![]() The report this week focuses on road, mountain and beach racing, in quite warm and sunny conditions everywhere. There has been a pause for the time being on the track. We start with the annual BHAA ESB beach race that took place in Sandymount on Wednesday evening, which enjoyed a field of 122, with Clare Sullivan winning the women’s race. Clare was our first Crusader home of the three of our clubmates who took part, placing 17th overall in a time of 20:21. Ollie McGrath was not too far behind, in 19th spot in 20:47, whilst, further back came Philip Matthews who crossed the line in 52nd place and a time of 23:55. Crusaders' clubhouse provided venue for the prize-giving and the traditional post-race refreshments. Also, early in the week, Conor Foley joined 571 other runners in the Loughrea 5k, race number 4 in the Galway 5k road racing series. Conor placed 75th in 21:01. Then, on the roads on Saturday morning, we had a good turnout in the Irish Runner 5k, incorporating the 5k national championships, held in the NW quadrant of the Phoenix Park. The course is familiar to lots of runners, starting on Chesterfield Ave, turning at the roundabout near the Castleknock Gate onto the Ordnance Survey Road, descending into the Furry Glen. After a climb out from there and a sharp turn onto the Upper Glen Road, the race finished on the Furze Road. At least 20 Crusaders contested the race, in a field of 2108. Luke Clarke was our first runner across the line, placing 75th in 16:57, followed by Michael O’Conor (123rd in 17:46). Next came new member Sarah-Grace Breen who ran a great time of 18:01 for 144th place overall, 14th female finisher. Sarah-Grace was followed by Mikel Crisostomo (161st in 18:02) and James Sherry (220th in 18:45) and between Luke, Michael, Mikel and James, the senior team placed 8th senior club team in a competition involving 23 teams. Behind James came Adrienne Jordan, once again producing a medal-winning performance, placing 232nd, 32nd and 1st F45 in 19:07, and Ado was followed by another two new members, Edward Forester (254th in 19:05) and Isabella Gyori (300th and 48th in 19:30). The senior team of Sarah-Grace, Adrienne and Isabella, came a super 4th in a team competition involving 31 teams. Sean Murphy was next (359th in 20:05), followed by Noel Carr (454th in 21:04), Neil Brown (473rd in 21:08) and James Moran who ran 21:15, but whose time and place were not recorded. Chris Bannon crossed the line in 619th spot in a time of 23:17 and he was followed by Aoife Cowhie (757th and 184th in 25:31), Kevin Kenny (861st in 24:30), Djinn Von Noorden (1012th and 281st in 26:10), Denis Gleeson (1282nd in 29:24), Gabriella Segura (1363rd and 471st in 28:07) and Heather Sander (1389th and 489th in 29:01). On Sunday we had runners in several long-distance races. Kathryn Gibbons took on the Strabane Lifford half marathon, where, in a field of 1046, she placed 97th and 8th on the out-and-back course in a time of 91:10. Then, on the Grand Canal towpath Sarah Diamond placed 14th and 1st in a field of 112 in the Fastlane ¾ marathon in a time of 2:20:18. Phil Sykes had started out in the ¾ marathon but decided to cut it short and finish the half marathon with its much larger field of 948 finishers. Phil placed 514th in 2:02:43 and he was headed home by four Crusaders in the race which involved 2 loops of a 10k circuit. David Willis placed 79th in 89:32, and he was followed by Sharon Woods once again recording a super performance (190th and 19th in 1:46:14 and 1st F50), Seamas Bulaeir who took 191st spot in 1:43:32 and Emily Quinlan (193rd and 20th in 1:40:44). The shortest race in the series was the 10k and we had at least one runner in the field of 727. Fabien Daviaud placed 