It was a relatively quieter time for racing this week. Nevertheless, we had some excellent results in several of the races that did take place, some of which had tough weather conditions with which to contend.
We should start perhaps outside Ireland, with Niamh Allen, our exile in Australia, chalking up yet another victory. This time she ran a superb 33:30 to win the women’s race and placing 13th overall in the field of more than 10,000 in the Sydney marathon 10k. Deirdre Kennedy also ran in the 10k, where she finished in 54:43, placing 1,522nd overall and 429th female finisher. Maurice Kelter and Katie Rogers took part in the full marathon. In a field of more than 13,000 runners, Maurice placed 122nd in 2:51:12, whilst Katie (in what was her first marathon) ran 3:21:40 for 888th place overall (81st female finisher). Conditions were reported to be unusually hot with several heatstroke victims being admitted to hospital. Back home, we continued with the half marathon running that has been notable over the last couple of weeks for those preparing for an Autumn marathon. Eddie Nugent joined a field of 284 to run in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary in the Boston Scientific half marathon. Part of the undulating out-and back, east-west oriented course, had to be changed because of flooding from the River Suir, but that seemed to have no major impact on the times. Eddie ran an excellent 1:27:16 for 17th place. Further north, we had two runners take part in the Kilkenny Mediaeval Half marathon. In a field of 290, Conor Macguinness, who like Eddie is preparing for the DCM, placed 9th in a similar super time of 1:27:31. Maria Kennedy, who is not marathon training, also took on the challenge despite suffering from a head cold during the week. Maria ran 2:08:03 for 205th and 61st places. Leo Lundy completed his 373rd full marathon in Kilkenny. In a field of 137, Leo placed 128th in 5:34:55. Then, in the 30k event, Tara Murphy placed 174th and 65th in a time of 3:02:59 in a field of 235 finishers. Conditions for all the races on Saturday were definitely not ideal, with strong winds at around 25 kph from the north, which certainly impacted the events which largely involved a north-south out-and-back, with a distinct headwind on the return. To complete the half marathon results in Ireland, Kathryn Sweeney paced a friend to a PB in the Belfast Half marathon on Sunday. Kathryn’s time was 1:46:00, placing 1198th overall and 231st female finisher. Also, over the weekend we had a runner in the Griffith Ave 1 mile that took place on Sunday morning in the rain. In a quality field of 221, Aoife Kelly ran 7.29 for 143rd and 44th places. Then, down in Cork, Louise O’Riordan ran in the 5k Women’s Mini Marathon where, in a field of 2664 runners, she placed 520th in 32:02. Further afield, another runner training for the DCM, Thomas Vogée, ran in the Copenhagen half marathon, which he completed with a strong run in 1:20:22, for 675th place overall in a field of nearly 25,000 finishers. Continuing with half marathons abroad, Eoghan Kerins, another runner preparing for Dublin, ran the DC half marathon in Washington DC on Sunday. Eoghan also ran a great time of 1:28:10 to place 170th in a field of over 4000 finishers. Conditions would have been quite pleasant, with little wind on an extremely flat course which would have taken in quite a few of the memorials and monuments. In the UK, Louise Van Wildermeersch, our London-based exile, ran in the Truro half marathon which she completed in 1:52:09. On Saturday evening, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos took part in the Legua nocturna torre del Mar along the seafront on the coast east of Malaga in Spain. Esther won the women’s event in the flat 5.8k race in 21:56, with Cristian running 20:35. Finally, closer to home, Isabelle Cairns took part in a duathlon (run/bike/run) in Wexford, involving a 5k road race (21:13) and also a 10k leg (46:37). There may have been an IMRA event in the mountains this weekend, with Crusader participation. If that turns out to be the case, the report will be updated with the results. There was increased participation by members of the club on Saturday morning. At least 11 club members took part in the parkrun in Poolbeg, being led home by Stephen Hurley (18:11) and swiftly followed by Michael Wycherley (2nd in 18:20). Further back in the field of 148 came David O’Donnell (26th in 21:28), who finished ahead of Ailsa Berkeley (62nd and 7th in 24:39), Kenan Furlong (70th in 24:57) who incorporated the parkrun into his long run, Kevin Kenny (77th in 25:37), Aisling O’Riordan (101st and 27th in 28:56), Anna Hernick (116th and 39th in 30:35), Mary Dolan (125th and 44th in 32:27), Gillian Curran (126th and 45th in 32:28) right behind, and Evelyn Neary who arrived late for the event and so ran much faster than the time attributed to her (133rd and 48th in 37:03). Áine Kenny was again a first finisher in Mountbellew where she placed 3rd overall in a time of 22:51 and in a field of 33, whilst Yvonne Macauley mirrored the feat in nearby Clonbur Woods. Yvonne ran 22:37, finishing ahead of the whole field of 35. Gareth Dunne also led the field of 96 home in Tymon where he ran 18:58, followed `by Sharon Woods (12th and 2nd in 22:47), whilst Annie Hughes placed 14th and 2nd in a PB time of 19:36 in the 372-strong field in St. Anne’s, Raheny. Annie was joined by Michael Maughan who placed 53rd in 22:02. Another 2nd place finish was recorded by Kate Murray who ran a time of 22:23 for 14th place overall in a field of 102 runners in Dodder Valley, whilst Michael O’Conor took 2nd place too in Brickfields where he joined 58 other participants. Michael’s time was 18:44. Dee Lawlor and Carina Davidson ran in Shanganagh with unfortunately mixed outcomes. Dee placed 3rd in a field of 172 and in a time of 18:10, whilst Carina struggled on gamely after her hamstring went after 4k to record a time of 40:08 and 169th and 74th places. Fingers crossed that Carina can resume training for the DCM soon. Paul Cowhie placed 4th in Marlay Park. Alongside 383 other runners, Paul recorded a time of 17:51 and he was followed home by his wife, Aoife, who placed 152nd and 34th in 25:37. Toby Benham finished in 8th place in Mallow Castle, in a time of 22:06 and in a field of 49, whilst, not so far away, in Ballincollig, Louise O’Riordan prepared for the following day’s mini marathon, placing 234th and 62nd in a field of 302 and in a time of 32:53. Another runner warming up for the following day’s racing was Aoife Kelly who ran in Poppintree, where, in a field of 127, she placed 70th and 18th in 29:56. John Lohan went down to Kilkenny to support Tara Murphy and ran there in a field of 126, placing 7th in a time of 21:57, whilst Karl Walsh ran once again in Naas, where, in a field of 109, he placed 16th in 22:09. Lisa Shine ran down in Tramore Valley in Cork where, in a field of 193 runners, she placed 162nd and 66th in 32:31, whilst her mother Máirín took on the Grand Canal Way parkrun in Tullamore, where she placed 15th and 5th in a time of 28:07 alongside 36 other participants. In Corkagh Eoghan Corrigan came home in 23rd place in a time of 23:37, with the field measuring 160, whilst Mairead Cashman ran once again in Bushy Park where, in a field of 103, she crossed the line in 82nd and 29th places in a time of 32:45. Over in the UK, John Reidy ran in the 232-strong field in Perth in Scotland, where he placed 34th in 21:41, whilst Orlaith de Burca ran in Oxford in the University Parks, where, in a field of 436, she came home in 319th and 93rd places. Boston Scientific Half Marathon (284) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Meade 1 01:13:15 22 Clara Ryan 1 01:28:49 Crusaders AC runner 17 Eddie Nugent 01:27:16 Full results here: https://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2023-Race-Results/Boston-Scientific-Half-Marathon-results?fbclid=IwAR3PKUnDwOw0VTDqFMyvmatQA7B85kicNIKKnsV9IQyTwq4BJB7-W2bCY00 Kilkenny (Mediaeval) Half Marathon (290) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Richard Hobson 1 01:19:57 12 Edel Byrne 1 01:29:10 Crusaders AC runners 9 Conor Macguinness 01:27:31 205 Maria Kennedy 02:08:03 (61) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/medieval_marathon_2023/4743/results Kilkenny (Mediaeval) Full Marathon (137) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Carlos Gonzalez 1 02:53:34 15 Lise Friis 1 03:25:57 Crusaders AC runner 128 Leo Lundy 05:34:55 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/medieval_marathon_2023/4743/results Kilkenny (Mediaeval) 30k (235) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aubrey Storey 1 01:47:02 14 Sarah Flanagan 1 02:06:42 Crusaders AC runner 174 Tara Murphy 03:02:59 (65) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/medieval_marathon_2023/4743/results Belfast Half marathon (4814) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Eskander Turki 1 01:09:10 23 Ann Marie Glynn 1 01:14:53 Crusaders AC runner 1198 Kathryn Sweeney 01:46:00 (231) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/2023-mash-direct-belfast-city-half-marathon/ Cork Mini marathon 5k (2664) Overall place Name Chiptime 1 Lizzie Lee 00:17:19 Crusaders AC runner 520 Louise O’Riordan 00:32:02 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_echo_womens_minimarathon_2023/4903/results Griffith Avenue 1 mile (2221) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Travers 1 00:04.01 22 Ide Nic Dhomhnaill 1 00:04.45 Crusaders AC runner 143 Aoife Kelly 00:07.29 (44) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/griffith_avenue_mile__family_fun_mile_2023/4857/results Mountbellew Parkrun (33) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Thomas Scarry 1 00:20:47 3 Áine Kenny 1 00:22:51 Crusader AC runner 3 Áine Kenny 00:22:51 (1) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (193) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Heywood Richardson 1 00:16;18 15 Clodagh Creedon 1 00:20:58 Crusaders AC runner 162 Lisa Shine 00:32:31 (66) Ballincollig Parkrun (302) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alan O’Sullivan 1 00:18:37 12 Niamh Cronin 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runner 234 Louise O’Riordan 00:32:53 (62) Dodder Valley Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kahumburuka Ivan Tuahuku 1 00:17:41 12 Vanessa Sallier 1 00:22:03 Crusaders AC runner 14 Kate Murray 00:22:23 (2) Marlay Parkrun (384) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:43 19 Ruth Wilson 1 00:19:59 Crusaders AC runners 4 Paul Cowhie 00:17:51 152 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:37 (34) Poolbeg Parkrun (148) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:11 29 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:47 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:11 2 Michael Wycherley 00:18:20 26 David O’Donnell 00:21:28 62 Ailsa Berkeley 00:24:39 (7) 70 Kenan Furlong 00:24:57 77 Kevin Kenny 00:25:37 101 Aisling O’Riordan 00:28:56 (27) 116 Anna Hernick 00:30:35 (39) 125 Mary Dolan 00:32:27 (44) 126 Gillian Curran 00:32:28 (45) 133 Evelyn Neary 00:37:03 (48) Kilkenny Parkrun (126) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Graham Bourne 1 00:18:35 8 Ellen Costelloe 1 00:22:01 Crusaders AC runner 7 John Lohan 00:21:57 Mallow Castle Parkrun (49) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Lavery 1 00:19:27 5 Niamh Lavery 1 00:21:30 Crusaders AC runner 8 Toby Benham 00:22:06 Clonbur Woods Parkrun (35) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Yvonne Macauley 1 00:22:37 2 Theo Hampton 1 00:24:47 Crusaders AC runner 1 Yvonne Macauley 00:22:37 (1) Shanganagh Parkrun (172) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Morgan Durston 1 00:17:19 13 Suzanne Foot 1 00:20:38 Crusaders AC runners 3 Derek Lawlor 00:18:10 169 Carina Davidson 00:40:08 (74) Brickfields Parkrun (59) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Cahill 1 00:18:39 29 Caroline Brogan 1 00:27:44 Crusaders AC runner 2 Michael O’Conor 00:18:44 Tymon Parkrun (96) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gareth Dunne 1 00:18:58 10 Louise English 1 00:22:34 Crusaders AC runner 12 Sharon Woods 00:22:47 (2) Bushy Parkrun (103) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Clara Kinsella 1 00:19:51 2 Edward Ahern 1 00:20:07 Crusaders AC runner 82 Mairead Cashman 00:32:45 (29) Corkagh Parkrun (160) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oliver Warren 1 00:18:18 5 Emma Hand 1 00:19:57 Crusaders AC runner 23 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:37 The Grand Canal Way, Tullamore Parkrun (37) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tim O’Brien 1 00:19:24 7 Siobhan Sellar 1 00:26:26 Crusaders AC runner 15 Máirín Shine 00:28:07 (5) St. Anne’s Parkrun (372) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dermot Coffey 1 00:17:49 2 Lucy Barrett 1 00:18:10 Crusaders AC runners 14 Annie Hughes 00:19:36 (PB) (2) 53 Michael Maughan 00:22:02 Naas Parkrun (109) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor McGrane 1 00:17:17 28 Cliona Kenny 1 00:23:47 Crusaders AC runner 16 Karl Walsh 00:22:09 Poppintree Parkrun (127) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dean Hayden 1 00:19:15 8 Maura Matthews 1 00:20:49 Crusaders AC runner 70 Aoife Kelly 00:29:56 (18) We’re now in the thick of half marathon racing in the build-up to the various marathons for which runners are preparing. This weekend produced two quality events, one in Ratoath in Co. Meath and the other in Charleville, Co. Cork. Before we start, however, Leinster Athletics has advised us that Ciarain Kelly joined Ciaran Diviney as a medal winner in the recent Tullamore Half Marathon (incorporating the national and Leinster Championships). Ciaran and Ciarain both were members of the County Dublin O/35 gold-winning team in the race, which will no doubt please the Munster men immensely to learn. As previously mentioned, Ciaran also won O/50 silver in both National and Leinster competitions. Congrats to them both. On Saturday morning, at least 20 Crusaders joined the field of more than 1200 runners in Ratoath, the scene last year of the national half marathon championships. There was less at stake this year, but the quality of the field remained high on what is considered quite an attractive course, although deceptively challenging with a slight downhill first half and then a long drag to the finish on an anticlockwise course starting and finishing at Fairyhouse racecourse and which involved at least 3k of running on the ambulance track next to the course itself. Conditions were relatively more challenging this year with the weather being much warmer and more humid than last year and little, if any, wind. Times were, as a result, generally