Return of an old Favourite on a brand-new course

22/8/2022

Back row: Paula Bradshaw, Margaret Foley, Aoife Quigley, Emily Quinlan, Miriam Logan, Ciara Lynch, Phelim Murray, Cian Coughlan, Áine Crotty, Kieran Martin, Michael Kiely, John Mulvihill, Joe McDermott, Daniel Lowe, Kevin Kavanagh. Front row: Robbie Moore, Karl Walsh, David McEvoy, Brendan Glynn, Joe Dunne, Rebecca Fleming, Olwyn Dunne, James Cottle, Daragh O'Reilly

In contrast to last week, which was relatively quiet in racing terms, there was a lot happening this week. Indeed, Saturday saw the return of the iconic Frank Duffy 10-miler, incorporating the County Dublin championships, missing from the calendar these past two years, on a brand-new course and an early start in the Phoenix Park. It wasn’t the only 10-miler on offer on the day. There was also the City of Cork race in the late afternoon.

We start with the Frank Duffy, one of the races in the Dublin Marathon Race Series. Jim Aughney and his crew deserve the highest of praise for staging the race under significant restrictions. With all the changes made regarding traffic and cycle lanes, the organisers had to come up with a new route and, also, in order to disrupt traffic and visitors as little as possible, races in the park have to stay mainly to the west and northwest and start at 9 am. Despite all this, the race was still able to attract a reasonable field in excess of 2,500, faced with the challenge of several hills and long uphill drags. The club fielded a significant contingent, likely in excess of 40 runners, and we are likely to have come home with a few medals for our efforts.

The new route no longer takes in the North Road behind the polo grounds and Visitors Centre and takes some of the roads from the original course in the opposite direction. It starts as usual on Chesterfield facing northwards, with a turn to the left at the Castleknock roundabout, proceeding along the Ordnance Survey Road and down the Furry Glen, encountering the first major climb to get up back onto the Upper Glen Road. It’s downhill from there to the Chapelizod Gate and runners took advantage of this breather, before ascending up onto the Military Road, along the Snake and dropping down to the Islandbridge Gate, before climbing once again up the last significant hill in the race to pass the Wellesley Monument on our right and then turning northwards once again and into the strong wind up the long drag of Chesterfield on the footpath and not on the road. Just before the Phoenix roundabout, we took a left on the diagonal path towards the top of the Khyber Pass and then onto the Acres Road heading west, turning left once again onto the bike path for one complete loop of the Fifteen Acres (a loop familiar to many Crusaders from our Saturday training) in a clockwise fashion, facing the strong westerly headwind as we came back towards the Acres Road and then past the Papal Cross to traverse the diagonal again in the opposite direction (seeing all the runners following about 2k behind us filing onto the Fifteen Acres) and back onto Chesterfield with a hard turn to the left, heading all the way north up to the Castleknock Gate. From the Castleknock Roundabout to the gate we saw runners on the other side of the road making their return from the gate back to the roundabout, turning right back onto the Ordnance Survey Road once again. At the junction with the Furze Road, runners had to take a hard left turn on to the long finishing straight, heading for home. It is a tough and challenging course, and on the day we experienced a stiff breeze, so it’s heartening that several of our clubmates secured PB times, although it has to be admitted that some were running a 10 mile race for the first time. Most thoroughly enjoyed the well-organised event, despite there being less support on the course than in previous years, probably because of the earlier start and the difficulties of parking nowadays in the park. It was also a great confidence booster for those in training for upcoming marathons.

