners in Enniskillen, where she placed 49th and 12th in 26:36. Mairead Cashman placed 93rd and 32nd in a time of 29:47 in the 243-strong field in Mullingar, whilst, further afield Barry O’Neill ran in Washington State in the USA, where, in a field of 31 in the Rock Creek Trail parkrun, he placed 28th in 50:52. Meanwhile, elsewhere abroad, Toby Benham placed 33rd in 23:14 in Daventry with a field of 326, whilst, Thom Martini ran in the 656-strong field in Gunnersbury, where he placed 100th in 22:55. Finally, Jeanie Watson ran in Highbury Fields, where, in a field of 558, she placed 153rd and 23rd in 23:39.

Sandymount Night Run 5k (2163)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 E. Hughes 1 00:17:44
9 Caroline Crowley 1 00:18:56
Crusaders AC runner
9 Caroline Crowley 00:18:56 (1)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/sandymount_nightrun_10km__5km_2025/5551/results
Sandymount Night Run 10k (716)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Louis McCarthy 1 00:34:33
29 Louise Stafford 1 00:42:10
Crusaders AC runners
81 Jill O’Flynn 00:48:01 (10)
128 Niall Collins 00:50:18
188 Eilis Keogh 00:50:13 (43)
230 Maria Kennedy 00:52:42 (55)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/sandymount_nightrun_10km__5km_2025/5551/results
Michael Murphy Sports 3k (133)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Travers 1 00:08:30
12 Eilish Flanagan 1 09:28
Crusaders AC runner
47 Kathryn Gibbons 00:11:06 (7)
Full results here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555717735585
Tallaght AC 5k (512)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ben Guiden 1 00:15:09
27 Helena Butterly 1 00:16:54
Crusaders AC runners
39 Orla Walsh 00:17:22 (2)
101 Eddie Nugent 00:19:05
105 Yvonne Macauley 00:19:08 (17)
172 Rebecca Fleming 00:20:42 (41)
182 Neil Brown 00:20:54
256 Chris Bannon 00:23:04
402 Paul E. Kelly 00:27:46
404 Lorraine McMahon 00:27:57 (151)
416 Mairead Cashman 00:28:46 (161)
420 Kelly Brown 00:29:03 (165)
430 Maureen McGinley 00:29:36 (171)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/tallaght-ac-5k-2025/
Mullingar Half marathon (1513)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Evan Fitzgerald 1 01:07:28
13 Elizabeth Carr 1 01:16:21
Crusaders AC runners
125 Aaron Farrell 01:25:03
323 Kevin Lambe 01:37:54
356 Triona Quill 01:39:11 (53)
411 Kabir Sala 01:41:58
447 Franky Keane 01:43:39
756 Bo Chicoine 01:53:51
895 Alan Martin 01:57:19 (PB)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/aon_mullingar_half_marathon/5191/club-team-results?runnerClass=half%20marathon&type=Club&category=M&categoryType=Category
IMRA Crone Maulin Night Challenge 7.4k (112)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter O’Farrell 1 00:39:05
29 Kate Flynn 1 00:50:20
Crusaders AC runner
62 Gavan Doherty 00:56:55
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2690/category/O/
IMRA Askanagap Hill 8.5k (64)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Zak Hanna 1 00:38:32
12 Caroline Harney 1 00:51:08
Crusaders AC runners
5 Donatas Jocius 00:45:58
13 Becky Quinn 00:51:15 (2)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2670
Wexford Racecourse Parkrun (130)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Anthony Dowd 1 00:19:28
9 Annette Moroney 1 00:21:35
Crusaders AC runners
51 Lisa Shine 00:28:10 (16)
62 Máirín Shine 00:29:10 (22)
Kilkenny Parkrun (212)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robbie McGee 1 00:17:47
16 Emer Doyle 1 00:21:20
Crusaders AC runner
212 Maria Kennedy 00:58:45
Naas Parkrun (214)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rob O’Brien 1 00:17:38
11 Vikki Brown 1 00:20:11
Crusaders AC runner
16 Ger Forde 00:21:41
Malahide Parkrun (317)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Evan Reid 1 00:16:27
9 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:55
Crusaders AC runner
80 Emer Kenny 00:24:09 (16)
Poolbeg Parkrun (263)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:16:52
12 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:19:57
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:16:52
6 Kenan Furlong 00:18:11
7 Simon Kenny 00:18:58
19 Ronan Walsh 00:20:27
20 Piarais Neary 00:20:29
24 Adrian Groarke 00:20:52
25 James Sherry 00:21:02
32 Kabir Sala 00:22:17
44 Mark McGovern 00:22:50
46 Jade Murphy 00:22:57 (6)
47 Stephen Mulligan 00:23:03
48 Claire Reidy 00:23:04 (7)
53 Zlatko Kulic 00:23:23
60 Kevin Lambe 00:23:40
78 Russell Murphy 00:24:50
81 Josie Ward 00:25:05 (17)
87 Bo Chicoine 00:25:17
90 Emily Glen 00:25:39 (23)
93 Franky Keane 00:25:47
103 Fiona Bane 00:6:47 (26)
107 John Corish 00:27:05
112 Ellen Walsh 00:27:21 (30)
123 Tara Murphy 00:28:09 (36)
160 Fanny Trébouet 00:29:56 (64)
182 Maureen McGinley 00:31:31 (82)
184 Cynthia Perucca 00:31:40 (84)
Mullingar Parkrun (243)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Karl Fleming 1 0:16:45
10 Melissa Doohan 1 00:21:24
Crusaders AC runner
93 Mairead Cashman 00:29:47 (32)
Corkagh Parkrun (248)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Gouda 1 00:18:51
14 Vanessa Sallier 1 00:22:30
Crusaders AC runner
4 Eoghan Corrigan 00:19:20 (PB)
Darndale Parkrun (24)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Joc O’Connor 1 00:22:00
2 Tricia Gough 1 00:23:17
Crusaders AC runner
7 Chris Bannon 00:25:36
River Valley Parkrun (122)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:19:09
15 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:23:26
Crusaders AC runner
27 Darina Scully 00:24:35 (4)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (63)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John McDonnell 1 00:19:51
7 Andrea Van Den Block 1 00:23:26
Crusaders AC runner
41 Maria Pertl 00:32:06 (17)
Marlay Parkrun (584)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ethan Bramhill 1 00:16:10
14 Anne O’Donovan 2 00:19:38
Crusaders AC runner
571 Carina Davidson 00:49:45 (267)
Shanganagh Parkrun (270)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Brophy 1 00:17:52
25 Kirsten Higgins 1 00:20:59
Crusaders AC runner
2 Derek Lawlor 00:18:42
Enniskillen Parkrun (124)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Conor Gildea 1 00:18:43
20 Sarah Arnold 1 00:23:20
Crusaders AC runner
49 Emma O’Mahony 00:26:36 (12)
Lough Key Parkrun (150)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Roy Kelly 1 00:19:33
12 Roisin Farrell 1 00:23:09
Crusaders AC runner
16 Kate Murray 00:24:02 (2)
Templemore Parkrun (119)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mossy Bracken 1 00:17:02
7 Edwina King 1 00:20:51
Crusaders AC runner
16 John Lohan 00:22:57
Rock Creek Trail Parkrun (31)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Chris McIntosh 1 00:21:36
4 Baorui Jia 1 00:23:15
Crusaders AC runner
28 Barry O’Neill 00:50:52