London (among others) calling

21/4/2024

Margaret Foley, Tom Foley and family

We are all now wondering whether Spring has finally sprung, with warm conditions experienced in Ireland over the weekend. Such conditions, however, were not necessarily experienced elsewhere on Sunday, where we saw most of the action.

We start with the Royal Canal Ultramarathon on Saturday morning which was won by Donatas Jocius. Donatas completed the 52k distance in a great time of 3:50:43. On a flat out-and-back course, the field measured 33 finishers.

The next race in which we had a runner was the Maynooth 5k held on the flattish roads of Kildare on Sunday morning, where, in a field of 417, Alex Ainsworth recorded a super PB time of 16:07 for 2nd place. Then, further south, in the Model County, we had runners in Wexford for the 10k and half marathon races there, which took place in warm conditions, the races being challenging enough with their hills.

In the 10k, in a field of 840, Kenan Furlong placed 8th in a time of 37:22. Kenan was our sole representative in that event. However, we had at least 9 Crusaders feature in the half. In a field of 1336 finishers, Rory Goldsmith led the contingent home in 14th place in a time of 82:59. Rory was followed by Ciara Lynch (115th and 12th female finisher in 96:12) and then by Kabir Sala (279th in 1:42:35), Ciara Black (436th and 76th in 1:53:25), Lydia Bigley (526th and 108th in 1:55:57), John Corish (639th in 1:57:09), Liam Pardoe (712th in 2:00:43), Tara Murphy (774th and 219th in 2:04:04) and Frank Renehan (848th in 2:06:49).

We also had several runners in the half marathon as part of the Connemarathon series of races on Sunday. On a hilly course in warm conditions, Aaron Farrell led our contingent across the finish line in 3rd place in a field of 1,365 finishers. Aaron’s time was 88:57, and he was followed by Liam Morris (89th in 1:43:48), Graham Tucker (1:45:48), Darragh O’Brien (231st in 1:52:12) and Mark Browne (352nd in 1:57:38).

Further afield, at least eight of our clubmates took part in the London marathon. Michael Kiley in the first half and Ger Forde in the second, supported Thurles’ visually-impaired athlete, Declan Ryan, to a 2:44:57 finish, whilst we had 5 other runners complete the full marathon. Kevin Fitzgibbon recorded another marathon PB with his super 2:38:53, an improvement of around 50 seconds, whilst Margaret Foley also recorded yet another PB, this time of around 12 minutes, in finishing in a brilliant 3:09:46.

Mags was followed home by Seamus Moore, who ran a creditable 3:10:09, after an injury-impacted build-up, with Áine Kenny, in her 5th running of the London marathon, also recording an excellent 3:18:00 finish. Further back came one of our London-based exiles, Louise Van Wildermeersch, who ran a PB time of 3:38:55. Our final competitor was Kate Murray. Having completed the Tokyo marathon just over a month ago, Kate ran 4:37:35. Conditions were great at the start at around 6 degrees Celsius, but would have warmed up a little during the race. There was a bit of a northeasterly wind, but conditions can really be described as totally acceptable!
On the other hand, Charles Cartledge and Djinn Von Noorden had to experience strong winds, horizontal rain, hail and snow in the chilly Zurich marathon on Sunday morning. Charles ran 4:06:57 and Djinn recorded a time of 4:29:20. The luck of the draw! Conditions appear to have improved later on in the day for the Zurich 10k, in which Lukasz Batruch recorded a time of 38:18, the first time he has broken 40 minutes for the distance.

Elsewhere over the weekend, another of our exiles, Maurice Kelter, took part in yet another marathon down under. This time he ran in Newcastle, north of Sydney, where he placed 3rd in a time of 2:44:11. In Spain, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri, two of our Spanish exiles, ran in the Velez Malaga Half marathon, where they each placed 3rd too, Cristian recording a time of 79 minutes and Esther, 88 minutes.

The sun brought out lots of parkrunners on Saturday morning and in several of the runs the ranks were swelled as a result.

