Return of an old Friend

24/9/2018

Mike , John, Mary and Lorraine Fitzsimons

Anxious to avoid the problems that occurred last year in Donabate with the staging of the Dublin Marathon Race Series half marathon, the organisers this year brought the race back to its original venue and spiritual home in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning with no alterations from its previous course. It’s a hilly, challenging event, but still much loved by its participants as so many of us train on those hills anyway.

On a day that was cloudy and cool, but not too windy (which seems to have been the case so far for many of our races this year) and where any rain held off, in other words great racing conditions, we had at least 50 athletes in the race, if not more with some of those who forgot to include their club details in their entries or took someone else’s number. Many of those racing were using the event as preparation and a confidence booster for next month’s Dublin Marathon (for which we have at least 60 runners entered, likely more) as well as other upcoming marathons outside Ireland (Budapest, Chicago, Amsterdam and New York).

The field was substantial, with more than 6,700 finishers and we had some outstanding performances, more than half our number breaking 1:40. In training for Budapest in a week or so’s time, Kieran Little ran a super race leading our contingent home in 10th place in a time of 1:14:25. Next came Albin Ingmarsson, preparing for his second marathon, in 13th place just 19 seconds back in 1:14:44. Rob Cross won his age category in 1:16:07 for 15th place, followed by another marathoner, Frank Halligan, who placed in the top 30 (28th in 1:17:27). The next few athletes are also in marathon preparation and they included Stephen O’Kennedy (33rd in 1:17:49), Paul Dempsey (50th in 1:18:52), with yet another PB, Frank Hague (51st in a PB time of 1:18:52), Seamus MacFloinn (81st in 1;20:21), Derek Lawlor (90th in 1:20:39), Tim Francony (116th in 1:21:56), Jonathan Claridge (134th in 1:22:45), Philip Hamilton (228th in 1:26:08), Turlough Bolger (262nd in 1:26:46), Eugene McDonough (286th in 1:27:10), Thomas Clarke (290th in 1:27:02) and Karl Walsh (294th in 1:26:52). Like possibly Zlatko Kulic and Michael Fitzsimons, Eddie Nugent was one of the few not running Dublin, but he was one of those to record a PB in the race (398th in 1:28:55), whilst Zlatko placed 215th in 1:25:46 and Michael came home in 450th in 1:29:38. Another marathoner, Gavan Doherty, was also able to creep under the 1:30 wire, placing 466th in 1:29:10, following Patrick Needham (416th in 1:29:28) on gun time (but ahead of both Patrick and Michael on chiptime), meaning that more than 20 of our runners broke 1:30. Our other men to come home inside 1:40 were Luke Haran (633rd in a PB time of 1:33:04), Brian Scanlan (676th in 1:34:10), Gerald Hoare (902nd in 1:36:58), Gian Piero Allerta (1,003rd in 1:38:37), Ger Whyte (1,020th in 1:38:45) and Brian Grehan (1,043rd in 1:38:22), making a return to competitive running after several years away. Diarmuid Fahey also broke 1:40 (1,731st in 1:34:17) but clearly started out towards the back of the field. Others to run on Saturday included Phelim Murray (1,391st in 1:42:44), Will Stafford (1,410th in 1:41:55), Micheal Killeen (1,618th in 1:45:42), Russell Murphy (2,197th in 1:47:21), Colin Maguire (3,109th in 1:47:51), Joe O’Reilly (4,282nd in 1:59:30), Ian Hennessy (5,236th in 2:09:04), Ertugral Karademir (5,702nd in 2:16:50) and Paul Kelly (6,361st in 2:38:48).

In the women’s race, in which we fielded at least 12 competitors, Dee Ni Chearbhaill placed 5th in her age category by finishing in a great time of 1:34:51 (730th overall, 38th woman home). Dee was followed by Niamh Aspell (940th overall, 65th woman, in 1:37:15), Aoife Clarke (1,108th overall, 89th woman, in 1:38:40) and Kate Murray (2,517th overall, 434th woman, in 1:53:44), all of whom are running in Dublin next month. Not on the list below, but which may be of interest to members, is that of Lydia Bigley from Dublin Front Runners who trains with the club and who placed 1,967th overall, 271st woman, in 1:49:45. We also had at least two pacers in the event, Olwyn Dunne and Fiona Shine, both of whom got their charges to the finish in the prescribed times. Several of our runners used the race as part of their long runs. Others to run included Mary Dolan (2,805th overall, 526th woman, in 1:51:45), Carina Davidson (3,549th overall, 841st woman, in 1:50:28), Niamh Quinn (3,572nd overall, 856th woman, in 1:59:50), Maria Esteban (3,583rd overall,in 1:59:33), Jean Devlin (4,415th overall, 1,246th woman, in 2:07:07), Alyssa Kim (4,665th overall, 1,380th woman, in 2:10:16), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (5,551st overall, 1,930th woman, in 2:24:02), Lucy Collender (5,783rd overall, 2,078th woman, in 2:19:21) and Lorraine Fitzsimons (6,176th overall, 2,325th woman, in 2:29:48).

