Medalling in Dublin and Leinster in Track and Field

25/5/2026

Robert Cervi and Jamie Renehan

A good lot of racing took place this past week, starting with the Bob Heffernan 5k on Tuesday, through the graded meet (including some championship events) on Wednesday, the Staff Relays on Thursday and a myriad of events over the weekend including success in the Leinster T&F Championships.

We start with Track and Field and we were well represented at the Dublin Graded Meet, the third episode this year, which took place on our very own track in Irishtown.

In the women’s grade C 1500m, Caroline Crowley placed 3rd in a time of 5:06.96. Then, in Grade D of the same event, Rachael Yorke also placed 3rd in 5:18.85. In the men’s 1500m, Enda Clarke won the grade B race in 4:22.15, whilst, in heat 1 of the grade D races, Karl Fitzmaurice placed 3rd in 4;44.87, followed by Brian Horgan (5th in 4:51.08) and, then, in the second heat, Jamie Renehan placed 7th in 5:00.51, followed by Paul E. Kelly (13th in 7:44.46). We had two runners in the women’s 400m grade C event, with Maria Cornado placing 2nd in 72:07, followed by Ciara Looby (3rd in 73.34), whilst, in the men’s 400m B race, Jack Byrne won the event in 51.58, and, by virtue of it being the Dublin Championship for that race, he took silver behind the only competitor in the A grade. Meanwhile, Robert Cervi won heat 1 of the grade D event in 59.44, ahead of Jamie who placed 4th in 65.73, whilst Alfie Casey placed 2nd in the second heat in a time of 55.20. Alfie went on to win the men’s long jump with a leap of 5.47m (his first attempt of 6). Finally, Alanna O’Neill appears to have picked up two medals, one bronze in the women’s javelin (4th on the night, but one of the throwers appears not to have been attached to an AI-affiliated club). Alanna threw a distance of 26.95m with her 3rd attempt of 6. She then went on to take silver in the women’s long jump with a leap of 4.41m (5th of 6 jumps). Both women’s javelin and long jump were Dublin Championship events.

The weekend saw two days of track and field down in County Carlow for the Leinster Championship of diverse age categories. We had athletes taking part in several of the events on offer, with some success. Sean Owens won the senior men’s 110mH in 14.97, whilst in the masters men’s 1500m, Jamie ran once again, taking 5th spot in 4:50.41. Gary Park was also a gold medal winner, finishing ahead of the field in the M50 category in a time of 11:55.44.

We also had runners compete in the U23 events. Charlie Bastow won gold with a 1st place finish in the final of the 100m in a time of 10.98, having won his heat (heat 2) in 11.02. Saad Ashraf also raced in the final as a non-automatic qualifier, having placed 4th in the same heat in 11.41. Saad placed 7th in the final in 11.36.

In heat 1 of the men’s senior 100m, Luc Culliton placed 5th in 11.32, but was unable to progress further, whilst, in the women’s senior 400m, Maria Cornado placed 4th in 71.37. In the senior men’s race of the same distance Jack Byrne took home the silver medal after placing 2nd in a PB time of 51.42. Then, in the M45 category in the 800m, Jamie took bronze with a 3rd place finish in 2:21.05, followed by Gary Park who placed 6th in 2:26.71 in the M50 category. These events took place on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, in the senior women’s 200m heat 2, Meabh Murphy placed 5th in 29.03, but failed to qualify, whilst Lisa Corrigan picked up silver in the F50 category with a 2nd place finish in 33.88. In the discus (1.5kg), new member Sean Brickell won the gold medal in the M55 age category with a throw of 35.85m (his last throw of 4), with Mick McDermott placing 6th in the M50 category with his 1st throw (of 4) of 22.47m. Incidentally Sean would have beaten all the M50s too and has been informed that he broke the M55 provincial record which had stood for 7 years. Finally, on the track, Michael Wycherley won gold in the M50 category (in the process recording a better time than the M40s in a previous race too!) in the masters 5000m, which he won in 16:58.15.

