Rich pickings in the Dublin Masters XC Championships

10/1/2022

Back row: Catherine Thornton, Emer Kenny, Dee Ni Chearbhaill (with Saoirse), Kim Hickey, Niamh Corby, Sophia Morgan, Ilona McElroy, Grainne Regan, Gill Earley. Front row: Mairead Cashman, Joanne Carey, Lisa Shine, Olwyn Dunne and Sharon Woods

What a super start to the year for the club! We had 37 athletes competing on Sunday in the Dublin Masters Cross-Country Championships and managed to secure a team medal for each of the men’s and women’s O/35 teams as well as 5 individual age category medals. Also, Sunday marked the return of the National Indoor League in Abbotstown which witnessed some great individual and team performances for Crusaders.

The Dublin Masters competition has seen increasing fields over recent years, but none as substantial as this year’s which has returned after a hiatus of nearly two years (one year’s championship missing in 2020). The flat course in a relatively quiet corner of St. Anne’s Park in Raheny is well known to us. However, this year there were a couple of tweaks in the middle of the 1500m lap. Gone was the narrow path through the woods with the log we used to worry about getting our spikes stuck in. Instead, there was a left-hand curve just before the path followed by a tight right-hand bend which gave runners the option of either following the racing line through the mud (which nearly all of us would have done) or ruin our spikes on a bit of tarmac, taking a wider trajectory. Spikes were essential for large sections of the lap, but there was still the hard ground, unimpacted by any recent rain, under an avenue of trees, as we approached the right-hand turn for the home straight. The changes to the course seemed to have added a bit of distance so that the 3k race was closer to 2 miles and the 6k close to 4 miles. With a strong biting wind, although not hindering too much because of the protection afforded by the trees around the course, the event took place in extremely chilly conditions, making the 8 degrees temperature feel more like 4 degrees.

There were, as usual, two races, one for the women of 3k and one for all of the men of either 3k (for everyone over 65) or 6k, all recorded on a gun-to-chip basis, with mats at the 3k mark. There was the added potential complication in the men’s race of the O/65s staying in the race after the 3k finish if they were part of an O/50s team. Needless to say, it would have been hard to find anyone over 65 continuing after the hard-fought battles in their age categories. The women’s race had 202 competitors and the men’s, over a hundred more at 311, and it did seem the case that if the O/65s (of which there were 24) had run with the women (as is often the case nationally and internationally), the men’s field might have managed the congestion better and the slightly larger number would not have been detrimental to the women’s race. Something perhaps for the organisers to consider going forward if the fields continue to grow.

It did seem that the women’s race spread out faster than the men’s. About 200m after the relatively wide start the course narrows considerably and in the men’s race, if you were towards the back of the field it was almost impossible to overtake or maintain a fast pace for another 100m with lots of shoulders and elbows in evidence. Arguably, this had an impact on a few of those male runners running the 3k who were requested to start towards the back of the field.

So, the 2 lap women’s race was first off and it did not take Barbara Cleary of Donore long to impose herself on the field, even though Maria McCambridge and then Ciara Durkan were hard on her heels. Indeed, the field spread out quite quickly after about 400m and the top 10 or so places were pretty much determined from this point. Catherine Thornton settled in as the lead Crusader from early on and with a steady approach, following an aggressive start, maintained her position of 6th to the end, despite a strong attack from DSD’s Niamh Devlin at the end, crossing the line in a super time of 12:13, only 14 seconds off an overall podium place. Nevertheless, she was able to win a bronze medal in her age category and was first scorer for the bronze medal-winning women’s O/35 team. Behind Catherine came the ageless Niamh Corby who, in recording a superb 11th place overall, came home as second scorer and 2nd F45 in 12:45. The remaining two scorers were Ilona McElroy, who is working her way back to fitness despite a troublesome ankle, and Kim Hickey, who herself is returning from an injury that has kept her out for a while. Ilona and Kim worked their way through the field with Ilona placing 22nd in 13:24 and Kim just behind in 25th in 13:27. The team recorded 64 points just behind Sportsworld with 55 and Clonliffe with 61. There were 16 club teams in the competition, so this was a major achievement.