Well done to all! Apparently, the support from the club was, as usual, excellent.

It was a weekend of half marathons and we had a runner in the Louisburgh Clew Bay Half marathon in Co. Mayo also on Saturday. Jemma Lyons, who is also preparing for the Dublin marathon placed 3rd in the women's race (22nd overall) in an excellent time of 1:36:57. There were 188 finishers in the race.

On Sunday there was a strong quality field for the Charleville Half marathon down in Co. Cork, held under blue skies and near perfect running conditions. John Travers topped the field of 1,276 finishers, arriving home about 20 secs ahead of Mick Clohisey in 1:04:23. In a super-fast race for many runners, Lizzie Lee headed the women’s field, placing 35th overall in 1:15;38 and well ahead of Siobhan O’Doherty in 2nd place. We had two runners in the race. Rob Browne recorded a 3.5 minute improvement, placing 118th in 1:23:23, a super time for him and a great confidence booster for Dublin, whilst Aoife Quinn also completed the course in a personal best time of 1:41:07 (533rd overall, 62nd female finisher).

There may have been other events over the weekend in which Crusaders participated but for the time being no results have been found. If anyone wants to bring such a race to the membership’s attention please let us know and the report can be updated.

The Saturday parkruns were also well-attended by club members. Podium places went to women’s club captain, Lisa Shine, who placed 7th overall, 1st woman finisher, in 23:33 in Waterstown. Katie McElroy also replicated the feat in Castletown in a time of 21:57 (15th overall), whilst Sarah Lyons placed 5th overall, 2nd female, in River Valley in a time of 22:22.After his exploits in Berlin, Joe Walsh took 2nd place in Brickfields (19:22), whilst Andre Kinneen took 3rd in Porterstown (19:27), followed by Diarmuid Byrne (6th in 21:05) and the ever-improving Maria Pertl (27th overall, 6th woman, in 25:31). In Father Collins another Crusader, Fiona Bane, came home in 3rd (13th overall) in 23:30 whilst Derek Ryan also took a podium position in Poolbeg (3rd in 18:27). Derek was followed by Cliodhna O’Reilly (53rd overall, 9th female, in 25:18), Sharon Woods (54th overall, 10th female, in the same time), Donna Barry (67th overall, 18th woman, in 26:48) and Ciara McElligott (80th overall, 25th woman, in 29:38). Tim O’Donnell was 17th in 19:56 in St. Anne’s, whilst Mairead Cashman finished 66th overall, 21st woman, in 29:41 in Kilkenny. Emma O’Mahony ran 27:07 to place 59th overall, 12th woman, in Cabinteely, whilst Killian Barry ran 19;48 to place 8th in Marlay. Still at home, Aoife Quinn ran 30:29 (197th overall, 56th woman) and Darina Scully ran 31:58 (221st overall, 71st woman) in Malahide. Further afield Donal Foley placed 88th in the 381-strong field in Highbury Fields in North London, his time being 22:40, whilst Aidan Hudner ran 22:12 to place 62nd in the field of 365 in Victoria park in Glasgow. Finally, in Mudgeeraba, somewhere in Australia (!), Kris Ryan took 2nd place (10th overall) among 138 runners in a time of 22:09.

Next up next weekend is the Rathfarnham 5k in which we will have at least 30 participants.

