Loving the Misery

5/8/2024

Cillian Doherty, Luke Timlin, Sean Owens and Leo Gormley

The Summer track season is coming to an end but is being finished off in style by Crusaders. As the season begins to wind down, we are, on the other hand, gathering momentum in road racing and there was much on offer over the weekend.

Last Wednesday evening saw the end of the Dublin graded meets, with its 8th edition in the Morton Stadium in Santry. We had a super presence of youthful athletes in the meet, preparing themselves for the U20 and U23 national championships at the weekend. In heat 1 of the men’s grade A 100m, Luke Timlin placed 2nd in 11.07, whilst Luc Culliton won heat 1 of the grade C event in 11.83. Then, in heat 2 of the grade C race, Leo Gormley placed 4th in 12.14. We then had 2 runners in the two grade 2 heats, each winning their heat. Andrew Hooke ran 11.95 in heat 1 and Jack Breen ran 12.02 in heat 2. Finally, in the 100m sprint final, Luc Timlin placed 7th in 11.22. Sean Owens contested the 110mH where he placed 2nd in 14.69, whilst we had 3 runners in the men’s 1500m. In the grade C race, Patrick W. Conlon placed 9th in 4:25.82, whilst Brendan Glynn and Paul E. Kelly placed, respectively, 15th in 6:09.71 and 16th in 7:14.52, in heat 2 of the grade D event.

Lastly, we had some success in the field. Three of our athletes contested the discus, with Jonathan Bell placing 2nd with his 4th throw and a distance of 33.57m. Harry Moylan was just behind in 3rd place with his 2nd throw of 32.05, followed by James Quinn (5th with his 4th throw of 30.38m). Then, in the hammer, Shane Cosgrave placed 3rd with his 2nd throw of 33.00m.

Then, on Saturday at the U20 and U23 championships in Tullamore, the U20 men’s 4 x 100 relay squad of Luke Timlin, Sean Owens, Cillian Doherty and Leo Gormley took the gold medal in a time of 43.03. Our other medallists in individual events were Hugo Magee who took bronze in a time of 22.10 in the U23 200m final, Sean Owens with a silver in the U20 110mH in 14.75 and bronze for Luke Timlin in the U20 200m where he ran 21.89 in the final, having placed 2nd in 22.17 in his qualifying heat. Leo Gormley had placed 7th in his heat of the U20 200m, whilst James Quinn placed 8th in the U20 discus with a throw of 30.93m.

In the same venue on Sunday, we saw several of our clubmates run well in the National Masters Championships. In the M50 100m Mick McDermott placed 4th in 13.52, then placing 5th in the 200m in 28.16 and finally claiming the silver in the 100mH in 21.73. Tessa O’Neill placed 4th in the F45 200m in 28.94, following that up with the gold medal in the 400m in 64.23. Paul Cowhie took silver in the M60 5000m race where he recorded a time of 18:03.45, whilst Enda Clarke also won silver in the M40 1500m in 4:23.69. Donal Swift took bronze in the M70 400m in 1:28.87, whilst Liam Lyster also took bronze in the M65 shot put with a throw of 8.77m. Congrats to all involved in national championships!

On to road racing, and on Friday evening Michael Wycherley and Miriam Logan took part in the Streets of Athboy 5k in Co. Meath. The course involved a significant downhill for the first kilometre and then a relatively flat remaining 4k on country roads conducted out and back with a big loop. The course was correct at 5k, but the intermediate markings were apparently a little unreliable. Michael described the conditions as perfect for such a race and this showed in his result. In a field of 411 he placed 12th overall and 2nd in his new age category of M50 in 17:05. Miriam placed 111th overall, 14th female finisher and 3rd in her F40 category in 19:48. Members may be interested to know that Catherine Thornton and Sean Murphy, who train with us from time to time, also ran in the race, with Catherine placing 31st overall, 4th female finisher and 1st F35 in 17:38, followed by Sean who placed 87th in 19:14.