We had 15 Crusaders in the women’s race, including an O/50s team which ultimately placed 7th. Gill Earley was 5th for us across the line, demonstrating that she has lost none of her racing determination. Gill was 29th in 13:31, with ladies’ captain Rebecca Fleming fighting fiercely and taking a familiar friendly rival on the line for 30th place in 13:37. Next came Joanne Carey in 35th in 13:47 as we packed well in the middle of the bunch (some great spoiling going on) and Joanne was followed by Emer Kenny (53rd in 14:14), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (56th in 14:15), newcomer Sophia Morgan (enjoying a baptism of fire!) who placed 73rd in 14:33, Grainne Regan (76th in 14:35), Lisa Shine (99th in 14:54) and the three members of the ladies O/50 team: Sharon Woods (124th in 15:28), Olwyn Dunne (134th in 15:37) and Mairead Cashman (192nd in 18:13).

As mentioned, the huge men’s field led to some severe congestion in the early stages, so positioning at the start was important. As with the women’s race, the significant size of our team and its strong mid-pack finishing, was helpful to ensuring other clubs had high scores. We had a contingent of 22 men in the field, two of whom were contesting the O/65 category.

Unsurprisingly, our first man home was Michael Kiely, who, like Catherine in the women’s race, placed 6th overall and was awarded the bronze medal in the O/35 category, with a great time of 21:38 behind overall race winner Mick Clohisey (his second victory of the week). With an overall total of 69 points, the men’s O/35 team picked up the silver medal in the 18-strong team competition behind Raheny (36) and ahead of Sportsworld (73), the margin over Sportsworld being only 4 points, demonstrating how critical all our runners were. The other 3 scorers on the team were Daragh O’Reilly (18th in 22:24), Ciaran Diviney (20th in 22:32), who also picked up the bronze medal in the M45 category and Ger Forde (25th in 22:46).

The scorers were followed by stalwarts Vinnie McGuinness (34th in 23:07), Daniel Lowe (37th in 23:23), Peter O’Toole (41st in 23:30), Michael O’Conor (47th in 23:40), Enda Clarke (48th in 23:41), Jan Manschot (52nd in 23:49), Frank Hague (62nd in 24:05), Joe McDermott in his first race since a hamstring injury laid him out for a couple of months (75th in 24:33), John McAuley (109th in 25:28), Dee Lawlor (114th in 25:35), Ronan Moynihan (132nd in 25:54), Tim O’Donnell (134th in 25:59), Karl Walsh (149th in 26:20) and Conor Macguinness (168th in 26:45). The contingent’s effort was completed by strong runs from our O/50 runners: Brian McGuckin (188th in 27:20), Neil Brown (201st in 27:53) and Robbie Moore (253rd in 29:46).

In the O/65 race run over 2 laps, having suffered early on from being boxed in during the first lap where he lost contact with runners in his age category ahead of him, James Cottle was 4th home after a sprint for the line in a time of 13:49 but was ultimately awarded the M65 bronze medal, as the third runner across the line, Desi Shorten of Parnell AC in Wicklow (relying for eligibility on having been born in Dublin), had effectively made himself a guest runner by running (and actually winning the M65 age cat) in the Wicklow XC Championships that same morning. Richard Kavanagh was racing for the first time in at least two years and acquitted himself well, placing 8th M65 overall, just a minute behind James in 14:49. Many congrats to all who competed. It was a fun and rewarding day, despite the cold!

Earlier in the week, Mick Clohisey had won the Ferrycarrig 5 mile held down in County Wexford on Tuesday afternoon. In 10 degrees Celsius with a strong WSW wind (that made conditions feel like 6 degrees). Apparently, the wind was slightly helpful towards the end of the one lap race. Dee Ni Chearbhaill and husband Sean Murphy who trains with us ran in the race alongside 242 other runners, with Dee improving on her recent times by placing 64th overall, 9th woman across the line and 4th in her age category in a time of 34:56. Sean took 30th place in 31:11.

