Plenty still to talk about

Poolbeg marathoners

​Although Sunday’s Dublin Senior XC championships were cancelled following the deluge we experienced late last week, there was still enough action involving the club on which to report.

It was another weekend of marathon running. We may only have had one of our exiles participating in New York which enjoyed fine weather in a cloudless sky and which produced a course record for Helen Obiri in 2:19:51 and which witnessed a superb run also from the ageless Fionnuala McCormack who placed 10th in 2:27:00, however, we did have two runners in Porto on a similarly challenging undulating course on the same day.

Tommy Allen and Jack Calahane took on the Portuguese challenge on Sunday, which was conducted in places on cobbled roads with potholes and which experienced a strong headwind in the final 10km. Tommy recorded a great time of 2:50:14, with Jack a little further back in 3:11:43. Also, on the morning, one of our UK exiles, Jeanie Watson, ran in the Marathon de Bruxelles in Belgium where she finished in a time of 3:23:58. Also, we discovered late on that Damien O'Brien, currently located in New York, ran on Sunday morning there. Damien ran 3:07:28 and found the second half particularly challenging.

On Saturday, Pat Quill participated in yet another ultra, the Kullamannen by UTMB 50k, that took place on a hilly and windy coastal loop just south of Halmstad in Sweden. Pat completed the distance, which measured closer to 53k, in a time of 6:53:08. Speaking of ultra challenges, this weekend marks 5 years of completing a 5k run every day for Olwyn Dunne. That is some major achievement. During that time, Olwyn has also raced and paced in multiple long-distance events too. She is an inspiration to us all!

Also, on Sunday, Brian O’Kelly joined the field of 40 runners taking part in the Sallins 10k, where he placed 2nd in an excellent time of 32:15.

In the mountains on Saturday morning, down in Co. Wicklow, IMRA organised the Powerscourt Ridge 15k with its climb of 860m. In a field of 148, Donatas Jocius placed 7th overall and first M40 in 1:24:29. He was followed by Becky Quinn (26th overall, 4th female finisher and 1st F50 in 1:37:44), Jason Kehoe (28th and 3rd M45 in 1:38:53) and then by Brandon Lai (39th in 1:42:10) and Brian McGuckin (56th and 4th M55 in 1:50:18).

Saturday’s parkruns were marked by many marathoners getting a post-marathon shake-out after last week’s exertions. Also, it was perhaps unsurprising that we had more than 50 Crusaders take part in the Poolbeg parkrun, its numbers swelled by those celebrating Bex Fleming’s hen. The huge club representation was probably a record in its own right, and, indeed, the Poolbeg field was much larger than usual at 315.

Stephen Hurley and Clare Sullivan were the two first finishers, with Dee Lawler, Aoife Quigley and likely Gill Earley appearing on the combined podium too. Stephen ran 17:43 and he was followed by Dee who placed 3rd in 17:53. Next came Jan Manschot (5th in 18:32), followed by Adrian Groarke (9th in 19:43), Derek Boland (10th in 19:47), Ross Neill (12th in 19:53).

Clare was next (13th and 1st in 20:18), followed by Aoife (17th and 2nd in 20:45), Tim O’Donnell (22nd in 21:17), Gill (likely 25th and 3rd in 21:22), Kabir Sala (34th in 22:02), Dale Whelehan (53rd in 23:24) and Josie Ward (59th and 6th in 24:03).

Further back came Saketh Ravuluri (71st in 24:43), followed by Mary Donnelly (77th and 13th in 24:54), Patricia Velazquez (78th and 14th in 24:55), Kev Moore (79th in 24:56), just ahead of Fiona Bane (80th and 15th in 24:57). Sharon Woods was next (93rd and 21st in 25:41), followed by Alby Allan (9th in 25:57) and Eoghan Corrigan (pushing a buggy for 103rd place in 26:05). Eoghan’s wife, Caroline Crowley also ran but her time and place are not recorded.

Bo Chicoine was next across the line (112th in 26:28) and he was followed by Mark McGovern (115th in 26:35), Kevin Kenny (119th in 26:45), Juliane Frydenlund (124th and 29th in 26:54), Emily Glen (126th and 31st in 26:57), Franky Keane (130th in 27:05), Miriam Logan (likely 134th overall in 27:13), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (136th and 35th in 27:15), Ciara Lynch and Ciara Regan (in 141st and 40th and 142nd and 41st in the same time of 27:18), Irene Gorman (147th and 43rd in 27:26), Ilona McElroy (148th and 44th in 27:27) and Yvonne Macauley (149th and 45th in 27:28), all in a line.

