Mass participation over two weeks

3/12/2017

Niamh Corby, Kate Murray, Amy Wright, Lisa Shine, Darina Scully and Lesley Ann Doughan

On a wet and windy Wednesday night on 22nd November at least 4 Crusaders took part alongside more than 3,100 other participants in the latest edition of the Run in the Dark 10K which took place in Dublin’s Docklands, in aid of the charity supporting research into a cure for paralysis, spearheaded by visually-impaired and paraplegic Mark Pollock. Once again, Brian O’Kelly distinguished himself with a win (in 32:43). He was followed by Peter O’Toole (10th in 35:27), Michael Wycherley (13th in a PB time of 35:50) and newcomer Patrick Needham (89th in 39:56).

The following Saturday, Colm Foley ran in the Clontarf 5 miler, placing 24th in a field of nearly 600 in a time of 37:55, whilst Micheal Killeen participated in the half marathon event, along with more than 1,500 runners, taking 34th spot in a time of 1:29:23. The races take in a mix of tarmac and sand (up and down Dollymount Strand for part of the event). On the same day, we had a small contingent head to the Dublin Mountains for races supporting mountain rescue. The long course, measuring 26k, took in Two Rock, Three Rock and Tibradden Mountain, whilst the shorter course (13k) left out Tibradden. John McAuley and Colm Kernan took on the long course with more than 260 other runners, with John placing 6th in 2:16:40, followed by Colm in 130th place (3:01:41). Meanwhile, in the short course race, Denis Murphy was our lone competitor, placing 57th in a field of 242 and a time of 1:19:23.

That same weekend, the national senior cross-country championships took place in Abbotstown, the event determining places for the upcoming European Championships. In cold conditions, three club members took part in the men’s 10K race, won by Paul Pollock in 31:43. In a strong field of nearly 170 runners, men’s club captain Michael Kiely led our contingent home in 88th place (35:58), with our other two runners, Ciaran Diviney and Vinnie McGuinness within a minute behind (Ciaran, 100th in 36:33 and Vinnie, 107th in 36:58). On the same day, Gian Piero Allerta ran in the Florence marathon, less than a month after Dublin, coming home in a time of 3:37:38 in a race during which it rained non-stop.

Also, just before the weekend, Leo Lundy and Kris Ryan started an epic challenge of 10 ultra-marathons (individually timed events) in 10 days along the south coast of England. Although 100-150 or so participants started each day, there were about 70 competitors taking on the whole challenge. Having started out in pretty good weather conditions the runners experienced a deterioration and the weather turned colder and windier after the first 3 days. Each ultra event appeared to be between 30-35 miles and by midway Kris was in the lead in the women’s race with a cushion of some 15 miles. The attrition rate, however, was high with the weather being generally bad in the latter stages. Leo's total mileage was 301.55 for 10th spot overall, managing 9 days with consecutive ultras and fully completing the challenge with a marathon on the last day. Kris totaled 336.05 miles for 2nd spot overall and 1st female (by a margin of 26.05 miles), managing an ultra marathon each day. Kris podiumed in every race and had 5 race wins. On Day 8 she ran her 100th official marathon and as a result was inducted into the Irish 100 marathon club. Both runners were inducted into the 10 marathons in 10 days club. So, hats off to both our intrepid marathoners!

For several of us, however, the weekend marked the start of the annual Lanzarote International Running Challenge, organised by Club La Santa in the north of the volcanic island, involving 4 races of differing lengths and surfaces in 4 days. The races on the first two days, a 10k road race on tarmac involving 3 laps of a lagoon and a 13k ridge run requiring runners to follow a route on trail and road from the resort to a volcanic ridge 500m above sea level, took place in warm, gale force, conditions. Some of the runners, notably Orla Drumm and Niall O’Connell, who weren’t intending to run in all 4 races, performed admirable pacing duties and in particular helping some of us to be shielded from the headwind, which hit us particularly almost the entire climb to the ridge and slightly further beyond in the descent as we came over the ridge. The tricky volcanic terrain in windy conditions on the ridge itself challenged the runners and several lost their footing, including notably Joe McDermott who slightly twisted his ankle there.

A large number of Crusaders participated in the 10K race which started and finished on the track and the most notable performance came from Ilona McElroy who won her age group. James Cottle discovered that he was in a highly competitive age group during this race with the winner of the M60 category coming home in 37:18 and the second place only 4 seconds behind. They both featured among the top 20 for the race which had more than 300 participants, both of them ranking number one in their respective countries, the UK and Netherlands.

