Hot competition of different sorts in the National Road Relays and the London Marathon

23/4/2018

Niamh Corby, Adrienne Jordan and Ilona McElroy

Some stirring displays of gutsiness were on display over the weekend, in the sweltering conditions that were experienced by our 3 runners in the London marathon on Sunday morning, followed by the national road relays in Raheny in the afternoon involving 25 of us, in cooler, but by no means less intense, conditions. Then on Sunday evening another 17 turned out for the Dublin 10K night run in which we saw some sterling performances.

The road relays, one of the highlights of the year, were as usual great fun and we witnessed really exciting races involving some of Ireland’s top athletes all participating in a team format. It’s a shame there aren’t more of these types of occasions perhaps because there is a huge thrill in being part of a team competing against other clubs. The standard is incredibly high in every category and medals cannot be taken as won before the event happens. Although what seem like perennial winners Raheny eventually took top honours in the senior men’s event, the team must have got a huge fright from the sight of DSD’s Ethiopian runner Hiko Haso Tonosa catching and overtaking Mick Clohisey on one of the legs.

We took home our only medal of the day, bronze, in the first event. The strong O/35 team of Ilona McElroy, Adrienne Jordan and Niamh Corby (who could hardly walk two days earlier, following a bike accident, but who recovered in time) ran a spirited race with Niamh holding on with what was recorded as a 9 seconds cushion over Raheny, but which seemed a lot closer than that. On the 1 mile loop course where the back straight involved a slight climb on a concrete road into a gusting headwind, our second women’s O/35 masters team of Grainne Regan, Dee Ni Chearbhaill and last minute recruit, Gill Earley, also ran well, coming home in 10th place. The next race involved the masters’ men and we had three teams in that event: two O/35s and an O/50 team (this last for only the second time). All told there were 31 teams in the race, 23 of them representing the O/35 category. Peter O’Toole, Rob Cross and Peter Barry took 7th spot, with newcomer Graham Crowley, Michael Wycherley and Eddie Nugent coming home in 18th place. The format of a 1 mile leg, followed by a 2 mile one and finishing off with a 1 mile leg followed the same pattern as with the masters’ women’s race. The men’s O/50 team seems to get better with age and we were able to improve on our first year’s effort last year, where we were well down the field. This year, with an average age of 56, the team, which, with the same members who had also medalled in the national marathon championships, managed to place 5th in the category, beating a couple of over 35 teams as well. We were at no stage overtaken after the gun and were able to reel in a few runners.

Next we come to the senior women’s race in which we fielded 3 teams. Injury impacted how the teams were eventually composed, but, regardless, they were all extremely competitive in a race that had significant quality. The first team comprised of Caroline Crowley, not quite back to full fitness as yet, Irene Gorman, running the two mile leg, and Orla Drumm on the anchor leg and they were unlucky not to have got onto the podium, finishing just over 20 seconds outside of a podium place in 5th, Orla having reeled in at least 3 runners on the final leg with one of the faster times of the day. The second team of Niamh Aspell, Kiera Roche (in her first relay) and Catherine Thornton also ran well and for most of the race were able to keep the first team in sight, eventually finishing in a creditable 12th place, under a minute behind. Such is the depth of women’s running at the club right now that it is with some satisfaction that we were able to field a third team and Edel Haverty, Serena Moloney and Emer Kenny put in a splendid effort in a high quality field, eventually placing 19th.

The senior men’s race involved 4 legs: starting with a two mile one (2 loops of the circuit), followed by a one mile leg, with three and then two mile legs to finish. Albin Ingmarsson, who was also scheduled to run in the Dublin Night Run later in the same day, started the proceedings off, finishing mid pack, which was to be the pattern for the rest of the race. Albin was followed by Garret Dunne who was almost taken out by a resident pulling a car out of her drive as he headed from the handover point. Michael Kiely also had a steady race on the third leg followed by Joe McDermott as our last racer of the day who set off as though his life depended on it, but soon settled himself down! The team eventually placed 17th. As usual, the Cru support on the day was superb and there were supporters all over the course. Results have been posted to Athletics Ireland's website: http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/results/.

Earlier in the day many of us were glued to both TV and tracker app following the exploits of those running in the London marathon, with its unprecedentedly high temperatures (17 degrees Celsius at the start of the race, working up to 22 degrees by midday with no cloud cover and little shade generally). We had three runners in the race, none of whom had had the opportunity to acclimatise to the conditions beforehand. All thoughts of PBs went out the window for most of the runners in the race, and it was particularly true for our club-mates. At one stage all 3 were on for a sub-3 hour finish, but both Kieran Martin and Warren Swords slightly dropped off the pace in the second half to come home in, respectively, 3:04:45 and 3:08:19. Both were highly respectable times in the circumstances (Kieran’s split being only about 5 minutes positive) and especially so for Kieran who was running on a deferred entry having suffered multiple consecutive injuries over the past 12 to 15 months. Ciaran Diviney only decided to take up his entry into the race within the last two months but has had consistent training throughout the year. He will be pleased with his 2:38:13, again, like Kieran’s, a time which showed only a 5 minutes positive split.

