National medals on the track and the balloons were everywhere in Swords

17/7/2023

L-R standing: Charlotte Myers, Sinead Moloney, Fearghal O'Hare. Seated: Charlie Bastow

The week’s racing news was dominated by two events over the weekend. Four of our intrepid tracksters became bronze medallists in the national mixed 4 x 400 relays on Saturday evening and then on Sunday morning we had a super turnout for the Irish Life Marathon Race Series Fingal 10k in Swords, where the club provided all the pacers as well as a decent number of runners.

We start with action on the track. On a cool and blustery evening, Sinead Moloney, Fearghal O’Hare, Charlotte Myers and Charlie Bastow did the club proud by taking third place and the national bronze medal in the 4 x 400m mixed relay in the Morton Stadium in Santry, one of the events in the AAI Games taking place over the two days of the weekend. Their combined time was 3:44.61 and only a hairsbreadth off second place. In the same Games on Sunday Gary Park ran 11:48.39 in the M35-59 3000m steeplechase, an event he has made his own over the years, and winning the age category. Mary Horgan placed 4th in the women’s 800m in 2:10.33, whilst Henry Griffin ran in the 3rd and last (graded) heat of the men’s 800m where he ran a super 2:06.24.

On Friday evening, Finn Boyle gamely ran on the wet and windy track in the Morton Games in the Jerry Kiernan Foundation junior men’s mile race. In a field of 14 runners, Finn found himself in the mix for much of the super competitive race, eventually finishing in 9th place in a creditable time of 4:36.72.

Moving on to the roads and trails, Saturday morning involved Crusaders in a few events. On holiday in Donegal, Kiera Roche, a native of that county, made a welcome post-natal return to racing, when she discovered that the Rathmullen 5k was taking place. In a field of 156, Kiera placed 76th overall and 14th female finisher behind Teresa Doherty, in a time of 20:50. On the same morning, Ciara Lynch had been hoping to participate in a 22k trail race in Co. Galway, in the mountains between Gort and Loughrea. In the event, because of weather conditions, the Slieve Aughty 22k Challenge was replaced by an 8.75k run. In a field of 102, Ciara placed 34th overall and 4th female home in a time of 52:57. Donatas Jocius also took part in a trail race on Saturday finishing in 7th place in the 60-strong field, running the Reeks Skyline in Co. Kerry.

Further afield, on Friday night, Italo Giancaterina, our Italian exile, placed 2nd in a time of 26:43 in the Notturno Tortoreto Lido, an 8k out-and-back race that took place on the seafront in Tortoreto on the east coast of Italy.

Then, on Sunday, we provided all 8 pacers needed for the Fingal 10k in Swords, the second of four races preparing runners for the Dublin marathon in October. All of them carried out their duties perfectly, coming home just inside the time goals of 45 minutes (Cian Coughlan and guest runner Catherine Thornton), 50 minutes (Joanne Carey and Miriam Logan), 55 minutes (Paula Bradshaw and Olwyn Dunne) and 60 minutes (Aitor Arribas Velasco and Joe Dunne).

The super and most enjoyable race in its second return to Swords (after a hiatus involving its staging in Grangecastle Business Park for a time and then the pandemic) was on a slightly altered course from prior to 2022 (the start line has been brought back along the main street and the finish no longer involves a steep climb but also a much straighter run in to just behind the start line. Although, there was a strong westerly wind on the morning, it didn’t really affect runners that much on a course whose orientation is mostly north-south, and what wind did come into our faces at times was actually quite refreshing. The start was delayed by about 15 minutes but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the more than 2,500 runners who took part in dry conditions. The pointy end of the race was also well populated by quality runners, both male and female.

