In the Company of Legends (current and future)

16/7/2017

Grainne Regan, Lorraine Healy, Fiona Shine and Amy Wright

What a week that was! We witnessed some fabulous track racing at the Morton Games and also at the IMC meet in La Cheile, but also there was an outstanding performance from Matthew Behan in the U23 European Championships in Bydgoszcz in Poland, denied a place in the 110mH final by 1/1000th of a second, despite a PB run. There were also standout performances on the track and on the roads this week from a lot of familiar Crusader names.

On the track the week started on Wednesday with the Morton Games, which included some IMC events among a plethora of international runners and a mile event that saw as many as 11 of the 16 runners go under 4 minutes. One of the most fascinating results of the evening was the 800m B race in which Niamh Boland took part. Niamh finished in 9th place in 2:17.25, but the race was won by Sonya O’Sullivan’s 15-year old daughter, Sophie, around 2:11. A name to watch. Michael O’Conor continues to get faster as an 800m runner, placing 6th in the men’s 800m D race in a PB time of 2:01.47, after a really strong sprint for the line. After a week of sickness, Brian Murphy tested himself out in the men’s 400m B race, placing 4th in a season’s best 48.41, behind a surging Ben Maze who ran a super-fast 2nd half of the race to take 2nd place in 47.71 and ahead of Nick Ennis who ran 49.72 to finish in 7th place. Jason Harvey was another of our top athletes at the games and he placed 5th in the 400mH in a time of 51.48.

On Thursday evening several of our members headed up to Drogheda for the 5th graded meet of the season there. In the mixed 1500 B race Brendan Glynn led our contingent home in a 12 second PB improvement, placing 11th in 5:19.22, followed by Darina Scully (11th in 5:23.27) and Lisa Shine (14th in 5:24.71). Paul Kelly ran in the mixed 1500m C event, taking 11th spot in 7:00.8. Again, in a mixed race, Liam Lyster ran 75.33 in the 400m D event, taking 4th place, with a similar result in the mixed 100m B, where Liam ran 13.7.

We come to Friday where Matthew Behan ran in the heats of the 110mH in the U23 European Championships. Only the first two of each heat qualified for the final and despite hitting at least 3 hurdles Matthew was well in contention all the way through his race. His PB time of 14.14, however, placed him in 3rd, but only 1/1000th of a second behind the Czech runner in 2nd after a photo finish.

Finally, on Saturday, in their 2nd meet of the week, and last of the season, Mike McGovern and Susan Walsh organised a track meet at Le Cheile AC’s track in Leixlip. It was a warm but really blustery day, so it was quite surprising to see PBs emerge from some of the events.

In the men’s 400m A race, an event full of international athletes, Brian Murphy ran an excellent race, not reflected in the time, probably because of the wind (and the winning time was 47:21), to place 4th in 49.33. Then in the women’s 800m B event, Fiona Shine ran a canny race, coming from right at the back after the first lap to place 7th in a PB time of 2:26.71. Amy Wright enjoyed a sprint for the line with Fiona, placing 8th in a time of 2:26.75, also huge improvement in time since her previous race, and Amy was followed by Lorraine Healy who trains with the club (9th in 2:27.60) and Grainne Regan, who placed 10th with a PB of 2:29.66 (a 3 second improvement). Kevin Woods was also running in a strong field in the men’s 800m A race and came through well to place 3rd in 1:51.03, quite possibly a PB for him. In the women’s 1500m, among a large field of 19 runners, we had 2 Crusaders. Niamh Boland, in her 2nd event of the week, placed 8th in 4:42.82, possibly a season’s best run, whilst Orla Kennedy ran well in no man’s land at times to place 17th in 5:02.84. Michael Kiely placed 9th in the men’s 1500m B race in 4:13.03, whilst Michael O’Conor, well in contention in the men 800m C race, was clipped and, unfortunately, fell out of the race at the bell. Finally, Adam McMullen duly won the long jump with a jump of 7.55m.

There was one race in the mountains this week, on Wednesday. This time the league moved to Bray Head and a moderately difficult course of 6k, with a climb of some 300m. Among the 206 runners we had 6 Crusaders competing. They were led home by Warren Swords who placed 8th in a time of 27:36, just 1m22s behind race winner Michael McCarthy (26:14). Warren was followed by John McAuley (13th in 28:34) and by a slightly out-of-sorts Brian McGuckin (37th in 31:53). Sonja Fuhrmann was next, in 33:20, placing 55th overall, 4th female behind Sonya McConnon (22nd overall in 29:55). Ali Onur Uyar came home in 67th place (33:51) and he was followed by Berndt Heim (194th in 47:15).