The following day’s ridge run saw perhaps an even stronger wind than the day before and some of us had to apply additional pins to our numbers to prevent them acting like wind brakes or parachutes. There was quite a bit of dust in our faces on the trail sections on the way up and then we found several parts of the course on the way down thick with soft sand blown onto the trails. It is hard (since the individual race results have now disappeared!) to recall where runners stood in their respective categories after the second race, but in a competition where the winner of each age category takes all, there was at least one runner heading his or her respective category. Catherine Thornton was leading hers, whilst Rob Cross, Dominick Branigan (carrying a calf injury), Olwyn Dunne and James Cottle could be described as being on the podium. We were also lying well in terms of teams. Our women’s team of Catherine, Grainne Regan, Dee Ni Chearbhaill and guest runner from Donore, Alma Hanevy, was lying 2nd to Sportsworld A, whilst building up a significant cushion over the team in 3rd place out of the 7 club teams from Ireland, UK, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, Sportsworld B. Our men’s team of Dominick, Rob, Joe and Will Owens was also standing well, never moving below 4th place during the competition.

The third day saw a major change in the weather. Whilst remaining warm with cloud cover, the wind dropped significantly for the 5k beach race that took place in the south of the island. A short coach ride took us to Puerta del Carmen for the 10 o’clock start, where we found that the sand in places was as soupy as ever, particularly at the start and coming into the finish, along with the turn at the furthest point along the beach on the 2.5k loop. Thankfully, the surface was reasonably hard at the back of the beach along which we had perhaps 800m or more of recovery and the sliver of wet sand alongside the sea that we had to run along on the way out from the start was not too congested and only a few of us were forced to get wet as we negotiated it. Rob got a slight scare during this race as he also hurt his foot, but it did not seem to provide any long term consequences whilst Joe managed to get through the race with heavy strapping around his ankle. All three members of the men's team were, therefore, carrying an injury at some point. The respective positions of our runners did not change much during this race, with Catherine once again holding the lead in her age category but facing a surge from the British girl who had been lying in 3rd place. The women’s team consolidated its position in second place, whilst the men realised that they would have to run well on the last day of the challenge the following day to make it onto the podium.

The benign wind conditions were maintained for the 21k race the following day, but, despite the earlier 9 am start, the temperatures began to soar, so that towards the end we were running in 35 degrees Celsius and no shade. One or two of us suffered in the heat on what was effectively a net downhill course, but which saw quite a few undulations on rough road in the first 4k or so and then a reasonably challenging hill with about 7k to go. The new course was run on a mix of trail and tarmac and took in parts of the ridge run towards the end. With team and age category positions at stake, our runners performed well. Rob Cross came 3rd overall in the race, with Dominick in 15th and Joe in 22nd, meaning that when the smoke cleared the men’s team ended up with the bronze medal behind a Danish team and Sportsworld’s A team. The women maintained the second place position which had been established from the start, with Alma placing 7th in the last race, followed by Catherine (9th) and Grainne (17th). Running her furthest distance race since the birth of her daughter, Dee also ran extremely well to place 20th followed by Olwyn in 32nd place. In addition to the team success, Rob had clearly won his age group in the last race and then took 2nd place overall, splitting a couple of young Danes. Catherine also held her place as winner of her age category, despite a strong attack from the British woman in the last race, so that the margin of her win was only just over 1 minute over a contest lasting three and a half hours. Dee, Olwyn and Joe all made podium positions in their respective age categories, whilst James had to settle for 4th, having started the day in 2nd place but then suffering in the heat of the 21k race.