On to road racing, and the week started on Tuesday evening with a race on the Meath and Kildare border, the Bob Heffernan and Mary Hanley 5k, another event in the Peugeot Race series. It is known to be a fast course and did not disappoint. In the field of nearly 700, there were at least 50 runners who broke 16 minutes.

Kevin Fitzgibbon was the first Crusader over the line, placing 32nd in 15:43. He was followed by Conor Kilkenny with a PB time of 15:53 for 45th spot. Conor was followed by Ciarain Kelly (103rd in 16:56), Joe McDermott (108th in 17:01) and then further back by Karl Walsh (206th in 18:05).

Not far behind Karl came ladies captain Sarah Lyons (207th overall and 19th female finisher in a PB time of 18:11). Kathryn Gibbons was not too far behind, also with a PB result (222nd and 24th in 18:23). Further back came Cillian Traynor (263rd in 18:52) and he was followed by Oisin Browne (283rd in 19:16). Cría Dowling was next (322nd and 41st in 19:35), followed by Jade Murphy (341st and 47th in a PB time of 19:47) and Jade was followed by Ian Weldon (405th in 20:38), just ahead of Louise O’Riordan, another runner with a PB on the night (407th and 65th in 20:40). Emily Glen (434th and 75th in 21:02), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (467th and 91st in 21:22) and Richard Kavanagh (571st in 24:16 and winner of the M70 age category) completed the picture.

On Thursday evening, we had a few of our clubmates take part in the Staff Relays, held on a loop of just under 5k taking in the Acres on grass as well as the Military Road and Khyber Pass. Those participating included Dimitri Jeannon (17:10), Warren Swords (18:08), Ronan Walsh (18:28), Conor Macguinness (19:06), James Bradshaw (a PB time of 20:17), James Moran (21:43), Kabir Sala (23:38) and Lorraine McMahon (27:43).

The annual running of the races for members of the legal profession took place in the Phoenix Park and on Blackhall Place on Saturday morning. These are known as the Calcutta 10k and 6k races. In sunny conditions, Caroline Crowley won the women’s 6k in a great time of 21:56 placing 3rd overall in a field of 561. Then, in the 10k we had at least 6 Crusaders participate. The contingent was led home in 4th place by Stephen Hurley in a field of 381. Stephen was closely followed by Kenan Furlong (5th in 36:56) and then by Ross Neill (9th in 38:12) and then by Charlie Coonan (29th in 42:42). Barry McCarthy came across the line in 49th spot (in 44:42) and he was followed by Gareth Phelan (89th in 47:19).

Finally, on Sunday, Ciara Regan headed north and ran in the Newry 10k, where, in a field of 618, she placed 39th and 3rd in 41:26.

Further afield, Tim O’Donnell ran in the Edinburgh half marathon on Sunday morning. In warm conditions he completed the event in 99 minutes. Dee Lawlor and John O’Donnell, respectively, took on the challenging Transylvania 80k and 50k events in Romania, a festival that Dee has taken on before. However, following several falls in the snow (!) early on, Dee decided to step down to the 50k which he completed in 8:05:38 for 34th place, whilst John ran 9:46:14 for the same event, placing 136th out of 544 finishers. One of our French exiles, Raphael Crueyze ran in the 10k de Chatellorault which he completed in 37:41 for 27th place out of 500.

There was an unusual event in Sligo for one of our runners. John McDonagh took up race walking and won the 30k ESB Sligo race walk in a time around 3h20m.

Perhaps, because there was so much racing over the weekend and despite the glorious weather we are starting to have, the parkruns weren’t as populous overall this weekend.
Aoife Quigley joined a field of 574 in Marlay Park where she placed 8th and 1st in 19:45, followed by Kathryn Tomkins (42nd and 4th in 21:53) and Kevin Kenny (167th in 26:11). Meanwhile, Daniel Lowe ran alongside 138 other participants in Tymon Park, placing 5th in 20:01, whilst, in Naas, Karl Walsh ran 19:31 also for 5th spot. The field there measured 189.