The results are presented below, but we should identify some of the performances, many of which were put in by those currently in marathon training. Daragh O’Reilly led us home in 11th place and a PB time of 56:37, and likely rewarded with Dublin individual M35 silver. Daragh was followed home by John Mulvihill in 13th place in a time of 56:55, likely for the M35 bronze. Paul Flynn followed in 45th spot in a time of 60:03 and he was followed by Joe McDermott (60th in 60:59) who likely joined Daragh and John for a possible masters team silver medal. Other top 100 places were recorded by Kieran Martin (64th in 61:11) and Adam Flanagan (83rd in 62:21). For the men, top 200 places were achieved by Cian Coughlan with a PB time of 63:03 (104th), Michael Judge (128th in 64:06), Kevin Kavanagh (148th in 65:04), along with Phelim Murray (169th in 65:43), two other runners with PBs (and Phelim enjoyed yet again a strong second half). Kevin and Phelim were separated by our first female athlete home, Maura Mahoney, who also achieved a PB with her run of 65:30 to place 162nd overall and 12th female finisher. It was also great to see Bob Cahill back in action in his first race since the start of the pandemic. Bob ran strongly to place 179th in 66:07. The next runner home was Aoife Quigley with a super time of 66:29 for 198th place overall and 14th female runner across the line. Aoife has also likely picked up F35 individual bronze. She and James Cottle, the next runner to finish, traded places three times throughout the race, with James finally coming home in 214th place in a time of 67:09 and winning his M65 age category, both overall and in the Dublin Championships.

Further down the field, PB results were achieved by several runners. Áine Crotty placed 292nd overall and 19th female finisher in a 69:05, followed by Ciara Lynch (353rd and 25th in 70:30), Miriam Logan (359th and 27th in 70:27), Emily Quinlan (452nd and 42nd in 73:17), Margaret Foley (659th and 86th in 78:15), Paula Bradshaw (763rd and 111th in 78:34) and Paul E. Kelly (1979th in 97:56), all achieved PB times. Other notable runs came from ladies’ captain Rebecca Fleming (439th and 39th in 72:56) and Olwyn Dunne (548th and 67th in 75:46) who also placed 4th in her F55 age category.

On the same day, Ger Forde recorded a PB result in the John Buckley Sports Cork City 10 miler, another race in the Kia Race Series. He joined 1053 other finishers on an undulating course (particularly hilly in the second half) in breezy conditions, crossing the line in a time of 57:08 for 23rd place.

The week’s road racing for members started on Thursday with the Lusk AC-organised Man O’ War Round 7k. The race involved a loop starting downhill but finishing uphill from and to the famous pub. We had one athlete in the event. In a field of 106, Conor Greenan placed 4th in 26:12.

On the trails and in the mountains this week there are two races to mention, both of which included Crusaders who podiumed in their races. The first took place on a short loop around Paddock Hill near Laragh on moderate terrain over 8k with a climb of 250m. The race was in aid of the Mountain Rescue Team in Wicklow and attracted a field of 90. Warren Swords brought the field home in a time of 32:28. Further back came Gavan Doherty in a time of 73:01 for 88th place. Then, on Saturday, we had two runners in the Run the Ridge 20k, a trail run over Derrybawn Ridge and through Derrybawn Woods. Stephen Hurley abandoned the Poolbeg parkrun this week to run in the event where he placed 2nd in a time of 1:36:42 and he was followed by Áine Kenny, who was delighted to have made the long trip from Galway to Wicklow, placing 17th overall in the 83-strong field and first woman across the line.

Further afield, members may be interested to hear that our exile in Canada, Ian Kinsella, took part in a multi-distance 5-day trail-running event, winning on accumulated time. The distances and climbs were:31k and 2,200m, 29k and 1,000m, 34k and 1,200m, 25k and 1,300m, and, finally, 25k and 1,400m. Ian’s cumulative time was 16:21:50, beating his closest rival by just over half an hour, with third place being 2 hours behind the winning time.

We also had a couple of members take part in a triathlon in Co. Wexford over the weekend. Peter O’Toole and Toby Benham took on the Tri Hook event.

Our clubmates enjoyed a decent share of podium places in parkruns on Saturday morning. Fiona Shine and her daughter headed to Ambleside in Vancouver, British Columbia, where, in a field of 55, Fiona placed 8th and 1st female finisher in 21:35, followed by Mia (42nd and 8th in 33:44). Maurice Kelter took on a parkrun in Co. Leitrim. In Ballinamore, he led the field of 43 home in 19:21. Rachael Yorke ran in her native Longford where, alongside 31 other participants she placed 2nd overall and first woman finisher in a time of 21:58. A podium place went to Kathryn Sweeney in Omagh, where she placed 5th and 2nd in a time of 20:14 and in a field of 58. Maureen McGinley ran in a field of 25 in Farfalle in Italy where she placed 13th and 2nd in 28:48, whilst Darina Scully ran once again in Gorey, taking 15th and 2nd spots in 24:29. The field measured 80 runners. Kris Ryan returned to parkrunning in her native Australia, where, in Paradise Point with its field of 166, Kris ran 24:16, placing 42nd and 3rd. Tim Donnell ran in Clonakilty with its field of 57 runners. Tim placed 4th in 19:59.