We now come to the road-racing events of the week, of which there were several. On Wednesday, the BHAA took over Irishtown stadium for a 5K run on a mixture of bike path in Ringsend Park and track. There was a good turnout from the club for the event. Frank Hague was first home, in 13th place (17:43), followed by Karl Walsh in 14th and given the same time. Michael Wycherley followed closely behind in 15th (17:53), with Joe Walsh not too far behind (21st in 18:15, quite possibly a PB). Ollie McGrath was next, in 29th (18:41), and he was followed closely by Tomas Mahony (30th in 18:42). The final members of the contingent were Gearoid Grogan (34th in 19:11), Simon Kenny (39th in 19:48), Robbie Moore (56th in 20:38), Olwyn Dunne (84th overall, 9th female, 2nd in her age category, in 22:53) and Sharon Woods (117th overall, 26th female, in 25:11). The field measured 135 runners (and there is a question mark over some of the times and positions recorded).

On Saturday morning, on an undulating course in windy conditions in the northern end of Phoenix Park, we had 3 Crusaders take part alongside nearly 1,000 other participants in the Spar Fit Live 5k. Gian Piero Allerta, who is coming off a slight injury, ran 20:29 to place 28th and he was followed home by John Fitzsimons (265th in 28:59) and John's daughter, Lorraine (418th overall, 182nd female, in 31:43). Then, on Sunday, there were several events from which to choose and we had some great performances in each of them. The first was the Celbridge 5K and Adrienne Jordan ran on a newly-modified (and arguably slower) course. In a race won, not unsurprisingly, by Peter Somba (15:2) and Ciara Hickey (8th overall, in 17:15), in her second win of the week, Adrienne joined 190 other runners on a tough course (an unexpected hill at mile 2 and an 800m finish on grass) to take 3rd spot in the women’s race, 24th overall and first F40, in a time of 18:40. On the same morning we had 5 runners in Mullingar for the 10 miler there. Rob Cross ran a super 54:39 to place 3rd not too far behind winner Freddie Sittuk (54:02) and the first M40 across the line. Joe McDermott also ran out of his skin to record a PB time of 1:00:57 (25th out of a field of 240 and a 4 minutes improvement), with Bob Cahill not too far behind in 33rd place (1:02:55). Aoife Clarke was one of two women in the race, the other being Fiona Bane and they ran, respectively, 1:17:32 (a PB time) and 1:25:29 to place 114th and 164th overall, 14th and 37th female finishers. Finally, in the well-organised Dunleer 4 mile later in the day, Ilona McElroy distinguished herself among the field of 333 runners, by placing 17th overall, 2nd woman home to Niamh Devlin, in a time of 24:24, 5 seconds ahead of 3rd place. The undulating course had a few drags and conditions were hot and windy.

We had two ultra-marathoners in action over the weekend. Our exile in Canada, Ian Kinsella, decided to take on his first ultra at the Northface 50k in the Blue Mountains and ended up sharing the podium with ultra legends Rob Krar, winner of the Western States 100 in 2014 and 2015, and Dean Karnazes, who needs no introduction! Then, Leo Lundy participated in the Spitfire 24-hours race in Hornchurch Park, Essex. Leo finished at 101K after having some nutritional and hydration issues for the first time ever (no solid food from 40 miles and no liquids from 50 miles). He was a little unsteady on his feet and the early onset of what felt like hallucinations decided him to call it a day with quite a bit of time still left on the clock. This still goes in as Leo’s 4th longest run ever and this was his 100th UK based Marathon or Ultra (64 UK marathons and 36 UK Ultras). The event was a poor cousin to the Endure 24 but at least the timing and medical support was good and runners were treated to the most amazing sunset over Central London.

