Major Road Racing Success – PBs galore!

25/9/2023

L-R standing: Paul O'Hara, James Cottle, Kieran Martin, Dee Lawlor, Sharon Woods, Kevin Kenny, Lieze Verberght, Andy Garcia, Ross Neill, Hannah Jones. Kneeling: Mairead Cashman

There are loads to get through this week, with some substantial club presence in just a handful of races.

Before we start on this week’s results, however, we have an update to the results of the Dublin 10 mile championships held as part of the Irish Life Frank Duffy 10-miler back in late August. After much challenging of the originally-published results, we now have some extremely good news on the outcome.

Firstly, with the individual medals: Dee Lawlor won the gold medal in the M45 age category, whilst Brendan Murphy took senior bronze. Paula Bradshaw also took her first ever medal, winning the F40 bronze, whilst James Cottle was confirmed as taking the M65 silver medal. We were also super successful in the team results. A team of Ciara Regan, Ciara Lynch, Maeve Lochrie and Áine Crotty took the senior women’s bronze, whilst our O/35 team of Paula Bradshaw at its helm, with Rebecca Fleming, Dee Ni Chearbhaill and Lisa Branigan won the women’s O/35 team gold, by a margin of 6 seconds over Bros. Pearce! A team of Brendan Murphy, Dee Lawlor, Rory Goldsmith and Cian Coughlan won the men’s senior team silver medal.

The Co. Dublin medal-winning habit continued on Sunday morning in the Dublin 5k road championships with Kieran Little taking individual gold in the M35 category, along with Paul Cowhie who took gold in the M55 category. They were joined by Nina Holmes who won silver in the F35 age group, alongside Kevin Fitzgibbon in the male equivalent category who took bronze. Olwyn Dunne also came home with a well-deserved bronze medal in the F55 age category. Finally, our men’s team of Colm Parnell, Kieran Little, Kevin Fitzgibbon and Ciarain Kelly won the senior team bronze medal. Congratulations to all the medal winners!

So, the weekend was also marked by numerous PBs arising from the races on offer. Our largest turnout, nearly 70 members from the club, many of them preparing for various upcoming Autumn marathons, principally Dublin, joined the field of in excess of 6,000 runners in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning for the last event in the Irish Life Dublin Race Series, the half marathon. Conditions were almost perfect for such distance racing. The race started with a temperature of a crisp but sunny 8 degrees with little wind (and what wind there was came as merely a refreshing relief). The course itself is twisty, the OPW having confined races now to the west side of the park, and we visited the Acres Road and the downhill Upper Glen Road at least twice on our journey around the park. Most would say that, despite its hilly challenges (along the snake and up to the Wellesley monument as well as a final sharp and steep climb from Chapelizod up past St. Mary’s hospital), it’s actually quite a fair course, with the downhills coming at the right times. The lack of a strong wind or the heat that we felt in the 10-miler (a lot of which course was used for the half) was also extremely beneficial.

The huge contingent was led home by Ross Neill, running a half for the first time, coming home in 28th place in a time of 78:19. Ross was followed by Dee Lawlor with a PB performance to place 36th and 3rd M45 in 79:08. Another PB was recorded by Darragh McCarthy who placed 42nd in 79:28 and by Michael Reilly (89th in 82:28). In between came Eugene McDonough who placed 77th in 81:49. The results below are clear enough, but we should highlight the PBs of which there may have been at least 30.

