Parading on Paddy’s Day

17/3/2024

Standing L-R: Mairead Cashman, Eddie Nugent, Kelly Brown, Cría Dowling, Catherine Thornton, Paul E. Kelly, Andrea Rondina, Patrick W. Conlon, Joe McDermott, Henry Griffin and Aoife Quigley. Kneeling: Rebecca Fleming (with James and Maeve)

It was another busy weekend in the road racing calendar, with events from 5k to marathon, near and far.

Once again, Tallaght AC hosted the Dublin novices, incorporated into a more general 5k race, on Sunday morning, and we came away with a haul of medals, both individual and team. The field measured 483 on the one-looped anti-clockwise course, with a tough hill towards the end, running into the southwesterly wind. We had at least 15 Crusaders in the race and they were led home by Andrea Rondina, who managed to take 4th place in 15;34, after lying 5th with about 600m to go. With the result, Andrea was awarded with gold in the novices competition, as well as leading home the next three runners to first place (and the gold medal) in both the race team competition and the novices contest. The other three members were Alex Ainsworth who placed 11th overall and bronze medallist in the novices competition (in 16:30), Patrick W. Conlon (17th in 17:03) and Joe McDermott (28th and 4th M40 overall in 17:21). Henry Griffin with a PB time of 17:37 was next in 35th place and he was followed by Eddie Nugent (79th in 18:57). Eddie was followed by the first of our female scorers. Annie Hughes placed 96th and 13th in 19:24 and she led home the novices team to the silver medal (as well as 3rd place in the general competition). The other members of the team were Aoife Quigley (121st and 21st in 19:59), Cría Dowling (177th and 43rd in a PB time of 21:10) and Rebecca Fleming (196th and 49th in 21:55). Congrats to all!

In between the women's team finishers came Simon Kenny (99th in 19:30) and then further back they were followed by Kelly Brown (289th and 87th in 24:32) who treated the race as a training run. Kelly was then followed by Paul E. Kelly (350th in 27:18), Mairead Cashman (372nd and 129th in 28:33) and Maureen McGinley (385th, 138th and 4th F60 in 29:40). Members may also be interested to hear that Catherine Thornton who trains with us periodically placed 42nd and 4th in 17:56.

On the same day, there was another fast and furious 5k taking place in Portlaoise, where we had 2 athletes appearing. In a quality field of 862 and in wet conditions, Brian Regan took 55th place in 17:06, followed by Miriam Logan who recorded a time of 21:21 for 207th and 41st places. The day before, Donatas Jocius had run in a 5k in Kildare, where, in a field of 280 in the Run for Raphael’s, he placed 4th in a time of 18:05.

Back to Sunday, we had at least 14 Crusaders take part in the Mullingar half marathon. On a wet and breezy day in Co. Westmeath, on an undulating anti-clockwise one loop course with lots of twists and turns on country roads, Alby Allan was our first clubmate across the line in a PB time of 83:39 (an improvement of 5 minutes) for 53rd place in a field of nearly 1400. Aaron Farrell was next, in 102nd place with a time of 87:33 and he was followed by Tim O’Donnell who recorded a PB time of 88:55 for 129th spot. Tim was followed by Michael Fitzsimons (149th in 90:30) and he was followed by Rachel Calvey (173rd and 13th female finisher in 91:35). Áine Kenny was next across the line (211th and 21st in 94:01) and she was followed by Gill Earley (244th and 29th in 94:15), Judy O’Connell (339th, 49th and 2nd F45 in 99:38), Triona Quill (421st and 69th in 1:43:42), Louise O’Riordan (480th and 87th in 1:44:49), Tanja Narancic (600th and 124th in 1:49:00), Kevin Kenny (654th in 1:51:15), Lisa Branigan, who, like her run in Bohermeen last week, treated the race as a training run (869th and 239th in 1:57:23) and Evelyn Neary (1105th and 378th in 2:08:50).

Up in Belfast, Ross Neill joined over 4000 runners taking part in the Spar Craic 10k, where he placed 17th in a great time of 34:43.

Earlier in the week, we had runners in two races organised in Sandymount, once again taking in the beach. In the Sandymount Night Run 10k, with its field of 733, Adrian Groarke placed 58th in 45:43, followed by John Corish (255th in 54:54). Meanwhile, in the 5k event on the same night, Alban Coghlan placed 2nd in 17:41 and Jim Stagg took 3rd spot in 18:21 in a field of 511. They were followed by Alan Martin (72nd in 28:01), Adam Kinch (74th in 27:51) and Feed Faeedi (440th in 39:34).

Further afield, we had 4 runners take part in the Rome marathon on Sunday morning. In increasingly warm conditions, Kathryn Gibbons ran a negative split of around 90 seconds to finish her first marathon in a super 3:10:38, having joined up in the last 2k with Brian McGuckin who ran 3:10:39. They were followed by Sam McArdle who, despite hitting the wall at 35k, nevertheless produced a PB time of 3:21:07. Aitor Arribas Velasco also ran, but pulled out at the halfway stage.

