Qualifying for the 5-Nations XC in Abbotstown and results from abroad generally

16/10/2023

Start line in the Autumn Open Cross-Country men's race

There were super conditions for the running of the Autumn Open XC series of races in Abbotstown on Sunday afternoon. Although the sun was shining, the temperature was crisp enough and there was little wind to speak of. Also, with little rain in the past few days, the ground was not too churned up even though many events had been scheduled, including, for the first time, a club relay, which we might give consideration to in the coming years, given that the top two teams go on to represent Ireland in Europe.

We had three runners in the Men’s masters 8k on the purpose-built course. The race involved a substantial (200+) mix of masters, seniors and juniors, so, until late on, it was hard to see who was where in relation to his peer group. Eventually, the field thinned out and it was possible to check on masters positioning, as they all had to wear their age category number on their backs. Among the 101 masters athletes in the race, ranging from 35 to 64, with a time of 27:10 Brian O’Kelly led our small contingent home in 13th place overall, but, more importantly in 6th place as an M40 and in with a chance of making the 6-man team for Glasgow in November. The decision will rest on whether or not there are wildcards out there. On the other hand, there is no doubt about Paul Cowhie who placed 54th overall and 1st M55, despite being only a short time away from hitting 60. Paul’s time was 30:00. He was followed by Dee Lawlor who ran 31:44 for the 8k distance, placing 83rd and 19th in his competitive M45 age category.

Abroad, the weekend started off with news from some of our exiles which may be of interest to our members. The first result was that of Katie Eisenhauer who won the women’s race in the 11k event in the Lonely Mountain Ultra series of races in NSW in Australia. In so doing, Katie also set a new course record of 57:15 in the challenging hill race, placing 11th overall in the field of 251. Then, Maurice Kelter ran yet another marathon down under, finishing the Melbourne Marathon in the top 150 in a field of nearly 8000 finishers and in a super time of 2:47:12. Italo Giancaterina ran 68:40 in a half marathon in Telese Terme in Italy, whilst Cristian Vilchez Ceballos won a 10k on an out-and-back course along the seafront in Malaga with a time of 36:05. Cristian’s partner, Esther Requena Ferri, ran in the half marathon there, finishing in a time of 1:40:12.

Two of our British exiles were also competing in the UK at the weekend. Jon Lawrence finished the Manchester half marathon in a time of 1:39:44, whilst Thom Martini ran in the Cabbage Patch 10-miler in London, where he finished in a time of 76:43.

Several of our home-based runners took part in races abroad this weekend too. Ladies’ captain, Rebecca Fleming, celebrated her birthday with a last-minute decision to run in the Palma half marathon in Mallorca where she finished the coastal, mostly flat, race in a time of 1:44:32. Donatas Jocius took part in a 43k trail marathon in his native Lithuania where he placed 7th overall in a time of 3:25:49. We also had two runners in the half marathon in Amsterdam, with Eoghan Kerins finishing in a time of 1:32:30, whilst Mary Dolan crossed the finishing line in a time of 2:08:17. Another late result in is that of Pat Quill who completed another ultra over the weekend, running nearly 164km over a period of nearly 26 hours, in the UK, along the Ridgeway and Thames towpath near Reading.

There were not many road races taking place in Ireland this weekend, possibly because so many runners are tapering now for the Dublin marathon with its national championships. However, an interesting innovation took place in the Donadea Forest in Co. Kildare, where runners could practice pacing and fuelling by repeating as many of the 5k loops used in the 50k championships as they liked. Mags Foley ran 4 of the laps in a time of 97:50, whilst Kathryn Gibbons took on 3, in a time of 63:50.

Several of our clubmates headed outside the island for the weekend and found parkruns in which to run. Sarah Lyons ran with her father in Faelledparken in Copenhagen where she placed 89th and 29th female finisher in a field of 109 in 31:11. Michael Wycherley ran in a field of 301 in Bognor Regis, where he placed 3rd in a time of 18:17. Olwyn Dunne took advantage of another trip to Exeter to support Saracens and ran in the 409-strong Exmouth parkrun where she placed 88th and 11th in 23:42. Maureen McGinley also found herself in Amsterdam at the weekend, running in the parkrun in Amsterdamse Bos, where, in a field of 508, she placed 313th and 101st in 30:07, whilst Tom Conlon ran in the modest field of 12 in Lillsjon in Sweden, where he placed 2nd in 22:54. Finally, our exile in Glasgow, Aidan Hudner, ran once again in Pollok where he placed 50th in a field of 317, in a time of 24:06.

