Hot, Humid and Hilly this weekend for the National 10 miler and other races

10/7/2022

Karl Walsh and Aoife Quigley

The races that took place on the roads this weekend, in which we featured, were generally long distance and took place in the rare warm sunshine that we are currently experiencing. They also produced some excellent results. Please read on!

We start the report, as usual, on the track. Last Wednesday, 9 Crusaders took part in the 6th Dublin Athletics-organised track and field graded meet in Tallaght. In the men’s 200m B1 event, Sean Owens ran 24.14 for 3rd place in a field of 8. Then, in the women’s 800m B1 grade, Sarah Lyons came home in 3rd place in a time of 2:27.03, in a strong sprint finish, just ahead of Léa Braud (4th in 2:27.11). There were 10 athletes in the race. In the men’s 800m D1, Brendan Glynn was our first clubmate home in 10th place (2:49.07), ahead of M55 John O’Loughlin (11th in 2:59.10) and Paul E. Kelly (12th in 3:13.26).

There were two 3,000m races in which we fielded contestants. Michael Wycherley might have preferred to run in the CD1 race in which Joe McDermott ran 10:17.42 for 7th and Luke Davis ran 10:42.25, the winner having run 9:36.05. Instead, he was put in the AB1, where, although he acquitted himself well with a time of 9:46.47, he felt he might have perhaps run a faster time in the lower grade.

Then, on Friday, Paul Cowhie and Richard Kavanagh took part in the World Masters Athletics Championships in Tampere in Finland. They both were entered for the 10k road championships. Paul, who has been in great shape recently, had understandably high expectations coming into the race and if he had managed to run to form would likely have medalled in the M55 category. Unfortunately, however, he picked up a bug on the flight over and had to pull out of the race after 4k. On the other hand, Richard was able to compete and he placed 10th in his M65 category in a great time of 43:40. Interestingly, his age category was won by a British athlete (Alastair Walker) who covered the distance in an amazing 34:44. The silver medal went to a Frenchman who ran 40:26. Richard described the course as not great and extremely hot.

Moving onto road races, there were several events over the weekend in which we fielded participants, none shorter than 10 miles. On Saturday, we saw the welcome return of Frank Halligan to competitive running in the Kilkee Half marathon in Co. Clare, where he secured a podium result. Frank’s 3rd place was achieved in a super time of 1:16:29. The out-and-back course along the coast was relatively hilly with a climb of up to 70k in both directions. John Lohan and Tara Murphy also contested the race, with John recording 1:35:07 for 41st place overall in a field of 452 and 2nd M55, whilst Tara ran 1:53:37 for 187th place overall, 53rd female finisher and 6th F55.

Two road races took place on Sunday. The first was the Irish Runner 10 miler, which incorporated the national 10-mile road championships. A field of 645 contested the overall event, with perhaps half that number taking part in the national championships. The course itself was definitely not a PB one, involving several climbs (out of the Furry Glen and then from the Islandbridge Gate after running along the Conyngham Road up to the Wellesley Monument, and then again, following a descent of the Khyber Pass, up the Snake on Military Road and followed by the drag up the Upper Glen Road). Even the run up Chesterfield from the Wellesley Monument would have been a climb, except for the finish from the Castleknock roundabout down to the finish line before the Phoenix roundabout. Conditions were extremely hot and humid even with the now commonplace 9 am start. Mick Clohisey had a thrilling battle with two other runners, eventually wearing them down, whilst the first woman home was not threatened at any time during the race.

We had 4 finishers in the tough event. The small Cru contingent was led home by Joe McDermott who ran an excellent 60:53 for 33rd place overall (28th in the championships and 10th M35) and he was followed by Karl Walsh who ran 66:39 for 76th place overall. Surprising herself, Aoife Quigley had a stormer of a race, at one stage after 2 miles being in 9th place in the women’s race, but coming through to take 5th with well under a mile to go, having made it to 6th well into the race. Aoife’s strong finish produced a time of 68:58 for 95th overall and National F35 gold, her winning margin being only 18 seconds. Many congrats to her. Martin Joyce was our final finisher in the event, placing 444th in 95:58.

On the same day, we had one runner take part in the Edenderry 10-miler, another race in the KIA Series. In a quality field of 245, Ciarain Kelly placed 19th overall in a time of 57:56. With similar conditions to those of the Phoenix Park, the runners had to deal with it being hot and humid on a hilly looped course.

Further afield, we heard from Esther Requena Ferri, now racing in her native Spain. Esther placed 4th overall in the women's race in the Cross Antonio Amoros Caudete, running 10.8k in 45:49, whilst partner Cristian Vilchez Ceballos ran the distance in 40:01. Also, our Italian exile, Italo Giancaterina ran in the Stracittadina di Avezzano, where he ran the 10.3k race in 34:11.