Elsewhere, one of our US exiles, Damien O’Brien ran in the NYC Half marathon where he recorded a time of 82:35. He was joined by Ian Kinsella, our exile in Canada, who ran in his first race since having had open heart surgery 5 months ago. Ian ran a great time of 1:44:15. Then in France, Clément Rincé took part in the 10k de Lille where he produced an excellent PB time of 32:33. Further south, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos ran in the Campeonato Andalucia 10k torre del Mar where, Esther completed the distance in 39:08 and Cristian ran 34:09. Lydia Bigley ran 2:01 as a training run in the Lisbon half marathon, accompanied by Rory Goldsmith, who, in the heat of the day found the going tough but still recorded a good time of 1:24:07, whilst further north, Fanny Trébouet and Adelaide Foglia ran in the Liverpool Half marathon, where Adelaide recorded a time of 2:14:35 and Fanny, 2:14:40.

In the mountains on Friday night, Warren Swords and Gavan Doherty took part in the 7.4k Crone Maulin Night Challenge in Co. Wicklow. It started at 20:00 and, although the route, with its climb of more than 400m, was well-marked, necessitated the wearing of head torches. In his first outing of the season, Warren placed 6th in the field of 161 in a time of 40:20, and he was followed by Gavan who ran 58:03 for 79th spot.

With all the racing taking place over this weekend, there appears to have been lower participation generally in the parkruns. Nevertheless, we saw some super results among those that did participate.

Stephen Hurley led the reduced field of 124 home in Poolbeg in a time of 18:30. We had at least 8 other club mates in the event, with Neil Monahan taking 6th spot in 20:16. Neil was followed by Jessica Norris (31st and 3rd in 24:44), Kevin Kenny (42nd in 25:41), Tara Murphy (52nd and 10th in 27:04), Tanja Narancic (66th and 16th in 28:40), Franky Keane (72nd in 30:02), Maureen McGinley (83rd and 26th in 31:49) and Rachel Calvey, tailwalking.

Liam Morris, who has not featured in recent events, made a great return, placing 2nd in 17:12 in the field of 207 in Corkagh, ahead of Mairead Cashman who placed 102nd and 28th in 29:12. Dee Lawlor also placed 2nd, in Shanganagh, where, in a field of 215, he ran 17:28, ahead of David Carter (16th in 20:26) and Carina Davidson (181st and 75th in 34:46). In Tolka Valley Park, Phelim Murray placed 3rd in 21:21, and he was followed, in the field of 46, by Diarmuid Byrne (6th in 23:09) and Garret Connolly, no doubt pushing a buggy (14th in 25:38). Another buggy pusher was Eoghan Corrigan who tailwalked in Dodder Valley in the field of 143.

Richard Morrissey ran once again in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, placing 5th in 17:57 in a field of 396, whilst Toby Benham also ran in the UK, where, in Worthing, in a field of 585, he ran 21:19 for 71st spot. Áine Kenny placed 14th and 3rd in 28:25 in the 31-strong field in Mountbellew Forest, whilst Andy Deuser took 21st spot in 23:52 in the field of 115 in Fairview. Ross Neill joined 461 other runners in Ormeau Park along with Fiona and Lisa Shine. Ross placed 18th in 20:27, followed by Fiona (195th and 40th in 27:34) and Lisa, tailwalking. Finally, Barry O’Neill ran alongside 468 other participants in Marlay Park where he placed 198th in 27:08, whilst Paul F. Kelly ran in Ballina. In a field of 51 there, Paul placed 14th in 25:11.