The morning after our return from Lanzarote, several of us decided to join another 50 or so Crusaders in the Donore Harriers-organised 5k, the Jingle Bells race. It is held in the Phoenix Park and, since it takes place on a net downhill course (beginning near the Papal Cross, heading up Chesterfield onto the Ordnance Survey Road and then down the Upper Glen road to finish below the hospital behind the start line), it is widely regarded as a PB race and attracts a substantial and quality field. In cool but not so windy conditions, this proved to be the case again, hosting more than 1,050 finishers. Additionally, those of us who had run the 21k race on Wednesday in such tough conditions, ran well to get decent times, even if we did not necessarily achieve PBs. Among the 60 or so Cru finishers at least 26 of us recorded times below 20 minutes, led home by Brian O’Kelly (12th in 15:18) and Michael Kiely right behind (13th in a PB of 15:19). Vinnie McGuinness placed 24th (and 4th in his age category) in 15:52, whilst Rob Cross, fresh from his Lanzarote success, took 33rd place (1st in his age category) in 15:57, followed by Ciaran Diviney who placed 34th (2nd in his age category) in 15:58. There were good runs from newcomer Jasper de Taeye (41st in 16:09), Jason Kehoe (45th in a PB time of 16:16) and another newcomer, Albin Ingmarsson (58th in 16:42) as well as John McAuley (68th in 16:48) and Garret Dunne (73rd in 17:00) to complete top 100 positions. Barry McGuire recorded a PB (106th in 17:35), as did Brendan Glynn (210th in 19:28), Neil Brown (298th in 20:32) and Paul Kelly (600th in 26:33) to name but a few, most likely. It was also good to see Kieran Martin back after a long term injury (307th in 20:45). Our men’s team apparently also placed 2nd overall.

Cru women were led home by Catherine Thornton (202nd overall, 25th female, in 19:18) and there were also top 100 places for Katie McElroy (274th overall, 43rd female, in 20:14), Amy Brogan (311th overall, 58th female, in 20:54), Emer Kenny (336th overall, 69th female, in 21:05), Ruth Dwyer (343rd overall, 70th female, in 21:21), Darina Scully (380th overall, 88th female, in 21:59), Maria Kennedy (389th overall, 93rd female, in 22:04) and Ciara Lehane (391st overall, 94th female, just behind in 22:04). There was a PB for at least one of our female runners: Miriam Logan placed 497th overall, 147th woman finisher, in a PB time of 24:50.

Fiona Bane reports that she ran in the Waterford AC half marathon on Saturday, recording a time of 1:47:59 and placing 922nd overall in a field of nearly 2,200.

The last major event of the weekend was the Dublin Intermediate XC race that took place on Sunday in cool and damp but calm conditions in Tymon Park. The now familiar course near the National Basketball Arena involved one short loop and two larger ones to cover a distance of 5k for the women. 6 plucky Crusaders turned out for the club on the day in a field of 54 runners. Niamh Corby ran a super race, taking an early position of around 7th in the race, falling back to 9th at the end of the first lap, but then working her way steadily through the field. As she came to the last 300m, Niamh felt she needed to protect 4th position from the girl behind and was concentrating on this, but was advised by at least one supporter, Ilona McElroy, that she had a good chance of passing the girl in third. A great sprint for the line ensued, won by Niamh convincingly and she came home with a well-deserved bronze medal. Second Crusader across the line was Lesley Ann Doughan who also had a great race working her way through the field, finishing in 6th place, followed by Lisa Shine and Kate Murray (both finishing with great sprints for the line) with Amy Wright in between. Unfortunately, after a strong start, Amy suffered from several stitches throughout the race and did extremely well to hang on and finish. Our final competitor was Darina Scully who was not too far behind. Full results have yet to appear, but we believe the team came home in a highly creditable 4th place, behind Raheny, Sportsworld, in first and second, the latter fielding the overall winner of the race, Kate Kelly, who ran with us in Lanzarote.

The parkrun results of the last two weeks are outlined below. We had a few first or second finishers: With a time of 23:32, Lisa Shine placed 5th overall (1st female) in a modest field under 40 in Glengariff. Fiona Bane took 15th overall (2nd female) in 23:50 in the nearly 70-strong field in Tramore. In a similar sized field in River Valley Brian Scanlan took 3rd in 19:59 (following the previous week’s first finisher place for Darina Scully in the same parkrun in a field of nearly 60 (12th overall, in 23:53)) , whilst Olwyn took 2nd female (28th overall in 24:49) in the inaugural run in Russborough with its 85 participants. Alban Coghlan finished in 2nd place among a field exceeding 350 in Marlay, with a time of 18:03. Finally, Mairead Cashman ran in her 50th parkrun in Marlay, placing 247th overall out of 410, 61st woman finisher, in 27:45.