Results for a couple of races in the mountains came in late last week and we record them now. Interestingly enough, each of the last 3 IMRA events have been won by Becky Quinn. Last weekend, Becky ran in back-to-back races in Co. Mayo in the Irish National Championships. On Saturday, in a field of 29, Becky placed 11th in 79:15. Just behind her came Paul Flynn in 80:20. The race was considered extremely challenging on an unmarked route involving an out-and-back to the top of Mweelrea, a climb of some 766m. The race itself measured 10.7k.

The following day, the majority of the previous day's field set out to run over Nephin in the same county. 27 contested the 5.3k race which was also held on an unmarked looped course over difficult terrain. Becky was the only Crusader in the race, placing 10th overall in 64:15 and again taking the win in the women's race.

On Wednesday, IMRA organised its annual visit to Djouce in the Trail League. The race, involving a twisty loop along forest fire roads, was held on easy terrain over 7.8k and ascended 118m. Paul McNamara was the first Crusader home in 23rd place in a field of 153. Paul covered the distance in 33:50 and he was followed by Becky (25th and 1st in 34:02), Ollie McGrath (28th in 34:24) and Pat Quill (55th in 38:40). Yet another win for Becky, her third in 5 days!

Then, on Sunday, our intrepid mountaineers, Becky among them, headed off to the Dargle Valley in Wicklow to cover the 4 peaks of the area. The event, held in warm conditions as elsewhere on the day, was an open mountain race in the Leinster League conducted over approx 15k on moderate terrain, with a climb of at least 800m. The twist, however, was that competitors were free to choose the sequence, directions and line to take in covering the 4 peaks of Djouce, War Hill, Tonduff and Maulin, so a bit of orienteering was required. Once again, Becky was the first woman home, in 9th place overall out of the 51 who finished. Becky's time was 2:05:36 and she finished just behind Paul Flynn who crossed the line in 8th place in 2:05:18. Next came Lean Ni Chiobhain in 2nd place in the women's race (15th overall) in 2:14:56 and the contingent of Crusaders was completed by Gavan Doherty (34th in 3:10:50).

It’s likely that holidays had a major impact on participation in parkruns this weekend. Indeed, two of our members ran in parkruns abroad. Maureen McGinley ran in a modest field in Farfalle in Padova in Italy, where she placed 9th and 2nd in 30:47, whilst Ciarán Smyth placed 3rd in a field of 35 in a time of 21:53 in Unisee in Bremen in Germany.

We had only one first finisher this week in the Irish parkruns. As might be expected, Stephen Hurley led the field of 121 home in Poolbeg in a time of 17:39. He was followed closely by Kenan Furlong once again. Kenan ran 17:44 for 2nnd place and he was followed by John Healy (7th in 19:29). Further back came Daniel Sheridan (11th in 20:42) and he was followed by Josie ward (29th and 2nd in 23:39), Kate Healy (67th and 25th in 26:54), Rebecca Fleming (74th and 28th in 28:16), Miriam Logan (75th and 29th in 28:22), Una McCullagh (79th and 32nd in 28:24) and Rebecca Byrne (80th and 33rd in 28:25).

Joining Lisa Shine for her wedding down in Co. Cork, three of our number also ran in Castlehaven on Saturday morning. In a field of 35, Tanja Narancic placed 7th and 2nd in 28:14, followed by Olwyn Dunne (8th and 3rd in 28:17) and Mairead Cashman (24th and 16th in 35:38). Kate Murray ran in Bushy Park where she placed 25th and 3rd in 24:22 in a field of 88, whilst Toby Benham joined 32 other runners in Clonakilty, where he placed 4th in 21:59. Eoghan Corrigan found the course on Wexford Racecourse somewhat long (perhaps by as much as 100m) but still ran a creditable 22:19 for 9th place in a field of 61, whilst Colm Foley took on Griffeen Park where he placed 32nd in 23:21. The field measured 111. Richard Healy was our singleton runner in Shanganagh this week, taking 6th place in 18:59 in a field of 109, whilst Stephen Mulligan finished in 24th place in a field of 104 and a time of 24:45. In Marlay Park Fiona Lane joined 210 other participants, where she ran 27:57 for 134th and 31st places, whilst Tim Hyland headed up to Dundalk where, with 108 other runners, he placed 19th in 24:48. Darina Scully placed 16th and 4th in Gorey in a time of 25:42 and in a field of 78, whilst Cormac McGuire ran 23:46 for 7th spot in the 29-strong field in Tolka Valley. Diarmuid Byrne and Maria Pertl ran once again in Poppintree. In a field of 108, Diarmuid placed 63rd in 29:09, whilst Maria ran 35:03 for 86th and 23rd places. Finally, Brendan Glynn ran in the 30-strong field in Portumna where he placed 8th in 23:42.