As usual, we enjoyed a reasonable turnout in Poolbeg. In a field of 230, Conor Kilkenny placed 11th in 20:41, followed by Ronan Walsh (12th in 20:46), Oisin Browne (21st in 21:36), just ahead of Paul Campbell (22nd in 21:38). Further back came Sharon Woods (37th and 5th in 23:07) ahead of Eamon MacFhionnleach (52nd in 23:58) and then Russell Murphy (72nd in 25:24), Emily Glen (74th and 11th in 25:33), Franky Keane (76th in 25:43), Saketh Ravuluri (83rd in 26:08), Kabir Sala (87th in 26:29), just ahead of Juliane Frydenlund (88th and 18th in 26:31). Next came Josie Ward (94th and 22nd in 26:40), ahead of Djinn Von Noorden (124th and 34th in 28:06), Bo Chicoine (177th in 31:24), Cynthia Perucca (184th and 66th in 31:51) and Maureen McGinley (186th and 68th in 31:55).

Áine Crotty completed her training for next week’s Cork marathon by placing 94th and 16th in 26:56 in the 239-strong field in Tramore Valley in Cork. Ellen Walsh also placed 16th (64th overall) in 28:40 in the field of 135 in Sligo, whilst Ailish Hassett ran 34:48 in Templemore alongside 107 other runners for 86th and 33rd places. Niall O’Connell continued his return to competitive running, placing 19th in 24:10 in the 209-strong field in Cabinteely, followed by Olwyn Dunne (101st and 28th in 30:28), whilst Darina Scully joined 405 other runners in Malahide, placing 179th and 36th in 26:27. Martina White took 84th and 27th spots in 29:33 in Porterstown with its field of 160, whilst Helena O’Keeffe ran 28:43 for 162nd and 40th places in the 327-strong field in Ballincollig. We had at least 5 athletes in Shanganagh with its field of 290. Carina Davidson placed 163rd and 41st in 28:33, followed by Lorraine McMahon (179th and 49th in 29:44), Órlaith de Burca (182nd and 51st in 29:54), Lisa Shine (205th and 64th in 31:28), just ahead of Máirín Shine (207th and 66th in 31:30), whilst, in Deerpark, Carlanstown, Mairead Cashman joined 42 other participants, where she ran 33:27 for 33rd and 12th spots.

Finally, one of our exiles in Australia, Christina Campbell, ran in the University of Western Australia parkrun in Perth, where, in a field of 128, she placed 86th and 33rd in 34:47.