We maintained our tradition of securing podium placements, with Ross Neill leading the field of 227 home in Poolbeg. Ross ran 17:22 and was followed by Simon Kenny (6th in 18:50), Adrian Groarke (10th in 20:40), Caroline Crowley (20th overall and 2nd female finisher in 21:26), Franky Keane (40th in 23:45), Kevin Kenny right behind (41st in 23:46) with John Lohan a little further back (43rd in 23:50). Next came Fiona Bane (45th and 7th in 23:56), followed by James Bradshaw (48th in 24:14), Russell Murphy (58th in 24:27), Kenan Furlong (66th in 24;42) just ahead of Alby Allan who is nursing a slight (hopefully) injury (67th in 24:43), Josie Ward (78th and 12th in 25:11) as she prepares for the Geneva marathon. Tanja Narancic (98th and 18th in 27:07) was next, alongside Joe Dunne (99th in 27:08) and they were followed by Maureen McGinley (139th and 44th in 29:35) and Cynthia Perucca (169th and 64th in 32:37). Members may be interested to know that Anna Gallo’s father ran again in Poolbeg (102nd in 27:14).

Like Ross and Caroline, Karl Walsh was another podium finisher. He ran in the 238-strong field in Naas where he placed 2nd in 18:12, whilst Mairead Cashman placed 26th and 3rd in Carlow Town in a time of 31:20, alongside 75 other runners. Our final podium-placer was John O’Donnell who got himself a decent shakeout in Shanganagh as he prepares for next week’s Hamburg marathon. John ran 18:29 in a field of 215, placing 3rd, and followed by Jill Nason (123rd and 49th in 29:56).

Toby Benham placed 5th in Clonmel in a time of 22:36 in a field of 73, whilst Dale Whelehan joined 126 other participants in Glengarriff where he placed 7th in 21:04. Darina pushed her buggy round River Valley Park, placing 44th and 8th in a field of 113, and producing a time of 28:58. Then, in St. Anne’s, Eugene O’Neill placed 5th in a field of 498, in a time of 18:17. Eugene was followed by Phelim Murray and Cian Coughlan (together running 26:17 for 162nd and 163rd spots) and by Sarah Lyons and Áine Crotty (who together ran 31:35 for 347th and 348th overall, 142nd and 143rd female finishers).
Maria Pertl was our lone runner in Tolka Valley Park, where, in a field of 62, she placed 48th and 16th in a time of 31:06, whilst Andy Deuser ran in Fairview, where, in a field of 191, he placed 20th in a time of 22:42.

Thom Martini, one of our London exiles, ran 23:51 for 28th place in the field of 190 in Crane Park, whilst Phil Sykes took on the parkrun in Fulham Palace where he placed 191st in 24:09 in a field of 775. Also, Clare Sullivan took advantage of a trip to The Hague in the Netherlands by running in the Zuiderpark Den Haag parkrun, where, in a field of 134, she ran 18:55 for 4th place overall and 2nd female finisher.

Finally, we had some good numbers in Shanganagh where Orlaith de Burca and Máirín Shine tailwalked and where Lisa Shine finished just ahead in 513th and 230th in a field of 526 and in a time of 49:42. Meanwhile, Fiona Shine placed 419th and 165th in 33:11, followed by Mari Hansen (453rd and 187th in 35:28) and Rhona McGrath (454th and 188th in 35:43), who was not too far behind Mari.

