Riders on the Storm

8/12/2024

Back row L-R: Fanny Trébouet, David Pepper, Lieze Verberght, Louise O'Riordan, Ailish Hassett, Lorraine McMahon, Laura O'Malley, Anna Hernick, Kabir Sala, Sean Brady, Alan Martin. Front row L-R: Tim O'Donnell, Lisa Shine, friend, Nina, Joanne Carey, Mairead Cashman, Paul E. Kelly, Carina Davidson, Linda Walsh, Bo Chicoine, Lisa Branigan, Luz Estevan, Orla Walsh.

This week, it was the turn of Storm Darragh to leave its mark on the country’s racing scene. Thankfully, it made its appearance on a weekend that would not have had many races scheduled as we wind down towards Christmas. It did, however, decimate the parkruns because of the risk of falling trees and it had a major impact for the runners involved in the Donore Harriers-organised Jingle Bells 5k on Saturday morning.

The organisers of the race heaved a huge sigh of relief at the conclusion of the race, which had been in doubt right up until the start at 9:30 on Saturday morning. A message went out to runners at 6 am after a route inspection which indicated that the course had not been impacted by the galeforce winds. However, the storm continued to rage as the gun went off and the 1348 runners who contested the race had to battle their way through northwesterly winds averaging over 50kph and gusting at times up to 114kph. The race ended up being almost one of two halves, with a cross wind from the start along the Acres Road to the Phoenix monument, and then for the remainder of the first kilometre and all of the second, up Chesterfield, runners experienced the strongest of headwinds. Some relief was provided turning left at the Castleknock roundabout and along the Ordnance Survey Road and then everyone had the benefit of the tailwind down the Upper Glen Road to the final turn and a slight uphill climb to the finish line under St. Mary’s hospital near the Chapelizod Gate.

The race was celebrating its 33rd edition and the field seems to get bigger every year (and gets sold out more and more quickly) as runners sign up in the hopes of improving their PBs in what is essentially a net downhill course. Every past year this had been the case, so it was with some dismay that this year, once the storm arrived, achieving a PB was going to be a challenge. The increasing size of the field, with its narrow start on the Acres Road, west of the Papal Cross, also necessitates a start near the front to have any chance of a PB and this year was no different, with a lot of elbows-out bumping and barging as runners made their way to the left-hand turn at the Phoenix roundabout.

We had more than 75 Crusaders in the race, and it should come as no surprise that perhaps as few as only three of them achieved PBs on the day, a testament to the challenging conditions. Still, the field itself was one of the highest quality, with over 100 athletes breaking 17 minutes and more than 400 (or 30% of the field) completing the distance in under 20 minutes.

The overall race was won by the apparently ageless John Travers of Donore, in a time of 15:05 and he was part of a pack of about 10 runners which included Colm Parnell until the final metres. Colm came home in a creditable 10th place with a great time in the circumstances of 15:20, and he was followed by Andrea Rondina who was part of a second group to cross the line, placing 19th in 15:32. Slightly further back, again with a strong run, came Alex Ainsworth (36th in 15:48), with Vinnie McGuinness a little further behind (46th in 16:11). Colm, Andrea and Alex constituted the men’s team in a competition of 120, placing 5th overall.

Next across the line came Kevin Fitzgibbon (62nd in 16:33) and he was followed by Brian Regan (89th in 16:50) alongside Paul Reidy (90th in the same time) with Michael Wycherley (103rd in 17:04) and Henry Griffin (106th in 17:06) just behind. To complete our sub-18-minute finishers, Joe McDermott placed 128th in 17:21, followed by John Mulvihill (132nd in 17:23), Peter O’Toole (167th in 17:41), Toby Benham (170th in 17:30) and Charlotte Myers who led the Crusaders women home (172nd and 19th female finisher in 17:48), behind women’s race winner, DSD’s Amy O’Donoghue who recorded a 24 second PB in her winning time of 15:20. Charlotte was followed by Doireann Hughes (187th and 22nd in 17:54) and with Orla Walsh who placed 264th and 42nd in 18:35, the three women placed 4th in the 106-team competition. A valiant effort by both our lead teams.

Placing under 20 minutes, Doireann was followed across the line by John Fahy (230th in 18:18) and then by Michael O’Conor (241st in 18:23) alongside Gerard White (242nd in 18:24), and then behind Orla came Caroline Crowley, making a welcome and strong return to competitive racing (269th and 45th in 18:47). Saoirse McGrath was next, also with a strong run (275th and 48th in 18:53), just ahead of Kenan Furlong who lost his race number on his way round (no place given but a time of 18:56) and Annie Hughes (307th and 56th in 19:12). Having started further back, Simon Kenny was next (309th in 18:53), followed by Kieran Martin (339th in 19:27), Ciara Regan (345th and 64th in 19:31), Paul Campbell (399th in 19:57) and Michael Fitzsimons (409th in 19:54) as part of a much longer run. Another runner to record a sub-20 finish was Thomas Donohoe (473rd in 19:59), who also started quite far back in the bunched field at the start line.