Charles-Edouard Cattier made a huge PB improvement to place 111th in 83:04. TJ Bourke placed 129th with a PB time of 83:27, with PBs also coming from Oisin Corish (135th in 84:01), Aaron Farrell (186th in 86:21) on his birthday, a celebration noted by the race announcer at the start, and Paul O’Hara (237th in 87:49) who came flying in the last 3k past James Cottle who did not record a PB with his placing of 249th in 88:25 on this occasion but did place 2nd M65. The next PB came from Paul Campbell (392nd in 90:59) who was followed in a PB performance by Carolyn O’Reilly (424th and 21st female finisher in 92:00), by Adrian Groarke (505th in 93:04) and by Carolyn’s fiancé, Oisin Browne (521st in 93:49). Lisa Branigan was the next runner across the line with a PB (806th and 76th in 98:22) and Lisa was followed with a PB by Ciara Lehane (841st and 80th in 98:44), Sophia Morgan (859th and 83rd in 97:27), Tara Gavin (962nd and 105th in 98:51), Hannah Jones (1,103rd and 133rd in 1:41:07), David McDonald (1218th in 1:41:37), Sharon Woods (1,252nd, 173rd female finisher and 6th F50 in 1:43:41), John Kennedy (1,300th in 1:40:56), Joe Green (1,312th in 1:43:05, a 10 minute improvement), Jessica Norris, who equalled her PB (1,436th and 219th in 1:42:18), David Pepper (1,528th in 1:45:13), Ciara Black (2,32nd and 569th in 1:54:07), Lieze Verberght (3,049th and 749th in 1:56:13), Lindsay Butler, whose chip seems to have malfunctioned in each of the races in the series, who recorded a PB time of 1:56:00 and change, Cecilia Sandre (3,880th and 1,096th in 2:06:50) and Barbara Walsh (4,919th and 1,658th in 2:14:29). Several runners, like Joanne Carey (1,707th and 295th in 1:48:42), Carmel Higgins (2,106th and 414th in 1:52:35), Michael Fitzsimons (323rd in 89:48) and Evelyn Neary (3,391st and 869th in 2:01:34) combined the race with a much longer run. In any event, most of the runners enjoyed the race, despite its rather eccentric twists, turns and coned side-by-side elements along the Acres and ordnance Survey Roads!

Sunday morning was completely different. Although there was a similar level of humidity to the day before, there was a bit more of a wind on the Rathfarnham course for its 5k and the Dublin championships. Despite that, it is a decent race for PBs and so it proved. This year there would be no controversy as regards the course measurement.

At least 27 Crusaders took part in the event and the Dublin Championships results are outlined above. In terms of the overall race which was won by East Cork’s Michael Harty (runner-up in our Docklands 5k race this year), our first athlete home in 7th place in a field of 995 and a time of 14:58 (a PB) was Colm Parnell, whose mother, Carmel, held an age category course record for the race a while back. Colm walked off with a senior bronze medal as part of the men’s team as mentioned above, so the race has been a happy hunting ground for the family!

Colm was followed by Kieran Little (24th in 15:41), Kevin Fitzgibbon (40th in 15:55), Chris Russell (41st in 16:02), Ciarain Kelly (63rd in 16:33), John Mulvihill (83rd in 16:53) and Paul Cowhie (88th in 16:59 and, overall, first M55). So, we had 7 runners finish under 17 minutes. Paul was followed by John Fahy (125th in 17:24). Garret Dunne was next in 133rd place with a time of 17:28 and he was followed by our first female finisher with a super time. Emily Sheils led our women across the line in 158th place overall and 20th female finisher in 17:52. The team of Emily, Kathryn Sweeney (201st and 30th in a PB time of 18:23), Kathryn Gibbons (223rd and 32nd in 18:44) and Lorraine Healy (235th and 37th in a PB time of 19:05) placed 4th. In between came Cathal O’Hara (209th in 18:38) and then following came Tim O’Donnell (251st in 19:10), Tomás Bradley (252nd in 19:11) and Ruadhán MacCormaic (252nd in 19:12). The O/35 team of John, Paul, Tim and Ruadhán came home in 6th place in the team competition.

Ruadhán was followed by Annie Hughes, whose 2nd 5k in a week produced another PB. Annie’s placing was 260th and 41st in a time of 19:08 and she was followed by Nina Holmes (284th and 44th in 19:34) and then by Isabelle Cairns with a PB (305th and 50th in 19:58) and by Brian McGuckin (307th in 19:59). All in all, 22 of our 27-person contingent broke 20 minutes and Carmel Cooney (323rd and 57th in 20:08) was not too far behind. The club participation was completed by Sarah Lyons (394th and 80th in 21:48), Olwyn Dunne (420th, 88th and 4th F55 in 22:04, a day after the half marathon), Brendan Glynn (457th in 22:55), Anna Brown (483rd and 115th in 23:18), Kevin Kavanagh (520th in 23:41) and Paul E. Kelly (796th in 28:55).

Also, on Sunday, Áine Kenny ran in the Athlone AC-organised half marathon there. On a flat course in what Áine described as perfect conditions, the race enjoyed a field of 219 finishers. Áine, who like most of the half marathoners over the weekend, is training for the Dublin marathon, ran a respectable 1:32:12 for 32nd place overall and 3rd woman home.