Back home, we had, as usual, at least two first finishers and several podium places. Luke Corcoran led home the field of 165 in Bushy Park where he recorded a time of 19:12. Ross Neill took 2nd place in the 195-strong field in Poolbeg where he was joined by several of our marathoners incorporating the parkrun into an otherwise long run. Ross’ time was 17:48. Hard on his heels came Kenan Furlong (3rd in 17:52) and then, further back, Anna Gallo led the remaining Crusader contingent. Anna placed 28th and 3rd in 21:33, with Ciara Regan just behind in 21:34 for 29th and 4th places. Paula Bradshaw was next (41st and 6th in 22:50) and she was followed by John Lohan (45th in 22:56), Paul Campbell (49th in 23:31), Mark Browne (54th in 24:06), Franky Keane (68th in 24:55), Julian Callan (72nd in 25:14), Jessica Norris (82nd and 17th in 25:41), Emily Glen (87th and 21st in 25:44), Cliodhna O’Reilly (92nd and 23rd in 25:52), Tara Murphy (94th and 25th in 26:03), Louise O’Riordan (158th and 65th in 32:03) and Cynthia Perucca (163rd and 69th in 33:32). Another marathoner-in-training, David Pepper, also ran in Poolbeg. However, his time was not recorded. Meanwhile, Saoirse McGrath was a first finisher in Marlay Park. She and Julie McGrath joined 426 other runners where Saoirse placed 8th overall and first female across the line in 18:59 and Julie placed 38th and 4th in 21:33.

Kevin Lambe placed 3rd in a time of 20:15 in Mullingar which enjoyed a field of 96, whilst Ailsa Berkeley ran in the 70-strong field in Glen River where she placed 21st and 3rd in 25:02. In Shanganagh, with its field of 199, Tanja Narancic placed 37th overall and 7th female finisher in 23:30 and she was followed by Dee Lawlor, running with his younger daughter, who placed 134th in 29:39 and Orlaith de Burca (147th and 48th in 30:29). Aoife Cowhie made a welcome return from injury by running in Malahide. Among a field of 341, Aoife placed 109th and 21st in 25:28, whilst, in nearby St. Anne’s Michael Maughan ran 21:47 for 50th spot in a field of 441. Eoghan Corrigan took 9th place in Porterstown in 21:41, whilst, in the field of 117, Kevin Flynn ran 40:40 for 103rd spot. Máirín Shine ran alongside 134 other participants in Cabinteely where she placed 70th and 20th in 29:44, whilst Mairead Cashman ran in Tramore Valley, Cork, where she placed 113th and 36th in 29:26. The field there measured 171. Lastly, Darina Scully ran in River Valley with its field of 103, placing 45th and 15th in 29:44, whilst Maria Pertl took on Poppintree once again where she took 124th and 39th spots in 33:56.

Malahide Parkrun (341)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:17:37
4 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:44
Crusader AC runner
109 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:28 (21)
Poppintree Parkrun (167)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Bobby Bedford 1 00:18:15
6 Rhianna Fynes 1 00:19:04
Crusaders AC runner
124 Maria Pertl 00:33:56 (39)
Tramore Valley Cork Parkrun (171)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Cotter 1 00:18:21
4 Niamh Cronin 1 00:19:42
Crusaders AC runner
113 Mairead Cashman 00:29:26 (36)
Bushy Parkrun (165)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:19:12
24 Nicola Aspinall 1 00:23:59
Crusaders AC runner
1 Luke Corcoran 00:19:12
Cabinteely Parkrun (134)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Dunne 1 00:18:18
18 Emma Gunn 1 00:23:32
Crusaders AC runner
70 Máirín Shine 00:29:44 (20)
Poolbeg Parkrun (195)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:45
11 Hayley McAteer 1 00:20:01
Crusaders AC runners
2 Ross Neill 00:17:48
3 Kenan Furlong 00:17:52
28 Anna Gallo 00:21:33 (3)
29 Ciara Regan 00:21:34 (4)
41 Paula Bradshaw 00:22:50 (6)
45 John Lohan 00:22:56
49 Paul Campbell 00:23:31
54 Mark Browne 00:24:06
68 Franky Keane 00:24:55
72 Julian Callan 00:25:14
82 Jessica Norris 00:25:41 (17)
87 Emily Glen 00:25:44 (21)
92 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:52 (23)
94 Tara Murphy 00:26:03 (25)
158 Louise O’Riordan 00:32:03 (65)
163 Cynthia Perucca 00:33:32 (69)
Mullingar Parkrun (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Susan Glennon 1 00:19:24
2 Tom Wallace 1 00:20:12
Crusaders AC runner
3 Kevin Lambe 00:20:15
Shanganagh Parkrun (199)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sonya McConnon 1 00:19:27
2 Rob Whelan 1 00:19:37
Crusaders AC runners
37 Tanja Narancic 00:23:30 (7)
134 Derek Lawlor 00:29:39
147 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:29 (48)
Porterstown Parkrun (117)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:00
4 Caroline McCarthy 1 00:20:03
Crusaders AC runners
9 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:41
103 Kevin Flynn 00:40:40
River Valley Parkrun (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian O’Reilly 1 00:19:21
7 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:13
Crusaders AC runner
45 Darina Scully 00:29:44 (15)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (441)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Karl Fitzmaurice 1 00:15:52
14 Helen Marshall 1 00:19:26
Crusaders AC runner
50 Michael Maughan 00:21:47
Glen River Parkrun (70)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Loic Garel 1 00:19:21
11 Maura Ginty 1 00:22:39
Crusaders AC runner
21 Ailsa Berkeley 00:25:02 (3)
Marlay Parkrun (427)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:53
8 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:18:59
Crusaders AC runners
8 Saoirse McGrath 00:18:59 (1)
38 Julie McGrath 00:21:33 (4)