Mairead Cashman ran in Glen River where, in a field of 50, she placed 34th and 6th in a time of 30:29, whilst John Lohan took on the Roya Canal parkrun in Kilcock where, alongside 87 other runners, he placed 11th in 21:14. Andy Deuser joined 79 other participants in Fairview where he placed 8th in 23:03, whilst Lisa Shine ran in the field of 25 in Castlehaven, taking 17th and 9th places in 38:31. Phil Sykes and Fiona Lane ran in Marlay Park, where Phil placed 73rd in 24:10 and Fiona placed 166th and 39th in 27:52. The field measured 293. Paul and Aoife Kelly joined 277 other runners in St. Anne’s with Paul taking 56th spot in 24:04, followed by Aoife (159th and 41st in 29:22). Luke Haran ran with 88 other participants in Westport where he crossed the finish line in 26th place in a time of 22:02, whilst Jill Nason came back to Shanganagh with its field of 153 runners, finishing in 76th and 10th in 26:49. Our largest presence was as usual in Poolbeg. Daniel Sheridan was our first runner across the line, placing 6th in 20:13, followed by Russell Murphy (33rd in 23:31), Tara Murphy (49th and 5th in 24:46), Fin Goulding (59th in 25:40), Una McCullagh (78th and 14th in 27:55), Neil Brown (87th in 29:19) and Don Anderton tailwalking in the field of 130. Lastly, we had 3 club-mates in Cabinteely. In a field of 120, Barry O’Neill placed 24th in 24:20, followed by Emma O’Mahony (56th and 8th in 28:07) and Mairin Shine (80th and 20th in 30:57).