Ciarain Kelly ran in the Carlingford 5k on Saturday, where, in a field of 483, he placed 44th in 16:47, then we had runners in at least two road races on Sunday. Robbie Moore ran in the Banna Run 10k organised by St. Brendan’s AC in Ardfert Co. Kerry. He reported that the first 3k were flat, followed by 2.5k of rolling hills and the remaining balance was a flat run in to the finish. Conditions were windy and warm. Robbie placed 46th in the field of 178, finishing with a time of 46:39. Finally, having warmed up with the Athboy 5k on Friday evening, Miriam Logan took on the Kilbeggan 10k in Co. Meath, with a view to taking it steady. She was, along with others, however, surprised at how hilly the event was, particularly with a steep climb to a motorway bridge crossing at around 15k. In fairness, however, the race organisers had described it as challenging. Miriam was joined by Olwyn and Joe Dunne who also found that the race required some unexpected effort. In a field of 193, many from clubs, Miriam placed 51st overall, 4th female finisher, behind women’s race winner Aoife Kilgallon, and 2nd F40 in 73:25. A highly satisfactory outing. Olwyn and Joe followed, with Olwyn placing 85th ,11th and 2nd F50 in 78:32 and Joe taking 88th spot in 79:05. Also, well worth the effort!

Further afield, our latest London exile, Chris Russell, ran in the Sri Chimnoy 10k in Battersea Park, where he recorded a time of 35:09. Meanwhile, one of our Italian exiles, Italo Giancaterina, ran 34:11 for the win in the X Nocturna Avezzanese in Avezzano in Italy on Saturday. The following evening he won another race, the Stramanaforno Gioa 10k, in a time of 35:27. Finally, one of our Spanish exiles, Esther Requena Ferri, placed 2nd in a late evening trail race on Saturday east of Malaga in southern Spain, running 1:39:45 over a distance of 17.5k.

There was another race in the Leinster League organised by IMRA on Wednesday evening. In a field of 141 we had 3 runners taking part in a race conducted over Church Mountain in Co Wicklow. It involved a race to the top of the mountain followed by a loop on open mountain and forest trails, with a climb of 545m and described as of moderate difficulty. Becky Quinn won the women’s race, placing 17th overall in 59:30, and she was followed by Clare Sullivan (53rd and 3rd female finisher in 66:33) and Ian Clifford (71st in 73:15).

With the good weather for the bank holiday weekend, numbers were up in the parkruns on Saturday morning. Once again, Ross Neill headed the field of 562 in Ormeau Park in Belfast with a time of 17:00. Meanwhile, Kathryn Tomkins (née Sweeney) placed 6th overall and crossing the line ahead of all the other women in the Omagh parkrun, in a time of 20:46. The field there measured 93. Our other first finisher was Michael O’Conor who ran in Falcarragh. In a field of 145, Michael ran 18:11.

There were also some podium finishers. In Poolbeg, with a field of 171, Ciara Regan placed 13th and 2nd in 21:21. She was headed by Zlatko Kulic (10th in 21:01) and followed by Kabir Sala (15th in 21:26), Sharon Woods (37th and 6th in 23:26), Jessica Norris (42nd and 8th in 23:52), Josie Ward (43rd and 9th in 23:53), Russell Murphy (52nd in 24:32), Louise O’Riordan (81st and 26th in 26:37), Lisa Branigan (122nd and 49th in 30:56), Siobhan Russell (135th and 55th in 31:43), Orla Kennedy (145th and 63rd in 34:23), with Kevin Kenny and Tara Murphy tailwalking. Caroline Crowley placed 8th and 2nd in 19:41 in the 288-strong field in Malahide. Caroline was followed by Aoife Cowhie (114th and 28th in 25:44), whilst, in Sligo, Karl Walsh placed 3rd in 19:31 in the field of 110.