Further afield on the day we had at least 6 Crusaders take part in the Berlin marathon, one of the 6 marathon majors. On an overcast morning with the sun appearing through late on and temperature rising to around 20 degrees and a day on which a new women's marathon record was established (a phenomenal 2:11:52), Ger Forde led our contingent home in a super 2:39:17, despite feeling the challenge at times. Mags Foley had some unfinished business to complete after a less than enjoyable experience in Dublin last year. On Sunday, she had the run of her life, improving her finishing time by 22 minutes to a fabulous 3:20:28 with a negative split of over 2 minutes. She attributes it all to starting out slowly and treating the race with proper respect, a lesson for everyone! Another runner with an equally impressive 2 minutes negative split was Lukasz Batruch who finished ahead of Mags in a finishing time of 3:12:06, quite possibly a PB for him too. Triona Quill was next with another consistent performance, finishing in 3:39:25. We also had two runners who paced Declan Ryan of Thurles in the race. Declan ran a 2 minutes PB improved time of 2:41:19 with the help of Michael Kiely and Vinnie McGuinness, who each ran a half marathon. Declan is hoping to qualify for next year’s Paralympics and this result will have done him no harm whatsoever. Fingers crossed!

Also abroad, Laura Garcia Gonzalez, one of our Spanish exiles, ran in a 5k in Getafe just outside Madrid, a race dedicated to helping handicapped people, and she placed 3rd female finisher in the race. Earlier in the week, our Italian exile Italo Giancaterina ran in the European Masters 10,000m, taking the bronze medal in the M35 event in a fabulous time of 31:06.96. The race took place in Montesilvano al Campo in Italy.

To complete the picture, Donatas Jocius took part in the IMRA-organised Glen of Ahern Trail half marathon in Co. Tipperary on Saturday. In a race with a climb of 300m on moderate terrain conducted on a looped course in the Bansha Forest, Donatas placed 9th and 3rd M35 in a time of 1:39:03.

Participation in parkruns by members of the club on Saturday was severely reduced, understandably, given the huge numbers we and other clubs had had out running in the Phoenix Park and Rathfarnham races.

Poolbeg was noteworthy in that the first finisher in a field of 116 was Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, on a brief return visit to Dublin from Spain with Esther Requena Ferri. Cristian ran 17:26 and he was followed by Michael Wycherley (2nd in 18:12), John Lohan (14th in 21:02), Fergal Carroll (24th in 22:23), Josie Ward (50th and 6th in 24:46), Esther (probably 56th and 10th in 25:24), Tara Murphy (69th and 16th in 27:02), Cliodhna O’Reilly (71st and 17th in 27:13) and Cynthia Perucca (109th and 42nd in 35:55).

Once again Yvonne Macauley led the entire field home in Clonbur Woods, where she ran 20:07 in a field of 54 runners. Ilona McElroy placed 4th overall and first female finisher in Tolka Valley with a time of 20:56 in a field of 41. Caroline Crowley, who is pregnant, placed 18th and 2nd in 24:44 in the 126-strong field in Castletown, with her husband, Eoghan Corrigan, taking 6th place in 22:05. Emer Kenny placed 17th and 3rd in 24:43 in a field of 78 in Father Collins Park, whilst Kate Murray placed 40th and 3rd in 22:11 in a field of 380 in Marlay Park. Kate was followed home by Niamh Quinn who placed 324th and 116th in 34:00. Aoife Clarke took 41st and 11th spots in the 102-strong field in Avondale Forest, whilst, in Shanganagh with its field of 198, Lisa Shine placed 95th and 29th in 26:52, Máirín Shine placed 125th and 47th in 28:13 and she was followed by Carina Davidson (175th and 75th in 33:54. Finally, Aoife and Paul F. Kelly ran in Dodder Valley Park where Aoife placed 30th and 12th in 25:58 and Paul ran the same time for 31st place. They were accompanied by 101 other runners.