Newcomer Joe O’Donoghue had a superb run in the Dublin Night Run on Sunday evening, placing 2nd behind race winner Peter Somba, in a time of 32:56. On a twisty-turny course which took runners away from the Docklands and around Irishtown and back over the Eastlink bridge, it was surprising to see so many fast times. At least 83 runners broke 40 minutes, among the 4,000 competitors. It was good to see Alban Coghlan making a return to racing, placing 9th in 35:11, followed by the surprising Albin Ingmarsson (11th in 35:19). Albin was followed by James Cahill (40th in 38:28), TJ Bourke (62nd in 39:30), Sean Smith (68th in 39:40) and, just behind Sean, Ollie McGrath (70th in 39:41), so that 7 of our 17 runners broke 40 minutes. Behind Ollie came Luke Haran (147th in 41:57), Diarmuid Fahey (170th in 42:28), Marek Kodes (410th in 45:45), David Timoney (444th in 46:01), Mary Fitzsimons (700th overall in 48:09), Celine Bonce (831st overall in 49:04), Russell Murphy (1,022nd in 50:22), Jacqueline McBrien (3,008th overall in 61:41), Paul Kelly (3,456th in 65;43) and Ciara McElligott (3,464th overall in 65:49).

Leo Lundy joined Olwyn Dunne in Connemara on Sunday for the wet and windy Connemarathon Ultra (his 75th ultra). Leo ran 63.6km in a time of 8:10:27 to place 174th, whilst Olwyn ran in the half marathon, placing 237th overall, 39th female finisher, and 2nd in her age category, in a time of 1:51:11.

There were two IMRA races during this period, one on Wednesday evening in the Devil’s Glen in which we saw Becky Quinn win the women’s race yet again. The overall winner of the 8.5k race held on relatively easy terrain with a 300m climb, was Ruairi Long with a time of 34:11. Becky was first Crusader home in 15th place overall in a time of 38:45 and was followed by Laura Flannelly, 32nd overall, 3rd female finisher, in 42:01. The remaining Cru participants in the147-strong field were Gavan Doherty, in training for the Hamburg marathon this coming weekend, in 52nd place and a time of 43:54, followed by Gerald Hoare (72nd in 46:23). There was another race on Saturday around Tonelagee in Wicklow in which we had one runner, Becky Quinn duly won her race placing 8th overall out of a field of 31 in 1:10:26.

Once again, we had a good showing in the parkruns on Saturday. There were podium places for several of our club mates. Kris Ryan finished 2nd woman and 24th place overall in Coomera, Australia in a time of 23:05, whilst Susanne English was first woman finisher (35th overall) in Oldbridge, in a time of 23:43. Meanwhile, James Murphy was first finisher in Poolbeg in a time of 18:00, whilst Alma Hanevy, likewise was first woman finisher (11th overall) in Brickfields in a time of 21:40. In the same event there was also a second place finish for John Fahy, who will have gained a lot of confidence from his time of 18:13, as, with his wife Ruth McEntee, he also prepares for Hamburg this weekend. Joe Walsh was third in 19:26. Other podium finishers were Brian Carroll in Griffeen Park and Nina Holmes in Fairview. Brian finished 2nd in a time of 18:33, whilst Nina also placed 2nd (8th overall) in a time of 23:06.

Generally, there was quite a large turnout of Crusaders in the parkruns this weekend. Behind James Murphy in Poolbeg came Tony Owens (6th in 20:01), followed by Kieran Finucane (8th in 20:20), Milo Furlong (38th in 25:33), Donna Barry (64th overall, 20th woman, in 27:39), Pauline McParland (81st overall, 30th woman, in 30:02) and Jennifer Armstrong (87th overall, 35th woman, in 30:15). Lisa Shine was our sole representative in Tolka Valley, taking 17th place overall, 5th female finisher, in 28:58. Diarmuid Byrne and Maria Pertl turned out in Poppintree coming home respectively in 27th and 58th place overall. Maria was also 16th female finisher. Their times were, respectively, 23:44 and 27:14. Janet McManus placed 50th overall, 7th woman, in a time of 25:11 in Shanganagh. Janet was followed closely by Orlaith de Burca in 51st place overall (8th woman) in 25:12. Olwyn Dunne acted as a 30 minute pacer in Cabinteely, taking 92nd place overall, 29th woman home, in 29:43, whilst Kevin Flynn placed 88th in 31:19 in Porterstown. We had 3 runners in St. Anne’s. Leo Lundy placed 154th in 25:20, followed by Aoife Quinn (260th overall, 66th woman, in 28:34) and Lorraine Fitzsimons (301st overall, 85th woman, in 30:08). Finally, we had 3 runners in Marlay Park. Brian Leonard, another Hamburg-bound marathoner in training, placed 24th in 20:06, followed by Sarah Cush who was late to the starting line and had to plough through all the back markers. Sarah was given a time of 22:21 (71st overall, 5th woman), but several seconds can be shaved off that. Mairead Cashman followed Sarah in 292nd place overall, 83rd woman, in a time of 28:31.