51st in 44:23. Further afield, one of our French exiles in France, Clément Rincé, ran 16:17 in the Foulées Villennoises 5k, whilst we had two runners in the Hackney Half marathon in London. Mags Foley ran 95:33, followed by one of our London exiles, Louise Lancaster (née Van Wildermeersch) who ran 1:41:15. Meanwhile, one of our exiles in the US, Damien O’Brien, ran 84:14 for 596th place in a field of over 28,000 in the Brooklyn Half Marathon in NY. Our exile in Switzerland, Lukasz Batruch raced yet again. This time it was the Sola Run 10.4k, a trail run near Zurich, which he completed in 44:55. Finally, two of our Spanish exiles, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri, took part in a 7.8k trail race, the Carrera Puentes de Sayalonga, with Cristian running 34:11 and Esther winning the female race in 37:33. There were two events in the mountains this week. On Wednesday evening, in the usual midweek race, this time over Scarr in Co. Wicklow, with its 400m climb and on an 8.6k course, we had at least 8 runners in the filed of 165. They were led home by Donatas Jocius, preparing for the European Masters vertical mountain championships on Mount Etna at the end of May. Donatas placed 3rd in 44:57, and he was followed by Becky Quinn (22nd and 2nd in 51:48), Warren Swords (31st and 3rd M45 in 55:43), Brian McGuckin (39th and 4th M55 in 56:45), Kevin Kavanagh, coming back from injury (42nd in 57:14), Caoimhe Dempsey (74th and 11th in 61:06) just ahead of Gavan Doherty (77th in 61:32). Our final runner was Berndt Heim (154th in 91:54) On Saturday, the annual running of the Wicklow Way Relay took place, starting in Kilmashogue Park at 7:00 in the morning and finishing about 125km later mid-afternoon in Shillelagh. It is contested by relay teams of up to 8 runners and this year we fielded two teams, taking on legs of varying lengths. The event is great craic, but having warm sunny weather when having to negotiate some extremely challenging climbs on each leg can be daunting, added to the risk of getting lost on each and every leg! This happens to at least one runner every year and this year was no exception, except that, unfortunately, it happened to one of our runners. The all-female team (the "Agony of Defeet") of Lisa Shine, Áine Kenny, Máirín Shine, Tanja Narancic, Claudine Hughes, Ciara Hutchinson, Emer Kenny and Mairead Cashman was able to complete the challenge, placing 23rd out of 31 finishing teams in 10:46:30, whilst the team of Paul Campbell, Will Stafford, Tara Gavin, Carmel Higgins, Emily Glen, Thomas Vogée, Louise O’Riordan and Joanne Carey (the "Sunday Loopers") became uncompetitive after an early leg and opted not to continue, although a few decided to run the 7th and longest leg, equivalent to a half marathon, enjoying the sunshine at least! As usual we had some excellent running in Saturday morning’s parkruns. Once again, Maurice Kelter, running in Kerry, but this time on Fenit Greenway, headed the field, running 16:19. The field measured 96. Julie McGrath was a first finisher in Bushy Park, where she placed 4th overall in a field of 212 and a time of 20:12. Caroline Crowley continues to improve, placing 6th and first finisher in 18:50 in Shanganagh. In the field of 237, Eoghan Corrigan, no doubt buggy in hand, placed 88th in 25:23, followed by Orlaith de Burca (144th and 37th in 28:30). Our other first finisher was Ciara Regan, running in the 187-strong field in Poolbeg. We had a smaller contingent this week in a reduced field too. Stephen Hurley placed 2nd in 17:28, just ahead of his rival Kenan Furlong (3rd in 17:36). Next came Adrian Groarke (8th in 20:11), followed by Ciara who placed 19th overall in 21:20. Fergal Morrissey was next (30th in 22:43) and