Irish Life Dublin Race Series Half Marathon (6136)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 01:07:01
25 Aoife Cleary 1 01:18:06
Crusaders AC runners
28 Ross Neill 01:18:19 (PB)
36 Dee Lawlor 01:19:08 (PB)
42 Warren Swords 01:19:28 (PB)
89 Michael Reilly 01:22:28 (PB)
111 Charles-Edouard Cattier 01:23:04 (PB)
122 Rory Goldsmith 01:23:40
129 TJ Bourke 01:23:27 (PB)
135 Oisin Corish 01:24:01 (PB)
143 Ronan Doolin 01:24:17
186 Aaron Farrell 01:26:21 (PB)
212 Michael Judge 01:26:59
237 Paul O’Hara 01:27:49 (PB)
249 James Cottle 01:28:25
323 Michael Fitzsimons 01:29:48
392 Paul Campbell 01:30:59 (PB)
403 Karl Walsh 01:31:32
424 Carolyn O’Reilly 01:32:00 (PB) (21)
450 Gillian Earley 01:32:00 (25)
453 Kieran Martin 01:32:42
505 Adrian Groarke 01:33:04 (PB)
521 Oisin Browne 01:33:49 (PB)
564 Cormac Fenton 01:34:48
602 David Carter 01:35:05
618 Kevin Lambe 01:35:36
806 Lisa Branigan 01:38:22 (PB) (76)
841 Ciara Lehane 01:38:44 (PB) (80)
859 Sophia Morgan 01:37:27 (PB) (83)
962 Tara Gavin 01:38:51 (PB) (105)
1103 Hannah Jones 01:41:07 (PB) (103)
1109 Alby Allan 01:29:03
1218 David McDonald 01:41:37 (PB)
1226 Mark Browne 01:43:54
1250 Luke Haran 01:43:36
1252 Sharon Woods 01:43:41 (173)
1294 Rob Glascott 01:42:42
1300 John Kennedy 01:40:56 (PB)
1312 Joe Green 01:43:05 (PB)
1325 Adam Kinch 01:42:18
1436 Jessica Norris 01:42:36 (=PB) (219)
1477 David Tuohy 01:44:57
1528 David Pepper 01:45:13 (PB)
1707 Joanne Carey 01:48:42 (295)
1801 Robbie Moore 01:49:56
1996 Olwyn Dunne 01:49:48 (PACER) (295)
2106 Carmel Higgins 01:52:35 (414)
2532 Ciara Black 01:54:07 (PB) 569)
2536 Garret Connolly 01:54:30
2634 Liam Nagle 01:57:03
2714 Gillian McDarby 01:58:17 (632)
2832 Miranda Spencer 01:56:37 (677)
2893 Kevin Kenny 01:58:24
2954 Martin Joyce 01:58:34
3049 Lieze Verberght 01:56:13 (PB) (749)
3XXX Lindsay Butler 01:56:XX (PB) (XXX)
3391 Evelyn Neary 02:01:34 (869)
3403 Beatriz Novoa Fidalgo 02:01:26 (876)
3705 Anna Hernick 02:05:21 (1018)
3722 Darina Scully 01:56:25 (1027)
3770 Mairead Cashman 02:07:02 (1049)
3880 Cecilia Sandre 02:06:50 (PB) (1096)
3891 Diarmuid Fahey 01:58:36
4024 Patricia Velasquez 02:08:52 (1170)
4180 Marcus Donnellan 02:08:20
4880 Avril Ryan 02:13:31 (1633)
4919 Barbara Walsh 02:14:29 (PB) (1658)
5472 Joe O’Reilly 02:21:47
5522 Lakshmi Prasad Gowda 02:22:59
5972 Andy Garcia 02:45:24 (2333)
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=3976#0_68258A
Athlone AC Half Marathon (219)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mick Fogarty 1 01:11:04
27 Monika de Almeida 1 01:30:37
Crusaders AC runner
32 Áine Kenny 01:32:12 (3)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/athlone-ac-half-marathon-10k-2023/#2_CB8D18
Rathfarnham 5k (Dublin 5k road championships) (995)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Harty 1 00:14:30
52 Claire Fagan 1 00:16:19
Crusaders AC runners
7 Colm Parnell 00:14:58 (PB)
24 Kieran Little 00:15:41
40 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:15:55
41 Chris Russell 00:16:02
63 Ciarain Kelly 00:16:33
83 John Mulvihill 00:16:53
88 Paul Cowhie 00:16:59
125 John Fahy 00:17:24
133 Garret Dunne 00:17:28
158 Emily Sheils 00:17:52 (20)
201 Kathryn Sweeney 00:18:23 (PB) (30)
209 Cathal O’Hara 00:18:38
223 Kathryn Gibbons 00:18:44 (32)
235 Lorraine Healy 00:19:05 (PB) (37)
251 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:10
252 Tomás Bradley 00:19:11
258 Ruadhán MacCormaic 00:19:12
260 Annie Hughes 00:19:08 (PB) (41)
284 Nina Holmes 00:19:34 (44)
305 Isabelle Cairns 00:19:58 (PB) (50)
307 Brian McGuckin 00:19:59
323 Carmel Cooney 00:20:08 (57)
394 Sarah Lyons 00:21:48 (80)
420 Olwyn Dunne 00:22:04 (88)
457 Brendan Glynn 00:22:55
483 Anna Brown 00:23:18 (115)
520 Kevin Kavanagh 00:23:41
796 Paul E. Kelly 00:28:55
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/rathfarnham_5k_2023/4842/results
IMRA Glen of Ahern Trail Half marathon (143)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry Minnock 1 01:33:55
4 Kealey Tideswell 1 01:35:47
Crusaders AC runner
9 Donatas Jocius 01:39:03
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2352
Avondale Forest Parkrun (102)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Owen Gibbons 1 00:17:26
9 Layla Dixon 1 00:21:23
Crusader AC runner
41 Aoife Clarke 00:29:17 (11)
Father Collins Parkrun (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jordan McDonnell 1 00:18:01
6 Ciara Motherway 1 00:21:53
Crusaders AC runner
17 Emer Kenny 00:24:43 (3)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (41)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Fleming 1 00:17:58
4 Ilona McElroy 1 00:20:56
Crusaders AC runner
4 Ilona McElroy 00:20:56 (1)
Dodder Valley Parkrun (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kahumburuka Ivan Tuahuku 1 00:18:55
15 Sophie McGovern 1 00:22:19
Crusaders AC runners
30 Aoife Kelly 00:25:58 (12)
31 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:58
Marlay Parkrun (380)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Stephenson 1 00:15:24
26 Muirna Twomey 1 00:21:05
Crusaders AC runners
40 Kate Murray 00:22:11 (3)
324 Niamh Quinn 00:34:00 (116)
Poolbeg Parkrun (116)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 1 00:17:26
19 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:35
Crusaders AC runners
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 00:17:26
2 Michael Wycherley 00:18:12
14 John Lohan 00:21:02
24 Fergal Carroll 00:22:23
50 Josie Ward 00:24:46 (6)
56 Esther Requena Ferri 00:25:24 (10)
69 Tara Murphy 00:27:02 (16)
71 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:27:13 (17)
109 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:55 (42)
Castletown Parkrun (126)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James Hoare 1 00:18:46
16 Anita Rimmer 1 00:23:56
Crusaders AC runners
6 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:05
18 Caroline Crowley 00:24:44 (2)
Clonbur Woods Parkrun (54)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Yvonne Macauley 1 00:20:07
2 Maurice Walsh 1 00:21:22
Crusaders AC runner
1 Yvonne Macauley 00:20:07 (1)
Shanganagh Parkrun (198)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Allen 1 00:18:38
4 Eva Kelly 1 00:20:20
Crusaders AC runners
95 Lisa Shine 00:26:52 (29)
125 Máirín Shine 00:28:13 (47)
175 Carina Davidson 00:33:54 (75)

