League and Masters action in Tullamore

27/7/2025

Enda Clarke

This week’s report belongs largely to our track and field athletes. On Saturday in the National Masters Track and Field Championships in Tullamore, some of our masters athletes were in action with much success. Then, on Sunday, at the same venue, we fielded a men’s team in the League Final, seeking promotion from division 1 to the premier division. In the end it was not to be, but there were some valiant efforts from the lads who turned out to represent us.

In the Masters National Championships on Saturday, Paul Francis took part in the M60 100m where he finished in 3rd place in a time of 13.76, whilst Tessa O’Neill ran in both the 200m and 400m, where, in her F45 category she also took the bronze medal in the former event in 28.29 and 2nd in a photo-finish in 65.35 in the latter race. Enda Clarke also ran in two events, where he won the M40 800m in 2:05.91, whist placing 4th in the later 1500m in 4:31.55.

In the field Karen Conway took on the discus and the hammer. In the F45 category, she won the hammer (4kg) with a throw of 25.3m, whilst placing 4th in the discus with a throw of 19.3m. Many congrats to all four of our athletes for a splendid medal haul.

At least 10 of our clubmates took part in the League final on Sunday. The afternoon started off with Gary Park taking part in the 400mH where he placed 6th in 81.96. Then, in the 4 x 100m relay, the team of Liam Beaumont, Leo Gormley, Jack Byrne and Charlie Bastow placed 3rd in 45.56. Alex Ainsworth ran a challenging 1500m to place 4th in 4:09.98, whilst Jack took on the individual 400m where he placed 2nd in 52.34, equal to our best result of the afternoon, which was also achieved by Colm Parnell who also placed 2nd in the 5000m where he recorded a great time of 15:05.43. Leo ran in the 200m where he placed 5th in a time of 23.97.

Gary, our veteran steeplechaser, took on the 3000m S/C once again, where he produced a super 3rd place in 11:43.93, whilst Lucas Ryan took 5th spot in the 800m in 2:00.91. Closing out events on the track, Liam ran the 100m where he placed 6th in 12.27.

In the field, Marcus Timlin nobly put himself forward to compete in both the discus (5th with a throw of 17.76m) and the javelin (also 5th with his 2nd throw of 18.72m). Finally, Leo also took himself out of his comfort zone to put the shot 5.31m for 6th place with one throw, whilst Harry Alexander placed 4th in the long jump, where, with his 3rd leap, he jumped 4.92m. In the end, it was not quite enough and the team placed 6th in the division. Onwards and upwards next year!

Road-racing kicked off on Thursday evening with the annual running of the Liberties 4-miler. In a field of 813, Eddie Nugent placed 28th overall and 2nd M50 in 25:56. David McEvoy was next across the line, placing 44th in 27:03, whilst Peter McCarthy was further back in 326th spot in a time of 35:57. David went on to run in the Cork Pride 5k on Saturday morning, where, in a field of 337, he placed 13th in 19:54.

We also had athletes running in the two events on offer in Kilkee in Co. Clare on Saturday morning. Maureen McGinley ran in the 10k with its field of 826, where she placed 159th overall, 54th female finisher and 1st in her F60 age category, in a time of 54:48. Then, in the 1055-strong field in the half marathon we had 3 clubmates also running well. Simon Everard achieved a PB time of 88:32 in placing 25th overall and 4th M45, whilst Kev Moore ran 91:17 for 42nd spot and Mary Donnelly placed 90th, 14th and 3rd F40 in 97:05.

Also on Saturday, Áine Kenny joined 93 runners in the Caltra AC-organised 5k in Co. Galway, where she placed 7th overall and 3rd female finisher in 20:15. Finally, news comes from San Francisco where Lisa Branigan ran in the marathon there, completing the distance in 3:51:15, whilst Aaron Farrell signed up to the half marathon that was held in conjunction with the longer race, finishing it in 94:15. Then, on Sunday, David O'Donnell took part in the Rosses AC 5k in Dungloe, whilst holidaying in Donegal. In the 92-strong race he placed 24th in 21:30.

There were two races in the mountains this week. The first was the usual Wednesday evening outing, this time a race to the top of Church Mountain in Co. Wicklow and a loop on open mountain and forest trails. There was a climb of 545m and a distance of 9.55k for the competitors who included at least four Crusaders. In the field of 146 finishers, Paul McNamara led the contingent home in 24th spot in a time of 59:50. Paul was followed by Brian McGuckin (37th in 64:18), Karl Walsh (61st in 70:00) and Gavan Doherty (94th in 79:13).

On Saturday, we had at least 3 runners in the field of 40 taking part in the Leinster Championship event on Lugalla in Co. Wicklow. On an unmarked course of 14k and a climb of 850m, Becky Quinn won the women's race, placing 14th overall in 1:59:34, whilst Donatas Jocius placed 10th in 1:54:25, followed by Brian McGuckin (26th in 2:20:33).