John Lohan placed 6th in the 64-strong field in Knocknacarra, recording a time of 22:08, whilst we had three runners in Marlay Park. In a field of 416, Killian Barry placed 14th in 19:13, followed by Kev Moore (19th in 20:05) and Mary Donnelly (55th and 4th in 22:56).
We had at least 8 members taking part in the 400th edition of the Cabinteely parkrun whose numbers swelled to 217. Ronan Moynihan placed 12th on the hilly course in a time of 21:49, and he was followed by Tomás Dunne (66th in 25:59), Carina Davidson (114th and 28th in 29:15), Emer Kenny (124th and 34th in 29:57) and Olwyn Dunne, pacing (125th and 35th in 29:59), Máirín Shine (144th and 43rd in 31:31) and Lisa and Fiona Shine, tailwalking. Two of our clubmates ran in Shanganagh, with Dave Carter (14th in 20:06) followed by Mairead Cashman (183rd and 59th in 31:56) in a field of 244.

Kate Murray and Cynthia Perucca ran in Bushy Park, where, in a field of 154, Kate placed 49th and 7th in 24:40, with Cynthia finishing in 117th and 34th in 32:36. Aitor Arribas Velasco reported that he had recorded a PB time of 22:32 for his 29th place in the 284-field in Ballincollig, whilst we had three runners in Donabate. Brendan Glynn, who placed 30th in a field of 157 in a time of 23:42, was accompanied this week by Aoife Kelly (40th and 6th in 24:47) and by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (41st and 7th in 24:53). Andy Deuser placed 16th in 22:42 in the 141-strong field in Fairview where he was joined by Garret Connolly pushing a double buggy (117th in 37:10). One of our London exiles, Rob Glascott, placed 70th in the field of 766 in a time of 21:06, whilst another exile, Thom Martini, ran once again in Gunnersbury Park where he placed 88th in a field of 551 in a time of 22:47. Georgina Hawkins also ran in the UK, where, in the Clevedon Salthouse Fields parkrun with its field of 367, she placed 185th and 48th in 27:55. Hannah Jones joined 71 other runners in Narin Beach, where she placed 58th and 13th in a time of 33:23, whilst Kevin Flynn ran 39:19 for 76th place in the 94-strong field in Porterstown. Darina Scully recorded a time of 32:09 or 73rd and 23rd spots in the 150-strong field of Avondale Forest, whilst Ciara McElligott ran alongside 135 other runners in Killarney House Park, where she placed 113th and 44th in 32:56.