As usual, we finish the report with a round-up of parkrun events in which Crusaders took part. Darina Scully joined 292 other runners in Malahide, placing 69th overall, 11th female, in a time of 23:42. Alban Coghlan was first finisher in the 141-strong field in Tymon, with a time of 16:43. Orlaith de Burca ran 26:13 to place 74th overall, 9th woman home, in Shanganagh, alongside 171 other runners. Tomas Dunne was another lone runner in Cabinteely, placing 6th out of 137 in a time of 21:17. In Father Collins Niamh Quinn ran 23:00 to place 23rd overall, 2nd woman home, in a field measuring 77 participants. Relative newcomer, Noel Reilly, like Alban this week, placed first finisher in Castlerea. Noel’s time was 21:13 and he finished ahead of 30 other runners. Lesley-Ann Doughan took 2nd place (18th overall) in a time of 21:20 and in a field of 227 runners. Finally, in the inaugural parkrun in Fairview, Parkrun's 65th event, on Saturday morning, 276 men and women participated in the run, among them 5 Crusaders. Colm Kernan led our contingent home in 5th place (19:36), followed by Denis Murphy (29th in 21:59), Sharon Woods (120th overall, 24th woman, in 26:08), Mairead Cashman (175th overall, 52nd woman, in 28:54) and Aoife Quinn (190th overall, 60th woman, in 29:31).

Thanks to BHAA and Peter Mooney for some of the photos.
BHAA DCC 5K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Burke 1 00:16:07
12 Ciara Hickey 1 00:17:21
Crusaders AC runners
13 Frank Hague 00:17:43
14 Karl Walsh 00:17:43
15 Michael Wycherley 00:17:53
21 Joe Walsh 00:18:15
29 Ollie McGrath 00:18:41
30 Tomas Mahony 00:18:42
34 Gearoid Grogan 00:19:11
39 Simon Kenny 00:19:48
56 Robbie Moore 00:20:38
84 Olwyn Dunne 00:22:53 (90
117 Sharon Woods 00:25:11 (26)
Full results here: https://bhaa.ie/events/dcc-5k-irishtown-2017/
Fit Live 5K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Anthony Flannery 1 00:17:06
5 Niamh Gallogly 1 00:18:15
Crusaders AC runners
28 Gian Piero Allerta 00:20:29
265 John Fitzsimons 00:28:59
418 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:31:43 (182)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/spar_fitlive_run_series/2261/results
Mullingar 10 miles
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Freddie Sittuk 1 00:54:02
15 Breege Connolly 1 00:58:44
Crusaders AC runners
3 Rob Cross 00:54:39
25 Joe McDermott 01:00:57 (PB)
33 Bob Cahill 01:02:55
114 Aoife Clarke 01:17:32 (PB) (14)
164 Fiona Bane 01:25:29 (37)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/mullingar_10/2266/results
Celbridge 5K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:15:22
8 Ciara Hickey 1 00:17:15
Crusaders AC runner
24 Adrienne Jordan 00:18:40 (3)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race-results/
Dunleer 4 miles
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paddy Hamilton 1 00:19:58
10 Niamh Devlin 1 00:23:30
Crusaders AC runner
17 Ilona McElroy 00:24:24 (2)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dunleer_4_mile_road_race/2205/results
Malahide Parkrun #245
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Declan Doherty 1 00:16:39
3 Annette Kealy 1 00:17:59
Crusaders AC runner
69 Darina Scully 00:23:42 (11)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/malahide/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=245
Tymon Parkrun #160
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alban Coghlan 1 00:16:43
14 Amy Moran 1 00:20:31
Crusaders AC runner
1 Alban Coghlan 00:16:43
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tymon/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=160
Shanganagh Parkrun #121
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul McKenna 1 00:17:51
6 Sarah Baryga 1 00:19:19
Crusaders AC runner
74 Orlaith de Burca 00:26:13 (9)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=121
Father Collins Parkrun #95
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alan Clarke 1 00:18:52
6 Elaine McNulty 1 00:20:09
Crusaders AC runner
23 Niamh Quinn 00:23:27 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=95
Cabinteely Parkrun #120
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Timothy Bowen 1 00:17:57
7 Susanna Murphy 1 00:21:24
Crusaders AC runner
6 Tomas Dunne 00:21:17
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=120
Castlerea Parkrun #14
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Noel Reilly 1 00:21:13
3 Charlene Curran 1 00:23:00
Crusaders AC runner
1 Noel Reilly 00:21:13
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/castlerea/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=14
Fairview Parkrun #1
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Bernard Roe 1 00:17:33
35 Nicola Mooney 1 00:22:24
Crusaders AC runners
5 Colm Kernan 00:19:36
29 Denis Murphy 00:21:59
120 Sharon Woods 00:26:08 (24)
175 Mairead Cashman 00:28:54 (52)
190 Aoife Quinn 00:29:31 (60)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=1
Bushy Dublin Parkrun #21
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Karl Chatterton 1 00:17:41
14 Christine Kinsella 1 00:21:08
Crusaders AC runner
18 Lesley-Ann Doughan 00:21:20 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/bushydublin/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=21