slower than last year. Ciarain Kelly was our first runner home, placing 19th in 78:47 and he was followed by Warren Swords (56th in 82:48). Next came Kieran Martin (70th in 83:56) to be followed by Adrienne Jordan, in training for the Berlin marathon later this month, who ran 87:50 for 124th place overall, 7th female finisher and winner of her F40 age category. In fact, Adrienne hauled in the prizes, leading the women’s team to first place in the club team competition. The other members of the team were Aoife Quigley (145th and 10th in 89:07), Kathryn Gibbons (162nd and 12th in 90:20) and Ciara Regan (198th and 17th in 93:00). The next athlete home was Brian McGuckin (226th in 94:34) and Brian was followed by Cormac Fenton (255th in 96:11) and Kevin Lynch (345th in 99:42). Three of our athletes ran pretty much together throughout the race. They were Rebecca Fleming (380th and 55th in 1:41:52), Emer Kenny (385th in 1:41:36) and Áine Crotty (386th and 56th in 1:41:34). They were followed by Emily Glen with a surprising PB, given the conditions, of 1:43:44 for 420th and 64th places and by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (553rd and 110th in 1:49:38). Next across the line came Olwyn Dunne who treated the race as part of a longer run (567th and 114th in 1:49:33), followed by Sharon Woods (585th and 120th in 1:51:18), Mary Fitzsimons (594th and 122nd in 1:51:16), close behind, Evelyn Neary (1060th and 351st in 2:20:52) and Lorraine Fitzsimons, unfortunately under the weather (1222nd and 452nd in 3:01:40). The Charleville Half was run in similar conditions the following day. Similar temperatures and humidity as well as little breeze to alleviate the heat. The course itself, an out-and-back with a loop is similar to Ratoath. It is regarded as generally fast, but also involves an initial descent and then after a spikey climb in the middle has a slight uphill drag to the finish. We had at least 8 Crusaders take part in this event. The contingent was led home by Brendan Murphy in 12th place in a field of nearly 1000 finishers. Brendan’s time was 73:45. He was followed by Robert Browne (48th in 79:41), Joe McDermott, in training for the Athens marathon in November (63rd in 81:00), Eugene McDonough just behind (64th in 81:13), Ciara Lynch (215th and 18th in 90:44), Karl Walsh (376th in 1:40:46), Rachel Calvey (415th and 58th in 1:42:32) and Robbie Moore (519th in 1:48:10). Further afield, Cormac McGuire took part in the Golden Gate 4-mile XC race in San Francisco, his first ever XC, where he ran 29:05 for the distance, whilst, in Nice, Steven Walker, one of our exiles in Australia, came back to the continent to run in the Ironman World Championships where he completed the ordeal in 11:19:11 and ran the marathon component in 3:40:48. Then, in New York City, before a huge thunderstorm cancelled the remaining mass participation waves, Richard Kavanagh took part in the Fifth Avenue Mile. Although, Richard ran slightly slower than he had hoped, the conditions didn’t help as he had to run in torrential rain to record a time of 7:14. Of note, Irish international athlete Sarah Healy also ran in the event (once the rain had stopped) and recorded a time of 4:20 for second place in the elite women’s competition. There were two races organised by IMRA over the weekend, for one of which so far we have results. Donatas Jocius placed 9th in the gruelling 23k Galtee Challenge in Co. Limerick. The field of 39 finishers (6 runners recorded a DNF) had to negotiate a course of extreme difficulty with a climb of more 1,760m. Donatas’ time for the race was 3:37:00. The other race was around Luggala in Co. Wicklow, involving a distance of just over 8k and a climb of 700m, and we had at least two members in the event (Gareth Phelan and Will Holton). Once results are published the report will be updated. There was sparse involvement in parkruns on Saturday morning, but we still recorded some podium finishes. Clare Sullivan celebrated a recent milestone birthday by coming home in 15th and first places in the field of 411 in Marlay Park. Clare’s time was 19:01. Kate Murray was also a first finisher in Ballinamore Greenway Co. Leitrim where she placed 4th overall in a field of 39 and in a time of 23:31, whilst Kevin Fitzgibbon headed to London where he ran in the Ally Pally parkrun. In a field of 328, Kevin ran a time of 19:26 for 3rd place. Kenan Furlong was our first runner home in Poolbeg where he placed 2nd in 18:02. Kenan was followed in the field of 168 by John Lohan (35th in 23:00), Russell Murphy (56th in 24:33), Franky Keane (79th in 27:00), Kevin Kenny (95th in 28:22), Mía Zoladz (98th sand 20th in 28:39), Cynthia Perucca (144th and 53rd in 35:32), Niamh Trihy (148th and 56th in36;18) and Fiona Bane, tailwalking for the second week in a row. Toby Benham ran once again in Tramore Valley, Cork, where, in a field of 131, he ran 21:09 for 4th place, whilst Enda Currid took 6th spot in Brickfields. In a field of 61, Enda recorded a time of 22:36. We had at least 4 runners in Shanganagh, where they joined 203 other runners. The group was led across the line by Dee Lawlor (4th in 18:00), and he was followed by Eoghan Corrigan (20th in 21:25), Caroline Crowley, who is several months pregnant (44th and 8th in 23:28) and by Carina Davidson (117th and 39th in 28:19). David O’Donnell ran alongside 36 other runners in Listowel where he placed 7th in 23:07, whilst Diarmuid Byrne also placed 7th in Tolka Valley with its field of 30 in a time of 22:54. Gemma Cooper placed 66th and 23rd in Tramore, Waterford, where, in a field of 139, she ran a time of 27:51, whilst Luke Haran placed 11th in a time of 21:27 in a field of 91 in Mungret. Dale Whelehan placed 13th in a field of 68 in Vicarstown where he ran a time of 23:59, whilst we had 5 runners in Cabinteely. In a field of 150, Lisa Shine took 43rd and 6th spots in 25:59, followed by Julian Callan (47th in 26:21), Fiona Shine (72nd and 17th in 29:37), Máirín Shine (90th and 25th in 31:15) and Anna Shine (120th and 45th in 38:33). Ratoath Half Marathon (1231) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 01:10:14 22 Grace Lynch 1 01:18:59 Crusaders AC runners 19 Ciarain Kelly 01:18:47 56 Warren Swords 01:22:48 70 Kieran Martin 01:23:56 124 Adrienne Jordan 01:27:50 (7) 145 Aoife Quigley 01:29:07 (10) 162 Kathryn Gibbons 01:30:20 (12) 198 Ciara Regan 01:33:00 (17) 226 Brian McGuckin 01:34:34 255 Cormac Fenton 01:36:11 345 Kevin Lynch 01:39:42 380 Rebecca Fleming 01:41:52 (55) 385 Emer Kenny 01:41:36 (56) 386 Áine Crotty 01:41:34 (57) 420 Emily Glen 01:43:44 (PB) (64) 553 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:49:38 (110) 567 Olwyn Dunne 01:49:33 (114) 585 Sharon Woods 01:51:18 (120) 594 Mary Fitzsimons 01:51:16 (122) 1060 Evelyn Neary 02:20:52 (351) 1222 Lorraine Fitzsimons 03:01:40 (452) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/ratoath_ac_half_marathon/4807/results Charleville Half Marathon (998) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Michael Harty 1 01:07:03 44 Barbara Cleary 1 01:19:19 Crusaders AC runners 12 Brendan Murphy 01:13:45 48 Robert Browne 01:19:41 63 Joe McDermott 01:21:00 64 Eugene McDonough 01:21:13 215 Ciara Lynch 01:30:44 (18) 376 Karl Walsh 01:40:46 415 Rachel Calvey 01:42:32 (58) 519 Robbie Moore 01:48:10 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/charleville_international_half_marathon/4718/results IMRA Galtee Challenge 23k (39) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew McConnell 1 02:51:34 6 Deirdre O’Gorman 1 03:28:09 Crusaders AC runner 9 Donata Jocius 03:37:00 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2350 Vicarstown Parkrun (68) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kristian Redmond 1 00:19:17 18 Anne Marie Byrne 1 00:26:30 Crusader AC runner 13 Dale Whelehan 00:23:59 Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (131) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michael O’Donoghue 1 00:19:26 7 Clodagh Creedon 1 00:21:31 Crusaders AC runner 4 Toby Benham 00:21:09 Listowel Parkrun (37) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Dillon 1 00:18:42 4 Noelle Dillon 1 00:22:02 Crusaders AC runner 7 David O’Donnell 00:23:07 Ballinamore Greenway Parkrun (39) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eoin McHugh 1 00:22:09 4 Kate Murray 1 00:23:31 Crusaders AC runner 4 Kate Murray 00:23:31(1) Marlay Parkrun (411) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Healy 1 00:17:06 15 Clare Sullivan 00:19:01 Crusaders AC runner 15 Clare Sullivan 00:19:01 (1) Poolbeg Parkrun (168) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:48 15 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:29 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kenan Furlong 00:18:02 35 John Lohan 00:23:00 56 Russell Murphy 00:24:33 79 Franky Keane 00:28:22 95 Kevin Kenny 00:28:22 98 Mía Zoladz 00:28:39 (20) 144 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:32 (53) 148 Niamh Trihy 00:36:18 (56) 168 Fiona Bane 00:51:05 Tramore Waterford Parkrun (139) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Gallagher 1 00:17:36 8 Lucy Clinton 1 00:20:32 Crusaders AC runner 66 Gemma Cooper 00:27:51 (23) Tolka Valley Parkrun (30) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Anthony Dorran 1 00:19:15 11 Carmen Evelin Rusu 1 00:24:01 Crusaders AC runner 7 Diarmuid Byrne 00:22:54 Mungret Parkrun (91) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mick Neville 1 00:17:19 19 Jenni Molyneaux 1 00:23:22 Crusaders AC runner 11 Luke Haran 00:21:27 Shanganagh Parkrun (207) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Reuben Whelan 1 00:17:28 3 Laura McDonnell 1 00:17:54 Crusaders AC runners 4 Derek Lawlor 00:18:00 20 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:25 44 Caroline Crowley 00:23:28 (8) 117 Carina Davidson 00:28:19 (39) Brickfields Parkrun (61) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane Lynam 1 00:20:08 4 Mary Fee 1 00:22:18 Crusaders AC runner 6 Enda Currid 00:22:36 Cabinteely Parkrun (150) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eoin Healy 1 00:17:29 9 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:21:27 Crusaders AC runners 43 Lisa Shine 00:25:59 (6) 47 Julian Callan 00:26:21 72 Fiona Shine 00:29:37 (17) 90 Máirín Shine 00:31:15 (25) 120 Anna Shine 00:38:33 (45) Now that the Summer outdoor track season is more or less over and the cross-country season is not yet upon us, we are in the thick now of the full and half marathons, with the shorter distance races continuing to attract runners. However, this report is dominated by the longer distances, near and far! Several of our members headed to Kerry for the weekend to take part in the Dingle Full and Half marathons. The races are highly scenic, but also challenging. We had at least three runners in the marathon, at least one of whom was using the race as a rehearsal for the Dublin marathon. On the circular loop in sunny, warm and humid conditions and little wind, David Healy was first Crusader across the line in a field of 669. David ran 3:53:26 for 123rd place. With a faster chiptime, but behind on gun, Daniel O’Mahony was next, in 133rd place with a chiptime of 3:50:35, and they were both followed not too far behind by Niall Collins, his training having been impacted by a slight injury, who placed 235th in a time of 4:11:26. At least 5 Crusaders contested the half marathon with its much larger field of 1,482 finishers. Rory Goldsmith took 17th place in a time of 1:27:14 and he was followed by Séamas Bulaeir (278th in 1:50:12). Next came James Hogan (479th in 2:06:17) with Barry O’Neill not too far behind (502nd in 2:06:06). Carina Davidson also made the trip, placing 570th overall and 200th female finisher in 2:11:49. On the same day, Saturday, Kate Murray found herself in Waterford running alongside 593 other runners in the Greenway Half Marathon, a race conducted on the former Waterford/Dungarvan rail line (involving at sone point running through a tunnel). Kate placed 189th overall, 32nd female finisher and 2nd F50 in a time of 1:44:16. Then, on Sunday, Lucan Harriers hosted its 5-mile race with a field of 343 runners, including at least 4 of our clubmates. The contingent was led home by Paul Cowhie with the 59-year-old running a super 29:06 for 12th place and 2nd M50. Paul was followed by Karl Fitzmaurice who ran 31:37 for 30th place and he was followed by Brendan Glynn (117th in 39:31). The 3 runners made up a team, placing 6th in a competition involving 12 clubs. The contingent was completed by Paul E. Kelly who ran 48:12 for 229th place. Further afield, in hot and humid conditions, Kevin Fitzgibbon took part in the Big Half in London where he ran 1:16:26 a new PB for the half marathon. Thom Martini who returned to the UK from Ireland a while back also ran, finishing in 1:43:26. Niamh Allen ran in the New South Wales half marathon championships in Sydney, taking the gold medal in a fabulous time of 1:12:44. Meanwhile, another half marathon was completed in Burnley, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, by Marty James, our exile there. Marty finished in 1:27:31. Closer to home, Pat Quill participated in the UTMB 100k in the Alps, where he covered the mountainous distance in 25:20:14, placing 1,436th. The race involved an elevation gain of over 6000m. As usual, we had some good runs on Saturday morning in parkruns. Ross Neill led the field of 395 home in Ormeau Park in Belfast with a time of 17:30, whilst Ciara Ryan ran with 156 other participants in Castlewellan, placing 7t overall and first female finisher in 20:24. Darina Scully was also a first finisher, placing 15th overall in a field of 101 in a time of 24:08, whilst Toby Benham came home in 2nd place in Tramore Valley with a time of 17:58. Also, in the field of 149 there, Helena O’Keeffe placed 37th and 6th in 24:02. John Lohan took 2nd spot in Inch Beach in a time of 21:39 and he was followed in the field of 45 by Tara Murphy (9th and 3rd in 26:47). Eddie Nugent ran in Haga in Sweden. In a field of 165, Eddie placed 8th in 19:15, whilst, in Cabinteely, David Carter joined 126 other runners where he placed 4th in 20:10. Eoghan Corrigan placed 10th in Avondale Forest in a field of 161 with a time of 23:28, whilst Andy Deuser ran in Fairview where he took 20th spot in a field of 134 in 22:32. Russell Murphy was also a lone Crusader in Bushy Park where he joined 139 other runners, placing 39th in 25:50, whilst Áine Crotty enjoyed her hen part outing in Grand Canal Way, Tullamore, where in a field of 41, she placed 30 and 12th in 42:28. Máirín, Lisa and Fiona Shine ran in Carlow with its field of 65, where Máirín placed 30th and 11th in 29:52, followed by Lisa (36th and 14th in 31:48) and Fiona (37th and 15th in the same time as Lisa), whilst Michael Maughan ran in St. Anne’s where he took 61st spot in 22:23. The field measured 425. Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 302, he placed 77th in 25:07, whilst Orlaith de Burca took on the 451-strong field in Marlay where she placed 337th and 106th in 31:04. Brendan Glynn ran in Donabate with 161 other runners, where he placed 24th in 23:39, whilst we had 3 Crusaders in Shanganagh, as part of their marathon-training long runs. In a field of 220, Joe Dunne placed 64th in 25:09, followed by Tanja Narancic (65th and 11th in 25:10) and Olwyn Dunne (66th and 12th in 25:13). Finally, we had at least 12 Crusaders take part in the 168-strong field in Poolbeg. Young Daniel Sheridan led the contingent home in 9th place in 20:18 and he was followed by Zlatko Kulic (30th in 22:25), Josie Ward (52nd and 10th in 24:11), Kenan Furlong, pacing the 25 minutes runners (68th in 25:13), Aoife Cowhie (81st and 16th in 26:17), Franky Keane, just back from his holidays (90th in 26:50), Kevin Kenny (97th in 28:04), Evelyn Neary (104th and 26th in 28:13), Maureen McGinley (106th and 28th in 28:26), Cathal O’Hara (107th in 28:29), Cynthia Perucca (140th and 49th in 35:24) and Fiona Bane, tailwalking. Dingle Half Marathon (1482) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Meade 1 01:13:17 9 Aoife Cooke 1 01:24:51 Crusaders AC runners 17 Rory Goldsmith 01:27:14 278 Séamas Bulaeir 01:50:12 479 James Hogan 02:06:17 502 Barry O’Neill 02:06:06 570 Carina Davidson 02:11:49 (200) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon/4672/results Dingle Marathon (669) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Donal Moran 1 02:43:19 14 Aisling O’Connor 1 03:17:27 Crusaders AC runners 123 David Healy 03:53:26 133 Daniel O’Mahony 03:50:35 235 Niall Collins 04:11:26 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon/4672/results Lucan Harriers 5-mile (343) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 00:25:05 21 Laura Buckley 1 00:30:35 Crusaders AC runners 12 Paul Cowhie 00:29:06 30 Karl Fitzmaurice 00:31:37 117 Brendan Glynn 00:39:31 229 Paul E. Kelly 00:48:12 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/lucan_harriers_ac_5_mile/4791/results Greenway Half Marathon (594) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Pat Fitzgerald 1 01:12:19 31 Erika Dowling 1 01:24:11 Crusaders AC runner 189 Kate Murray 01:44:16 (32) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/eurofins_greenway_half_marathon_2023/4918/results Ormeau Parkrun (395) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ross Neill 1 00:17:30 3 Anna Gardener 1 00:17:43 Crusader AC runner 1 Ross Neill 00:17:30 Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (149) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciaran Costello 1 00:17:44 16 Louise Morgan 1 00:21:05 Crusaders AC runners 2 Toby Benham 00:17:58 37 Helena O’Keeffe 00:24:02 (6) St. Anne’s Parkrun (425) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Charlie O’Neill 1 00:16:43 10 Aoibhinn McGoldrick 1 00:19:17 Crusaders AC runner 61 Michael Maughan 00:22:23 Castlewellan Parkrun (157) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alistair McMaster 1 00:17:58 7 Ciara Regan 1 00:20:24 Crusaders AC runner 7 Ciara Regan 00:20:24 (1) Marlay Parkrun (451) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Hehir 1 00:16:03 12 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:18:51 Crusaders AC runner 337 Orlaith de Burca 00:31:04 (106) Poolbeg Parkrun (168) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Callum Moore 1 00:16:28 4 Anne Kenchington 1 00:19:07 Crusaders AC runners 9 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:18 30 Zlatko Kulic 00:22:25 52 Josie Ward 00:24:11 (10) 68 Kenan Furlong 00:25:13 81 Aoife Cowhie 00:26:17 (16) 90 Franky Keane 00:26:50 97 Kevin Kenny 00:28:04 104 Evelyn Neary 00:28:13 (26) 106 Maureen McGinley 00:28:26 (28) 107 Cathal O’Hara 00:28:29 140 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:24 (49) 168 Fiona Bane 00:54:45 Donabate Parkrun (162) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cormac Moussally 1 00:19:30 6 Geraldine McHale 1 00:21:26 Crusaders AC runner 24 Brendan Glynn 00:23:39 River Valley Parkrun (101) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:20:05 15 Darina Scully 1 00:24:08 Crusaders AC runner 15 Darina Scully 00:24:08 (1) Grand Canal Way Tullamore Parkrun (41) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Purcell 1 00:20:38 5 Mary McIntyre 1 00:24:17 Crusaders AC runner 30 Áine Crotty 00:42:28 (12) Shanganagh Parkrun (220 Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tom Moseley 1 00:18:51 4 Eleanor Foot 1 00:19:37 Crusaders AC runners 64 Joe Dunne 00:25:09 65 Tanja Narancic 00:25:10 (11) 66 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:13 (12) Bushy Parkrun (140) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Cahill 1 00:18:56 4 Clara Kinsella 1 00:19:24 Crusaders AC runner 39 Russell Murphy 00:25:50 Fairview Parkrun (134) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane Merrigan 1 00:19:21 28 Jools Hughes 1 00:23:24 Crusaders AC runner 20 Andy Deuser 00:22:32 Carlow Parkrun (65) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Adrian Bidos 1 00:20:35 13 Aisling Dunphy 1 00:26:37 Crusaders AC runners 30 Máirín Shine 00:29:52 (11) 36 Lisa Shine 00:31:48 (14) 37 Fiona Shine 00:31:48 (15) Avondale Forest Parkrun (161) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Dempsey 1 00:19:26 9 Ava O’Connor 1 00:23:23 Crusaders AC runner 10 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:28 Cabinteely Parkrun (127) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Terek 1 00:19:09 7 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:21:17 Crusaders AC runner 4 David Carter 00:20:10 Inch Beach Parkrun (45) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Herlihy 1 00:17:52 6 Anne Kelliher 1 00:24:42 Crusaders AC runners 2 John Lohan 00:21:39 9 Tara Murphy 00:26:47 (3) The major event of the weekend was the National and Leinster Half Marathon Championships, this year hosted by Tullamore. On a single loop with an out-and-back lead-in on a course that was mildly undulating, but with a 25m climb over about 7k and a NW wind of about 20kmh, we saw a few PBs among our runners with at least one individual age cat. medal. The race, in damp conditions, enjoyed a field of 1176 finishers, with Ciarain Kelly leading home our contingent in 37th place in a PB time of 75:21. Ciarain was followed across the line not too far behind by Ciaran Diviney (45th and 2nd M50 in both Leinster and National competitions in 75:53). Next came Vinnie McGuinness who was guiding Declan Ryan, the Thurles athlete who trains with us from time to time. They finished in 77:21, placing 63rd and 64th. As a result, the 3 Crusaders came home as 7th team in the national O/35 team competition and 6th in the Leinster O/35 contest. Further back came two runners, also with PBs: Margaret Foley placed 376th overall and 59th female finisher in 1:34:10 as she prepares for the Berlin Marathon, and Mags was followed by Charlotte Rufié (528th and 110th in 1:40:55). Next was Olwyn Dunne (544th, 117th and 5th F55 in both national and provincial competitions in a time of 1:41:51). The three women made up a senior team that placed 18th out of 36 club teams participating. The contingent was completed by Frank Renehan (698th in 1:47:38). Earlier in the week, the club had several runners competing in the Celbridge AC 5k in Co. Kildare on Thursday evening. Our 10 athletes were joined by 420 others in a decent field. On a largely flat route with an out-and-back onto a large loop with a 12m descent in the middle over 500m and then a similar climb over the same distance, the race finished on a grass running track. It was not the fastest of 5Ks, but decent enough, enjoying a temperature of 16 degrees and westerly wind of 15kph. Kieran Little was our first runner home, placing 7th in 16:02. Kieran was followed closely by Kevin Fitzgibbon (10th in 16:08) and then by Michael Wycherley, with unfortunately a painful effort to place 30th in 17:07. Kathryn Sweeney was next, placing 97th and 9th in 19:08, followed by Ciara Regan (105th and 13th in 19:21), Rebecca Fleming (128th and 20th in 20:20), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (186th and 34th in 22:32), Brendan Glynn (204th in 923:30), Paul E. Kelly (280th in 26:49) and Maureen McGinley (290th and 81st in 27:44). The mixed team of Kieran, Kevin, Kathryn and Ciara then had the good news that they had won the mixed team competition with 39 points, the second placed team from St. Michael’s recording 96 and Celbridge, 100. On Wednesday evening we had a couple of Crusaders taking part in the BHAA Pfizer 5k taking place around the company's campus. Eoghan Kerins ran 18:57 for 16th place in a field of 139, followed by Robbie Moore who ran 22:09 for 56th spot. There were more races to come. We had two runners who took part in the extremely challenging 15k Warriors Run in the hills around Strandhill in Co. Sligo on Saturday. In a significant field of 1025 participants, Jim Stagg placed 11th in 65:18, followed by newcomer Shane Egan, training for the Dublin marathon, who placed 14th in 66:53. Then, in Oylegate in Co. Wexford, halfway between Enniscorthy and Wexford towns, Gillian Earley and Máirín Shine took part in the 10k organised there, whilst Emer Kenny used the half marathon as part of er long run, building up for the Munich marathon in early October. In the 10k, Gill placed 15th overall and 2nd female finisher in 49:12, in a field of 67, whilst Máirín placed 37th, 9th female and 1st F60. Emer joined a field of 97 other runners in the half, where she placed 60th and 8th in 1:49:38 and might well have won the prize for 2nd F40 in her brand new age category. To be confirmed. Also, on Sunday, less than 24 hours after getting off a flight from Sydney, on a whim, Maurice Kelter decided to attack jet lag in a most unusual way by taking part in the Longford Marathon, in wet conditions. He was joined by at least one other Crusader, Kenan Furlong, and both did incredibly well. Maurice placed 5th in a time of 2:44:18, whilst Kenan broke 3 hours for the first time, finishing in 2:58:23 and 19th place. The field measured 198. John Lohan ran in the half there, where he crossed the line in a time of 1:39:44 for 81st place in a field of 396 finishers. Further afield, Áine Kenny took part in a series of races in Cardiff spread over a couple of days, running 21.13 in the 5k contained in the Cardiff parkrun, 43:38 for the 10k, 20:19 for a 4.5k XC race, 1:37:49 for the 4th stage which was a half marathon, finishing in a mile competition which Áine completed in 6:31. Her official cumulative time was 3:09:29 for the effort. Also, in the UK, Suzanne Martin ran in the Dartmouth 5.1-mile road race, where she placed 5th female finisher in 41:15. The course was reported to be surprisingly hilly and challenging. There was one race in the mountains on which to report. On Wednesday evening, a couple of Crusaders joined 93 other runners in competing in the Mountain Rescue Benefit 8k that took place on a short route around Paddock Hill near Laragh in Co. Wicklow. The route involved a climb of 250m with moderate difficulty. Robert Healy was the first of the pair home, in 25th place in a time of 40:00, and he was followed by Gavan Doherty (54th in 50:36). We had quite a significant attendance in parkruns, both at home and in the UK, on Saturday morning, and, as usual, we had some first finisher and podium places. Carmel Cooney was a first finisher again in Poolbeg, where in a field of 142 she ran 21:01 for 14th place overall. Ahead of her came Simon Kenny (7th in 20:14) and then Carmel was followed by Paul Campbell, celebrating his birthday (16th in 21:20), Russell Murphy (42nd in 23:43), Rachel Calvey (54th and 9th in 24:22), Kevin Kenny (75th in 25:30), Cliodhna O’Reilly (79th and 18th in 25:56), young Mía Zoladz with perhaps a PB (81st and 19th in 26:17), Tara Murphy just behind (83rd and 20th in 26:39, Máirín Shine (120th and 44th in 32:35), Anna Shine (121st and 45th in 32:36) and Cynthia Perucca (126th and 49th in 35:20). Kevin Kavanagh travelled to Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, East Anglia whjere, in a field of 307 he led everyone home in a time of 18:42. Garret Dunne was 2nd in Oughterard in a time of 18:47, in a field of 46, whilst John Fahy also finished in 2nd place in 19:05 in a field of 94 in Brickfields. Toby Benham ran in Glengarriff with 99 other runners, where he placed 2nd in 19:42, whilst Paul Cowhie also took 2nd place in Malahide alongside 233 other runners. Paul’s time was 17:15. Eoghan Corrigan finished in 3rd place in 24:00 in a field of 31 in Russborough, whilst Kate Murray ran in Marlay Park where, in a field of 496, she placed 69th and 10th in 22:44. John O’Donnell and 4 other Crusaders took on Shanganagh. In a field of 242, John placed 6th in 18:18, followed by Dee Lawlor (10th in 18:52), David Carter (17th in 19:37), Carina Davidson (160th and 42nd in 28:36) and Orlaith de Burca (179th and 52nd in 30:14). Emer Kenny placed 35th and 6th in 26:17 in a field of 94 in Father Collins, whilst Conor Little took 8th spot in 21:56 in a field 117 in Father Collins Park. Áine Kenny’s exploit in Cardiff won her 88th and 7th places in 21:13 in a field of 690, whilst Josie Ward ran nearby in Ashton Court in Bristol where she placed 150th and 26th in a field of 402. Karl Walsh took 13th spot in Naas where he ran alongside 108 other runners. Karl’s time was 21:10. John Reidy travelled to Perth in Scotland where he placed 39th in 21:33 in a field of 292, whilst Fiona Shine ran on Hampstead Heath where, in a field of 379, she placed 212th and 46th in 28:50. Who knew there was a parkrun on Inis Meáin in the Aran Islands, but Mairead Cashman found it. Joining a field of 71, Mairead placed 33rd and 13th in 30:15. In the field of 352 in Ballincollig, Helena O’Keeffe placed 116th and 20th in 25:46, followed by Lisa Shine (127th and 25th in 26:05), whilst Martina White came home in 71st and 24th in 32:52 in the field of 107 in Porterstown. Gemma Cooper placed 91st and 30th in 27:41 in Tramore, Waterford with its field of 186, whilst, finally, Brendan Glynn ran once again in his new home parkrun, Donabate, where, in a field of 155, he placed 23rd in 23:45. Tullamore Half Marathon (inc. National and Leinster Championships) (1176) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Ryan Creech 1 01:05:47 75 Natasha Adams 1 01:18:15 Crusaders AC runners 37 Ciarain Kelly 01:15:21 (PB) 45 Ciaran Diviney 01:15:53 63 Vinnie McGuinness 01:17:21 376 Margaret Foley 01:34:10 (PB) (59) 528 Charlotte Rufié 01:40:55 (PB) (110) 544 Olwyn Dunne 01:41:51 (117) 698 Frank Renehan 01:47:38 