he was followed by John Lohan (64th in 24:54), Sharon Woods (83rd and 16th in 26:38), Franky Keane (88th in 26:42) and Lorraine McMahon (116th and 26th in 28:44). We also had podium places elsewhere. In Marlay Park, Aoife Quigley and Ross Neill joined 553 other runners, with Aoife placing 17th and 2nd in 19:28, followed by Ross (366th in 30:44), whilst on Midleton Greenway, our exile Toby Benham returned to place 2nd in a field of 148 in a time of 18:10. Laura O’Malley placed 10th and 2nd in 24:56, behind Kabir Sala (4th in 21:46) in the 47-strong field in Tolka Valley Park, with Maria Pertl following behind in 29th and 11th spots in 30:04. Ailish Hassett was possibly a first finisher in Templemore with her time of 26:00 in a field of 99 (likely 3rd place). However, her result was not posted. Meanwhile, Aoife McCarthy ran alongside 50 other participants in Ardgillan, where she placed 27th and 3rd in 24:41. Just before heading off to Cork shortly, Cian Coughlan placed 33rd in 21:07 in St. Anne’s Raheny with its field of 602, whilst Ellen Walsh ran 28:11 for 55th and 20th spots in the 175-strong field in Dodder Valley Park. Mairead Cashman joined 101 other runners in Tullow, where she placed 51st and 21st in 29:35, whilst Carina Davidson placed 158th and 61st in 43:11 in the field of 175 participants in Cabinteely. Finally, some of our exiles in the UK were out. Thom Martini ran in Forest Rec with its field of 245, where he placed 30th in 23:25, whilst, on Clapham Common, Rob Glascott placed 36th in 19:49, followed by his partner Eva Kennedy (260th and 33rd in 24:44) in a field of 972. BHAA ESB Beach 5k (122) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Doran 1 00:16:52 17 Clare Sullivan 1 00:20:21 Crusaders AC runners 17 Clare Sullivan 00:20:21(1) 19 Ollie McGrath 00:20:47 52 Philip Matthews 00:23:55 Full results here: https://members.bhaa.ie/results/race/530 Galway Series Loughrea 5k (572) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Evan O’Rourke 1 00:16:01 22 Jane-Ann Healy Meehan 1 00:18:46 Crusaders AC runner 75 Conor Fahy 00:21:01 Full results here: https://redtagtiming.com/results/2025_5kmSeries_4_Loughrea.pdf Irish Runner 5k (National Championships) (2108) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 James Gormley 1 00:13:59 42 Hannah Gilliland 1 00:16:17 Crusaders AC runners 75 Luke Clarke 00:16:57 123 Michael O’Conor 00:17:46 144 Sarah-Grace Breen 00:18:01 (14) 161 Mikel Crisostomo 00:18:02 220 James Sherry 00:18:45 232 Adrienne Jordan 00:19:07 (32) 254 Edward Forester 00:19:05 300 Isabella Gyori 00:19:30 (48) 359 Sean Murphy 00:20:05 454 Noel Carr 00:21:04 473 Neil Brown 00:21:08 XXX James Moran 00:21:15 (PB) 557 Michael Lynch 00:22:13 619 Chris Bannon 00:23:17 757 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:31 (184) 861 Kevin Kenny 00:24:30 1012 Djinn Von Noorden 00:26:10 (281) 1282 Denis Gleeson 00:29:24 1363 Gabriela Segura 00:28:07 (471) 1389 Heather Sander 00:29:01 (489) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/biofreeze_irish_runner_5k_2025/5565/results Fastlane ¾ Marathon (112) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Karl Fleming 1 01:59:08 14 Sarah Diamond 1 02:20:18 Crusaders AC runner 14 Sarah Diamond 02:20:18 (1) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/life_style_sports_fastlane_3_4_half_marathon__10k/5800/results Fastlane Half marathon (948) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Conal Cremen 1 01:15:07 56 Aisling Brennan 1 01:33:19 Crusaders AC runners 79 David Willis 01:29:32 190 Sharon Woods 01:46:14 (19) 191 Seamas Bulaeir 01:43:32 193 Emily Quinlan 01:40:44 (20) 514 Phil Sykes 02:02:43 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/life_style_sports_fastlane_3_4_half_marathon__10k/5800/results