Large fields for Dublin Masters XC and gold for John Healy

Standing: Coach Susan Walsh, Maureen McGinley, Niamh Corby, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Maria Kennedy, Grainne Regan, Kate Murray, Aine Kenny. Kneeling: Mairin Shine, Sharon Woods, Mairead Cashman, Olwyn Dunne

The sun shone on St. Anne’s Park in Raheny on Sunday afternoon for the annual visit of runners competing in the County Dublin Masters XC Championships. It was also quite warm for January and although there was generally an increasing wind in the region, because of the park’s aspects, it created no issues at all for the athletes. Indeed, underfoot conditions were similar to those of last year, with some athletes choosing to wear runners rather than spikes, noting that there was little mud on the course (only really on one of the corners leading out towards the woods). There were reports that the grass was a little long and also spongey in places, but this didn’t really impact what were extremely fast races, with strong quality fields on otherwise generally relatively hard ground (particularly through the wood and alongside the asphalt path next to it).
 
The women’s 3k was the first event. It involved an initial straight from the start along the edge of a playing field followed by 2 laps of approx. 1500m, each lap weaving its way around, and through, woodland. The substantial field of 180 runners was led home by MSB’s Kate O’Neill who enjoyed a decent lead for most of the race over Raheny athletes Kate Purcell and Annette Kealy until the last straight when she had to fend off a determined effort from Kate Purcell. Annette was running for Raheny’s O/50 team, but if she had been running as an O/35, her overall position of 3rd place would have been enough for her club to take the team gold medal. As it was, Sportsworld were delighted to be presented with the gold medal on count-back, whilst Raheny had to settle for silver. The Northsiders’ pleasure at winning the gold medal in the O/50 team competition might have been tempered a little by the knowledge that the club would have taken first place even without Annette. Still, these issues are an embarrassment of riches and a first world problem! However, it’s every selector’s nightmare and Crusaders have been there too in the past.

We had 11 runners in the event, and, although no medals were earned (the O/35 team placing 9th and the O/50 team, 5th), they gave their all and it was exciting to see everyone in action. Niamh Corby led the teams home in 32nd place with a competent steady run, followed by Grainne Regan and Dee Ni Chearbhaill who crossed the line side by side. With 200m to go, Dee had managed to pull ahead of Grainne, but the latter got a second wind to finish alongside with the same time and equal finishing position. A great result for both athletes. Aine Kenny was next, in 68th place, having started quite far back. Aine’s training regime for the upcoming Tokyo marathon may not have prepared her well for such a short sharp race, so in the circumstances it was an excellent result. Maria Kennedy placed 81st after a thrilling and determined sprint for the line and she was followed by Olwyn Dunne in 106th who had a steady race, as did Sharon Woods, just behind in 108th. Kate Murray was not far behind in 112th and then we saw Mairin Shine with a strong effort for 166th, followed by Maureen McGinley not too far behind (169th), with Mairead Cashman completing the contingent in 174th. Mairead had started out in very last place and was able to reel in runners around the course. A gutsy run!
 
A few minutes later it was the turn of the field of 291 men for their 6k race, involving the same start as for the women's race followed by 4 loops of the flat course. There was a runaway winner from Clonliffe (Colm Rooney) who enjoyed a 48 seconds margin over the Liffey Valley athlete in second place. Our first man home was Stephen Hurley in an excellent 16th place. Stephen made progress throughout the race and will have been delighted with the result. He was followed by masters debutant John Mulvihill who placed a creditable 20th in a bunching finish, with Peter O’Toole just slightly further back in 26th, finding the second half of the race a little challenging. Joe McDermott was determined to be the next Crusader over the line and so he was (33rd), holding off a spirited attack from Michael Wycherley (34th). Dee Lawlor also ran well for 38th and was followed some way back by Eddie Nugent who also enjoyed an excellent run (82nd), just ahead of John Healy (84th) who produced a stormer of a race and was in unbeatable form to take the gold medal in the O/60 category, with a margin of over a minute on the 2nd placed runner. Michael Maughan was next (133rd), followed by Tim O’Donnell (144th) and Brian McGuckin (155th) who managed to overtake 2 runners in his age category as they came towards the finish line. Karl Walsh placed 159th, followed by Patrick Needham (172nd) and David O’Donnell (210th), in his first outing for the club, who must have reeled in about 7 or 8 runners in the home straight with a magnificent kick. The contingent was completed by the stalwart cross country runner, Robbie Moore (246th). The O/35 team placed 6th out of 18, whilst our O/50 team took 8th place out of 14.
 