L-R: Tanja Narancic, Sophia Morgan, David Pepper, Carmel Higgins, Tara Gavin, Paul Campbell, Sharon Woods, Adrian Groarke, Olwyn Dunne, Joanne Carey, James Cottle, Lisa Branigan, John Kennedy, David McDonald

Adrian Groarke

Alby Allan

Andy Garcia

Barbara Walsh

Charles-Edouard Cattier

Ciara Black

Cormac Fenton

Darina Scully

David Pepper and Tanja Narancic

Dee Lawlor

Eugene McDonough

Gillian Earley

Hannah Jones

James Cottle

Jessica Norris

Joanne Carey and Carmel Higgins

Joe Green

Karl Walsh

Kevin Kenny

Kevin Lambe

Kieran Martin

Lieze Verberght

Lisa Branigan

Mairead Cashman

Mark Browne

Martin Joyce

Michael Reilly

Carolyn O'Reilly and Oisin Browne

Olwyn Dunne (pacer)

Paul Campbell

Paul O'Hara

Robbie Moore

Rory Goldsmith

Ross Neill

Sharon Woods

Sophia Morgan

Tara Gavin

TJ Bourke and Oisin Corish

L-R: Standing: Lorraine Healy, Sarah Lyons, Isabelle Cairns, Kathryn Sweeney, Tim O'Donnell, Kathryn Gibbons, Joe Dunne, Olwyn Dunne. Kneeling: Paul E. Kelly, Nina Holmes