Apart from the pacers, we had at least 19 runners in the race, including one or two currently inactive members. Ciarain Kelly had a decent run to place 23rd in 35:24 and he was followed home closely by Jim Stagg (32nd in 35:42). Next came Paul Cowhie in a super time of 35:57 for 35th place and the man, who turns 60 later in the year, won the M55 age category in the process. Eddie Nugent followed behind in another solid performance (73rd in 37:44), with Karl Walsh running 39:39 in 160th position after having swapped places a couple of times with the next runner home, James Cottle (171st and M65 age category winner in 40:08). James ran negative splits in the race and also enjoyed a brief battle early on with a Bros Pearse runner in his age category, Michael Walsh, who placed 2nd. Members may be interested to hear that the next runner home was Sean Murphy of United Striders who trains with us from time to time and who placed 202nd in 40:54 and he was followed home by our first female athlete across the line, Áine Crotty (348th and 41st female in 43:25). Just behind Áine came ladies club captain, Rebecca Fleming, who placed 352nd and 42nd in 43:28, both women running well.

Our next runner home was Tony Owens (399th in 44:22) and Tony was followed across the line by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (433rd and 56th in 44:45). Robbie Moore was the next runner to finish (488th in 45:42) and he was followed by Adam Kinch (518th in 45:33), new member Sean Brady (737th in 48:56), Hannah Jones (600th and 89th in 46:42), in training like many of us for the Dublin marathon, but unlike the majority of us in the race, running a 10k for the first time. Aoife Cowhie followed (935th and 181st in 51:45) and behind her came Darina Scully (1068th and 228th in 52:59), Gillian McDarby (1264th and 304th in 54:03), Kevin Kenny (1382nd in 54:50) and Emily Glen (1383rd and 358th in 54:53) who treated the race as part of a much longer Sunday run.

IMRA organised two races in which Crusaders featured last week, the results of only one of which at time of initial writing were available. The results of the 2nd race, in Carrauntoohill in Co. Kerry on Sunday, have now been published and the report has been updated. The race in the Irish and Munster Championships was conducted on a course of extreme difficulty with a climb of 1100m and 98 runners completed it, among them Jason Kehoe who placed 7th in 1:45:44 and Donatas Jocius, on understandably heavy legs, placing 36th in 2:08:57.

We had at least 5 runners in the IMRA-organised Ballinastoe mountain race on Wednesday evening. The race was another event in the Leinster League involving a distance of 10.5k with a climb of 504m and conducted over difficult terrain in Co. Wicklow. The course required runners to take one big loop with another smaller one inside. Clare Sullivan ran a stormer to win the women’s race in 67:09 for 49th place overall in a field of 142 finishers. Ahead of her came Warren Swords, again running well, placing 12th in 55:29 and just in front of her was Ollie McGrath who took 43rd spot in 65:21. Gavan Doherty placed 75th in 75:29, with Ian Clifford not too far behind in 81st (76:42).

We had at least two members taking part in triathlons over the weekend. Isabelle Cairns and Seamus Moore competed in the Skerries Tri, where, in the run element of 5k, Isabelle ran 21:46 and finished the event 2nd in her age category, whilst Seamus ran 20:38.

Attendance at the parkruns on Saturday morning was generally lower than usual across the board as we experienced heavy weather across the island. We did have some considerable success, however, among those that did turn out to run. Ilona McElroy was a first finisher in Falcarragh in Co. Donegal, where, in a field of 83, she placed 7th overall in a time of 20:42. Tara Murphy was another first finisher in Carlow Town, where in a field of 42, she placed 8th overall in 26:05, with partner John Lohan taking 3rd spot overall in 22:25. Luke Haran came home ahead of the 68-strong field in Mungret, where he ran 20:20, whilst Kate Murray ran in Bushy Park, where, in a field of 194 she placed 33rd and 2nd in 23:30. Maureen McGinley ran once again in Farfalle in Padua, Italy, where, in a field of 32, she placed 16th and 4th in 30:20, whilst Ross Neill led the crusader contingent home in 3rd place in 18:34 in the 124-strong field in Poolbeg.