New Year resolutions were much in evidence in Saturday’s parkruns, with numbers well up on average. We had several first finishers among the many Crusaders who took part. In River Valley Park, Brian Scanlan finished ahead of the field in 19:56, whilst Brian Hyland matched the feat in Knocknacarra in 18:16. We also had a first finisher in one of the 3 Scottish parkruns in which Crusaders participated. In Portobello, Edinburgh, in a field of 445 runners, Esther Requena Ferri placed first in the women’s event (55th overall) in 21:29, whilst Cristian Vilchez Ceballos came home in 10th in 18:43. Mark O’Connor finished 2nd in Clarisford in 19:58, whilst Kenan Furlong also finished second in the massively-packed Poolbeg parkrun. Kenan ran 17:59 and he was followed home by Niall O’Connell (20th in 20:44), Isabelle Cairns (44th and 3rd in 22:28), Tanja Narancic (85th and 18th in 24:34), John Lohan (92nd in 25:09 with pacing duties), Ava Rose Clarke (93rd and 21st in 25:13), Mari Hansen (105th and 29th in 25:59), Niamh Quinn (114th and 36th in 26:30), Mark Swan (120th in 26:52), Grainne Regan (127th and 44th in 27:26), Roland Cottle (141st in 28:05), Milo Furlong (Kenan’s young son) (150th in 28:31) and Maureen McGinley (154th and 57th in 28:50). Luke Davis took 4th place in Tymon in 19:21, followed by Sharon Woods (44th and 4th in 23:35). In Mudgeeraba, in Queensland, Australia, Kris Ryan joined 218 other participants, placing 39th and 8th in 24:22, whilst, closer to home, Tony Owens ran in Fairview where he placed 17th in 22:43. Anna and Mairin Shine ran in Brickfields where they respectively finished in 88th and 89th places (33rd and 34th women) in times of 37:30 and 37:31. Paul F. Kelly ran in St. Anne’s where he placed 136th in 23:44, whilst Maria Pertl and Diarmuid Byrne ran in Poppintree. Maria placed 80th and 25th in 27:53, followed by Diarmuid (81st in 27:55). Helena O’Keeffe placed 114th and 22nd in 27:58 in Tralee, whilst Orlaith de Burca placed 133rd and 31st in 28:25 in Shanganagh. Barry O’Mahony took 7th place in Cabinteely in 21:05, whilst Liam Lyster placed 16th in 28:09 in Strokestown. Lisa Shine was our sole representative in Clonbur Woods with a time of 30:33 for 33rd and 14th places, whilst Colm Foley was the only Crusader in Killarney House, where he placed 43rd in 23:40. In Malahide, Ronan Moynihan took 7th spot in 18:11, whilst Rory Goldsmith was also 7th in Marlay Park in a time of 18:58. Rory was followed by Anthony O’Reilly (29th in 20:24), Killian Barry (31st in 20:28), Barry O’Neill (127th in 23:28) and Mairead Cashman (445th and 108th in 29:48). Brian Carroll ran in Griffeen Park, picking up 9th place in 20:03, whilst in Highbury Fields in North London, Kevin Regan ran 23:56 for 138th place in a field of 482. Finally, in Pollok Park in Glasgow, Aidan Hudner ran 23:05 for 58th place in a field of 413 and, in Edinburgh, Andrej Kujikis ran 24:15 for 247th place in a field of 779.

Members will be interested to hear that the United Striders athlete, Sean Murphy, who trains with us, placed 15th in a field of 299 in a 5k race in Ferrycarrig on Sunday. Sean's time was 29:31.
 