KBC Dublin Night Run 10K (4023)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:31:14
26 Sinead Tangney 1 00:37:36
Crusaders AC runners
2 Joe O’Donoghue 00:32:56
9 Alban Coghlan 00:35:11
11 Albin Ingmarsson 0:35:19
40 James Cahill 00:38:28
54 Michael O’Conor 00:39:13
62 TJ Bourke 00:39:30
68 Sean Smith 00:39:40
70 Ollie McGrath 00:39:41
147 Luke Haran 00:41:57
170 Diarmuid Fahey 00:42:28
410 Marek Kodes 00:45:45
444 David Timoney 00:46:01
700 Mary Fitzsimons 00:48:09
831 Celine Bonce 00:49:04
1022 Russell Murphy 00:50:22
3008 Jacqueline McBrien 01:01:41
3456 Paul Kelly 01:05:43
3464 Ciara McElligott 01:05:49
Full results here: http://nightrun.ie/results/
IMRA Devil’s Glen race (147)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ruairi Long 1 00:34:11
15 Becky Quinn 1 00:38:45
Crusaders AC runners
15 Becky Quinn 00:38:45 (1)
32 Laura Flannelly 00:42:01 (3)
52 Gavan Doherty 00:43:54
72 Gerald Hoare 00:46:23
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/1580
Marlay Parkrun #254 (572)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Reville 1 00:16:58
20 Bryony Treston 1 00:19:50
Crusaders AC runners
24 Brian Leonard 00:20:06
71 Sarah Cush 00:22:21 (5)
292 Mairead Cashman 00:28:31 (83)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=254
St Anne’s Parkrun #229 (443)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ronan Kenny 1 00:17:53
8 Fiona Stack 1 00:18:51
Crusaders AC runners
154 Leo Lundy 00:25:20
260 Aoife Quinn 00:28:34 (66)
301 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:30:08 (85)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=229
Poolbeg Parkrun #34 (111)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 James Murphy 1 00:18:00
19 Ann O’Keeffe 1 00:23:13
Crusaders AC runners
1 James Murphy 00:18:00
6 Anthony Owens 00:20:01
8 Kieran Finucane 00:20:20
38 Milo Furlong 00:25:33
64 Donna Barry 00:27:39 (20)
81 Pauline McParland 00:30:02 (30)
87 Jennifer Armstrong 00:30:15 (35)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=34
Griffeen Parkrun #253 (176)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Comer 1 00:18:24
18 Ana Barbu 1 00:22:00
Crusaders AC runner
2 Brian Carroll 00:18:33
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/griffeen/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=253
Tolka Valley Parkrun #9 (43)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Shaughnessy 1 00:20:59
13 Mary Gavin 1 00:26:54
Crusaders AC runner
17 Lisa Shine 00:28:58 (5)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tolkavalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=9
Oldbridge Parkrun #198 (100)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Martin 1 00:16:59
35 Susanne English 1 00:23:43
Crusaders AC runner
35 Susanne English 00:23:43 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/oldbridge/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=198
Cabinteely Parkrun #159 (140)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ted Burke 1 00:19:10
24 Rachel Fry 1 00:23:55
Crusaders AC runner
92 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:43 (29)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=159
Shanganagh Parkrun #159 (144)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Collins 1 00:18:28
24 Suzanne Foot 1 00:21:53
Crusaders AC runners
50 Janet McManus 00:25:11 (7)
51 Orlaith de Burca 00:25:12 (8)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=159
Porterstown Parkrun #131 (140)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean MacSeoin 1 00:17:40
5 Laura Cullen 1 00:20:31
Crusaders AC runner
88 Kevin Flynn 00:31:19
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=131
Fairview Parkrun #40 (93)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown athlete 1 00:18:45
6 Lizzy Murray 1 00:22:38
Crusaders AC runner
8 Nina Holmes 00:23:06 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=400
Poppintree Parkrun #180 (147)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Aidan McGrath 1 00:18:48
13 Laura Mulhair 1 00:22:02
Crusaders AC runners
27 Diarmuid Byrne 00:23:44
58 Maria Pertl 00:27:14 (16)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=180
Brickfields Parkrun #15 (82)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ian O’Reilly 1 00:17:35
11 Alma Hanevy 1 00:21:40
Crusaders AC runners
2 John Fahy 00:18:13
3 Joe Walsh 00:19:26
11 Alma Hanevy 00:21:40 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/brickfields/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=15

Becky Quinn

Ciaran Diviney

Warren Swords

Orla Drumm, Ilona McElroy, Caroline Crowley, Irene Gorman, Emer Kenny, Edel Haverty, Serena Moloney, Grainne Regan, Kiera Roche, Gillian Earley and Catherine Thornton