IMRA Mountain Rescue Benefit 8k (90)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Warren Swords 1 00:32:28
25 Maeve Maher-McWilliams 1 00:39:48
Crusaders AC runners
1 Warren Swords 00:32:28
88 Gavan Doherty 01:13:01
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2187
Frank Duffy 10-mile race (2559)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:51:14
38 Kate Purcell 1 00:59:31
Crusaders AC runners
11 Daragh O’Reilly 00:56:37 (PB)
13 John Mulvihill 00:56:55
45 Paul Flynn 01:00:03
60 Joe McDermott 01:00:59
64 Kieran Martin 01:01:11
83 Adam Flanagan 01:02:21
104 Cian Coughlan 01:03:03 (PB)
128 Michael Judge 01:04:06
148 Kevin Kavanagh 01:05:04 (PB)
162 Maura Mahoney 01:05:30 (PB) (12)
169 Phelim Murray 01:05:43 (PB)
179 Bob Cahill 01:06:07
198 Aoife Quigley 01:06:29 (14)
214 James Cottle 01:07:09
224 Daniel Lowe 01:07:11
261 David McEvoy 01:08:15
275 Karl Walsh 01:08:32
279 Michael Kiely 01:08:32
292 Áine Crotty 01:09:05 (PB) (19)
353 Ciara Lynch 01:10:30 (PB) (25)
359 Miriam Logan 01:10:27 (PB) (27)
439 Rebecca Fleming 01:12:56 (39)
452 Emily Quinlan 01:13:17 (PB) (42)
548 Olwyn Dunne 01:15:46 (67)
654 Brendan Glynn 01:18:30
659 Margaret Foley 01:18:15 (PB) (86)
661 Joe Dunne 01:18:15
763 Paula Bradshaw 01:18:34 (PB) (111)
775 Kevin Lambe 01:18:34
791 Robbie Moore 01:19:44
911 Gareth Phelan 01:20:09
956 Liz Nixon 01:21:49 (149)
1051 Sharon Woods 01:23:04 (179)
1206 Gian Piero Allerta 01:26:26
1245 Patrick Needham 01:26:46
1405 Martin Joyce 01:29:49
1480 Carina Davidson 01:30:10 (330)
1772 Dee Lawlor 01:35:12
1835 James Brogan 01:35:47
1979 Paul E. Kelly 01:37:56 (PB)
1999 Kevin Kenny 01:38:17
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/event-results/events
Man O’ War Round 7k (106)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
Killian Mooney 1 00:23:20
17 Aoife Parrella 1 00:29:09
Crusaders AC runner
4 Conor Greenan 00:26:12
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/man_o_war_round_7k/4539/results
John Buckley Sports Cork City 10-mile race (1054)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul O’Donnell 1 00:49:51
21 Shona Heaslip 1 00:57:02
Crusaders AC runner
23 Ger Forde 00:57:08 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-john-buckley-sports-cork-city-10-miler-2022/
Run the Ridge 20k trail race (83)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Richie Power 1 01:35:00
17 Áine Kenny 1 01:54:15
Crusaders AC runners
2 Stephen Hurley 01:36:42
17 Áine Kenny 01:54:15 (1)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/run_the_ridge_2022/4555/results
Ballinamore Greenway Parkrun (43)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Maurice Kelter 1 00:19:21
4 Sarah Mulvaney-Kelly 1 00:20:41
Crusaders AC runner
1 Maurice Kelter 00:19:21
Omagh Parkrun (58)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher Moren 1 00:17:25
3 Michelle Sweeney 1 00:19:36
Crusaders AC runner
5 Kathryn Sweeney 00:20:14 (2)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (279)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niamh Kearney 1 00:16:54
2 Chris Hamill 1 00:18:06
Crusaders AC runners
56 Paul E. Kelly 00:24:04
159 Aoife Kelly 00:29:22 (41)
Poolbeg Parkrun (130)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:18:41
32 Deirdre McGing 1 00:23:30
Crusaders AC runners
6 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:13
33 Russell Murphy 00:23:31
49 Tara Murphy 00:24:46 (5)
59 Fin Goulding 00:25:40
78 Una McCullagh 00:27:55 (14)
87 Neil Brown 00:29:19
130 Don Anderton 00:53:44
Glen River Parkrun (50)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Finbarr Kelleher 1 00:19:38
9 Margaret Twohig 1 00:23:22
Crusaders AC runner
34 Mairead Cashman 00:30:29 (6)
Castlehaven Parkrun (25)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Pat O’Connor 1 00:22:23
5 Emer Courtney 1 00:24:40
Crusaders AC runner
17 Lisa Shine 00:38:31 (9)
Cabinteely Parkrun (120)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Killian Mooney 1 00:18:26
32 Dee O’Mahony 1 00:25:30
Crusaders AC runners
24 Barry O’Neill 00:24:20
56 Emma O’Mahony 00:28:07 (8)
80 Mairin Shine 00:30:57 (20)
Clonakilty Parkrun (57)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Dinneen 1 00:18:17
6 Belinda Brennan 1 00:20:53
Crusaders AC runner
4 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:59
Marlay Parkrun (293)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aidan Murphy 1 00:17:47
27 Linda Byrne 1 00:20:55
Crusaders AC runners
73 Phil Sykes 00:24:10
166 Fiona Lane 00:27:52 (39)
Westport Parkrun (89)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Michels 1 00:17:54
4 Caroline McLoughlin 1 00:18:52
Crusaders AC runner
26 Luke Haran 00:22:02
Longford Parkrun (32)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom Birmingham 1 00:19:36
2 Rachael Yorke 1 00:21:58
Crusaders AC runner
2 Rachael Yorke 00:21:58 (1)
Shanganagh Parkrun (153)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Brown 1 00:17:28
12 Isabella Prina Mello 1 00:20:52
Crusaders AC runner
76 Jill Nason 00:26:49 (10)
Gorey Parkrun (80)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Maher 1 00:19:31
14 Isla Graham 1 00:24:24
Crusaders AC runner
15 Darina Scully 00:24:29 (2)
Royal Canal, Kilcock Parkrun (88)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciaran Kilduff 1 00:17:48
20 Therese Macken 1 00:23:33
Crusaders AC runner
11 John Lohan 00:21;14
Fairview Parkrun (80)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Adam Walker 1 00:18:33
3 Yvonne Sweeney 1 00:20:35
Crusaders AC runner
8 Andy Deuser 23:03