So, 6 members of the men’s track team were in action in Abbotstown for the first round of the National Indoor League and there were some fine performances. At the end of the day, the team was lying in 5th position out of 13 competing, on equal points with 4th-placed Nenagh on 54 points and just behind DSD on 59, with Leevale (84) and Clonliffe (66) currently occupying top spots.

The competition required a bit of multi-disciplining and we saw points coming from Shane Keane placing 4th in the long jump with a leap of 6.35m as well as achieving a second-place finish in the 60m sprint in heat one in that competition which was good for 6th place across the 2 heats. Robert Ivers helped out with the shot put and with his last throw of 4 he achieved a 10th place finish with 8.22m. Robert also ran with Fearghal O’Hare, Matthew Behan and Kevin Woods in the men’s 4x400m relay, taking first place in their heat and 2nd overall in a time of 3:25.99, 2 seconds behind Leevale who won the other heat. Fearghal also gained 3rd overall place points by winning his heat of the 800m in 1:57.64, a clear margin of 3 seconds ahead of the second placed competitor in that race, whilst Hugo Magee effectively finished 5th overall in the 200m sprint after placing 2nd in his heat in 22.81. The 60mH was not a competition event on the day, but Matt went onto run in a 4-man race, winning it in 8.09. Many congrats to the team and best of luck in the next round.

A late addition to the report comes from a viewing of Pat Quill's entry on Strava, where he posted that on Saturday he had taken part (as preparation for a longer event in the same location in the Summer) in the inappropriately-named Spine Sprint on the Pennine Way in the North of England. The point-to-point, south-to-north from Edale to Hebden Bridge, ultra race of 43 miles (70k) was required to have been completed within 18 hours of its start at midday on Saturday. Pat appears to have covered 82k in just over 19 hours. The maximum climb on the run was nearly 700m.

There hardly seems any room for the parkrun results in this week’s report, but still we had some members out on Saturday morning. Although numbers of participants generally around the country were up for the day, we fielded fewer members than usual, and several were clearly preparing themselves for the following day’s competition.

As usual, Poolbeg had the largest contingent from the club, with Kenan Furlong leading our 13-strong contingent home in 3rd place in a time of 18:14. In a field of 115, Kenan was followed across the line by Stephen Hurley (9th in 19:02), Michael Wycherley (10th in 19:34), Daniel Sheridan (14th in 20:29), Kieran Finucane (19th in 21:15), Fiona Shine (22nd and 2nd female finisher in 21:25), Russell Murphy (37th in 23:14), Sharon Woods (40th and 6th in 23:20), Paul Campbell (44th in 25:23), Ailsa Berkeley (51st and 11th in 25:01), Una McCullagh (79th and 24th in 28:23) and Lisa Shine (103rd and 35th in 31:52). Don Anderton carried out tailwalker duties. Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri continued their winning ways this week in Fairview with first place finishes in a field of 57. Cristian ran 18:19, whilst Esther placed 4th overall in 21:08. Hannah Jones also took part where she placed 26th and 4th in 25:10. Yvonne Macauley will have been delighted to have been encouraged by Alma Hanevy to run in Brickfields Park. The two recent new mothers acquitted themselves well, with Yvonne placing 5th and first woman finisher in 20:39, whilst Alma ran 23:12 for 15th and 3rd. The field measured 61. In New Ross, Isabelle Cairns placed 2nd woman (8th overall) in a field of 101 and in a time of 22:23, whilst Stephen Mulligan ran in Shanganagh with 125 other runners, placing 46th in 23:58. Kate Murray was a first finisher (12th overall) in Mullingar. Kate ran 23:45 in a field of 81 which also included Kevin Lambe out in a competitive environment for the first time in a while. Kevin placed 35th in 27:22. Mairead Cashman placed 77th and 22nd in the 131-strong field in Bushy Park, where she ran 29:29, whilst Diarmuid Byrne ran in Tolka Valley, placing 3rd in 22:24 in a modest field of 27. In Pobalscoil Na Trionoide Tomas Mahony ran 21:23 for 10th spot in a field of 75, whilst Liam Lyster placed 10th in Strokestown in a time of 27:28. There were 22 participants in the event. Whilst Darina Scully tailwalked in Marlay Park, Paul F. Kelly ran in St. Anne’s where he placed 258th in 30:16 in a field of 367 (no doubt on pacing duties). Garret Dunne ran in Tymon where he placed 32nd in 25:25 in a 107-strong field, whilst Mairin Shine headed to Wexford Racecourse where she crossed the line in 51st and 17th places in a time of 30:29 in a field measuring 65 participants. Finally, further afield Kris Ryan ran once again in Paradise Point in Queensland where in a field of 174 she recorded a time of 26:07 placing 63rd and 17th.