Run in the Dark 10K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian O’Kelly 1 00:32:43
33 Zoe Quinn 1 00:37:55
Crusaders AC runners
1 Brian O’Kelly 00:32:43
10 Peter O’Toole 00:35:27
13 Michael Wycherley 00:35:50 (PB)
89 Patrick Needham 00:39:56
Full results here: https://results.runinthedark.ie/?_ga=2.131983823.1940862401.1512232033-1250109273.1512232033
Clontarf 5 mile
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Martin 1 00:29:14
11 Caitriona Costello 1 00:34:41
Crusaders AC runner
24 Colm Foley 00:37:55
Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/2017_Nov_Clontarf_5Mile.pdf
Clontarf Half Marathon
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Whelan 1 01:16:33
16 Shirley Coyle 1 01:25:42
Crusaders AC runner
34 Micheal Killeen 01:29:23
Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/2017_Nov_Clontarf_Half.pdf
Run the Line 26K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Adrian Hennessy 1 02:09:15
14 Carolyn Hayes 1 02:23:54
Crusaders AC runners
6 John McAuley 02:16:40
130 Colm Kernan 03:01:41
Full results here: http://runtheline.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RTL2017_ProvisionalResults_Long_v3.pdf
Run the Line 13K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Conall Murphy 1 00:57:38
31 Lorraine Horan 1 01:13:25
Crusaders AC runner
57 Denis Murphy 01:19:23
Full results here http://runtheline.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RTL2017_ProvisionalResults_Short_v3.pdf:
Jingle Bells 5K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mark Hanrahan 1 00:14:13
36 Fionnualla McCormack 1 00:15:58
Crusaders AC runners
12 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:18
13 Michael Kiely 00:15:19 (PB)
24 Vinnie McGuinness 00:15:52
33 Rob Cross 00:15:57
34 Ciaran Diviney 00:15:58
41 Jasper de Taeye 00:16:09
45 Jason Kehoe 00:16:16 (PB)
58 Albin Ingmarsson 00:16:42
68 John McAuley 00:16:48
73 Garret Dunne 00:17:00
102 Paul Dempsey 00:17:30
106 Barry McGuire 00:17:35 (PB)
108 John Fahy 00:17:33
113 Hugh Larkin 00:17:41
143 Brian Carroll 00:18:09
147 Niall O’Connell 00:18:19
149 Paul Flynn 00:18:17
170 Neil Monahan 00:18:51
172 Brian McGuckin 00:18:45
174 Michael Maughan 00:18:54
178 Zlatko Kulic 00:18:58
195 Philip Hamilton 00:19:07
202 Catherine Thornton 00:19:18 (25)
210 Brendan Glynn 00:19:28 (PB)
213 James Cottle 00:19:26
230 Liam O’Brien 00:19:39
231 Anthony Owens 00:19:38
271 Phelim Murray 00:20:16
274 Katie McElroy 00:20:14 (43)
298 Neil Brown 00:20:32 (PB)
300 Robbie Moore 00:20:47
307 Kieran Martin 00:20:45
311 Amy Brogan 00:20:54 (58)
336 Emer Kenny 00:21:05 (69)
343 Ruth Dwyer 00:21:21 (70)
359 Donal Foley 00:21:41
368 Eanna Farrell 00:21:42
377 Luke Haran 00:20:09
380 Darina Scully 00:21:59 (88)
389 Maria Kennedy 00:22:01 (93)
391 Ciara Lehane 00:22:04 (94)
450 Celine Bonce 00:23:11 (124)
451 Orlaith de Burca 00:23:21 (125)
454 Niamh Quinn 00:23:21 (128)
472 Carina Davidson 00:23:49 (136)
497 Miriam Logan 00:24:50 (PB) (147)
509 Keira Gleeson 00:24:01 (154)
515 Jean Devlin 00:24:41 (156)
585 Sharon Woods 00:26:01 (197)
600 Paul Kelly 00:26:33 (PB)
603 Siobhan Russell 00:26:37 (206)
610 Cathy Mannion 00:26:16 (208)
695 Pablo Sanchez 00:26:24
725 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:30:36 (279)
727 Mary Fitzsimons 00:30:17 (281)
728 John Fitzsimons 00:30:16
879 Don Anderton 00:34:10
908 Denis Murphy 00:35:41
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race-results/
Dublin Intermediates XC (Women’s 5K)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kate Kelly 00:19:43
Crusaders AC runners
3 Niamh Corby 00:20:07
6 Lesley Ann Doughan 00:20:47
28 Lisa Shine 00:22:13
33 Amy Wright 00:22:44
34 Kate Murray 00:22:54
39 Darina Scully 0:23:17
Full results here: https://www.dublinathletics.com/attachments/article/489/Intermediate%20Cross%20Country%20Results%202017.pdf
Waterford Half Marathon
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paddy Hamilton 1 01:06:26
31 Maria McCambridge 1 01:17:45
Crusaders AC runner
922 Fiona Bane 01:47:59
Full results here: http://www.totaltiming.ie/results/2017/waterford_ac_half_marathon_2017_fullresults.htm
Marlay Parkrun #234
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Emmett Dunleavy 1 00:16:46
9 Dee Grady 1 00:19:15
Crusaders AC runner
101 Kate Murray 00:23:30 (11)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=234
Ballincollig Parkrun #75
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Aidan Robert Cahill 1 00:18:00