IMRA Dargle Four Peaks (51)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruairi Long 1 01:34:44
9 Becky Quinn 1 02:05:36
Crusaders AC runners
8 Paul Flynn 02:05:18
9 Becky Quinn 02:05:36 (1)
15 Lean Ni Chiobhain 02:14:56 (2)
34 Gavan Doherty 03:10:50
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2226/
IMRA Djouce (Earl’s Drive) trail race (153)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Derek Crammond 1 00:28:59
25 Becky Quinn 1 00:34:02
Crusaders AC runners
23 Paul McNamara 00:33:50
25 Becky Quinn 00:34:02 (1)
28 Ollie McGrath 00:34:24
55 Pat Quill 00:38:40
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2211/
IMRA Mweelrea (29)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew McConnell 1 01:03:02
11 Becky Quinn 1 01:19:15
Crusaders AC runners
11 Becky Quinn 01:19:15 (1)
12 Paul Flynn 01:20:20
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2170/
IMRA Nephin (27)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew McConnell 1 00:48:29
10 Becky Quinn 1 01:04:15
Crusaders AC runner
10 Becky Quinn 01:04:15 (1)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2169/
Irish Runner 10-mile road race (national championships) (645)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mick Clohisey 1 00:51:03
33 Ciara Toner 1 01:00:26
Crusaders AC runners
36 Joe McDermott 01:00:53
76 Karl Walsh 01:06:39
95 Aoife Quigley 01:08:58 (5)
444 Martin Joyce 01:35:58
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/irish_runner_10_mile/4422/results
Kilkee Half marathon (452)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Joseph Lillis 1 01:16:07
10 Yuliia Tarasova 1 01:25:22
Crusaders AC runners
3 Frank Halligan 01:16:29
41 John Lohan 01:35:07
187 Tara Murphy 01:53:37 (53)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/run_kilkee_half_marathon_and_10k/4495/results
Edenderry 10-mile road race (245)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul O’Donnell 1 00:49:49
15 Michelle Finn 1 00:57:42
Crusaders AC runner
19 Ciarain Kelly 00:57:56
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/edenderry-ac-10-mile-road-race-2022/
Dundalk Parkrun (70)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Hill 1 00:19:09
2 Laura Mathews 1 00:19:57
Crusaders AC runner
19 Tim Hyland 00:24:48
Gorey Parkrun (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Maher 1 00:19:00
7 Suzanne Keane 1 00:22:09
Crusaders AC runner
16 Darina Scully 00:25:42 (4)
Clonakilty Parkrun (33)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mícheál Ó Sé 1 00:19:12
10 Lyndsey Tyro 1 00:25:22
Crusaders AC runner
4 Toby Benham 00:21:59
Poolbeg Parkrun (121)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:39
14 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:15
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:39
2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:44
7 John Healy 00:19:29
11 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:42
29 Josie Ward 00:23:39 (2)
67 Kate Healy 00:26:54 (25)
74 Rebecca Fleming 00:28:16 (28)
75 Miriam Logan 00:28:22 (29)
79 Una McCullagh 00:28:24 (32)
80 Rebecca Byrne 00:28:25 (33)
Shanganagh Parkrun (109)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen McGuinn 1 00:17:55
16 Suzanne Foot 1 00:21:05
Crusaders AC runner
6 Richard Healy 00:18:59
Tolka Valley Parkrun (29)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Fay 1 00:19:11
15 Sarah Lovely 1 00:29:41
Crusaders AC runner
7 Cormac McGuire 00:23:46
Cabinteely Parkrun (104)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aaron Fennell 1 00:18:27
17 Teagan Owens 1 00:24:06
Crusaders AC runner
24 Stephen Mulligan 00:24:45
Marlay Parkrun (211)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:49
17 Paula Prendergast 1 00:20:29
Crusaders AC runner
134 Fiona Lane 00:27:57 (31)
Castlehaven Parkrun (35)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rian Holton 1 00:24:42
2 Clare Lavery 1 00:25:59
Crusaders AC runners
7 Tanja Narancic 00:28:14 (2)
8 Olwyn Dunne 00:28:17 (3)
24 Mairead Cashman 00:35:38 (16)
Wexford Racecourse Parkrun (61)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cathal Dowd 1 00:18:31
2 Martina Kiely 1 00:19:13
Crusaders AC runner
9 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:19
Bushy Parkrun (88)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Slater 1 00:18:30
17 Sophie Marshall 1 00:23:34
Crusaders AC runner
25 Kate Murray 00:24:22 (3)
Griffeen Parkrun (111)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aidan Dowd 1 00:18:28
14 Elaine Clarke 1 00:21:47
Crusaders AC runner
32 Colm Foley 00:23:21
Poppintree Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Catherina McKiernan 1 00:18:17
3 Mark McGrath 1 00:19:00
Crusaders AC runners
63 Diarmuid Byrne 00:29:09
86 Maria Pertl 00:35:03 (23)
Portumna Parkrun (30)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ronan Daly 1 00:20:58
13 Myriam Shaughnessy 1 00:27:19
Crusaders AC runner
8 Brendan Glynn 00:23:42