Tallaght AC 5k (Dublin Novice 5k) (483)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mitchell Byrne 1 00:15:03
15 Carla Sweeney 1 00:16:54
Crusaders AC runners
4 Andrea Rondina 00:15:34
11 Alex Ainsworth 00:16:30
17 Patrick W. Conlon 00:17:03
28 Joe McDermott 00:17:21
35 Henry Griffin 00:17:37 (PB)
79 Eddie Nugent 00:18:57
96 Annie Hughes 00:19:24 (13)
99 Simon Kenny 00:19:30
121 Aoife Quigley 00:19:59 (21)
177 Cría Dowling 00:21:10 (PB) (43)
196 Rebecca Fleming 00:21:55 (49)
289 Kelly Brown 00:24:32 (87)
350 Paul E. Kelly 00:27:18
372 Mairead Cashman 00:28:33 (129)
385 Maureen McGinley 00:29:40 (138)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/tallaght-ac-5k-2024/
AON Mullingar Half marathon (1392)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 01:09:24
34 Fiona Stack 1 01:21:26
Crusaders AC runners
53 Alby Allan 01:23:39 (PB)
102 Aaron Farrell 01:27:33
129 Tim O’Donnell 01:28:55 (PB)
149 Michael Fitzsimons 01:30:30
173 Rachel Calvey 01:31:35 (13)
211 Áine Kenny 01:34:01 (21)
244 Gillian Earley 01:34:15 (29)
339 Judy O’Connell 01:39:38 (49)
421 Triona Quill 01:43:42 (69)
480 Louise O’Riordan 01:44:49 (87)
600 Tanja Narancic 01:49:00 (124)
654 Kevin Kenny 01:51:15
869 Lisa Branigan 01:57:23 (239)
1105 Evelyn Neary 02:08:50 (378)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/aon_mullingar_half_marathon__st_patricks_day_5k/5004/results
Run for Raphael’s 5k (280)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Dowling 1 00:17:38
13 Theresa Doherty 1 00:21:36
Crusaders AC runner
4 Donatas Jocius 00:18:05
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-for-raphaels-2024/
Spar Craic 10k (4138)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen Connolly 1 00:31:42
19 Sophie Wood 1 00:35:10
Crusaders AC runner
17 Ross Neill 00:34:43
Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Streets of Portlaoise 5k (862)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Pierre Murchan 1 00:14:24
28 Annmarie McGlynn 1 00:16:19
Crusaders AC runners
55 Brian Regan 00:17:06
207 Miriam Logan 00:21:21 (41)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/streets-of-portlaoise-2024/
Sandymount Night Run 10k (733)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Conor O’Reilly 1 00:36:01
16 Jamie Fitzgerald (sic) 1 00:41:22
Crusaders AC runners
58 Adrian Groarke 00:45:43
255 John Corish 00:54:54
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sandymount_nightrun_10km__5km_2024/5003/results
Sandymount Night Run 5k (511)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Bugeja 1 00:17:30
15 Ursula Hughes 1 00:21:19
Crusaders AC runners
2 Alban Coghlan 00:17:41
3 Jim Stagg 00:18:21
72 Alan Martin 00:28:01
74 Adam Kinch 00:27:51
440 Faeed Faeedi 00:39:34
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sandymount_nightrun_10km__5km_2024/5003/results
IMRA Crone Maulin Night Challenge 7.4k (161)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Greg Byrne 1 00:38:55
37 Rebecca Carolan 1 00:48:56
Crusaders AC runners
6 Warren Swords 00:40:20
79 Gavan Doherty 00:58:03
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2492
Corkagh Parkrun (189)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Liam Morris 1 00:17:12
5 Kate McDonald 1 00:18:30
Crusaders AC runners
2 Liam Morris 00:17;12
102 Mairead Cashman 00:29:12 (28)
Shanganagh Parkrun (215)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Maher 1 00:17:18
11 Sarah Healy 1 00:19:37
Crusaders AC runners
2 Derek Lawlor 00:17:28
16 David Carter 00:20:26
181 Carina Davidson 00:34:46 (75)
Dodder Valley Parkrun (143)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert O’Brien 1 00:17:59
12 Louise O’Brien 1 00:23:21
Crusaders AC runner
126 Eoghan Corrigan 00:42:48
Ballina Parkrun (51)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciarán Canning 1 00:19:08
2 Grace Dempsey 1 00:20:24
Crusaders AC runner
14 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:11
Marlay Parkrun (469)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:14
16 Anne O’Donovan 1 00:20:01
Crusaders AC runner
198 Barry O’Neill 00:27:08
Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (31)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alan Conway 1 00:21:28
10 Bridget Murray 1 00:26:57
Crusaders AC runner
14 Áine Kenny 00:28:25 (3)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (46)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cian Ó Raghallaigh 1 00:19:13
13 Jill Gillman 1 00:25:34
Crusaders AC runners
3 Phelim Murray 00:21:21
6 Diarmuid Byrne 00:23:09
14 Garret Connolly 00:25:58
Poolbeg Parkrun (124)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:30
13 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:55
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:30
6 Neil Monahan 00:20:16
31 Jessica Norris 00:24:44
52 Tara Murphy 00:27:04 (10)
66 Tanja Narancic 00:28:40 (16)
72 Franky Keane 00:30:02
83 Maureen McGinley 00:31:49 (26)
117 Rachel Calvey 00:47:52 (50)
Ormeau Parkrun (462)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Matthew Wray 1 00:18:27
12 Shileen O’Kane 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runners
18 Ross Neill 00:20:27
195 Fiona Shine 00:27:34 (40)
459 Lisa Shine 00:53:38 (182)
Fairview Parkrun (115)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Koffi Kpoglo 1 00:20:10
18 Aine Ni Ghloinn 1 00:23:40
Crusaders AC runner
21 Andy Deuser 00:23:52