In for the long haul

Brendan Glynn and Paul E. Kelly

Now that the Summer outdoor track season is more or less over and the cross-country season is not yet upon us, we are in the thick now of the full and half marathons, with the shorter distance races continuing to attract runners. However, this report is dominated by the longer distances, near and far!

Several of our members headed to Kerry for the weekend to take part in the Dingle Full and Half marathons. The races are highly scenic, but also challenging.

We had at least three runners in the marathon, at least one of whom was using the race as a rehearsal for the Dublin marathon. On the circular loop in sunny, warm and humid conditions and little wind, David Healy was first Crusader across the line in a field of 669. David ran 3:53:26 for 123rd place. With a faster chiptime, but behind on gun, Daniel O’Mahony was next, in 133rd place with a chiptime of 3:50:35, and they were both followed not too far behind by Niall Collins, his training having been impacted by a slight injury, who placed 235th in a time of 4:11:26.

At least 5 Crusaders contested the half marathon with its much larger field of 1,482 finishers. Rory Goldsmith took 17th place in a time of 1:27:14 and he was followed by Séamas Bulaeir (278th in 1:50:12). Next came James Hogan (479th in 2:06:17) with Barry O’Neill not too far behind (502nd in 2:06:06). Carina Davidson also made the trip, placing 570th overall and 200th female finisher in 2:11:49.

On the same day, Saturday, Kate Murray found herself in Waterford running alongside 593 other runners in the Greenway Half Marathon, a race conducted on the former Waterford/Dungarvan rail line (involving at sone point running through a tunnel). Kate placed 189th overall, 32nd female finisher and 2nd F50 in a time of 1:44:16.

Then, on Sunday, Lucan Harriers hosted its 5-mile race with a field of 343 runners, including at least 4 of our clubmates. The contingent was led home by Paul Cowhie with the 59-year-old running a super 29:06 for 12th place and 2nd M50. Paul was followed by Karl Fitzmaurice who ran 31:37 for 30th place and he was followed by Brendan Glynn (117th in 39:31). The 3 runners made up a team, placing 6th in a competition involving 12 clubs. The contingent was completed by Paul E. Kelly who ran 48:12 for 229th place.

Further afield, in hot and humid conditions, Kevin Fitzgibbon took part in the Big Half in London where he ran 1:16:26 a new PB for the half marathon. Thom Martini who returned to the UK from Ireland a while back also ran, finishing in 1:43:26. Niamh Allen ran in the New South Wales half marathon championships in Sydney, taking the gold medal in a fabulous time of 1:12:44. Meanwhile, another half marathon was completed in Burnley, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, by Marty James, our exile there. Marty finished in 1:27:31. Closer to home, Pat Quill participated in the UTMB 100k in the Alps, where he covered the mountainous distance in 25:20:14, placing 1,436th. The race involved an elevation gain of over 6000m.

As usual, we had some good runs on Saturday morning in parkruns. Ross Neill led the field of 395 home in Ormeau Park in Belfast with a time of 17:30, whilst Ciara Ryan ran with 156 other participants in Castlewellan, placing 7t overall and first female finisher in 20:24. Darina Scully was also a first finisher, placing 15th overall in a field of 101 in a time of 24:08, whilst Toby Benham came home in 2nd place in Tramore Valley with a time of 17:58. Also, in the field of 149 there, Helena O’Keeffe placed 37th and 6th in 24:02. John Lohan took 2nd spot in Inch Beach in a time of 21:39 and he was followed in the field of 45 by Tara Murphy (9th and 3rd in 26:47).

Eddie Nugent ran in Haga in Sweden. In a field of 165, Eddie placed 8th in 19:15, whilst, in Cabinteely, David Carter joined 126 other runners where he placed 4th in 20:10. Eoghan Corrigan placed 10th in Avondale Forest in a field of 161 with a time of 23:28, whilst Andy Deuser ran in Fairview where he took 20th spot in a field of 134 in 22:32. Russell Murphy was also a lone Crusader in Bushy Park where he joined 139 other runners, placing 39th in 25:50, whilst Áine Crotty enjoyed her hen part outing in Grand Canal Way, Tullamore, where in a field of 41, she placed 30 and 12th in 42:28. Máirín, Lisa and Fiona Shine ran in Carlow with its field of 65, where Máirín placed 30th and 11th in 29:52, followed by Lisa (36th and 14th in 31:48) and Fiona (37th and 15th in the same time as Lisa), whilst Michael Maughan ran in St. Anne’s where he took 61st spot in 22:23. The field measured 425.

Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 302, he placed 77th in 25:07, whilst Orlaith de Burca took on the 451-strong field in Marlay where she placed 337th and 106th in 31:04. Brendan Glynn ran in Donabate with 161 other runners, where he placed 24th in 23:39, whilst we had 3 Crusaders in Shanganagh, as part of their marathon-training long runs. In a field of 220, Joe Dunne placed 64th in 25:09, followed by Tanja Narancic (65th and 11th in 25:10) and Olwyn Dunne (66th and 12th in 25:13). Finally, we had at least 12 Crusaders take part in the 168-strong field in Poolbeg. Young Daniel Sheridan led the contingent home in 9th place in 20:18 and he was followed by Zlatko Kulic (30th in 22:25), Josie Ward (52nd and 10th in 24:11), Kenan Furlong, pacing the 25 minutes runners (68th in 25:13), Aoife Cowhie (81st and 16th in 26:17), Franky Keane, just back from his holidays (90th in 26:50), Kevin Kenny (97th in 28:04), Evelyn Neary (104th and 26th in 28:13), Maureen McGinley (106th and 28th in 28:26), Cathal O’Hara (107th in 28:29), Cynthia Perucca (140th and 49th in 35:24) and Fiona Bane, tailwalking.