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/aai_national_champs_bord_na_mona_tullamore_half/4688/results Celbridge AC 5k (430) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Daire Finn 1 00:14:59 27 Fiona Clinton 1 00:17:01 Crusaders AC runners 7 Kieran Little 00:16:02 10 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:16:08 30 Michael Wycherley 00:17:07 97 Kathryn Sweeney 00:19:08 (9) 105 Ciara Regan 00:19:21 (13) 128 Rebecca Fleming 00:20:20 (20) 186 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:22:32 (34) 204 Brendan Glynn 00:23:30 280 Paul E. Kelly 00:26:49 290 Maureen McGinley 00:27:44 (81) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/celbridge-a-c-5km-road-race-2023/ Oylegate 10k (67) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Niall Sheil 1 00:34:20 9 Jackie Carty 1 00:41:18 Crusaders AC runners 15 Gillian Earley 00:49:12 (2) 37 Máirín Shine 00:59:44 (9) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/oylegate-half-marathon-10k-2023/ Oylegate Half Marathon (98) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Sean Hehir 1 01:12:10 27 Beth O’Connor 1 01:33:27 Crusaders AC runner 60 Emer Kenny 01:49:38 (8) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/oylegate-half-marathon-10k-2023/ Longford Marathon (198) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Dermot Gorman 1 02:29:53 26 Deirdre Martin 1 03:01:04 Crusaders AC runners 5 Maurice Kelter 02:44:18 19 Kenan Furlong 02:58:23 Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results Longford Half Marathon (396) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Barry Sheil 1 01:10:24 10 Adrianna Mulligan 1 01:22:01 Crusaders AC runners 81 John Lohan 01:39:44 267 Tara Murphy 02:01:32 (83) Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results Warriors Run 15k (1025) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Seamus Somers 1 00:59:18 28 Aoife McCavana 1 01:10:15 Crusaders AC runners 11 Jim Stagg 01:05:18 14 Shane Egan 01:06:53 Full results here: https://coretiming.ie/events/warriors-run-23/#1_876FAE BHAA Pfizer 5k (139) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Doran 1 00:16:10 28 Catherine Brogan 1 00:19:55 Crusaders AC runners 16 Eoghan Kerins 00:18:57 56 Robbie Moore 00:22:09 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/BHAA%20-%20Pfizer%205k%202023.pdf IMRA Mountain Rescue Benefit 8k (95) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Liam Mooney 1 00:33:52 22 Sonya McConnon 1 00:39:16 Crusaders AC runners 25 Robert Healy 00:40:00 54 Gavan Doherty 00:50:36 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2336/category/O/ Malahide Parkrun (234) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew Farmer 1 00:17:15 5 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:37 Crusader AC runner 2 Paul Cowhie 00:17:15 Ballincollig Parkrun (352) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry Twohig 1 00:16:27 22 Megan Finn 1 00:20:11 Crusaders AC runners 116 Helena O’Keeffe 00:25:46 (20) 127 Lisa Shine 00:26:05 (25) Oughterard Parkrun (46) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Garret Dunne 1 00:18:47 3 Cliodhna Ruane 1 00:23:06 Crusaders AC runner 2 Garret Dunne 00:18:47 Inis Meáin Parkrun (71) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Lucey 1 00:17:45 4 Deirdre Gibbons 1 00:18:55 Crusaders AC runner 33 Mairead Cashman 00:30:15 (13) Marlay Parkrun (496) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke McMullan 1 00:16:51 23 Muirna Twomey 1 00:20:33 Crusaders AC runner 69 Kate Murray 00:22:44 (10) Poolbeg Parkrun (142) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oliver Warren 1 00:18:08 14 Carmel Cooney 1 00:21:01 Crusaders AC runners 7 Simon Kenny 00:20:14 14 Carmel Cooney 00:21:01 (1) 16 Paul Campbell 00:21:20 42 Russell Murphy 00:23:43 54 Rachel Calvey 00:24:22 (9) 75 Kevin Kenny 00:25:30 79 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:56 (18) 81 Mía Zoladz 00:26:17 (19) 83 Tara Murphy 00:26:39 (20) 120 Máirín Shine 00:32:35 (44) 121 Anna Shine 00:32:36 (45) 126 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:20 (49) Donabate Parkrun (155) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Al O’Dowd 1 00:18:50 6 Aisling Andrews 1 00:21:16 Crusaders AC runner 23 Brendan Glynn 00:23:45 Tramore, Waterford Parkrun (186) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dermot Twomey 1 00:17:14 7 Ciara Rohan 1 00:20:16 Crusaders AC runner 91 Gemma Cooper 00:27:41 (30) Brickfields Parkrun (94) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Cahill 1 00:18:42 7 Brigid Reilly 1 00:21:06 Crusaders AC runner 2 John Fahy 00:19:05 Shanganagh Parkrun (242) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Noah Harris 1 00:16:21 21 Emma Hand 1 00:20:03 Crusaders AC runners 6 John O’Donnell 00:18:18 10 Derek Lawlor 00:18:52 17 David Carter 00:19:37 160 Carina Davidson 00:28:36 (42) 179 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:14 (52) Russborough Parkrun (31) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tom Mernagh 1 00:20:11 10 Caoimhe Fitzgerald 1 00:28:51 Crusaders AC runner 3 Eoghan Corrigan 00:24:00 Glengarriff Parkrun (100) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cain O’Mahony 1 00:19:39 5 Deirdre O’Sullivan 1 00:22:12 Crusaders AC runner 2 Toby Benham 00:19:42 Porterstown Parkrun (107) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:17:24 6 Caroline McCarthy 1 00:20:35 Crusaders AC runner 71 Martina White 00:32:52 (24) Naas Parkrun (109) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Joyce 1 00:18:54 30 Annette Kane 1 00:23:44 Crusaders AC runner 13 Karl Walsh 00:21:10 Cabinteely Parkrun (117) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Terek 1 00:19:33 2 Cristin Scollard 1 00:19:41 Crusaders AC runner 8 Conor Little 00:21:56 Father Collins Parkrun (94) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane Merrigan 1 00:18:33 11 Aileen Hooper 1 00:22:27 Crusaders AC runner 35 Emer Kenny 00:26:17 (6) Just like Dublin buses, you wait for one and two arrive at the same time. In this case, it was three that came along this weekend, in the form of 10-mile road races. The first was the Irish Life Dublin Marathon Series Frank Duffy, incorporating the Dublin ten-mile championships. That took place on Saturday morning in the aftermath of Storm Betty, so that we continued to see quite strong winds whistling around and changing direction throughout the morning. Sunday saw both the Cork City 10-miler, along with one organised by St. Coca’s in Co. Kildare, using part of the fast and flat course used for the Kilcock 5k, but with a different finish on the canal towpath. We had over 40 runners, most of them preparing for the Dublin marathon in October, in the Frank Duffy, on a hilly and challenging course in the Phoenix Park in warm and blustery conditions (winds mostly from the southwest at 30kph) early on Saturday morning. All races now seem to be confined to the west and south side of the park so that we probably saw nearly all the hills, except, mercifully, for the Khyber Pass. As the smoke clears, we possibly came home with women’s senior team bronze, men’s senior team silver and gold for both men’s and women’s O/35 teams, along with at least one individual age category medal. We will need to wait and see on the team results as some of our runners were not recorded as Crusaders at the time they entered (and at least one was just plainly missed). The report will be updated once we have a firmer handle on the outcome of the team competitions. In a field of 2,807 finishers Brendan Murphy was our first runner home in a time of 57:18 for 6th place. Brendan was followed across the line by Warren Swords (36th in 61:29), who found the going tough but was happy enough, considering. Dee Lawlor was next (40th in 62:03) and he was followed by newcomer John O’Donnell (81st in 64:18). Infrequent racer Ronan Doolin was next (106th in 65:22) and he was followed by Rory Goldsmith (118th in 65:38), Cian Coughlan (128th in 65:46), Kieran Martin (146th in 66:52), Garret Connolly (164th in 67:15), Alby Allan with a 4-minutes PB (176th in 67:39) and Karl Walsh (178th in 67:32). Ciara Regan placed 223rd overall and 14th female finisher in 68:47 and she was followed by Maeve Lochrie (241st and 16th in 69:01), Paul O’Hara with a likely PB (293rd in 70:48) and James Cottle, who found the going extremely tough from early on, stopping several times during the race, but being consoled by coming home in second place in the M65 age category overall and taking the silver medal for that category (299th in 71:10). Behind James came Áine Crotty (359th and 30th in 72:11), Paula Bradshaw with a PB (439th and 41st in 73:29), Carmel Cooney (450th and 43rd in 73:50), Rebecca Fleming (486th and 51st in 75:05), Adam Kinch (582nd in 76:09), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (612th and 68th in 77:22), Robbie Moore (646th in 78:07), Hannah Jones (670th and 78th in 77:59) and Lisa Branigan who joined the other women to place in the top 100 (735th overall and 91st in 78:34). Further back came David Tuohy (957th in 82:19), James Bradshaw, in his first 10-miler and breaking 80 minutes (993rd in 79:57), Christina Campbell (1001st and 153rd in 82:21), Olwyn Dunne who treated the race as part of her long run (1035th and 165th in 83:16), Frank Renehan (1045th in 83:47), Martin Joyce with a PB (1489th in 90:03), Emily Glen, another runner like Olwyn to treat the race as part of a much longer run (1595th and 356th in 89:07), Gillian McDarby (1658th and 381st in 90:27), Anna Hernick (1718th and 403rd in 93:36), Kevin Kenny (1741st in 90:29), Amy Forde (2009th and 539th in 95:59), John Corish (2039th in 97:27), Etain Finn (2065th and 569th in 97:27), Carina Davidson (2387th and 756th in 1:51:05), Daniel O’Mahony (2446th in 1:47:00), Andrea Garcia (2455th and 798th in 1:47:51) and Rachel Kelly (2624th and 917th in 1:55:20). The following day, Ciara Lehane raced in her native Cork in the ten-miler there. On a course that was largely flat with a couple of loops on the south side of the River Lee and with southwesterly winds at around 20kph and again in sunny and warm conditions, Ciara ran with 936 other runners, placing 297th overall and 48th female finisher in a time of 76:37. Incidentally, the race was won by the runner-up in our Docklands 5k race this year, Michael Harty, who finished in a time of 49:39. Closer to home, we had 6 runners take part in the 10-mile race in Kilcock. Again, it was quite blustery, with similar strong 20kph winds from the southwest that would have affected runners for part of the single loop course on relatively flat terrain (a slight downhill overall). Similarly, conditions were again warm and humid, like the day before. In the field of 383 Ger Forde recorded yet another PB, placing 10th in 56:08. He was followed by Adrienne Jordan (48th and 5th in 63:58 and awarded first place in the F40 age category). The women’s race was highly congested in the front end of the race and was likewise among our club runners finishing after Adrienne. Each of the remaining 4 was within a minute of each other. They were led by Gillian Earley (90th and 11th in 68:49) and Gill was followed by Miriam Logan, another athlete to record yet another PB (97th and 13th in 69:31), Brian McGuckin (106th in 69:45) and Nina Holmes (108th and 15th in 69:41). We had at least three participants in the Cork Ironman 70.3 and one in the full Ironman that took place in Youghal on Sunday. Toby Benham completed the half marathon segment in 1:28:54, whilst Fiona Shine finished the run in 2:17:47, followed closely by Louise O’Riordan who ran it in 2:18:51. meanwhile, Seamus Moore took on the full challenge, completing the marathon segment in 3:46:28. Moving on to the parkruns on Saturday morning, we had fewer participants perhaps than usual, with so many of our athletes committing to racing or long runs. Some of the parkruns (e.g. Cabinteely) were also cancelled because of fallen trees in their parks. Kathryn Sweeney tried her hand at running Gorey, where she was a first finisher (4th overall) in a field of 99. Kathryn’s time was 20:04. Kenan Furlong ran in Poolbeg where, in a field of 138, he placed 2nd in 17:48. Kenan was followed by Cathal O’Hara (7th in 19:26), John Lohan (27th in 22:58, Russell Murphy (34th in 23:37), Mía Zoladz (88th and 22nd in 29:42), Cynthia Perucca (121st and 41st in 36:16) and Niamh Trihy (122nd and 42nd in 36:40). Members of the Shine family ran in the Macroom Castle Demesne parkrun alongside 40 other participants. Lisa placed 18th and 2nd in 26:03, followed by Fiona (34th and 10th in 31:05) and Máirin (35th and 11th in 31:06). Kate Murray ran in Sligo, where, in a field of 71, she placed 14th and 2nd in 23:10, whilst Ailsa Berkeley and Mairead Cashman ran in nearby Glen River in a field of 86. Ailsa placed 28th and 4th in 25:20, with Mairead taking 70th and 25th spots in 32:14. Also, in Cork, Simon Kenny and Toby Benham ran in the 281-strong field in Ballincollig. Simon placed 12th in 20:49, with Toby placing 30th in 23:13. Luke Corcoran took 4th place in Bushy Park in a time of 19:27. The field there measured 126, whilst, in Shanganagh, Eoghan Corrigan placed 20th in 22:25 and Janet McManus placed 50th and 7th in 24:30 alongside 190 other runners. Maureen McGinley ran in Hellbrun in Germany, where, in a field of 34, she placed 17th and 4th in 30:30, whilst Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 319, he placed 67th in 25:02. Finally, Paul F. Kelly ran in Tolka Valley in a field of 107, he placed 48th in a time of 27:37, whilst Barry O’Neill ran 24:09 for 95th place in the 374-strong field in Marlay Park. Frank Duffy 10-mile race (Dublin Championships) (2807) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 David Glynn 1 00:52:38 19 Caitlynn Harvey 1 01:00:22 Crusaders AC runners 6 Brendan Murphy 00:57:18 36 Warren Swords 01:01:29 40 Derek Lawlor 01:02:03 81 John O’Donnell 01:04:18 106 Ronan Doolin 01:05:22 118 Rory Goldsmith 01:05:38 128 Cian Coughlan 01:05:46 146 Kieran Martin 01:06:52 164 Garret Connolly 01:07:15 176 Alby Allan 01:07:39 (PB) 178 Karl Walsh 01:07:32 223 Ciara Regan 01:08:47 (14) 230 Ciara Lynch 01:08:46 (PB) (15) 241 Maeve Lochrie 01:09:01 (16) 293 Paul O’Hara 01:10:48 (PB) 299 James Cottle 01:11:10 359 Áine Crotty 01:12:11 (30) 439 Paula Bradshaw 01:13:29 (PB) (41) 450 Carmel Cooney 01:13:50 (43) 486 Rebecca Fleming 01:15:05 (51) 582 Adam Kinch 01:16:09 612 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:17:22 (68) 646 Robbie Moore 01:18:07 670 Hannah Jones 01:17:59 (PB) (78) 735 Lisa Branigan 01:18:34 (91) 957 David Tuohy 01:22:19 993 James Bradshaw 01:19:57 (PB) 1001 Christina Campbell 01:22:21 (153) 1035 Olwyn Dunne 01:23:16 (165) 1045 Frank Renehan 01:23:47 1489 Martin Joyce 