Fastlane 10k (727) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Ben Kinsella 1 00:35:16 18 Eleanor Alexander 1 00:39:23 Crusaders AC runner 51 Fabien Daviaud 00:44:23 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/life_style_sports_fastlane_3_4_half_marathon__10k/5800/results Strabane Lifford Half marathon (1046) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Stephen McAuley 1 01:10:18 5 Ann-Marie McGlynn 1 01:15:04 Crusaders AC runner 97 Kathryn Gibbons 01:31:10 (8) Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/strabane_lifford_half_marathon_2025/5731/results IMRA Scarr 8.6K (165) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mark McAdden 1 00:44:18 15 Sorcha Loughnane 1 00:49:53 Crusaders AC runners 3 Donatas Jocius 00:54:57 22 Becky Quinn 00:51:48 (2) 31 Warren Swords 00:55:43 39 Brian McGuckin 00:56:45 42 Kevin Kavanagh 00:57:14 74 Caoimhe Dempsey 01:01:06 (11) 77 Gavan Doherty 01:01:32 154 Berndt Heim 01:31:54 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2720 Tullow Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Arthur Hearns 1 00:18:51 12 Ruth Murphy 1 00:23:30 Crusaders AC runner 51 Mairead Cashman 00:29:35 (21) Ardgillan Parkrun (51) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sam Wheeldon 1 00:18:35 21 Maura Ginty 1 00:24:00 Crusaders AC runner 27 Aoife McCarthy 00:24:41 (3) Tolka Valley Parkrun (47) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Angelo Lima 1 00:19:22 5 Aleksandra Sobota 1 00:23:00 Crusaders AC runners 4 Kabir Sala 00:21:46 10 Laura O’Malley 00:24:56 (2) 29 Maria Pertl 00:30:04 (11) Poolbeg Parkrun (187) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Hugh McDowell 1 00:17:20 19 Ciara Regan 1 00:21:20 Crusaders AC runners 2 Stephen Hurley 00:17:28 3 Kenan Furlong 00:17:36 8 Adrian Groarke 00:20:11 30 Fergal Morrissey 00:22:43 64 John Lohan 00:24:54 83 Sharon Woods 00:26:38 (16) 88 Franky Keane 00:26:42 116 Lorraine McMahon 00:28:44 (26) Templemore Parkrun (99) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jake Bowe 1 00:18:17 32 Brittney Matthews 1 00:27:36 Crusaders AC runner XX Ailish Hassett 00:26:00 (xx) Bushy Parkrun (212) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán MacFhearraigh 1 00:19:38 4 Julie McGrath 1 00:20:12 Crusaders AC runner 4 Julie McGrath 00:20:12 (1) Marlay Parkrun (555) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Euan Wlson 1 00:17:34 12 Sonia Redmond 1 00:19:19 Crusaders AC runners 17 Aoife Quigley 00:19:28 (2) 366 Ross Neill 00:30:44 St. Anne’s Parkrun (602) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seamus O’Malley 1 00:17:12 16 Megan Roberts 1 00:20:10 Crusaders AC runner 33 Cian Coughlan 00:21:07 Fenit Greenway Parkrun (96) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Maurice Kelter 1 00:16:19 10 Mary Fitzsimons 1 00:22:17 Crusaders AC runner 1 Maurice Kelter 00:16:19 Cabinteely Parkrun (175) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Golden 1 00:19:19 25 Dee O’Mahony 1 00:24:04 Crusaders AC runner Dodder Valley Parkrun (175) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Spiteri 1 00:17:35 4 Zoe Woodward 1 00:19:27 Crusaders AC runner 55 Ellen Walsh 00:28:11 (20) Midleton Greenway Parkrun (148) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cian Kelly 1 00:16:37 7 Nadine Forde 1 00:19:34 Crusaders AC runner 2 Toby Benham 00:18:10 Shanganagh Parkrun (237) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Foot 1 00:17:11 6 Caroline Crowley 1 00:18:50 Crusaders AC runners 6 Caroline Crowley 00:18:50 (1) 88 Eoghan Corrigan 00:25:23 144 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:30 (37) Comments are closed.
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