Dingle Half Marathon (1482)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Meade 1 01:13:17
9 Aoife Cooke 1 01:24:51
Crusaders AC runners
17 Rory Goldsmith 01:27:14
278 Séamas Bulaeir 01:50:12
479 James Hogan 02:06:17
502 Barry O’Neill 02:06:06
570 Carina Davidson 02:11:49 (200)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon/4672/results
Dingle Marathon (669)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Donal Moran 1 02:43:19
14 Aisling O’Connor 1 03:17:27
Crusaders AC runners
123 David Healy 03:53:26
133 Daniel O’Mahony 03:50:35
235 Niall Collins 04:11:26
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon/4672/results
Lucan Harriers 5-mile (343)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:25:05
21 Laura Buckley 1 00:30:35
Crusaders AC runners
12 Paul Cowhie 00:29:06
30 Karl Fitzmaurice 00:31:37
117 Brendan Glynn 00:39:31
229 Paul E. Kelly 00:48:12
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/lucan_harriers_ac_5_mile/4791/results
Greenway Half Marathon (594)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Pat Fitzgerald 1 01:12:19
31 Erika Dowling 1 01:24:11
Crusaders AC runner
189 Kate Murray 01:44:16 (32)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/eurofins_greenway_half_marathon_2023/4918/results
Ormeau Parkrun (395)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ross Neill 1 00:17:30
3 Anna Gardener 1 00:17:43
Crusader AC runner
1 Ross Neill 00:17:30
Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (149)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciaran Costello 1 00:17:44
16 Louise Morgan 1 00:21:05
Crusaders AC runners
2 Toby Benham 00:17:58
37 Helena O’Keeffe 00:24:02 (6)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (425)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Charlie O’Neill 1 00:16:43
10 Aoibhinn McGoldrick 1 00:19:17
Crusaders AC runner
61 Michael Maughan 00:22:23
Castlewellan Parkrun (157)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alistair McMaster 1 00:17:58
7 Ciara Regan 1 00:20:24
Crusaders AC runner
7 Ciara Regan 00:20:24 (1)
Marlay Parkrun (451)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Hehir 1 00:16:03
12 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:18:51
Crusaders AC runner
337 Orlaith de Burca 00:31:04 (106)
Poolbeg Parkrun (168)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Callum Moore 1 00:16:28
4 Anne Kenchington 1 00:19:07
Crusaders AC runners
9 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:18
30 Zlatko Kulic 00:22:25
52 Josie Ward 00:24:11 (10)
68 Kenan Furlong 00:25:13
81 Aoife Cowhie 00:26:17 (16)
90 Franky Keane 00:26:50
97 Kevin Kenny 00:28:04
104 Evelyn Neary 00:28:13 (26)
106 Maureen McGinley 00:28:26 (28)
107 Cathal O’Hara 00:28:29
140 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:24 (49)
168 Fiona Bane 00:54:45
Donabate Parkrun (162)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cormac Moussally 1 00:19:30
6 Geraldine McHale 1 00:21:26
Crusaders AC runner
24 Brendan Glynn 00:23:39
River Valley Parkrun (101)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:20:05
15 Darina Scully 1 00:24:08
Crusaders AC runner
15 Darina Scully 00:24:08 (1)
Grand Canal Way Tullamore Parkrun (41)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Purcell 1 00:20:38
5 Mary McIntyre 1 00:24:17
Crusaders AC runner
30 Áine Crotty 00:42:28 (12)
Shanganagh Parkrun (220
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom Moseley 1 00:18:51
4 Eleanor Foot 1 00:19:37
Crusaders AC runners
64 Joe Dunne 00:25:09
65 Tanja Narancic 00:25:10 (11)
66 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:13 (12)
Bushy Parkrun (140)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Seán Cahill 1 00:18:56
4 Clara Kinsella 1 00:19:24
Crusaders AC runner
39 Russell Murphy 00:25:50
Fairview Parkrun (134)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Shane Merrigan 1 00:19:21
28 Jools Hughes 1 00:23:24
Crusaders AC runner
20 Andy Deuser 00:22:32
Carlow Parkrun (65)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Adrian Bidos 1 00:20:35
13 Aisling Dunphy 1 00:26:37
Crusaders AC runners
30 Máirín Shine 00:29:52 (11)
36 Lisa Shine 00:31:48 (14)
37 Fiona Shine 00:31:48 (15)
Avondale Forest Parkrun (161)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James Dempsey 1 00:19:26
9 Ava O’Connor 1 00:23:23
Crusaders AC runner
10 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:28
Cabinteely Parkrun (127)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Terek 1 00:19:09
7 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:21:17
Crusaders AC runner
4 David Carter 00:20:10
Inch Beach Parkrun (45)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Herlihy 1 00:17:52
6 Anne Kelliher 1 00:24:42
Crusaders AC runners
2 John Lohan 00:21:39
9 Tara Murphy 00:26:47 (3)

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Paul Cowhie

Paul E. Kelly

Niamh Allen

L-R: Niall Collins, Daniel O'Mahony and friend

Daniel O'Mahony