Ross was followed by Stephen Hurley (13th in 20:45), Kenan Furlong (16th in 21:22) who added the parkrun to the end of a long run, Josie Ward (48th and 6th in 24:47), Mairead Cashman (88th and 25th in 30:56) and Cría Dowling (91st and 28th in 31:15). Kieran Little took 4th place in a time of 16:23 in Shanganagh, alongside 198 other participants who included Georgina Hawkins (95th and 19th in 26:49) and Niamh Quinn (162nd and 57th in 32:10). Killian Barry was one of two representatives in Marlay Park where, in a field of 274, he placed 5th in 19:10, followed by Stephen Mulligan (66th in 24:10), whilst Barry O’Neill ran in Pobalscoil na Tríonóide with its field of 38. Barry placed 9th in 23:53. Olwyn Dunne took 74th and 13th spots in Fairview alongside 144 other runners, whilst Aitor Arribas Velasco was our lone runner in Castlehaven where he placed 13th in the 30-strong field. Eoghan Corrigan ran in Griffeen Park where he placed 32nd in a field of 113, whilst Tim Hyland placed 121st in Malahide in a time of 28:35. The field measured 199 in total. Finally, Máirín Shine joined 100 other participants in Cabinteely where she placed 68th and 17th in 31:07.

Irish Life Fingal 10k (2255)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Emmet Jennings 1 00:30:35
19 Ciara Hickey 1 00:34:36
Crusaders AC runners
23 Ciarain Kelly 00:35:24
32 Jim Stagg 00:35:42
35 Paul Cowhie 00:35:57
73 Eddie Nugent 00:37:44
160 Karl Walsh 00:39:39
171 James Cottle 00:40:08
348 Áine Crotty 00:43:25 (41)
352 Rebecca Fleming 00:43:28 (42)
399 Anthony Owens 00:44:22
433 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:44:45 (56)
446 Cian Coughlan 00:44:51 (PACER)
488 Robbie Moore 00:45:42
518 Adam Kinch 00:45:33
600 Hannah Jones 00:46:42 (PB) (89)
737 Sean Brady 00:48:56
859 Joanne Carey 00:49:51 (152) (PACER)
861 Miriam Logan 00:49:51 (153) (PACER)
935 Aoife Cowhie 00:51:45 (181)
1068 Darina Scully 00:52:59 (228)
1264 Gillian McDarby 00:54:03 (304)
1318 Paula Bradshaw 00:54:55 (329) (PACER)
1319 Olwyn Dunne 00:54:55 (330) (PACER)
1382 Kevin Kenny 00:54:50
1383 Emily Glen 00:54:53 (358)
1672 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:59:08 (PACER)
1673 Joe Dunne 00:59:11 (PACER)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_5_mile__half_marathon_july_2023/4667/results
Rathmullan 5k (156)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Ferry 1 00:15:17
11 Teresa Doherty 1 00:16:24
Crusaders AC runner
76 Kiera Roche 00:20:50 (14)
Full results here: Herbie Mc Daid’s Facebook page
Slieve Aughty Challenge 8.75k (102)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Lorcan Doyle 1 00:41:43
13 Delia Beddis 1 00:47:37
Crusaders AC runner
34 Ciara Lynch 00:52:57 (4)
Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/SlieveAughtyChallenge2023_22kmStart.pdf
Reeks Skyline 23k (60)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conal Whelan 1 03:05:45
13 Ellen Vitting 1 03:43:10
Crusaders AC runner
7 Donatas Jocius 03:35:09
Full results here: https://results.primaltracking.com/event/reeksskyline23
IMRA Carrauntoohill Classic 15k (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Anthony Forristal 1 01:33:30
23 Fiona Dowling 1 02:00:45
Crusaders AC runners
7 Jason Kehoe 01:45:44
36 Donatas Jocius 02:08:57
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2347/
IMRA Ballinastoe (White Hill) 10.5k (142)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Denis McGlynn 1 00:53:02
49 Clare Sullivan 1 01:07:09