Chris Bannon was next (153rd in 27:37), just ahead of Sarah Lyons (154th and 47th in 27:41) and Sarah was followed by Kenan Furlong (158th in 27:49), Sophia Morgan (165th and 51st in 28:00), just ahead of Joanne Carey (166th and 52nd in 28:02) and followed by Fanny Trébouet (169th and 54th in 28:24), whose father Dominique also ran (175th in 28:34), and they were followed by Ellen Walsh (182nd and 62nd in 28:47), Aisling O’Riordan (190th and 67th in 29:05), Emer Kenny (196th and 72nd in 29:24), Carmel Higgins (197th and 73rd in 29:25) and by Bex Fleming herself (likely 199th overall in 29:30).

Maureen McGinley (251st and 109th in 32:14) was next, followed by Grainne Regan (255th and 112th in 32:45), Mari Hansen (256th and 113th in 32:47), Marie-Claire Daly (271st and 125th in 34:49), with Cynthia Perucca tailwalking.  Louise Dobbyn and Nina Holmes also took part, but their times and places were, like Caroline's, not recorded. 

Elsewhere, one of our latest triallists, Jamie Renehan, led the field of 173 home in Fairview in 19:04. He was followed home by Hannah Jones (72nd and 11th in 27:27). Aoife McCarthy and Carina Davidson ran in Kilkenny, with its field of 198, Aoife placing 35th and 4th in 24:02, followed by Carina (113th and 34th in 29:29). Olwyn Dunne placed 37th and 10th in 26:21 in the field of 133 at the University of Galway, whilst Darina Scully paced the 28 minutes runners in River Valley, placing 43rd and 6th in a field of 127 and a time of 27:57.

Paul F. Kelly placed 35th in 25:01 in the 208-strong field in Poppintree, whilst Phil Sykes and Conor Kilkenny joined the field of 505 in Marlay Park. Phil placed 43rd in 22:13, followed by Conor (230th in 28:50). Sam Hughes tailwalked in the field of 105 in Tymon Park, whilst Alan Martin ran alongside 140 other participants in Castlebar, where he took 55th spot in 27:30.  Three members of the Shine family ran in Malahide, where, in a field of 343, Lisa placed 215th and 68th in 28:28, followed by Fiona (217th and 69th in 28:30) and Máirín (271st and 101st in 30:48).

Lorraine McMahon placed 82nd and 19th in the 170-strong field on the Midleton Greenway in a time of 29:02, whilst Mairead Cashman took 63rd and 23rd spots in the 95-strong field in Templemore. Her time was 31:59. Georgina Loughrey joined 198 other runners in Cabinteely where she finished in 92nd and 27th places in a time of 29:15, whilst Orlaith de Burca ran 31:00 in Shanganagh for 196th and 62nd places in a field of 275. Finally, members may be interested to read that both Liz and Michelle Maher, two GCH runners who are currently training with us during their stay in Dublin, both ran in Bushy Park. In a field of 196, Liz placed 10th and 1st in 20:27, with Michelle just behind (11th and 2nd in 20:48).   