Dublin Masters XC women’s 3k (180)
Overall place Name Guntime
1 Kate O’Neill 00:11:55
Crusaders AC runners
32 Niamh Corby 00:13:48
=39 Grainne Regan 00:13:57
=39 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:13:57
68 Aine Kenny 00:14:33
81 Maria Kennedy 00:14:49
106 Olwyn Dunne 00:15:12
107 Sharon Woods 00:15:13
112 Kate Murray 00:15:19
166 Mairin Shine 00:17:36
169 Maureen McGinley 00:17:48
174 Mairead Cashman 00:18:15
Full results here:  https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_masters_cross_country/3463/results
Dublin Masters XC men’s 6k (291)
Overall place Name Guntime
1 Colm Rooney 00:20:10
Crusaders AC runners
16 Stephen Hurley 00:22:24
20 John Mulvihill 00:22:32
26 Peter O’Toole 00:22:47
33 Joe McDermott 00:23:04
34 Michael Wycherley 00:23:07
38 Dee Lawlor 00:23:20
82 Eddie Nugent 00:24:52
84 John Healy 00:24:53
133 Michael Maughan 00:26:00
144 Tim O’Donnell 00:26:14
155 Brian McGuckin 00:26:25
159 Karl Walsh 00:26:32
172 Patrick Needham 00:26:58
210 David O’Donnell 00:27:53
246 Robbie Moore 00:29:33
Full results here:  https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_masters_cross_country/3463/results
Malahide Parkrun #375 (462)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:17:41
17 Anne O’Brien 1 00:19:08
Crusaders AC runner
7 Ronan Moynihan 00:18:11
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/malahide/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=375
St Anne’s Parkrun #316 (638)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Damian Bourke 1 00:16:34
14 Maire Nic Amhlaoibh 1 00:18:50
Crusaders AC runner
Paul F. Kelly 00:23:44
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=316
Griffeen Parkrun #344 (247)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Dylan Wright 1 00:17:23
6 Niamh Murphy 1 00:19:27
Crusaders AC runner
9 Brian Carroll 00:20:03
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/griffeen/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=344
Marlay Parkrun #335 (741)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 James Kelly 1 00:17:08
21 Rachel Riordan 1 00:19:54
Crusaders AC runners
7 Rory Goldsmith 00:18:58
29 Anthony O’Reilly 00:20:24
31 Killian Barry 00:20:28
127 Barry O’Neill 00:23:28
445 Mairead Cashman 0:29:48 (108)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=335
Poolbeg Parkrun #125 (211)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Christopher O’Reilly 1 00:17:40
21 Margaret Galvin 1 00:20:55
Crusaders AC runners
2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:59
20 Niall O’Connell 00:20:44
44 Isabelle Cairns 00:22:28 (3)
85 Tanja Narancic 00:24:34 (18)
92 John Lohan 00:25:09
93 Ava Rose Clarke 00:25:13 (21)
105 Mari Hansen 00:25:59 (29)
114 Niamh Quinn 00:26:30 (36)
120 Mark Swan 00:26:52
127 Grainne Regan 00:27:26 (44)
141 Roland Cottle 00:28:05
150 Milo Furlong 00:28:31
154 Maureen McGinley 00:28:50 (57)
94 Don Anderton 00:50:40
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=125
Knocknacarra Parkrun #288 (75)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Hyland 1 00:18:16
12 Meabh de Burca 1 00:21:15
Crusaders AC runner
1 Brian Hyland 00:18:16
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/knocknacarra/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=288
Tymon Parkrun #289 (250)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Tristan Druet 1 00:16:59
2 Amy Moran 1 00:18:39
Crusaders AC runners
4 Luke Davis 00:19:21
44 Sharon Woods 00:23:35 (4)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tymon/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=289
Fairview Parkrun #127 (151)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Rob Bennett 1 00:19:25
24 Hazel Kenny 1 00:23:52
Crusaders AC runner
17 Anthony Owens 00:22:43
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=127
Brickfields Parkrun #104 (114)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Richard Twohig 1 00:18:33
4 Niamh Clifford 1 00:19:50
Crusaders AC runners
88 Anna Shine 00:37:30 (33)
89 Mairin Shine 00:37:31 (34)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/brickfields/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=104
Poppintree Parkrun #268 (176)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Garret Dunne 1 00:17:58
11 Denise Callaghan 1 00:21:49
Crusaders AC runners
80 Maria Pertl 00:27:53 (25)
81 Diarmuid Byrne 00:27:55
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=268
Cabinteely Parkrun #248 (230)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Pierre-Antoine Lengrais 1 00:19:06
21 Lucy Lawlor 1 00:23:07
Crusaders AC runner
7 Barry O’Mahony 00:21:05
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=248
River Valley Parkrun #180 (118)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Scanlan 1 00:19:56
3 Claire Tonry 1 00:20:45
Crusaders AC runner
1 Brian Scanlan 00:19:56
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/rivervalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=180
Shanganagh Parkrun #246 (266)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:16:39
8 Sarah Baryga 1 00:18:51
Crusaders AC runner
133 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:25 (31)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=246
Strokestown Parkrun #68 (76)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Frank Murphy 1 00:19:38
5 Louise Brennan 1 00:24:15
Crusaders AC runner
16 Liam Lyster 00:28:09
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/strokestown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=68
Clarisford Parkrun #268 (85)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Morrissey 1 00:19:04
9 Olive Gleeson 1 00:20:57
Crusaders AC runner
2 Mark O‘Connor 00:19:58
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/clarisford/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=268
Tralee Parkrun #263 (296)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:17:23
17 Mary Fitzsimons 1 00:21:33
Crusaders AC runner
114 Helena O’Keeffe 00:27:58 (22)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tralee/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=263
Clonbur Woods Parkrun #33 (100)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ethan Lloyd 1 00:17:30
9 Maura Ginty 1 00:23:10
Crusaders AC runner
33 Lisa Shine 00:30:33 (14)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/clonburwoods/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=33
Killarney House Parkrun #25 (179)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Donal Leahy 1 00:16:33
5 Niamh O’Sullivan 1 00:18:56
Crusaders AC runner
43 Colm Foley 00:23:40
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/killarneyhouse/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=25

Standing: David O'Donnell, John Healy, Dee Lawlor, Michael Wycherley, Peter O'Toole, Joe McDermott, Stephen Hurley, Michael Maughan. Kneeling: Patrick Needham, Tim O'Donnell, Eddie Nugent, Robbie Moore, John Mulvihill, Karl Walsh, Brian McGuckin.