Just outside 20 minutes came Oisin Browne (410th in 20:02) and he was followed by Miriam Logan who decided, in common with several others, to treat the race as a tempo session, in light of the conditions (425th and 91st in 20:02). Miriam was followed by Eoghan Corrigan (441st in 20:08), Irene Gorman, another returnee to the competitive racing scene (453rd and 103rd in 20:07) who is only going to get faster, Phelim Murray (450th in 20:18), Isabelle Cairns (453rd and 103rd in 20:13), Ryan Preston (456th in 20:26), Kabir Sala (478th in 20:23), Carolyn O’Reilly (497th (but listed as a male runner) in 20:55), Tara Gavin (529th and 123rd in 21:05), Tim O’Donnell (550th in 20:57) and Louise O’Riordan who recorded a PB time of 21:28 for 571st and 140th places.

Sean Brady was next across the finish line in 592nd spot in a time of 21:24, and he was followed by Neil Brown (596th in 21:54), Tanja Narancic (598th and 153rd in 21:37), Franky Keane (616th in 21:44), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (631st and 160th in 21:47), Jade Murphy (637th and 161st in 21:31), Tony Hackett (651st in 22:09), David O’Donnell (671st in 21:48), Luz Estevan (676th and 181st in a PB time of 22:17), the second of our three PBs, Adam Kinch (707th in 22:30), Laura O’Malley (728th and 208th in 23:16), Kevin Kenny (739th in 23:34), Bo Chicoine (749th in 23;37), Robbie Moore (768th in 23:57), Ellen Walsh (775th and 233rd in 23:56), Mark Browne (776th in 24:08), Sharon Woods (785th and 239th in 24:15) and Darina Scully (820th and 255th in 24:46).

There were a few runners after that, running in a bunch. David Pepper led them across the line (835th in 25:01), and he was followed by our third PB recorder of the day, Fanny Trébouet (846th and 271st in 25:02), Alan Martin (852nd in 24:58), Lieze Verberght (854th and 275th in 24:56) and Paula Bradshaw, happily testing her recovery from injury (855th and 276th in 25:14). This group was followed by Lisa Branigan (891st and 299th in 25:12), Anna Hernick (894th and 302nd in 25:45), Aoife Cowhie (895th and 303rd in 25:48), Ailish Hassett (937th and 332nd in 26:31), Carina Davidson (1001st and 366th in 27:26), Joanne Carey (with daughter Nina) who ran 28:11 for 1022nd and 82nd place, Nina recording the same time, Paul E. Kelly (1045th in 27:48), Lisa Shine (1057th and 400th in 29:20), Mairead Cashman (1058th and 401st in 28:57), Lorraine McMahon (1074th and 411th in 29:03), Evelyn Neary (1081st and no gender position in 29:27), completing a long run, Linda Walsh (1129th and 451st in 30:23) and Lorraine Fitzsimons (1179th and 491st in 32:25). Members may be interested to read that recent ex-Crusader, Amy McGuinness, running now for MSB, placed 371st and 70th in 19:44.

There was a bit of confusion regarding the possibility of another Crusader completing the course in 48:35, but later it was discovered that a runner who had decided not to run after all walked too close to the finish gantry (and its chiptimer) with the race number still in her possession. These things happen (famously a couple of years back in Terenure, when one of our non-runners placed among the elite female finishers having done the same thing!).

It seems that many of the parkruns in which we might expect to see Crusaders who were not otherwise involved in the Jingle Bells race were cancelled on Saturday morning. However, we did see participation in a couple. In Mungret down in Limerick, Kev Moore placed 2nd in 19:51, with Mary Donnelly placing 8th overall and 2nd female finisher in 21:49 in the depleted field of 57. Meanwhile, in Naas, Karl Walsh ran 22:15 for 10th spot in the field of 79. Over in the UK, our exile in Scotland, Aidan Hudner, took on Pollok once again, where, in a field of 245, he placed 52nd in 24:19.

Further afield, on Friday morning, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, two of our Spanish exiles, took part in the Carrera Estacion Puerto Lumbreras, a couple of street races, with Esther placing 2nd in the women’s 3k race in 11:04, whilst Cristian placed 3rd in the 5k event with a time of 16:35. Also abroad, Kate O'Malley, one of our London-based exiles, competed in the Milton Keynes Winter half marathon, completing the distance in 87:20.

We have several members who are also involved in hyrox. Among them is Luke Davis, who reports that he took part in an event over the weekend in Marseille, placing 188th in a field of 1500 in a time of 69 minutes.