Wexford 10k (840)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Davis Mahon 1 00:32:36
19 Grainne Brennan 1 00:41:30
Crusaders AC runner
8 Kenan Furlong 00:37:22
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/pettitts_supervalu_wexford_half_marathon__10km_2024/4931/results
Maynooth 5k (417)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Adam Foy 1 00:16:02
5 Lisa Madden 1 00:16:52
Crusaders AC runner
2 Alex Ainsworth 00:16:07 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/maynooth-10k-5k-2024/#1_7336A4
Wexford Half marathon (1336)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul Doran 1 01:12:50
47 Natalee Heiser 1 01:27:35
Crusaders AC runners
14 Rory Goldsmith 01:22:59
115 Ciara Lynch 01:36:12 (12)
279 Kabir Sala 01:42:35
436 Ciara Black 01:53:25 (76)
526 Lydia Bigley 01:55:57 (108)
639 John Corish 01:57:09
712 Liam Pardoe 02:00:43
774 Tara Murphy 02:04:04 (219)
848 Frank Renehan 02:06:49
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/pettitts_supervalu_wexford_half_marathon__10km_2024/4931/results
Connemarathon Half (1365)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Marc Augustin 1 01:14:58
9 Eimear O’Leary 1 01:31:11
Crusaders AC runners
3 Aaron Farrell 01:28:57
89 Liam Morris 01:43:48
122 Graham Tucker 01:45:48
231 Darragh O’Brien 01:52:12
352 Mark Browne 01:57:38
results here: https://www.connemarathon.com/results/
Royal Canal Longford Ultra (33)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Donatas Jocius 1 03:50:43
3 Deirdre Martin 1 04:01:37
Crusaders AC runner
1 Donatas Jocius 03:50:43
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/royal-canal-run-longford-2024/
Clonmel Parkrun (73)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Darragh Ryan 1 00:19:35
2 Orla Mulholland 1 00:21:14
Crusaders AC runner
5 Toby Benham 00:22:36
Shanganagh Parkrun (215)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul McKenna 1 00:17:13
10 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:30
Crusaders AC runners
3 John O’Donnell 00:18:29
123 Jill Nason 00:29:56 (49)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (62)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tyrone O’Neill Power 1 00:20:12
11 Tricia Gough 1 00:23:12
Crusaders AC runner
48 Maria Pertl 00:31:06 (16)
Poolbeg Parkrun (227)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ross Neill 1 00:17:22
7 Lauren O’Sullivan 1 00:18:55
Crusaders AC runners
1 Ross Neill 00:17:22
6 Simon Kenny 00:18:50
10 Adrian Groarke 00:20:40
20 Caroline Crowley 00:21:26 (2)
40 Franky Keane 00:23:45
41 Kevin Kenny 00:23:46
43 John Lohan 00:23:50
45 Fiona Bane 00:23:56 (7)
48 James Bradshaw 00:24:14
58 Russell Murphy 00:24:27
66 Kenan Furlong 00:24:42
67 Alby Allan 00:24:43
78 Josie Ward 00:25:11 (12)
98 Tanja Narancic 00:27:07 (18)
99 Joe Dunne 00:27:08
139 Maureen McGinley 00:29:35 (44)
169 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:37 (64)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (498)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel De Palol 1 00:16:32
10 Zoe Quinn 1 00:18:42
Crusaders AC runners
5 Eugene O’Neill 00:18:17
162 Phelim Murray 00:26:17
163 Cian Coughlan 00:26:17
347 Sarah Lyons 00:31:35 (142)
348 Áine Crotty 00:31:35 (143)
Naas Parkrun (238)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dave Courtney 1 00:18:09
5 Geraldine Moffat 1 00:19:14
Crusaders AC runner
2 Karl Walsh 00:18:12
Marlay Parkrun (526)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Meghan Ryan 1 00:16:48
2 Ethan Bramhill 1 00:16:48
Crusaders AC runners
419 Fiona Shine 00:33:11 (165)
453 Mari Hansen 00:35:28 (187)
454 Rhona McGrath 00:35:43 (188)
513 Lisa Shine 00:49:42 (230)
521 Orlaith de Burca 00:52:30 (235)
522 Máirín Shine 00:56:23 (236)
Carlow Town Parkrun (76)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Graham Bourne 1 00:20:11
15 Kerrie Evans 1 00:25:22
Crusaders AC runner
26 Mairead Cashman 00:31:20 (3)
Glengarriff Parkrun (127)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Bobby Tangney 1 00:18:52
22 Niamh Casey 1 00:23:42
Crusaders AC runner
7 Dale Whelehan 00:21:04
Fairview Parkrun (191)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paddy Murphy 1 00:18:46
27 Nóra Butler 1 00:23:12
Crusaders AC runner
20 Andy Deuser 00:22:42
River Valley Parkrun (113)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:18:29
5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:30
Crusaders AC runner
44 Darina Scully 00:28:58 (8)