And our final note: Last week's report on the Dublin marathon is most likely to be updated. We should be pretty confident that the women's senior team of Sarah-Grace Breen, Ciara Regan and Ciara Lynch won Leinster and Dublin bronze medals, with Triona Quill likely winning Dublin bronze in the individual F55 category. All to be confirmed, however.
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IMRA Powerscourt Ridge (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew McConnell 1 01:13:08
20 Nicola Soraghan 1 01:13:48
Crusaders AC runners
7 Donatas Jocius 01:24:29
26 Becky Quinn 01:37:44 (4)
​28 Jason Kehoe 01:38:53
39 Brandon Lai 01:42:10
56 Brian McGuckin 01:50:18
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2745/category/O/
Sallins 10k (40)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean Doran 1 00:32:07
12 Sarahann Lahart 1 00:44:25
Crusaders AC runner
2 Brian O’Kelly 00:32:15
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/sallins-community-run-5k-10k-2025/#2_47D931
Castlebar (141) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Gordon 1 00:20:17
5 Eimear Fitzmaurice 1 00:21:41
Crusaders AC runner
55 Alan Martin 00:27:30
Kilkenny Parkrun (198)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gearóid Farrell 1 00:18:05
19 Kate Hayden 1 00:22:50
Crusaders AC runners
35 Aoife McCarthy 00:24:02 (4)
113 Carina Davidson 00:29:29 (34)
Templemore Parkrun (95)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Iarflaith O’Brien 1 00:18:23
7 Eileen McCullagh 1 00:20:01
Crusaders AC runner
63 Mairead Cashman 00:31:59 (23)
Poolbeg Parkrun (315)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:43
13 Clare Sullivan 1 00:20:18
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:43
3 Derek Lawlor 00:17:53
5 Jan Manschot 00:18:32
9 Adrian Groarke 00:19:43
10 Derek Boland 00:19:47
12 Ross Neill 00:19:53
13 Clare Sullivan 00:20:18 (1)
17 Aoife Quigley 00:20:45 (2)
22 Tim O’Donnell 00:21:17
25 Gillian Earley 00:21:22 (3)
34 Kabir Sala 00:22:02
35 Kieran Martin 00:22:07
53 Dale Whelehan 00:23:24
59 Josie Ward 00:24:03 (6)
71 Saketh Ravuluri 00:24:43
77 Mary Donnelly 00:24:54 (13)
78 Patricia Velazquez 00:24:55 (14)
79 Kev Moore 00:24:56
80 Fiona Bane 00:24:57 (15)
93 Sharon Woods 00:25:41 (21)
99 Alby Allan 00:25:57
103 Eoghan Corrigan 00:26:05
112 Bo Chicoine 00:26:28
115 Mark McGovern 00:26:35
119 Kevin Kenny 00:26:45
124 Juliane Frydenlund 00:26:54 (29)
126 Emily Glen 00:26:57 (31)
130 Franky Keane 00:27:05
134 Miriam Logan 00:27:13 (XX)
136 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:27:15 (35)
141 Ciara Lynch 00:27:18 (40)
142 Ciara Regan 00:27:18 (41)
147 Irene Gorman 00:27:26 (43)
148 Ilona McElroy 00:27:27 (44)
149 Yvonne Macauley 00:27:28 (45)
153 Chris Bannon 00:27:37
154 Sarah Lyons 00:27:41 (47)
158 Kenan Furlong 00:27:49
165 Sophia Morgan 00:28:00 (51)
166 Joanne Carey 00:28:02 (52)
169 Fanny Trébouet 00:28:24 (54)
182 Ellen Walsh 00:28:47 (62)
192 Aisling O’Riordan 00:29:05 (67)
196 Emer Kenny 00:29:24 (72)
197 Carmel Higgins 00:29:25 (73)
199 Rebecca Fleming 00:29:30 (XXX)
251 Maureen McGinley 00:32:14 (109)
255 Grainne Regan 00:32:45 (112)
256 Mari Hansen 00:32:47 (113)
271 Marie-Claire Daly 00:34:49 (125)
313 Cynthia Perucca 00:53:59
Shanganagh Parkrun (275)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ben Paviour 1 00:17:47
18 Emily Kane 1 00:21:24
Crusaders AC runner
196 Orlaith de Burca 00:31:00
Univ. of Galway Parkrun (133)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Flanagan 1 00:18:31
13 Maebh Cooke 1 00:22:59
Crusaders AC runner
37 Olwyn Dunne 00:26:21 (10)
River Valley Parkrun (127)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:18:46
14 Elaine Clarke 1 00:23:51
Crusaders AC runner
43 Darina Scully 00:27:57 (6)
Cabinteely Parkrun (199)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Isobel O’Reilly 1 00:20:08
2 John Golden 1 00:20:26
Crusaders AC runner
92 Georgina Loughrey 00:29:15 (27)
Malahide Parkrun (343)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Grant 1 00:17:40
7 Annette Kealy 1 00:19:05
Crusaders AC runner
104 Sam Hughes 00:49:40
Marlay Parkrun (505)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry McCartin 1 00:18:28
34 Ellie Woulfe 1 00:21:42
Crusaders AC runners
43 Phil Sykes 00:22:13
230 Conor Kilkenny 00:28;50
Fairview Parkrun (169)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jamie Renehan 1 00:19:04
18 Georgie Deacon 1 00:22:17
Crusaders AC runners
[1 Jamie Renehan 00:19:04]
72 Hannah Jones 00:27:27 (11)
Poppintree Parkrun (208)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Bobby Bedford 1 00:18:30
13 Karen Slye 1 00:22:36
Crusaders AC runner
35 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:01
Midelton Greenway Parkrun (170)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Evan Fitzgerald 1 00:14:47
7 Sally-Ann Lynch 1 00:20:04
Crusaders AC runner
82 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:02 (19

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Tommy Allen

Brandon Lai

Brian McGuckin

Donatas Jocius