Bob Heffernan & Mary Hanley 5k (696)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Travers 1 00:13:45
65 Ciara Wilson 1 00:16:33
Crusaders AC runners
32 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:15:43
45 Conor Kilkenny 00:15:53 (PB)
103 Ciarain Kelly 00:16:56
108 Joe McDermott 00:17:01
206 Karl Walsh 00:18:05
207 Sarah Lyons 00:18:11 (PB) (19)
222 Kathryn Gibbons 00:18:23 (PB) (24)
263 Cillian Traynor 00:18:52
283 Oisin Browne 00:19:16
322 Cría Dowling 00:19:35 (41)
341 Jade Murphy 00:19:47 (PB) (47)
405 Ian Weldon 00:20:38
407 Louise O’Riordan 00:20:40 (PB) (65)
434 Emily Glen 00:21:02 (75)
467 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:22 (91)
571 Richard Kavanagh 00:24:16
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-bob-heffernan-and-mary-hanley-5k-2026/
Calcutta Run 10k (381)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Andrew O’Brien 1 00:34:22
27 Orla McGovern 1 00:42:28
Crusaders AC runners
4 Stephen Hurley 00:36:31
5 Kenan Furlong 00:36:56
9 Ross Neill 00:38:12
29 Charlie Coonan 00:42:42
49 Barry McCarthy 00:44:42
89 Gareth Phelan 00:47:19
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/calcutta-run-2026/
Calcutta Run 6k (561)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kevin Leen 1 00:20:03
3 Caroline Crowley 1 00:21:56
Crusaders AC runners
3 Caroline Crowley 00:21:56 (1)
77 Aoibhinn Gilmartin 00:29:44 (20)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/calcutta-run-2026/
Newry 10k (618)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Chris Drysdale 1 00:33:45
27 Sinead Murtagh 1 00:40:14
Crusaders AC runner
39 Ciara Regan 00:41:26 (3)
Full results here: ChampionChip Ireland - Race Timing and Sporting Events
Ballincollig Parkrun (327)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Benjamin Tanner 1 00:17:29
10 Patricia Vicario 1 00:20:52
Crusaders AC runner
162 Helena O’Keeffe 00:28:43 (40)
Porterstown Parkrun (160)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Golden 1 00:18:01
6 Caroline McCarthy 1 00:20:21
Crusaders AC runner
84 Martina White 00:29:33 (27)
Tymon Parkrun (139)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Cassells 1 00:18:30
6 Sinead Tighe 1 00:20:16
Crusaders AC runner
5 Daniel Lowe 00:20:01
Shanganagh Parkrun (290)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ed Byrne 1 00:17:37
11 Catherine O’Connor 1 00:19:21
Crusaders AC runners
163 Carina Davidson 00:28:33 (41)
179 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:44 (49)
182 Órlaith de Burca 00:29:54 (51)
205 Lisa Shine 00:31:28 (64)
207 Máirín Shine 00:31:30 (66)
Naas Parkrun (189)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rob O’Brien 1 00:18:03
11 Ruth O’Loughlin 1 00:20:58
Crusaders AC runner
5 Karl Walsh 00:19:31
Poolbeg Parkrun (212)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher O’Reilly 1 00:17:51
24 Sophie Tonge 1 00:21:48
Crusaders AC runners
11 Conor Kilkenny 00:20:41
12 Ronan Walsh 00:20:46
21 Oisin Browne 00:21:36
22 Paul Campbell 00:21:38
37 Sharon Woods 00:23:07 (5)
52 Eamon MacFhionnlaoich 00:23:58
72 Russell Murphy 00:25:24
74 Emily Glen 00:25:33 (11)
76 Franky Keane 00:25:43
83 Saketh Ravuluri 00:26:08
87 Kabir Sala 00:26:29
88 Juliane Frydenlund 00:26:31 (18)
94 Josie Ward 00:26:40 (22)
124 Djinn Von Noorden 00:28:06 (34)
177 Bo Chicoine 00:31:24
184 Cynthia Perucca 00:31:51 (66)
186 Maureen McGinley 00:31:55 (68)
Deerpark Carlanstown Parkrun (43)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ross Miotti 1 00:20:32
11 Orla Carolan 1 00:25:16
Crusaders AC runner
33 Mairead Cashman 00:33:27 (12)
Templemore Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James Sherlock 1 00:18:54
6 Caoimhe Slevin 1 00:20:56
Crusaders AC runner
86 Ailish Hassett 00:34:48 (33)
Malahide Parkrun (406)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Valentine 1 00:18:08
6 Annette Kealy 1 00:19:00
Crusaders AC runner
179 Darina Scully 00:26:27 (36)
Marlay Parkrun (574)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Philip Simpson 1 00:17:39
8 Aoife Quigley 1 00:19:45
Crusaders AC runners
8 Aoife Quigley 00:19:45 (1)
42 Kathryn Sweeney 00:21:53 (4)
167 Kevin Kenny 00:26:11
Cabinteely Parkrun (209)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Oscar Rowe 1 00:19:39
27 Jennifer Reynolds 1 00:25:01
Crusaders AC runners
19 Niall O’Connell 00:24:10
101 Olwyn Dunne 00:30:28 (28)
Sligo Parkrun (135)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Harkin 1 00:18:24
14 Meabh McIntyre 1 00:22:33
Crusaders AC runner
64 Ellen Walsh 00:28:40 (16)
Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (239)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Shane Winters 1 00:17:55
5 Karen Walsh 1 00:19:16
Crusaders AC runner
94 Áine Crotty 00:26:56 (16)