01:30:03 (PB) 1595 Emily Glen 01:29:07 (356) 1658 Gillian McDarby 01:30:27 (381) 1718 Anna Hernick 01:33:36 (403) 1741 Kevin Kenny 01:30:29 2009 Amy Forde 01:35:59 (539) 2039 John Corish 01:37:30 2065 Etain Finn 01:37:27 (569) 2387 Carina Davidson 01:51:05 (756) 2446 Daniel O’Mahony 01:47:00 2455 Andrea Garcia 01:47:51 (798) 2624 Rachel Kelly 01:55:20 (917) Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=3964#0_BF88B5 Cork City 10-mile (937) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Michael Harty 1 00:49:39 40 Dee Grady 1 01:00:41 Crusaders AC runner 297 Ciara Lehane 01:16:37 (48) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/cork-city-10-mile-2023/ St. Coca’s AC Kilcock 10-mile (383) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Efrem Gidey 1 00:47:11 33 Niamh Devlin 1 01:01:35 Crusaders AC runners 10 Ger Forde 00:56:08 (PB) 48 Adrienne Jordan 01:03:58 (5) 90 Gillian Earley 01:08:49 (11) 97 Miriam Logan 01:09:31 (PB) (13) 106 Brian McGuckin 01:09:45 108 Nina Holmes 01:09:41 (15) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/st_cocas_ac_kilcock_10_from_10/4734/results Macroom Castle Demesne Parkrun (43) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Lucey 1 00:17:57 17 Noreen Stewart 1 00:25:36 Crusader AC runners 18 Lisa Shine 00:26:03 (2) 34 Fiona Shine 00:31:05 (10) 35 Máirín Shine 00:31:06 (11) Ballincollig Parkrun (281) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conrad Watt 1 00:17:33 17 Marie Kelly 1 00:21:04 Crusaders AC runners 12 Simon Kenny 00:20:49 30 Toby Benham 00:23:13 Gorey Parkrun (99) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul O’Beirne 1 00:17:48 4 Kathryn Sweeney 1 00:20:04 Crusaders AC runner 4 Kathryn Sweeney 00:20:04 (1) Glen River Parkrun (86) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry Twohig 1 00:16:59 20 Nassreen Abdullah 1 00:23:47 Crusaders AC runners 28 Ailsa Berkeley 00:25:20 (4) 70 Mairead Cashman 00:32:14 (25) Marlay Parkrun (374) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:23 9 Aisling O’Connor 1 00:18:57 Crusaders AC runner 95 Barry O’Neill 00:24:09 Poolbeg Parkrun (138) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:42 26 Sophie Tonge 1 00:22:57 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:48 7 Cathal O’Hara 00:19:26 27 John Lohan 00:22:58 34 Russell Murphy 00:23:37 88 Mía Zoladz 00:29:42 (22) 121 Cynthia Perucca 00:36:16 (41) 122 Niamh Trihy 00:36:40 (42) Sligo Parkrun (71) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Kinsella 1 00:17:14 6 Sarah Mulvaney-Kelly 1 00:20:26 Crusaders AC runner 14 Kate Murray 00:23:10 (4) Tolka Valley Parkrun (107) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:18:07 12 Helen Carr 1 00:22:22 Crusaders AC runner 48 Paul F. Kelly 00:27:37 Bushy Parkrun (126) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Thomas Fell 1 00:18:14 11 Malika Hammani 1 00:22:26 Crusaders AC runner 4 Luke Corcoran 00:19:27 Shanganagh Parkrun (192) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Naoise O’Conluain 1 00:17:20 8 Sarah Healy 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runners 20 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:25 50 Janet McManus 00:24:30 (7) It was an important weekend in the racing calendar, with the final of the National Track and Field League and the National Masters T&F Championship, both taking place in Tullamore. Further west, a small contingent this year from the club took away some of the spoils from the Galway City Harriers-organised Streets of Galway 8k on Saturday evening.
The Masters Championships took place on Saturday and we had 10 athletes participating, bringing home 4 medals between them. The standout results came from Mary Horgan and Amy McGuinness in the F35 800m, where Mary, not unexpectedly, took the win in 2:16.07, with Amy seizing bronze in 2:32.06. Then, Tessa O’Neill, in one of the two events in which she competed, won gold in the F45 400m in a time of 66.24. Her other event was the 200m where she placed 6th in 28.90. Our 4th medal was won by Liam Lyster in the shot put, where he took silver with a throw of 9.51m. We had a few near misses for podium places. Liam took 4th place in both the M65 100m and 200m races, respectively in 14.63 and 31.90, whilst Enda Clarke also finished in 4th place in the M35 1500m in a time of 4:22.54. Donal Swift was also one place off the medals in the M70 400m in 99.32, whilst Paul Francis and John O’Loughlin finished in 5th and 9th places respectively in a bunched finish in the M55 200m, where Paul ran 27.39 and John, 27.93. John also ran in the M55 100m where he placed 6th in 13.68, and 6th place was also recorded by Donal in the M70 200m in 41.52. We had three 6th places in other events too. Edna placed 6th in the M35 800m in 2:05.09, with Gary Park running 2:20.28 for his 6th place in the M45 800m, whilst Donnacha McCarthy and his guide were guest Senior runners in with the M40s in their 5000m, Donnacha effectively placing 6th in 17:06.86. Finally, John also ran in M55 400m where he placed 7th in 67.04. On the same track on Sunday, the club was once again represented in the finals of the club league. Both men and women were this year in Division 1 as we had not fielded a team for the last year. Both were bidding for promotion to the Premier league, but, at time of writing, with a few queries potentially remaining, it looks like it is not to be this year. With only the first two places available for promotion, the men came agonizingly close in 4th place, one point off third and only two points off second, whilst the women placed either 5th or 6th in their competition. Nevertheless, it was a highly noble effort put in by our clubmates. Chapeau to them! A maximum of 9 points was available for the win in each discipline (with 2nd places gaining 7 points) and this was achieved by the men in the 4x100m in a time of 44.40 by Matt Behan, Charlie Bastow, Luke Timlin and Liam Beaumont. Ciaran Donnelly also took the win in the hammer with a throw of 40.52m. Sinead Moloney showed how to multi-task by winning the weight for distance competition with a throw of 5.99m. Matt also won the 110mH in 15.02. 2nd places were recorded by Gary Park in his favourite discipline, the 3000m steeplechase, where he recorded a time of 11:26.82, and by Fearghal O’Hare in the 800m with a time of 157.49. John O’Connor also excelled with his 2nd place finish in the 56lb weight for distance, where he threw it 4.77m. The team of Sinead Moloney, Claire Mooney, Amy McGuinness and Maeve Lochrie took 2nd place in a time of 4:21.76 in the 4x400m relay, whilst Orla Drumm’s contribution was also a second place in 10:52.35 in the 3000m. With a huge captain’s performance, Rebecca Fleming, with minimal preparation for the event, ran in the 2000m steeplechase where she placed 3rd in 9:05.52, whilst 3rd places were also recorded by Matt (22.99 in the 200m and 1.5m in the high jump), Charlie (53.66 in the 400m), Luke (11.28 in the 100m), James Quinn (26.36m in the discus), Amy (2:32.47 in the 800m) and Lisa Shine (8:58.79 in the 1500m walk). Other results were recorded by Barry McCarthy (4th in the 1500m in 4:06.72), Colm Parnell (4th in the 5000m in 15:37.56), the team of Fearghal, Luke, Liam and Leo Gormley in the 4x400m relay where they placed 4th in 3:38.84, Luke (6th in the long jump with a leap of 5.03m), John (4th in the shot put with a throw of 8.52m), Paul E. Kelly (5th in the 1500m walk in 13:26.65), James (7th in the javelin with a throw of 9.16m), the team of Tessa O’Neill, Amy, Laura Garcia Gonzalez and Maeve in the 4x100m relay (6th in 62.48), Laura (5th in the 1500m in 5:36.51), Emer Kenny (6th in the 400m in 87.34), Sinead (5th in the 200m in 27.33), Tessa (6th in the 100m in 14.32, 7th in the shot put with a throw of 5.07m and 6th in the long jump with a leap of 3.73m) and Karen Conway (4th in the hammer with a throw of 29.18m). We enjoyed some success on the roads over the weekend. Kathryn Gibbons took part in the Monaghan 10-miler where, in a field of 330 and in wet conditions on an undulating out-and-back course (with a headwind on the return), she recorded a PB time of 67:15 for 52nd place overall and 5th female finisher. A smaller group than of the past made its annual pilgrimage to Galway for the 37th running of the Streets of Galway 8k which took place in strong winds on Saturday evening. A large field of 2,423 contested the race and we had 8 runners competing with them. On a course that has its fair share of twists and turns as well as a few steady hills, Patrick Conlon was our first runner home. He placed 41st in a time of 28:54. Rory Goldsmith was next, interrupting the second day of a wedding he was otherwise attending, drawing attention from the other guests after emerging from the bathroom of a local pub in running gear, having entered in a suit (and returning to continue the festivities immediately after the race). Rory placed 81st in 31:12. He was followed by Ciara Regan running in her first 8k and who recorded a super time of 32:08. Ciara had run closely behind James Cottle for the first 5k and was at that point lying in 9th place in the women’s competition. However, she felt really strong in the last 3k and took full advantage of a strong tailwind in the last 2.5k to reel in two of the women in front of her, placing 109th and 7th female finisher. Unknowingly, she had put herself in for a prize which were awarded to the top 8 women. James was next, placing 131st and 1st M65 in a time of 32:44 and he was followed by Áine Kenny who travelled over from deepest Galway an hour’s drive away, to take part. It turned out to be a lucrative call as she placed 144th overall, 11th female finisher and winner of the F40 age category in a time of 33:13. Behind Áine came Áine Crotty (176th and 18th in 33:41) and, together with Ciara, the three women won first place in the team competition. The contingent was completed by Gian Piero Allerta who ran the race at his marathon pace (773rd in 40:25) and by Amy Forde (1,133rd and 329th in 43:57). Members may be interested to learn that Catherine Thornton, an ex-Crusader who trains with us from time to time, was operations director for the race. Further afield over the weekend, we had at least six Crusader exiles in Australia take part in Sydney’s City2Surf 14k race with an enormous field of nearly 69,000 finishers. The women’s event was actually won by Niamh Allen in 47:29, Niamh placing 46th overall. She was followed by Maurice Kelter (81st in 48:40) and by Katie Rogers (588th and 38th (4th in her 30-34 age cat) in 54:52), Marta Imaz (7938th and 1,225th in 69:56), Lisa Sheanon (21,052nd and 5,606th in 88:01) and Deirdre Kennedy (26,109th and 7,921st in 88:01). Another of our Australian exiles, based in Brisbane, Steven Walker, took part in the Sunshine Coast half marathon where he ran 1:26:58 for 157th place in a field of 2,792 finishers. Earlier in the week, Esther Requena Ferri, in Spain, won yet another race. This appeared to be a 6k trail run (the Subida a Colmenar) where Esther ran 29:01 for the distance. Cristian Vilchez Ceballos also ran in the race where he recorded a time of 26:39. A result we missed from last weekend was that of Italo Giancaterina who won the 90-strong Stramaforno 10k in Italy in a time of 32:54. Congrats to all our overseas runners. One of the latest IMRA races took place last week and was a handicapped Summer season closer, called the Meitheal Mountain Fundraiser. In a field of 90 in the Dublin mountains on an out-and-back course near Lough Tay and Ballinastoe, we had 3 runners taking on the 10k event with its climb of 480m. Gavan Doherty placed 33rd in 68:57 and he was followed by David Timony (64th in 80:01) and by Gerard Moore (66th in 80:04). Then, on Sunday, there were two races with Crusader participation. One, a race in the southeast league, took place in the Slieveblooms, Co. Laois, involving a big loop over 12.5k on difficult terrain and a climb of 450m to the top of Arderin. In the field of 34 runners, we saw Brian McGuckin placing 6th in 1:35:57, followed closely by Niall McGeorge, over from the UK, in 7th spot in 1:36:23. Also on Sunday, Jason Kehoe joined 40 other runners in Co. Tipperary for a race in the Munster and Irish Championships. On a course described as extreme and unmarked over 13k and a climb of 1300m, the event involved a race to the top of Galtymore and back over the peaks of Cush and Galtybeg. Jason placed 11th in a time of 1:45:39. We finish the report, as usual, with a round-up of the parkruns. Numbers seemed to be slightly up on last week’s events and we had at least one first finisher and a couple of podium places. Sarah Lyons placed 11th overall and first female finisher in a time of 24:02 in the 55-strong field in Tolka Valley. In the same event Diarmuid Byrne ran 23:06 for 7th place. Dee Lawlor took 3rd spot in Shanganagh in a time of 18:55. He was followed among the 177 runners who took part by Eoghan Corrigan (22nd in 22:21), Carina Davidson (80th and 18th in 27:45) and by Orlaith de Burca (107th and 32nd in 29:33). Ross Neill placed 3rd in Poolbeg with a time of 18:13. In a field of 133, Ross was followed by Rob Glascott (33rd in 23:53), Josie Ward (37th and 5th in 24:25), Russell Murphy (39th in 24:29), Anna Hernick (65th and 19th in 27:01), Mía Zoladz (73rd and 25th in 27:46), Una McCullagh (98th and 38th in 30:16), with Cynthia Perucci tailwalking. Stephen Hurley ran in the 112-strong field in Faelledparken in Denmark, taking 4th place in 18:06, whilst Michael O’Conor ran in Brickfields, also recording 4th place in a time of 20:11 in a field of 69. Kate Murray was also just off the podium in Bushy Park. In a field of 151, Kate placed 29th and 4th in 23:38, closely followed by Sharon Woods (29th and 5th in 24:10) and by Mairead Cashman further back (115th and 34th in 31:39). Andy Deuser joined 114 other runners in Fairview where he placed 8th in 21:42, whilst John Lohan and Tara murphy ran alongside 131 other participants in Gorey, John taking 6th spot in 21:43 and Tara, 42nd and 11th in 26:27. Mark Browne, just coming back from injury, placed 9th in 24:42 in the 101-strong field in Bere Island in Cork, whilst Barry O’Neill placed 135th in 25:51 in the 385-strong field in Marlay Park. In Corkagh, with its field of 149, Paul F. Kelly ran 27:39 for 57th place, whilst Máirín Shine ran in Sligo, placing 71st and 22nd in 29:08 alongside 130 other runners. Lisa Shine ran in Cabinteely where she recorded a time of 34:47 for 111th and 30th spots in a field of 145, whilst, finally, Helena O’Keeffe ran in Tralee. In a field of 268, Helena placed 79th and 12th in 26:23. Streets of Galway 8k (2423) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 David McGlynn 1 00:24:07 11 Ide Nic Dhomhnaill 1 00:26:48 Crusaders AC runners 41 Patrick Conlon 