Ferrycarrig 5-mile road race (244)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mick Clohisey 1 00:24:39
14 Sheila O’Byrne 1 00:28:57
Crusaders AC runner
64 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:34:56 (9)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/ferrycarrig-5-mile-proudly-sponsored-by-innovu-insurance/
Mullingar Parkrun (81)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tony Doran 1 00:19:21
12 Kate Murray 1 00:23:45
Crusaders AC runners
12 Kate Murray 00:23:45 (1)
35 Kevin Lambe 00:27:22
Bushy Parkrun (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Treanor 1 00:19:03
18 Suzette Das 1 00:23:15
Crusaders AC runner
77 Mairead Cashman 00:29:29 (22)
Fairview Parkrun (57)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 1 00:18:19
4 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:21:08
Crusaders AC runners
1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 00:18:19
4 Esther Requena Ferri 00:21:08 (1)
26 Hannah Jones 00:25:10 (4)
Pobalscoil na Trionoide Parkrun (75)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Henry Milward 1 00:19:12
12 Chloe McCarthy 1 00:21:48
Crusaders AC runner
10 Tomas Mahony 00:21:23
Marlay Parkrun (367)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:20
45 Ellie Woulfe 1 00:21:38
Crusaders AC runner
364 Darina Scully 00:48:37
St. Anne’s Parkrun (361)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Fintan Kerins 1 00:16:20
22 Orla Manley 1 00:20:17
Crusaders AC runner
258 Paul F. Kelly 00:30:16
Tymon Parkrun (107)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Enda Marren 1 00:17:36
23 Aisling Coppinger 1 00:24:13
Crusaders AC runner
32 Garret Dunne 00:25:25
Poolbeg Parkrun (115)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Damian Bourke 1 00:17:49
15 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:33
Crusaders AC runners
4 Kenan Furlong 00:18:14
9 Stephen Hurley 00:19:02
10 Michael Wycherley 00:19:34
14 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:29
19 Kieran Finucane 00:21:15
22 Fiona Shine 00:21:25 (2)
37 Russell Murphy 00:23:14
40 Sharon Woods 00:23:20 (6)
44 Paul Campbell 00:25:23
51 Ailsa Berkeley 00:25:01 (11)
79 Una McCullagh 00:28:23 (24)
103 Lisa Shine 00:31:52 (35)
115 Don Anderton 00:40:29
Strokestown Parkrun (22)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Patrick Holmes 1 00:21:23
8 Juliet Coates 1 00:29:01
Crusaders AC runner
7 Liam Lyster 00:27:28
New Ross Parkrun (101)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Donal Murphy 1 00:19:51
3 Kate Reidy 1 00:21:32
Crusaders AC runner
8 Isabelle Cairns 00:22:23 (2)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (27)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Liam Mooney 1 00:20:16
7 Deirdre Byrne 1 00:24:01
Crusaders AC runner
3 Diarmuid Byrne 00:22:24
Wexford Racecourse Parkrun (65)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert Kenny 1 00:19:39
6 Annaleigh Hore 1 00:21:12
Crusaders AC runner
51 Mairin Shine 00:30:29 (17)
Brickfields Parkrun (61)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciaran Aylward 1 00:19:15
5 Yvonne Macauley 1 00:20:39
Crusaders AC runners
5 Yvonne Macauley 00:20:39 (1)
15 Alma Hanevy 00:23:12 (3)
Shanganagh Parkrun (126)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Collins 1 00:16:49
9 Sarah Baryga 1 00:19:32
Crusaders AC runner
46 Stephen Mulligan 00:23:58