Kilbeggan 10 miler (193)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:54:20
12 Aoife Kilgallon 1 00:59:45
Crusaders AC runners
51 Miriam Logan 01:13:25 (4)
85 Olwyn Dunne 01:18:32 (11)
88 Joe Dunne 01:19:05
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/kilbeggan_10_mile_2024/5074/results
Carlingford 5k (483)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kieran Kelly 1 00:14:49
35 Hannah Gilliland 1 00:16:38
Crusaders AC runner
44 Ciarain Kelly 00:16:47
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/carlingford_5k_2024/5072/results
Streets of Athboy 5k (411)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Aaron Getty 1 00:15:24
13 Nichola Sheridan 1 00:17:06
Crusaders AC runners
12 Michael Wycherley 00:17:05
111 Miriam Logan 00:19:48 (14)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/streets-of-athboy-5k-2024/
Banna 10k (178)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Karl Lenihan 1 00:33:33
10 Susan Glennon 1 00:39:52
Crusaders AC runner
46 Robbie Moore 00:46:39
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/banna_run_2024_10k_5k/5073/results
IMRA Church Mountain 9.55k (141)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark McAdden 1 00:49:49
17 Becky Quinn 1 00:59:30
Crusaders AC runners
17 Becky Quinn 00:59:30 (1)
53 Clare Sullivan 01:06:33 (3)
71 Ian Clifford 01:13:15
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2510
Knocknacarra Parkrun (64)
Overall place Name Cat.Place Guntime
1 Cillian Gavin 1 00:20:13
2 Ellen Trench 1 00:20:41
Crusaders AC runner
6 John Lohan 00:22:08
Shanganagh Parkrun (244)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alan Duffy 1 00:16:45
45 Ava O’Connor 1 00:23:18
Crusaders AC runners
14 David Carter 00:20:06
183 Mairead Cashman 00:31:56 (59)
Ballincollig Parkrun (284)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Barry 1 00:18:49
18 Norleen Kenny 1 00:21:49
Crusaders AC runner
29 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:22:32 (PB)
Poolbeg Parkrun (171)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Anton Lavell 1 00:17:43
4 Christine Babcock 1 00:19:24
Crusaders AC runners
10 Zlatko Kulic 00:21:01
13 Ciara Regan 00:21:21 (2)
15 Kabir Sala 00:21:26
37 Sharon Woods 00:23:26 (6)
42 Jessica Norris 00:23:52 (8)
43 Josie Ward 00:23:53 (9)
52 Russell Murphy 00:24:32
81 Louise O’Riordan 00:26:37 (26)
122 Lisa Branigan 00:30:56 (49)
135 Siobhan Russell 00:31:43 (55)
145 Orla Kennedy 00:34:23 (63)
170 Kevin Kenny 00:47:57
171 Tara Murphy 00:47:57 (82)
Malahide Parkrun (288)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:18:28
5 Rachael Dowling 1 00:18:52
Crusaders AC runners
8 Caroline Crowley 00:19:41 (2)
114 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:44 (28)
Bushy Parkrun (154)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Patrick Tallon 1 00:17:46
15 Siobhan Nugent 1 00:21:17
Crusaders AC runners
49 Kate Murray 00:24:40 (7)
117 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:36 (34)
Falcarragh Parkrun (145)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael O’Conor 1 00:18:11
18 Norleen Kenny 1 00:21:49
Crusaders AC runner
1 Michael O’Conor 00:18:11
Porterstown Parkrun (94)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert Gilligan 1 00:18:52
6 Patricia McLoughlin 1 00:21:32
Crusaders AC runner
76 Kevin Flynn 00:39:19
Ormeau Parkrun (562)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ross Neill 1 00:17:00
2 Léa Adamson 1 00:17:41
Crusaders AC runner
1 Ross Neill 00:17:00
Sligo Parkrun (110)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rob Thornton 1 00:18:17
15 June Dever 1 00:22:35
Crusaders AC runner
3 Karl Walsh 00:19:31
Avondale Forest Parkrun (150)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Hunt 1 00:18:13
11 Layla Dixon 1 00:23:14
Crusaders AC runner
73 Darina Scully 00:32:09 (23)
Omagh Parkrun (93)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom Sherriff 1 00:18:07
6 Kathryn Sweeney 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
6 Kathryn Sweeney 00:20:46 (1)
Donabate Parkrun (157)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor McGuirk 1 00:16:25
16 Maura Matthews 1 00:21:46
Crusaders AC runners
30 Brendan Glynn 00:23:42
40 Aoife Kelly 00:24:47 (6)
41 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:24:53 (7)
Narin Beach Parkrun (72)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom Breslin 1 00:19:07
20 Niamh McMillan 1 00:26:17
Crusaders AC runner
58 Hannah Jones 00:33:23 (13)
Fairview Parkrun (141)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel Toal 1 00:18:05
23 Orla Smyth 1 00:24:33
Crusaders AC runners
16 Andy Deuser 00:22:42
117 Garret Connolly 00:37:10
Marlay Parkrun (416)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Halpin 1 00:17:23
27 Deirdre O’Connell 1 00:21:00
Crusaders AC runners
14 Killian Barry 00:19:13
19 Kev Moore 00:20:05
55 Mary Donnelly 00:22:56 (4)
Cabinteely Parkrun (217)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Golden 1 00:19:11
15 Malika Hammani 1 00:21:58
Crusaders AC runners
12 Ronan Moynihan 00:21:49
66 Tomás Dunne 00:25:59
114 Carina Davidson 00:29:15 (28)
124 Emer Kenny 00:29:57 (34)
125 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:59 (35)
144 Máirín Shine 00:31:31 (43)
209 Lisa Shine 00:56:47 (82)
210 Fiona Shine 00:56:49 (83)
Killarney House Parkrun (136)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Greg Hopkinson 1 00:17:38
6 Marie Claire Healy 1 00:19:44
Crusaders AC runner
113 Ciara McElligott 00:32:56 (44)