Crusaders took part in at least 12 parkruns on the island of Ireland on Saturday morning. Whilst we appeared not to have any first finishers on the morning, we did record several podium places.

Olwyn Dunne joined 164 other runners in Fairview Park where she placed 28th and 2nd in 25:34, whilst Jade Murphy ran in Poolbeg with at least 19 other Crusaders in a field of 246, placing 30th and 2nd in 21:35. Jade was joined by Joe Murphy (5th in 18:41) who was followed by Ross Neill (8th in 19:09), Darragh Jones (11th in 19:29), James Sherry (15th in 20:18), Daniel McGrath (18th in 20:39), Kabir Sala (53rd in 22:51), Aoife McCarthy (57th and 8th in 23:11), Saketh Ravuluri (72nd in 23:42), Josie Ward (76th and 11th in 23:52), Sharon Woods (89th and 15th in 24:45), Kevin Kenny (115th in 27:02), Tanja Narancic, just back from holiday in her native Serbia and using the parkrun as part of a long run (126th and 33rd in 27:26), Franky Keane (127th in 27:27), Fanny Trébouet (149th and 41st in 28:29), Ellen Walsh (150th and 42nd in 28:47) alongside Anna Hernick (151st and 43rd in 28:48), Mari Hansen (165th and 52nd in 29:33), Cynthia Perucca (199th and 72nd in 32:29) and Tara Murphy, tailwalking.

Niall O’Connell placed 5th in the field of 123 and in a time of 19:39 in the Midleton Greenway parkrun, whilst John Lohan took 9th spot in the 118-strong field in Athlone RSC in a time of 21:33. Ian Kinsella joined 196 other runners in Gorey, where he placed 8th in 20:25, whilst Barry O’Mahony placed 5th in Cabinteely in 20:44. In the field of 169, Barry was followed by Carina Davidson (113th and 31st in 31:53). Sarah Lyons placed 19th and 4th in 25:05 in the field of 46 in Tolka Valley Park, whilst shepherding her younger brother Reece, whilst Alma Hanevy also placed 4th (21st overall) in 22:08 in Brickfields with its field of 107. Mairead Cashman also ran there, placing 76th and 17th in 30:57.

Tim Francony ran down in Tralee, where, in a field of 296, he placed 32nd in 23:20, whilst Michael O’Conor ran along with 199 others in Wallace Park in Lisburn where he placed 22nd in 21:54. Down on Wexford Racecourse, Lisa and Máirín Shine joined 141 other participants, with Lisa placing 80th and 26th in 31:12, followed by Máirín who placed 115th and 46th pushing Fionnán’s buggy for a time of 36:44.

We had two runners at least in St. Anne’s where, in a field of 463, Paul F. Kelly ran 24:48 for 114th spot, followed by Emer Kenny (191st and 37th in 27:19), whilst, in Killarney House down in Co. Kerry, Ciara McElligott placed 111th and 38th in a time of 30:25 and in a field of 148 runners.

Finally, a couple of our clubmates joined some of our exiles running in UK parkruns on Saturday morning. Michael Wycherley ran in the Littlehampton Prom parkrun, with its field of 548, where he placed 7th in 17:39, whilst Kate Murray headed to Cheltenham where, in a field of 675, she placed 153rd and 15th in 24:36. Meanwhile, Thom Martini ran 23:52 for 103rd spot in the 634-strong field in Gunnersbury Park, whilst Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow, where, in a field of 393, he placed 175th in 28:15, and whilst Jeanie Watson ran in Hackney Marshes, where, in a field of 434, she placed 77th and 6th in 22:26.