Crusaders AC runners
12 Warren Swords 00:55:29
43 Ollie McGrath 01:05:21
49 Clare Sullivan 01:07:09 (1)
75 Gavan Doherty 01:15:29
81 Ian Clifford 01:16:42
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2401/
Malahide Parkrun (199)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Baragwanath 1 00:18:23
2 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:31
Crusaders AC runner
121 Tim Hyland 00:28:35
Marlay Parkrun (274)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tadgh Bartelink 1 00:17:47
27 Emma McGrane 1 00:21:43
Crusaders AC runner
5 Killian Barry 00:19:10
Carlow Town Parkrun (42)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Niamh O’Keeffe 1 00:22:17
8 Tara Murphy 1 00:26:05
Crusaders AC runners
3 John Lohan 00:22:25
8 Tara Murphy 00:26:05 (1)
Shanganagh Parkrun (199)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alex Gray 1 00:16:08
30 Emily Kane 1 00:22:44
Crusaders AC runners
4 Kieran Little 00:16:23
95 Georgina Hawkins 00:26:49 (19)
162 Niamh Quinn 00:32:10 (57)
Falcarragh Parkrun (83)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciaran Toner 1 00:20:18
7 Ilona McElroy 1 00:20:42
Crusaders AC runner
7 Ilona McElroy 00:20:42 (1)
Griffeen Parkrun (113)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Greg Devereux 1 00:18:13
18 Poppy Lyons Kennedy 1 00:21:49
Crusaders AC runner
32 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:01
Castlehaven Parkrun (30)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Florence Fitzgerald 1 00:21:09
4 David Best 1 00:23:15
Crusaders AC runners
13 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:29:24
Poolbeg Parkrun (124)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Butler 1 00:16:59
19 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:41
Crusaders AC runners
3 Ross Neill 00:18:34
13 Stephen Hurley 00:20:45
16 Kenan Furlong 00:21:22
48 Josie Ward 00:24:47 (6)
88 Mairead Cashman 00:30:56 (25)
91 Cría Dowling 00:31:15 (28)
Mungret Parkrun (68)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Haran 1 00:20:20
3 Pamela Kirby 1 00:20:38
Crusaders AC runner
1 Luke Haran 00:20:00
Pobalscoil na Tríonóide Parkrun (38)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Lance Doherty 1 00:19:29
6 Éadaoin Coleman 1 00:22:22
Crusaders AC runner
9 Barry O’Neill 00:23:53
Fairview Parkrun (123)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aidan Jones 1 00:18:24
10 Aisling McGlacken-Byrne 1 00:20:54
Crusaders AC runner
74 Olwyn Dunne 00:28:07 (13)
Cabinteely Parkrun (101)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robbie McNab 1 00:18:28
11 Frances McNab 1 00:22:08
Crusaders AC runner
68 Máirín Shine 00:31:07 (17)
Bushy Parkrun (194)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:18:15
8 Emily Witham 1 00:21:31
Crusaders AC runner
33 Kate Murray 00:23:30 (2)

L-R: Charlotte Myers, Sinead Moloney, Charlie Bastow and Fearghal O'Hare

Mary Horgan and family

Standing L-R: Cian Coughlan, James Cottle, Eddie Nugent, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Miriam Logan, Joanne Carey, Karl Walsh, Olwyn Dunne. Kneeling: Sean Brady, Catherine Thornton, Rebecca Fleming and Áine Crotty

L-R: Miriam Logan, Catherine Thornton, Cian Coughlan, Paula Bradshaw, Aitor Arribas Velasco, Joe Dunne, Olwyn Dunne and Joanne Carey

L-R: Sean Brady, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Paul Bradshaw, Joanne Carey, Joe Dunne, Olwyn Dunne, Miriam Logan, Aitor Arribas Velasco, Kevin Kenny and Emily Glen