00:28:54 81 Rory Goldsmith 00:31:12 109 Ciara Regan 00:32:08 (PB) (7) 131 James Cottle 00:32:44 144 Áine Kenny 00:33:13 (11) 176 Áine Crotty 00:33:41 (18) 773 Gian Piero Allerta 00:40:25 1133 Amy Forde 00:43:57 (329) Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/SOG2023.html The Monaghan 10-mile (330) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Gavin Corey 1 00:54:07 29 Nadine McIntyre 1 01:04:09 Crusaders AC runner 52 Kathryn Gibbons 01:07:15 (PB) (5) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_monaghan_10__5_mile/4898/results IMRA Mountain Meitheal Fundraiser (90) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Corrigan 1 01:04:12 9 Maeve Flynn 1 01:05:46 Crusaders AC runners 33 Gavan Doherty 01:08:57 64 David Timony 01:20:01 66 Gerard Moore 01:20:04 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2299/ IMRA Galtymore 13k (41) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Anthony Forristal 1 01:24:03 18 Ide Kelleher 1 01:53:57 Crusaders AC runner 11 Jason Kehoe 01:45:39 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2327/ IMRA Arderin - Clear Lake 12.5k (34) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry Minnock 1 01:10:57 11 Kate Connolly 1 01:40:01 Crusaders AC runners 6 Brian Mc Guckin 01:35:57 7 Niall McGeorge 01:36:23 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2337/ Bere Island Parkrun (101) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Crowley 1 00:19:23 5 Michelagh Murphy 1 00:23:14 Crusader AC runner 9 Mark Browne 00:24:42 Tralee Parkrun (268) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tadgh Connolly 1 00:17:33 23 Mary Fitzsimons 1 00:21:36 Crusaders AC runner 79 Helena O’Keeffe 00:26:23 (12) Gorey Parkrun (133) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:50 23 Ursula Frawley 1 00:24:07 Crusaders AC runners 6 John Lohan 00:21:43 46 Tara Murphy 00:26:27 (11) Corkagh Parkrun (149) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Brady 1 00:19:18 3 Grace Kennedy-Clarke 1 00:19:49 Crusaders AC runner 57 Paul F. Kelly 00:27:39 Marlay Parkrun (285) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Canaan St. Lewis 1 00:17:34 27 Anne O’Donovan 1 00:20:51 Crusaders AC runner 135 Barry O’Neill 00:25:51 Brickfields Parkrun (69) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Golden 1 00:19:25 10 Stephanie Hawkins 1 00:22:56 Crusaders AC runner 4 Michael O’Conor 00:20:11 Cabinteely Parkrun (145) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Abdirahmaan Ali Maow 1 00:16:42 38 Ciara Drew 1 00:25:13 Crusaders AC runner 111 Lisa Shine 00:34:47 (30) Poolbeg Parkrun (133) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen McGuinn 1 00:17:34 26 Bláithín Sheil 1 00:22:38 Crusaders AC runners 3 Ross Neill 00:18:13 33 Rob Glascott 00:23:53 37 Josie Ward 00:24:25 (5) 39 Russell Murphy 00:24:29 65 Anna Hernick 00:27:01 (19) 73 Mía Zoladz 00:27:46 (25) 98 Una McCullagh 00:30:16 (38) 132 Cynthia Perucca 00:49:20 Sligo Parkrun (131) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Brereton Hurley 1 00:18:28 16 Jane Dever 1 00:23:12 Crusaders AC runner 71 Máirín Shine 00:29:08 (22) Fairview Parkrun (115) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Byrne 1 00:19:15 22 Alma O’Donnell 1 00:24:25 Crusaders AC runner 8 Andy Deuser 00:21:42 Tolka Valley Parkrun (55) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Bowden 1 00:19:51 11 Sarah Lyons 1 00:24:02 Crusaders AC runners 7 Diarmuid Byrne 00:23:06 11 Sarah Lyons 00:24:02 (1) Bushy Parkrun (151) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane O’Neill 1 00:19:42 3 Clara Kinsella 1 00:19:55 Crusaders AC runners 21 Kate Murray 00:23:38 (4) 29 Sharon Woods 00:24:10 (5) 115 Mairead Cashman 00:31:39 (34) Shanganagh Parkrun (177) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Doran 1 00:18:25 7 Sarah Healy 1 00:20:15 Crusaders AC runners 3 Derek Lawlor 00:18:55 22 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:21 80 Carina Davidson 00:27:45 (18) 107 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:33 (32) The deluge and gale force winds that were experienced in Dublin early on Saturday morning and then periodically across the weekend came as quite a shock, given that we are now in August. The weather certainly had an impact on participation in Saturday morning’s parkruns. Thankfully, however, the weather did hold up for the races that took place around the country earlier in the week and also in the west over the weekend where we had participants. Our results round-up start, as usual, on the track. The last Dublin Athletics graded meet, the eighth, of the season, took place on Wednesday evening at the Morton Stadium in Santry. We had a few runners take part with some success. Claire Mooney won the women’s grade B 400m event in a time of 56.30, whilst Donnacha McCarthy, who is visually impaired, won the grade D edition of the men’s 3000m, well ahead of second place, in a time of 10:01.88. We had several runners in the D grade standard of the men's 400m. In each of the 4 heats a Crusader appeared. In heat 1, Liam Beaumont placed 3rd in 59.22. Then in the 2nd heat, Paul Kelly placed 6th in 89.54, whilst in the 3rd heat John O'Loughlin took 6th place in 63:30. Meanwhile, Leo Gormley ran 55.27 for 3rd place in the last heat. The mile proved to be a popular event. Laura Garcia Gonzalez placed 2nd in the grade D race in a time of 5:52.10, whilst Paul Cowhie came home in 13th spot in the men’s grade C contest, running 5:09.21. Gary park placed 3rd in the second heat of the D grade in 5:12.20. Finally, Paul E. Kelly placed 9th in the first heat of the grade D race in a time of 7:57.00, in the process winning the prize for the most races run at the graded meets this season. Onto the roads and there were two 5k races on Friday evening in which Crusaders appeared. Brian O’Kelly led home a field of 375 in the Streets of Athboy 5k in Co. Meath. Brian’s time was 15:35 and he was followed by Michael Wycherley, making a welcome return to racing, albeit briefly as he prepares for an imminent operation on a troublesome foot, who placed 22nd and 4th M45 in 16:55. Further back came Ronan Smith (112th in 19:27) and he was followed by Emer Kenny (162nd overall, 37th female finisher and 6th F35). The other 5k race took place in Birr, Co. Offaly, where Tim O’Donnell joined 322 other runners in the latest event in the Offaly 5k race series. Tim placed 52nd in a time of 18:55. On Sunday, we had two runners down in Co. Kerry taking part in the Banna Run 10k. In a field of 166 Margaret Foley ran yet another PB with a time of 43:11 to place 35th overall and 4th female across the line. Mags was followed by Robbie Moore who took 56th spot in 46:59. Mairead Cashman was also down in Kerry on Sunday for the Tri-Kingdom Come event, where she won the swim/run element of the competition (1000m swim and 5k run). Further afield, Marty James, our Australian exile in Melbourne, ran in the Ballarat 15k conducted around Lake Wendouree in the town near Melbourne. Marty’s time was 1:02:52 for the distance. In the mountains, we had just the one runner in the Dargle 4 Peaks 15k race in Co. Wicklow on Sunday, the Leinster Championship event organised by IMRA (with 4 seasons in a day!). The one-loop race took in Djouce, War Hill, Tonduff and Maulin and involved a climb of 800m. Gerald Hoare joined the small field of 35, where he placed 29th in a time of 2:53:45. Numbers were unsurprisingly down in the Dublin region for the parkruns run there on Saturday morning, but seemed not to have been affected elsewhere. Those in which club members participated yielded a lot of decent performances and several 2nd place finishes as well as first finishers. Poolbeg had a field roughly two thirds of its normal size in 105 and the first runner home was Luke Corcoran in 17:24. Luke was followed by Sharon Woods (30th and 3rd in 24:10), Josie Ward (35th and 5th in 24:28), Ailsa Berkeley (37th and 7th in 24:34) just behind, Maureen McGinley (64th and 18th in her 250th parkrun and in a time of 27:56) and Louise O’Riordan (92nd and 34th in 32:36). Another first finisher (but 2nd overall to Aoife Cooke) was Toby Benham in Tramore Valley where he crossed the line in a time of 18:15. Joining Toby in the field of 226 was Orla Drumm who placed 7th and 2nd in 19:51. Áine Crotty and Cian Coughlan paid a visit to Co. Leitrim where they ran in the 48-strong field in the Ballinamore Greenway Parkrun, with Áine placing 3rd overall and first female finisher in 23:00, followed by Cian who placed 4th in 23:36. Kathryn Sweeney ran in her native Omagh where she also placed first female finisher and 2nd overall in a time of 19:11. There were 75 participants there. Another first finisher on Saturday morning was Ruben Vega in Fairview. In a field of 92 Ruben ran 19:04, followed by Andy Deuser (13th in 22:22) and Tim Hyland (50th in 28:18). Second places went to Ross Neill in Sligo, where he ran 17:46 in a field of 143, to Lisa Shine, where she ran 25:10 in a field of 68 and placing 9th overall, to Máirín Shine in Knockanacree Woods where she ran 32:49 in a modest field of 18 and placing 10th overall, to Kate Murray in Bushy Park, where she ran 23:57 in a field of 108 and placing 21st overall and to Sarah Lyons where she ran 24:25 in a field of 45 and placing 9th overall. Luke Haran ran in Mungret once again. In a field of 73, Luke placed 6th in 20:59, whilst, in Kilcock, Eoghan Corrigan placed 12th in a field of 92 and in a time of 22:42. Michael Maughan ran in Father Collins Park, placing 14th in a time of 24:11 alongside 80 other runners, whilst David O’Donnell ran in Dungloe wher, in a field of 78, he placed 17th in a time of 22:47. In Mountlucas, with its modest field of 19, Mía Zoladz took 10th and 6th places in 27:46, followed by Cynthia Perucca (16th and 10th in 35:58), whilst Carina Davidson ran once again in Shanganagh. Alongside 117 other participants, Carina placed 68th and 16th in 27:19. Streets of Athboy 5k (375) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Brian O’Kelly 1 00:15:35 14 Aine Cotter 1 00:16:46 Crusaders AC runners 1 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:35 22 Michael Wycherley 00:16:55 112 Ronan Smith 00:19:27 162 Emer Kenny 00:20:57 (37) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/streets-of-athboy-5k-2023/ Offaly 5k Race Series Birr 5k (323) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 00:15:14 12 Niamh O’Connor 1 00:16:41 Crusaders AC runner 52 Tim O’Donnell 00:18:55 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/buildmore-offaly-5k-race-series-birr-5k/ Banna Run 10k (166) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Carl Lenihan 1 00:33:50 23 Aoife O’Connor 1 00:40:57 Crusaders AC runners 35 Margaret Foley 00:43:11 (PB) (4) 56 Robbie Moore 00:46:59 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/banna_run_2023_10k_5k/4853/results IMRA Dargle 4 Peaks (35) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Furey 1 01:43:07 5 Niamh Honer 1 01:51:40 Crusaders AC runner 29 Gerald Hoare 02:53:45 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2318/ Navan Parkrun (68) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niamh Shoemark 1 00:21:28 2 John Byrne 1 00:21:47 Crusader AC runner 9 Lisa Shine 00:25:10 (2) Knockanacree Woods Parkrun (18) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eamon Costello 1 00:24:54 8 Isobel Cahill 1 00:32:02 Crusaders AC runner 10 Máirín Shine 00:32:49 (2) Ballinamore Greenway Parkrun (48) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mark Ahern 1 00:21:37 3 Áine Crotty 1 00:23:00 Crusaders AC runners 3 Áine Crotty 00:23:00 (1) 4 Cian Coughlan 00:23:36 Omagh Parkrun (75) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aidan Molloy 1 00:18:59 2 Kathryn Sweeney 1 00:19:11 Crusaders AC runner 2 Kathryn Sweeney 00:19:11 (1) Mountlucas Parkrun (19) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Cronly 1 00:22:24 2 Mia Gallagher 1 00:22:43 Crusaders AC runners 10 Mía Zoladz 00:27:46 (6) 16 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:58 (10) Father Collins Parkrun (81) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane Wakefield 1 00:20:52 8 Aileen Hooper 1 00:22:18 Crusaders AC runner 14 Michael Maughan 00:24:11 Dungloe Parkrun (78) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mark Ward 1 00:18:27 7 Niamh Brown 1 00:20:08 Crusaders AC runner 17 David O’Donnell 00:22:47 Poolbeg Parkrun (105) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:17:24 26 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:22:57 Crusaders AC runners 1 Luke Corcoran 00:17:24 30 Sharon Woods 00:24:10 (3) 35 Josie Ward 00:24:28 (5) 37 Ailsa Berkeley 00:24:34 (7) 64 Maureen McGinley 00:27:56 (18) 92 Louise O’Riordan 00:32:36 (34) Sligo Parkrun (143) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gearoid Tuohy 1 00:17:02 11 Susan Scollan 1 00:21:44 Crusaders AC runner 2 Ross Neill 00:17:46 Mungret Parkrun (73) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Colm Costello 1 00:17:24 8 Ellie Woulfe 1 00:22:46 Crusaders AC runner 6 Luke Haran 00:20:59 Fairview Parkrun (92) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Vega 1 00:19:04 22 Orla Deighan 1 00:23:50 Crusaders AC runners 1 Ruben Vega 00:19:04 13 Andy Deuser 00:22:22 50 Tim Hyland 00:28:18 Royal Canal Kilcock Parkrun (92) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Adam Lowings 1 00:19:50 3 Denise Fox 1 00:21:13 Crusaders AC runner 12 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:42 Tolka Valley Parkrun (45) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Fleming 1 00:17:55 6 Liadh Fitzmaurice 1 00:22:54 Crusaders AC runner 9 Sarah Lyons 00:24:25 (2) Bushy Parkrun (103) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Richard Healy 1 00:19:47 18 Mary Donnelly 1 00:23:43 Crusaders AC runner 21 Kate Murray 00:23:57 (2) Shanganagh Parkrun (118) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Caulfield 1 00:17:40 9 Emily Kane 1 00:20:56 Crusaders AC runner 68 Carina Davidson 00:27:19 (16) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (226) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aoife Cooke 1 00:17:27 2 Toby Benham 1 00:18:15 Crusaders AC runners 2 Toby Benham 00:18:15 7 Orla Drumm 00:19:51 (2) We had six athletes in action on the track in the Morton Stadium over a windy and, at times, wet weekend, competing in the National Senior T&F Championships, bringing home a medal. The national championships were celebrating their 150th anniversary, having been the longest continuous national competition in the world since its inception in Trinity’s College Green in 1873. On Saturday afternoon, in windy conditions (a strong headwind in the home straight) Matt Behan had a tough race in the men’s 110mH straight final, where he valiantly was trying to defend his national title. Having, unfortunately, struck hard several of the hurdles in the race, Matt still managed to come home in third place in a time of 14.95 for the bronze medal behind teenage sensation James Ezeonu and old rival Gerard O’Donnell. Well done to Matt. Another athlete who should be congratulated is Mary Horgan. The evergreen masters athlete has made regular appearances in the 800m and this year was no exception. Mary qualified for Sunday’s final by placing 3rd in heat 1 of 2 in a time of 2:14.17, placing 8th in the final in 2:13.41. Luke Timlin placed 3rd in his heat (of 6 heats) of the men’s 200m, in a time of 23.51, but needed to record a time under 23.00 to progress through to the semis. Likewise, Colm Parnell ran in heat 1 of 3 in the 1500m, where he placed 12th in 4:15.60. Two other athletes from the club contested the heats of the men’s 800m on Saturday afternoon, neither passing through to the final. Felix Martinez ran in heat 4 where he placed 5th in 1:57:58, whilst Enda Clarke ran in the second heat where he placed 8th in 2:04.10. On Tuesday evening Bear Races staged two races in Park West on a twisty turny course in the business park next to the Grand Canal. There were 283 runners competing in the 5k which was won by Crusader Alex Ainsworth in a time of 17:02. Then we had 3 runners in the 360-strong 10k. Sharon Woods placed 77th overall, 7th female finisher and 1st F50 in a PB time of 47:17 and Sharon was followed by Stephen Mulligan (123rd in 50:17) and Séamas Bulaeir (137th in 48:42). The following evening, there was another road race organised by the BHAA. This one was the 6k South Dublin County Council Sports Partnership race in Kiltipper Park in Southwest Dublin south of Firhouse and Knocklyon. It had a modest field of 64. Eoghan Kerins took 13th place and 4th M40 in 24:58 and he was followed by Karl Walsh (24th and 4th M45 in 27:18), Robbie Moore (29th and 2nd M55 in 28:06) and Mairead Cashman (61st overall, 12th female finisher and 1st F55 in 38:41). Robbie Moore took to his runners again on Thursday evening, joining Tony Hackett in the Carton House Trails 6k. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given Robbie’s back-to-back exploits, Tony came in ahead of Robbie in 44th place in a field of 220 and in a time of 27:08, with Robbie in hard pursuit in 58th spot in a time of 28:10, not so far away from the night before. Robbie also had the satisfaction of placing 2nd M55 again. Over the weekend we had three runners take part in the Hillsborough Castle and Royal Gardens Festival half marathon, one of several races on offer. Joining 571 other runners were Dan O’Mahony, Niall Collins and John Roche. Dan placed 88th in 1:40:50, followed by Niall (125th in 1:44:20) and John (140th in 1:45:43). Further afield, one of our exiles in the US, Damien O’Brien, took part in the NYRR Team Championships in New York’s Central Park, where he ran just over 8k in 31:04. Then, in Spain, Esther Requena Ferri, one of our exiles there, won yet another race. This one was an evening hilly 5k event in the streets of Vélez-Málaga situated in from the south coast. Esther’s time was 22:46. Bigley Lydia ran in the Bern Pride Eurogames 10k in Switzerland on Friday evening. On a hilly course on forest trails, Lydia placed 10th female overall and 3rd in her age group in a time of 53:21. Donatas Jocius ran in Ignalina his native Lithuania, where he won the Ultra XTrasa, a 19k trail race. Finally, Kate O’Malley also ran in a trail race. Our London-based exile placed 2nd female finisher in the Maverick race just north of Brighton around Ditching Beacon on the Downs. Kate completed the 23.5k event in 1:51:00. IMRA organised two races in the last week. The second, on Sunday, was a race over Log na Coille in Co. Wicklow in the Irish Championships. At time of original writing, results had not yet been produced. However, we have now updated the report with the results and know there were at least two Crusaders (Becky Quinn and Gareth Phelan) in the race. In a field of 44 finishers, Becky was 33rd overall and 2nd female finisher in a time of 1:30:37, whilst Gareth finished just ahead in 25th place in a time of 1:19:53. The first race was a Leinster League event on Wednesday evening, on Trooperstown Hill in Co. Wicklow. There were 192 runners in the race that was conducted on an out-and-back course involving a climb on moderate terrain over 9k. Warren Swords led our contingent home in 10th place (and 3rd M40) in a time of 45:26 and he was followed by Jason Kehoe (19th in 47:06). Raghnall O’Donoghue was next (41st in 51:13) and he was followed by Clare Sullivan (62nd overall, 4th female across the line and 2nd F40 in 55:07), Ian Clifford (100th in 60:34), David Timoney (113th in 63:33) and Pat Quill, preparing for the upcoming UTMB challenge (140th in 69:77). Numbers were generally up this weekend in the parkruns, and so were our podium places. The way home for the women was led again by Ciara Regan in Poolbeg where, in a field of 174, she placed 7th overall and first female finisher in a time of 19:38. Ahead of her came Ross Neill (3rd in 18:13) and Stephen Hurley (4th in 18:59). Alby Allan was next (16th in 21:13), just ahead of Brian Rainey (17th in 21:15), both training for the Dublin marathon along with Paul Campbell (22nd in 21:37). Next came Enda Currid (36th in 22:42) and he was followed by Dale Whelehan (40th in 22:54) and by Sharon Woods (55th and 6th in 23:57), Josie Ward (67th and 14th in 24:40), Anna Hernick (93rd and 25th in 26:49), Kevin Kenny (94th in 26:56), young Mía Zoladz (107th and 30th in 27:55), with Tara Murphy tailwalking. Ilona McElroy was another first finisher, placing 5th overall in the small field of 36 in Tolka Valley. Ilona’s time was 20:33. Nina Holmes also ran well for her first finish (12th place overall) in 21:16, in a field of 98 in Brickfields, whilst Darina Scully placed 16th and first female finisher in Avondale Forest in a time of 25:00. Mairead Cashman joined Darina in the field of 80, placing 38th and 13th in 31:47. Áine Kenny joined John Lohan in Mountbellew Forest, where Áine placed 2nd and fist finisher in 23:04, whilst John was right behind in 3rd place in a time of 23:06. They were joined in the small field by 29 other runners. Alban Coghlan led the field of 407 home in Marlay Park in a time of 17:58, with Stephen Mulligan further back in 90th place in a time of 24:05, whilst Kate Murray placed10th and 3rd in 22:15 in the field of 78 in Mullingar. Martina White ran in Porterstown in a field of 84, where she placed 23rd and 4th in 24:44, whilst Olwyn Dunne placed 52nd and 6th in 26:20 in the field of 156 in Cabinteely. We had two runners in the field of 171 in Shanganagh. Carina Davidson placed 92nd and 19th in 27:43, followed by Orlaith de Burca (122nd and 41st in 30:20). We also had a couple of runners in Fairview with its field of 135. Will Holton took 11th spot in 21:34, with Andy Deuser crossing the line in 14th place in 22:23. Meanwhile, Kevin Flynn placed 36th alongside 47 other runners in Inch Beach in a time of 35:28, whilst Maureen McGinley ran once again in Farfalle, Italy where she placed 18th and 3rd in a field of 34 and in a time of 29:25. Djinn Von Noorden ran on Wimbledon Common with 466 other participants where she ran 29:49 for 291st and 77th spots, whilst John Reidy headed to Scotland where, in Perth, in a field of 253, he placed 45th in 22:32. Colm Foley ran 23:24 in Griffeen Park where alongside 147 other participants, he placed 29th, whilst Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow, where, in a 391-strong field, he took 82nd spot in 24:35. Members of the Shine family ran in Dodder Valley where, alongside 129 other runners, Lisa placed 61st and 15th in 29:20, Máirín ran 29:30 for 66th and 17th and Anna ran 29:58 for 69th and 19th spots. David O’Donnell placed 11th in 22:52 in the 73-strong field in Castlebar, whilst Helena O’Keeffe placed 64th and 10th in Tramore Valley, Cork, where, in a field of 163, she ran 25:48. Diarmuid Byrne took 30th spot in Poppintree in a time of 24:13, in a field of 173, whilst Paul F. Kelly joined 445 other participants in St. Anne’s, where he placed 271st in 28:49. Dublin Summer Night Run – Parkwest 5k (283) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Alex Ainsworth 1 00:17:02 11 Cristin Scollard 1 00:18:23 Crusaders AC runner 1 Alex Ainsworth 00:17:02 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_summer_night_run_2023__park_west/4666/results Dublin Summer Night Run – Parkwest 10k (360) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Yoan Kerfridin 1 00:34:04 20 Jennifer O’Sullivan 1 00:40:50 Crusaders AC runners 77 Sharon Woods 00:47:17 (PB) (7) 123 Stephen Mulligan 00:50:17 137 Séamas Bulaeir 00:48:42 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_summer_night_run_2023__park_west/4666/results Hillsborough Castle Half Marathon (574) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Luke Watts 1 01:16:23 20 Alice Brear Clarkson 1 01:29:30 Crusaders AC runners 88 Daniel O’Mahony 01:40:50 125 Niall Collins 01:44:20 140 John Roche 01:45:43 Full results here: https://www.castlerunningfestival.com/results/ BHAA SDCCSP 6k road race (64) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Doran 1 00:20:36 3 Kate McDonald 1 00:21:26 Crusaders AC runners 13 Eoghan Kerins 00:24:58 24 Karl Walsh 00:27:18 29 Robbie Moore 00:28:06 61 Mairead Cashman 00:38:41 (12) Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/BHAA%20SDC%20SP%206k%20road%20race.pdf Carton Trails 6k (220) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter Somba 1 00:19:49 13 Breffini Kelly 1 00:23:14 Crusaders AC runners 44 Anthony Hackett 00:27:08 58 Robbie Moore 00:28:10 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/carton_trails_6k_run_2023/4738/results IMRA Log Na Coille 10.5k (44) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Enda Cloake 1 00:58:02 16 Deirdre Galvin 1 01:12:14 Crusaders AC runners 25 Gareth Phelan 01:19:53 33 Becky Quinn 01:30:37 (2) Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2322/ IMRA Trooperstown Hill 9k (192) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Enda Cloake 1 00:40:01 26 Sorcha Loughnane 1 00:49:05 Crusaders AC runners 10 Warren Swords 00:45:26 19 Jason Kehoe 00:47:06 41 Raghnall O’Donoghue 00:51:13 62 Clare Sullivan 00:55:07 (4) 100 Ian Clifford 01:00:34 113 David Timoney 01:03:33 140 Pat Quill 01:09:17 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2315/ Avondale Forest Parkrun (80) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cian Taylor 1 00:18:39 16 Darina Scully 1 00:25:00 Crusaders AC runners 16 Darina Scully 00:25:00 (1) 38 Mairead Cashman 00:31:47 (13) Inch Beach Parkrun (48) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter McGovern 1 00:18:23 11 Caroline Ford 1 00:24:35 Crusaders AC runner 36 Kevin Flynn 00:35:28 Castlebar Parkrun (73) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Gordon 1 00:19:24 7 Deirdre Corcoran 1 00:21:56 Crusaders AC runner 11 David O’Donnell 00:22:52 Poppintree Parkrun (173) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Bobby Bedford 1 00:18:39 14 Katie Halpin 1 00:22:05 Crusaders AC runner 30 Diarmuid Byrne 00:24:13 Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (31) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Enda Dowling 1 00:21:33 2 Áine Kenny 1 00:23:04 Crusaders AC runners 2 Áine Kenny 00:23:04 (1) 3 John Lohan 00:23:06 Dodder Valley Parkrun (132) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kahumburuka Ivan Tuahuku 1 00:18:39 10 Sinead Tighe 1 00:20:28 Crusaders AC runners 61 Lisa Shine 00:29:20 (15) 66 Máirín Shine 00:29:30 (17) 69 Anna Shine 00:29:58 (19) Marlay Parkrun (407) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alban Coghlan 1 00:17:58 6 Lynne Hennessy 1 00:19:09 Crusaders AC runners 1 Alban Coghlan 00:17:58 90 Stephen Mulligan 00:24:05 Poolbeg Parkrun (174) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Treanor 1 00:16:31 7 Ciara Regan 1 00:19:38 Crusaders AC runners 3 Ross Neill 00:18:13 4 Stephen Hurley 00:18:59 7 Ciara Regan 00:19:38 (1) 16 Alby Allan 00:21:13 17 Brian Rainey 00:21:15 22 Paul Campbell 00:21:37 36 Enda Currid 00:22:42 40 Dale Whelehan 00:22:54 55 Sharon Woods 00:23:57 (6) 67 Josie Ward 00:24:40 (14) 93 Anna Hernick 00:26:49 (23) 94 Kevin Kenny 00:26:56 107 Mía Zoladz 00:27:55 (30) 173 Tara Murphy 00:46:27 Griffeen Parkrun (148) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Barry Coleman 1 00:19:29 12 Poppy Lyons Kennedy 1 00:21:25 Crusaders AC runner 29 Colm Foley 00:23:24 Porterstown Parkrun (84) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:17:44 3 Ellen McLoughlin 1 00:19:25 Crusaders AC runner 23 Martina White 00:24:44 (4) Fairview Parkrun (135) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Chloe Dooley 1 00:19:05 2 Mark Le Conte 1 00:19:14 Crusaders AC runners 11 Will Holton 00:21:34 14 Andy Deuser 00:22:23 Mullingar Parkrun (78) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Hickey 1 00:19:25 4 Gemma Hockett 1 00:20:13 Crusaders AC runner 10 Kate Murray 00:22:15 (3) Tolka Valley Parkrun (36) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Fleming 1 00:17:50 5 Ilona McElroy 1 00:20:33 Crusaders AC runner 5 Ilona McElroy 00:20:33 (1) St. Anne’s Parkrun (446) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jamie Rankin Whelan 1 00:15:49 19 Síomha Magee 1 00:19:29 Crusaders AC runner 271 Paul F. Kelly 00:28:49 Shanganagh Parkrun (171) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Darren Spring 1 00:17:51 16 Suzanne Foot 1 00:21:54 Crusaders AC runners 92 Carina Davidson 00:27:43 (19) 122 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:20 (41) Cabinteely Parkrun (156) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Abdirahmaan Ali Maow 1 00:16:46 22 Phillippa Went 1 00:23:30 Crusaders AC runner Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (163) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Arnaud Benjacar 1 00:16:55 15 Teresa Murphy 1 00:19:28 Crusaders AC runner 64 Helena O’Keeffe 00:25:48 (10) Brickfields Parkrun (98) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Richard Elston 1 00:17:11 12 Nina Holmes 1 00:21:16 Crusaders AC runner 12 Nina Holmes 00:21:16 Success across the country and perfect conditions for the National 10-mile road Championships24/7/2023