37 Brigita Lukste 1 00:22:42
Crusaders AC runner
173 Emma O’Mahony 00:29:36 (52)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=75
Glengariff Parkrun #93
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Enda Fitzmaurice 1 00:19:40
5 Lisa Shine 1 00:23:32
Crusaders AC runner
5 Lisa Shine 00:23:32 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/glengariff/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=93
St Anne’s Parkrun #209
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Feidhlim Kelly 1 00:16:04
35 Nicola Hickey Crowe 1 00:19:54
Crusaders AC runners
31 Matt Cranley 00:19:29
211 Aoife Quinn 00:27:20 (57)
295 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:29:59 (92)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=209
Tramore Parkrun #98
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Barry O’Shea 1 00:17:11
9 Jeannette Feighery 1 00:21:21
Crusaders AC runner
15 Fiona Bane 00:23:50 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tramore/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=98
Shanganagh Parkrun #139
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ronan King 1 00:18:25
8 Brid Meehan 1 00:20:48
Crusaders AC runner
48 Orlaith de Burca 00:25:51 (9)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=139
Porterstown Parkrun #110
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alan Kenny 1 00:17:53
12 Caroline Kelly 1 00:22:31
Crusaders AC runners
39 Kevin Flynn 00:27:28
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=110
Poolbeg Parkrun #14
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Chris Tighe 1 00:17:44
32 Sarah Flaherty 1 00:23:45
Crusaders AC runners
10 David Timoney 00:20:35
18 Zalan Kovacs 00:21:47
23 Russell Murphy 00:22:24
35 Gillian Errity 00:24:15 (2)
67 Gillian Curran 00:27:15 (16)
94 Ciara McElligott 00:32:27 (30)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=14
River Valley Parkrun #70
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen Ryan 1 00:20:49
12 Darina Scully 1 00:23:53
Crusaders AC runner
12 Darina Scully 00:23:53 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/rivervalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=70
Derry City Parkrun #231
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sam Cole 1 00:18:24
12 Dawn Houston 1 00:21:13
Crusaders AC runner
55 Mairead Cashman 00:28:51 (12)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/derrycity/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=231
Marlay Parkrun #235
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Damian Bourke 1 00:17:50
8 Sarah Healy 1 00:19:24
Crusaders AC runners
2 Alban Coghlan 00:18:03
15 Killian Barry 00:20:25
17 Ronan Moynihan 00:20:31
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=235
St. Anne’s Parkrun #210
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Andrew Hyland 1 00:16:57
23 Kate Martin 1 00:20:37
Crusaders AC runner
44 Matt Cranley 00:21:34
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=210
Poppintree Parkrun #161
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Tom McKenna 1 00:18:30
10 Aisling Andrews 1 00:20:39
Crusaders AC runners
4 Diarmuid Byrne 00:20:02
78 Maria Pertl 00:41:32 (34)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=161
Porterstown Parkrun #111
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen Farrell 1 00:19:23
13 Cliona Larkin 1 00:23:14
Crusaders AC runner
32 Kevin Flynn 00:27:09
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=111
River Valley Parkrun #71
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Dean Keogh 1 00:19:37
12 Orla Smith 1 00:24:43
Crusaders AC runner
3 Brian Scanlan 00:19:59
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/rivervalleyresults/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=71
Russborough Parkrun #1
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Lawlor 1 00:17:52
25 Maura Ginty 1 00:24:33
Crusaders AC runner
28 Olwyn Dunne 00:24:49 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/russborough/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=1
Poolbeg Parkrun #15
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul Brophy 1 00:18:10
27 Anne McGarr 1 00:22:05
Crusaders AC runners
15 Simon Kenny 00:20:45
35 Zalan Kovacs 00:23:33
54 Aisling O’Connor 00:25:49 (13)
57 Gillian Curran 00:26:24 (16)
61 Edwina Quinlan 00:27:11 (18)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=15