Dublin Race Series Half marathon (6707)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Flynn 1 01:06:21
164 Emilia Dan 1 01:24:06
Crusaders AC runners
10 Kieran Little 01:14:25
13 Albin Ingmarsson 01:14:44
15 Rob Cross 01:16:07
28 Frank Halligan 01:17:27
33 Stephen O’Kennedy 01:17:49
50 Paul Dempsey 01:18:52 (PB)
51 Frank Hague 01:18:52 (PB)
81 Seamus MacFloinn 01:20:21
90 Derek Lawlor 01:20:39
116 Tim Francony 01:21:56
134 Jonathan Claridge 01:22:45
215 Zlatko Kulic 01:25:46
228 Philip Hamilton 01:26:08
262 Turlough Bolger 01:26:46
286 Eugene McDonough 01:27:10
290 Thomas Clarke 01:27:02
294 Karl Walsh 01:26:52
398 Eddie Nugent 01:28:55 (PB)
416 Patrick Needham 01:29:28
450 Michael Fitzsimons 01:29:38
466 Gavan Doherty 01:29:10
633 Luke Haran 01:33:04 (PB)
676 Brian Scanlan 01:34:10
730 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:34:51 (38)
902 Gerald Hoare 01:36:58
940 Niamh Aspell 01:37:15 (65)
1003 Gian Piero Allerta 01:38:37
1020 Ger Whyte 01:38:45
1043 Brian Grehan 01:38:22
1108 Aoife Clarke 01:38:40 (89)
1391 Phelim Murray 01:42:44
1410 Will Stafford 01:41:55
1618 Micheal Killeen 01:45:42
1731 Diarmuid Fahey 01:34:17
2197 Russell Murphy 01:47:21
2517 Kate Murray 01:53:44 (434)
2805 Mary Dolan 01:51:45 (526)
3109 Colin Maguire 01:47:51
3549 Carina Davidson 01:50:28 (841)
3572 Niamh Quinn 01:59:50 (856)
3583 Maria Esteban 01:59:33
4282 Joe O’Reilly 01:59:30
4415 Jean Devlin 02:07:07 (1246)
4665 Alyssa Kim 02:10:16 (1380)
5236 Ian Hennessy 02:09:04
5551 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 02:24:02 (1930)
5702 Ertugral Karademir 02:16:50
5783 Lucy Collender 02:19:21 (2078)
6176 Lorraine Fitzsimons 02:29:48 (2325)
6361 Paul Kelly 02:38:48
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/event-results
Charleville Half Marathon (1276)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Travers 1 01:04:23
35 Lizzie Lee 1 01:15:38
Crusaders AC runners
118 Robert Browne 01:23:23 (PB)
533 Aoife Quinn 01:41:07 (PB) (62)
Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/m3/event?c=74&r=420&e=1
Louisburgh Clew Bay Half Marathon (188)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Canty 1 01:11:57
7 Charlotte Kearney 1 01:30:02
Crusaders AC runner
22 Jemma Lyons 01:36:57 (3)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/louisburgh-clew-bay-half-marathon-and-10k/#2_C89622
Marlay Parkrun #273 (384)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mark Conway 1 00:16:15
9 Ruth Kelly 00:19:55
Crusaders AC runner
8 Killian Barry 00:19:48
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=273
Malahide Parkrun #306 (270)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Claudio Rivelli 1 00:18:03
2 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:20
Crusaders AC runners
197 Aoife Quinn 00:30:29 (56)
221 Darina Scully 00:31:58 (71)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/malahide/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=306
Poolbeg Parkrun #56 (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:38
22 Chelsea de Villiers 1 00:21:09
Crusaders AC runners
3 Derek Ryan 00:18:27
53 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:18 (9)
54 Sharon Woods 00:25:18 (10)
67 Donna Barry 00:26:48 (18)
80 Ciara McElligott 00:29:38 (25)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=56
St. Annes Parkrun #250 (339)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:17:34
24 Siobhan McArdle 1 00:20:17
Crusaders AC runner
17 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:56
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=250
Kilkenny Parkrun #200 (122)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:18:41
6 Pauline Laplane 00:19:53
Crusaders AC runner
66 Mairead Cashman 00:29:41
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/kilkenny/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=202
Cabinteely Parkrun #181 (120)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mark Sheridan 1 00:19:49
3 Malika Hammani 1 00:21:44
Crusaders AC runner
59 Emma O’Mahony 00:27:07 (12)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=181
Waterstown Parkrun #221 (66)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Baigel 1 00:20:23
7 Lisa Shine 1 00:23:33
Crusaders AC runner
7 Lisa Shine 00:23:33 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/waterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=221
Father Collins Parkrun #157 (58)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alan Foley 1 00:19:17
9 Sorcha Prendiville 1 00:22:00
Crusaders AC runner
13 Fiona Bane 00:23:30 (3)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=157
Castletown Parkrun #143 (165)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Robinson 1 00:18:26
15 Katie McElroy 1 00:21:57
Crusaders AC runner
15 Katie McElroy 00:21:57 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/castletown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=143
River Valley Parkrun #112 (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Daniel Cottell 1 00:20:12
3 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:21:15
Crusaders AC runner
5 Sarah Lyons 00:22:22 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/rivervalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=112
Porterstown Parkrun #153 (77)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Dunne 1 00:17:05
12 Iveta Adamova 1 00:21:36
Crusaders AC runners
3 Andrew Kinneen 00:19:27
6 Diarmuid Byrne 00:21:05
27 Maria Pertl 00:25:31 (6)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=153
Brickfields Parkrun #36 (46)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Matthieu Proffit 1 00:18:18
21 Anne O’Neill 1 00:29:32
Crusaders AC runner
2 Joe Walsh 00:19:22
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/brickfields/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=36