Kilkee Half marathon (1055)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Gabriele Carraroli 1 01:13:06
14 Mary Gough 1 01:26:02
Crusaders AC runners
25 Simon Everard 01:28:32 (PB)
42 Kev Moore 01:31:17
90 Mary Donnelly 01:37:05 (14)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/run_kilkee_half_marathon__10km/5561/results
Kilkee 10k (826)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Durcan 1 00:33:28
11 Marie Howard 1 00:40:57
Crusaders AC runner
159 Maureen McGinley 00:54:48 (54)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/run_kilkee_half_marathon__10km/5561/results
Cork Pride 5k (337)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Arturo Pasos Suarez 1 00:16:40
5 Andrea Aza Villamor 1 00:18:31
Crusaders AC runner
13 David McEvoy 00:19:54
Full results here: https://www.corkathletics.org/latest-results/2025/464-july/3518-cork-pride-5k-road-race-results-july-2025.html
Liberties Fun Run 4-miler (813)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Karol Cronin 1 00:21:48
32 Dee Lyons 1 00:26:20
Crusaders AC runners
28 Eddie Nugent 00:25:56
44 David McEvoy 00:27:03
326 Peter McCarthy 00:35:57
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/2025-liberties-fun-run/
Caltra AC 5k (94)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Rian Collins 1 00:18:47
4 Siobhan Egan Lee 1 00:19:52
Crusaders AC runner
7 Áine Kenny 00:20:15 (3)
Full results here: https://redtagtiming.com/results/Caltra5km_2025.pdf
Rosses AC 5k (92)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David McKelvey 1 00:16:41
7 Helen McCready 1 00:18:24
Crusaders AC runner
24 David O'Donnell 00:21:30
Full results here: https://www.facebook.com/RossesAC/
IMRA Church Mountain 9.55k (146)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Pierre Dubreil 1 00:50:07
35 Susan Glennon 1 01:02:49
Crusaders AC runners
24 Paul McNamara 00:59:50
37 Brian McGuckin 01:04:18
61 Karl Walsh 01:10:00
94 Gavan Doherty 01:19:13
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2667
IMRA Lugalla 14k (40)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Bell 1 01:37:28
14 Becky Quinn 1 01:59:34
Crusaders AC runners
10 Donata Jocius 01:54:25
14 Becky Quinn 01:59:34 (1)
26 Brian McGuckin 02:20:33
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2701
Athlone RSC Parkrun (118)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Chikakula O’Loughlin 1 00:19:20
4 Nicola Moran 1 00:20:16
Crusaders AC runner
9 John Lohan 00:21:33
Wexford Racecourse Parkrun (143)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Evan Fitzgerald 1 00:14:52
4 Jackie Carthy 1 00:20:34
Crusaders AC Runners
80 Lisa Shine 00:31:12 (26)
115 Máirín Shine 00:36:44 (46)
Killarney House Parkrun (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kevin Moore 1 00:17:46
24 Lily Riordan 1 00:21:45
Crusaders AC runner
111 Ciara McElligott 00:30:25 (38)
Poolbeg Parkrun (246)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Gaimster 1 00:17:40
24 Kate Nelligan 1 00:21:15
Crusaders AC runners
5 Joe Murphy 00:18:41
8 Ross Neill 00:19:09
11 Darragh Jones 00:19:29
15 James Sherry 00:20:18
18 Daniel McGrath 00:20:39
30 Jade Murphy 00:21:35 (2)
53 Kabir Sala 00:22:51
57 Aoife McCarthy 00:23:11 (8)
72 Saketh Ravuluri 00:23:42
76 Josie Ward 00:23:52 (11)
89 Sharon Woods 00:24:45 (15)
115 Kevin Kenny 00:27:02
126 Tanja Narancic 00:27:26 (33)
127 Franky Keane 00:27:27
149 Fanny Trébouet 00:28:29 (41)
150 Ellen Walsh 00:28:47 (42)
151 Anna Hernick 00:28:48 (43)
165 Mari Hansen 00:29:33 (52)
199 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:29 (72)
246 Tara Murphy 00:55:49
Wallace Park, Lisburn Parkrun (200)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rory McCamphill 1 00:17:49
21 Stephanie Hawkins 1 00:21:52
Crusaders AC runner
22 Michael O’Conor 00:21:54
St. Anne’s Parkrun (463)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Daniel Scully 1 00:16:38
5 Maire Ferguson 1 00:18:01
Crusaders AC runners
114 Paul F. Kelly 00:24:48
191 Emer Kenny 00:27:19 (37)
Gorey Parkrun (197)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Raul Muresan 1 00:19:07
7 Ellie Philips 1 00:20:10
Crusaders AC runner
8 Ian Kinsella 00:20:25
Tralee Parkrun (296)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Chute 1 00:18:34
33 Siobhán Daly 1 00:23:28
Crusaders AC runner
32 Tim Francony 00:23:20
Brickfields Parkrun (107)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Maxim Bondarenko 1 00:17:43
11 Suzanne McGill 1 00:20:25
Crusaders AC runners
21 Alma Hanevy 00:22:08 (4)
76 Mairead Cashman 00:30:57 (17)
Fairview Parkrun (165)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Cahill 1 00:19:07
17 Caitriona Flynn 1 00:23:36
Crusaders AC runner
28 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:34 (2)
Cabinteely Parkrun (169)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luca Fattaccini 1 00:18:42
8 Lara Woods 1 00:21:48
Crusaders AC runners
5 Barry O’Mahony 00:20:44
113 Carina Davidson 00:31:53 (31)
Midleton Greenway Parkrun (123)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aidan Connell 1 00:16:37
9 Mary-Jane Casey 1 00:20:37
Crusaders AC runner
5 Niall O’Connell 00:19:39
Tolka Valley Parkrun (46)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sam Steenson 1 00:19:46
8 Anna Broderick 1 00:22:07
Crusaders AC runner
19 Sarah Lyons 00:25:05 (4)