Runners were once again rather spoiled for choice this week. Lots of races were on offer, both on the road and on the track. We did rather well in several of them. We start as usual with results from the track. There were 2 events taking place on Wednesday, one in Tallaght, the 7th graded meet of the Dublin Athletics series, and the other in Belfast, hosted by the British Milers Club. In the latter, we had one runner take part, in the women’s 1500m. Mary Horgan placed 6th and first master home in a field of 15 on the Mary Peters track with a PB time for the distance of 4:28.94. Meanwhile, down in Tallaght, we had athletes taking part in 200m and 1500m races, as well as involvement in a couple of field events. The overall event included a masters programme. Tessa O’Neill placed 3rd in the women’s O/35 race in a time of 29.14, whilst Sinead Moloney took 2nd spot in the women’s grade C of the same distance in 27.30. Donal Swift (an O/70 athlete) placed 4th in the O/50 men’s 200m, where he ran 40.08, whilst Mark Inuwa crossed the line in 3rd place in the men’s B graded event in a time of 24.38. Leo Gormley ran 25.04 to win the C grade, whilst Paul E. Kelly ran in the D grade race, placing 3rd in 38.19. Moving on to the 1500m races, Enda Clarke won the O/35 event in a time of 4:23.66, whilst we had two runners in heat one of the grade D race and one in the second heat of the same grade. In the former, visually impaired athlete Donnacha McCarthy placed 3rd in 4:38.09, whilst Paul E. Kelly took 11th spot in 7:06.91. In the latter event, Gary Park came home in 13th place in a time of 4:45.13. Conor and James Quinn contested the men’s discus, with Conor placing 3rd with a throw of 38.19m (his 5th) and James just behind in 4th with a throw of 29.92 (his 4th), whilst Conor also contested the shot put, where, in reality, he had little competition, all 6 of his throws would have won him the competition. His best was 13.8m, his last of 6. The highlight of the road-racing week was the 10-mile national championships that took place on Sunday morning in and outside the Phoenix Park. The race was incorporated into the last event in the Irish Runner Series, not to be confused with the Irish Life Dublin Marathon race series with races of similar lengths (including the Frank Duffy 10-miler coming up in August) preparing runners for the Dublin marathon. The race on Sunday morning arguably enjoyed perfect conditions for a race of such length and on a challenging hilly course (a climb out of the Furry Glen and then a climb from the Islandbridge Gate to the Wellesley Monument after re-entering the park from Conyngham Road, followed towards the end by a climb up to the Snake after a descent down the Khyber Pass and then further on a climb up the Upper Glen Road before turning off the Ordnance Survey Road to finish where the race started on Chesterfield Avenue). There was rain at times, but it was really only refreshing and soft, whilst there was no wind to speak of. Despite the difficulties of the course, we did see some pretty decent times, including at least two PBs among our Crusader contingent. We had at least 12 runners in the 1,430-strong race, with two of them, Paula Bradshaw (835th overall and 206th female runner to finish in 1:27:33) and Emily Glen (842nd and 210th in 1:27:48), incorporating the race, as did Olwyn Dunne, in an otherwise long run as part of their training for the Dublin marathon. The contingent was otherwise led home by Ciaran Diviney who placed 34th and winning the silver medal in his M50 age category in a time of 57:22. Ciarain Kelly was next, taking 38th place in 58:00 and the scoring team was completed by Michael O’Conor (109th in 63:20). The first three men from each club counted as a team and our runners placed 9th out of 24 in the senior competition and also 6th out of 22 clubs in the O/35 competition. Mike was followed by Charles-Edouard Cattier (130th in 63:04), Michael Judge (140th in 65:11) and Rory Goldsmith (186th in 67:37), all of whom were quite close together for most of the race. The next runner across the line was Margaret Foley, just back from her holidays and achieving a PB result, placing 274th overall and 43rd female finisher in 71:38. Eoin Leahy was next, in 292nd place with a chiptime of 68:22, to complete a substantial number of runners who finished under 70 minutes for the distance. Alan Kavanagh also recorded a PB when he ran 72:36 to take 295th spot, followed by Elad Solomon (591st in 82:46). Members may be interested to hear that ex-Crusader Catherine Thornton, who trains with us periodically, took 5th place in the women’s race (79th overall) in a creditable 61:27 and earning the masters women national gold medal. Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, the BHAA held the DCC 5k road race, conducted on the path leading up to the nature reserve in Irishtown, with a small loop to the side of Seán Moore Park (a course similar to the Poolbeg Parkrun). Carmel Cooney won the women’s race in a time of 19:55 and placed 19th overall in a field of 93. The contingent of at least 8 Crusaders was led home by Cathal O’Hara who placed 10th in 18:11, to be followed by Karl Walsh (13th in 18:38) and Carmel. Tony Hackett was the next Crusader over the line (32nd in 21:45) with a rare win ahead of Robbie Moore who placed 35th in 21:54. Olwyn Dunne also ran, placing 47th overall, 6th female finisher and 1st in her F55 age category in a time of 23:20. Olwyn was followed by Kevin Kenny who ran 25:01 for 62nd spot. Members may be interested to learn that Sean Murphy, who trains with us from time to time, placed 18th in 19:54. On the same evening, the Cork BHAA held its Cork Gas Networks 5k. In a race with a significant field of 641, native rebel Tim Donnell placed 120th in 19:05 on a really flat looped course with a slight out-and-back element within the city along the river Lee. Members may be interested to hear that ex-Crusader, now with Leevale, Shane Collins, placed 3rd in 15:14. The previous night, Ross Neill took part in the Portaferry 10-mile race in Strangford, Northern Ireland, where he took 14th place in a great time of 59:17, quite possibly a PB. The field there measured 234 and the looped course took place on largely flat terrain with a bit of a climb towards the end. On Friday, we had runners in one of two races on offer in Donadea. In a field of 113 in the 10k, Gill Earley won the women’s race by placing 11th overall in a time of 42:02, whilst Vinnie McGuinness placed 3rd overall in a super time of 34:14. Congrats to them. Back to Sunday, and we had two runners in the Indaver Duleek 10k in Co. Meath. Again, we recorded some success, with Nina Holmes placing 2nd in the women’s race and 39th overall in a 175-strong field in a time of 43:11. Nina was followed by Emer Kenny, in training for the Munich marathon in October, in 59th and 6th spots in a time of 46:25. There was also another 10k over in Co. Mayo, the Ronan Clarke Memorial 10k in Killala, in which Crusaders featured. The annual race, organised by Killala GAA, is held in memory of Enda Clarke’s brother who passed away from cancer in 2014. We had at least 3 Crusaders in the event, Ciara Regan, who won the women’s race, along with Máirín Shine and Enda himself. Results have now been published, with Ciara running a guntime of 42:11 in the 53-strong event, placing 13th overall, with Enda taking 27th spot in 47:55 and Máirín finishing in 48th and 12th in 61:34. Further afield, Mike Stewart ran in a 10-mile race on Saturday morning conducted around the outside ring of the streets of Lucca in Italy. Mike’s time was 1:31. There was one IMRA race in the Wicklow mountains last week. The Coillte Crone Caper 10.5k was run on Wednesday evening, involving an anti-clockwise looped race with a 572m climb from Powerscourt waterfall up to Maulin and back via Crone Wood. It was an event of moderate difficulty in the Leinster League. In the 159-strong field Warren Swords took 8th place overall, 2nd M40, in 58:14, and he was followed by Raghnall O’Donoghue (33rd in 67:44) and by Gavan Doherty (101st in 84:55). With all the races on offer around the country, along with the holiday season, there seems to have been a slightly reduced participation in parkruns this weekend. Stephen Hurley finished ahead of the field of 134 in Poolbeg in a time of 19:11 and he was followed by Daniel Sheridan (15th in 22:05), Gerard Moore (24th in 23:01), Cría Dowling (30th and 4th in 23:53), Kenan Furlong (37th in 24:27) at the end of a long run, Russell Murphy (39th in 24:27), Kevin Kenny (60th in 25:50), Cliodhna O’Reilly (68th and 15th in 26:14), young Mía Zoladz (80th and 21st in 28:11) and Cynthia Perucca (117th and 41st in 35:34). Sarah Lyons, on a return trip to Aylesbury, placed 21st and 1st in the 187-strong field there. Sarah’s time was 22:11. Elsewhere, Ross Neill capped a good week with a 2nd place finish in the Ormeau Parkrun in Belfast, where he ran 17:40 in a field of 440. Even further afield, Maureen McGinley ran once again in Farfalle in Italy, where, in a field of 32, she ran 30:18 for 17th and 4th. Emer Kenny joined Eoghan Corrigan in Father Collins Park, where Eoghan placed 10th in 21:49 and Emer placed 35th and 5th in 26:26, in a field of 88. John Rooney ran in Sligo along with 101 other participants, where he took 25th spot in 24:34, whilst John Lohan ran with 47 other runners in Claremorris, where he placed 14th in 21:31. Paul F. Kelly joined 132 participants in Poppintree, crossing the line in 75th place in 28:31, whilst Lisa and Máirín Shine joined 29 other runners in Castlerea, placing respectively 19th and 10th and 20th and 11th in 31:38 and 31:41. Tara Murphy was our lone runner in Killarney House, where, in a field of 113, she placed 48th and 14th in 25:13, whilst Mairead Cashman ran in Fairview. In a field of 133, Mairead placed 94th and 30th in 32:54. Ciarán Smyth ran in Queen’s Belfast where, in a field of 148, he placed 17th in 21:45, whilst, in Malahide, Darina Scully ran with 231 other participants, placing 176th and 63rd in 30:43. Irish Runner 10- miler (National Championships) (1430) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Travers 1 00:49:57 39 Meghan Ryan 1 00:58:02 Crusaders AC runners 34 Ciaran Diviney 00:57:22 38 Ciarain Kelly 00:58:00 109 Michael O’Conor 01:03:20 130 Charles-Edouard Cattier 01:03:04 140 Michael Judge 01:05:11 186 Rory Goldsmith 01:07:37 274 Margaret Foley 01:11:38 (PB) (43) 292 Eoin Leahy 01:08:22 295 Alan Kavanagh 01:12:36 (PB) 591 Elad Solomon 01:22:46 835 Paula Bradshaw 01:27:33 (206) 842 Emily Glen 01:27:48 (210) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/irish_runner_10m_challenge_2023/4802/results Indaver Duleek 10k (175) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 00:32:18 34 Barbara Murray 1 00:42:49 Crusaders AC runners 39 Nina Holmes 00:42:11 (2) 59 Emer Kenny 00:46:25 (6) Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/indaver_duleek_10k/4840/results Portaferry 10-mile race (234) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Dale Murray 1 00:54:56 34 Alice Brear Clarkson 1 01:03:57 Crusaders AC runner 14 Ross Neill 00:59:17 Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results BHAA DCC 5k road race (93) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Burke 1 00:15:45 19 Carmel Cooney 1 00:19:55 Crusaders AC runners 10 Cathal O’Hara 00:18:11 13 Karl Walsh 00:18:38 16 Cormac Fenton 00:19:08 19 Carmel Cooney 00:19:55 (1) 32 Anthony Hackett 00:21:45 35 Robbie Moore 00:21:54 47 Olwyn Dunne 00:23:20 (6) 62 Kevin Kenny 00:25:01 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Race%20Master%202023%20DCC%205k%20road%20race.pdf Cork BHAA Cork Gas Networks 5k (641) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Shanahan 1 00:14:36 25 Lizzie Lee 1 00:16:41 Crusaders AC runner 120 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:05 Full results here: https://www.corkbhaa.com/2023/07/20/gni-5k-results-2023/ Donadea 10k (113) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Kevin Donagher 1 00:33:58 11 Gillian Earley 1 00:42:02 Crusaders AC runners 3 Vinnie McGuinness 00:34:14 11 Gillian Earley 00:42:02 (1) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/donadea-10k-5k-2023/#2_9D70EA Killala (Ronan Clarke Memorial) 10k (53 ) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Darren Flanagan 1 00:36:26 13 Ciara Regan 1 00:42:11 Crusaders AC runners 13 Ciara Regan 00:42:11 (1) 27 Enda Clarke 00:47:55 48 Máirín Shine 01:03:34 (12) Full results here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aWXRH0ApjklcS0dyCaq57TuwltMVSfXt/view?pli=1 IMRA Coillte Crone Caper 10.5k (159) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Enda Cloake 1 00:51:44 27 Emily Ryan 1 01:05:04 Crusaders AC runners 8 Warren Swords 00:58:14 33 Raghnall O’Donoghue 01:07:44 101 Gavan Doherty 01:24:55 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2313/ Malahide Parkrun (232) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Evan Reid 1 00:15:47 6 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:37 Crusaders AC runner 176 Darina Scully 00:30:43 (63) Ormeau Parkrun (440) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Molloy 1 00:17:22 17 Shileen O’Kane 1 00:20:05 Crusaders AC runner 2 Ross Neill 00:17:40 Queen’s Belfast Parkrun (148) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Squires 1 00:18:12 16 Ann Terek 1 00:21:41 Crusaders AC runner 17 Ciarán Smyth 00:21:45 Poppintree Parkrun (133) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Anthony Brady 1 00:17:20 12 Hazel Kenny 1 00:20:59 Crusaders AC runner 75 Paul F. Kelly 00:28:31 Sligo Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Kinsella 1 00:16:42 14 Aisling Burke 1 00:22:09 Crusaders AC runner 25 John Rooney 00:24:34 Father Collins Parkrun (88) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jack Quinn 1 00:18:21 12 Andreea Bortas 1 00:22:06 Crusaders AC runners 10 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:49 35 Emer Kenny 00:26:26 (5) Claremorris Parkrun (48) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Kearney 1 00:18:02 6 Ellen Trench 1 00:20:03 Crusaders AC runner 14 John Lohan 00:21:31 Poolbeg Parkrun (134) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:19:11 16 Bláithín Sheil 1 00:22:05 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:19:11 15 Daniel Sheridan 00:22:05 24 Gerard Moore 00:23:01 30 Cría Dowling 00:23:53 (4) 37 Kenan Furlong 00:24:19 39 Russell Murphy 00:24:27 60 Kevin Kenny 00:25:50 68 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:26:14 (15) 80 Mía Zoladz 00:28:11 (21) 117 Cynthia Perucca 00:35:34 (41) Castlerea Parkrun (31) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary Elbert 1 00:18:45 4 Maeve Dervin 1 00:20:46 Crusaders AC runners 19 Lisa Shine 00:31:38 (10) 20 Máirín Shine 00:31:41 (11) Killarney House Parkrun (113) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Darragh O’Leary 1 00:15:49 5 Niamh O’Sullivan 1 00:19:45 Crusaders AC runner 48 Tara Murphy 00:25:13 (14) Fairview Parkrun (133) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rory Hearne 1 00:19:25 5 Siobhan O’Toole 1 00:20:51 Crusaders AC runner 94 Mairead Cashman 00:32:54 (30) 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) |