As a postscript, members will probably be aware that Niamh Allen, a Crusader until recently, having returned to her native Cork and having rejoined Leevale after spending time away in Australia and just 4 months after the birth of baby Lily, surprisingly led the Irish women's team home in the European XC Championships in Turkey on Sunday. On a purpose-built course, Niamh placed 11th in a hotly contested race and after working her way through the field from a position in the high 20s early on in the 7.8k race and narrowly avoiding being tripped in the mud when a runner in front of her fell. It was an amazing achievement to place so well.

Jingle Bells 5k (1348)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Travers 1 00:15:05
61 Amy O’Donoghue 1 00:16:32
Crusaders AC runners
10 Colm Parnell 00:15:20
19 Andrea Rondina 00:15:32
36 Alex Ainsworth 00:15:48
46 Vinnie McGuinness 00:16:11
62 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:16:33
89 Brian Regan 00:16:50
90 Paul Reidy 00:16:50
103 Michael Wycherley 00:17:04
106 Henry Griffin 00:17:06
128 Joe McDermott 00:17:21
132 John Mulvihill 00:17:23
167 Peter O’Toole 00:17:41
170 Toby Benham 00:17:30
172 Charlotte Myers 00:17:48 (19)
187 Doireann Hughes 00:17:54 (22)
230 John Fahy 00:18:18
241 Michael O’Conor 00:18:23
242 Gerard White 00:18:24
264 Orla Walsh 00:18:35 (42)
269 Caroline Crowley 00:18:47 (45)
275 Saoirse McGrath 00:18:53 (48)
XXX Kenan Furlong 00:18:56
307 Annie Hughes 00:19:12 (56)
309 Simon Kenny 00:18:53
339 Kieran Martin 00:19:27
345 Ciara Regan 00:19:31 (64)
399 Paul Campbell 00:19:57
409 Michael Fitzsimons 00:19:54
410 Oisin Browne 00:20:02
425 Miriam Logan 00:20:02 (91)
441 Eoghan Corrigan 00:20:08
447 Irene Gorman 00:20:07 (102)
453 Isabelle Cairns 00:20:13 (103)
450 Phelim Murray 00:20:18
456 Ryan Preston 00:20:26
473 Thomas Donohoe 00:19:59
478 Kabir Sala 00:20:23
497 Carolyn O’Reilly 00:20:55 (XXX)
529 Tara Gavin 00:21:05 (123)
550 Tim O’Donnell 00:20:57
571 Louise O’Riordan 00:21:28 (PB) (140)
592 Sean Brady 00:21:24
596 Neil Brown 00:21:54
598 Tanja Narancic 00:21:37 (153)
616 Franky Keane 00:21:44
631 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:47 (160)
637 Jade Murphy 00:21:31 (161)
651 Tony Hackett 00:22:09
671 David O’Donnell 00:21:48
676 Luz Estevan 00:22:17 (PB) (181)
707 Adam Kinch 00:22:30
728 Laura O’Malley 00:23:16 (208)
739 Kevin Kenny 00:23:34
749 Bo Chicoine 00:23:37
768 Robbie Moore 00:23:57
775 Ellen Walsh 00:23:56 (233)
776 Mark Browne 00:24:08
785 Sharon Woods 00:24:15 (239)
820 Darina Scully 00:24:46 (255)
835 David Pepper 00:25:01
846 Fanny Trébouet 00:25:02 (PB) (271)
852 Alan Martin 00:24:58
854 Lieze Verberght 00:24:56 (275)
855 Paula Bradshaw 00:25:14 (276)
891 Lisa Branigan 00:25:12 (299)
894 Anna Hernick 00:25:45 (302)
895 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:48 (303)
937 Ailish Hassett 00:26:31 (332)
1001 Carina Davidson 00:27:26 (366)
1022 Joanne Carey 00:28:11 (382)
1045 Paul E. Kelly 00:27:48
1057 Lisa Shine 00:29:20 (400)
1058 Mairead Cashman 00:28:57 (401)
1074 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:03 (411)
1081 Evelyn Neary 00:29:27 (XXX)
1129 Linda Walsh 00:30:23 (451)
1179 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:32:25 (491)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/jingle-bells-5k-and-family-fun-run-2024/
Naas Parkrun (79)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dara Fitzgerald 1 00:17:52
20 Louise Murphy 1 00:24:25
Crusaders AC runner
10 Karl Walsh 00:22:15
Mungret Parkrun (57)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kieran O’Brien 1 00:18:18
6 Sinead McDermott 1 00:21:37
Crusaders AC runners
2 Kev Moore 00:19:51
8 Mary Donnelly 00:21:49 (2)

L-R: Luz Estevan, Kabir Sala, Laura O'Malley, Paul Campbell, Paula Bradshaw, David Pepper, Tara Gavin, Paul E. Kelly, Fanny Trébouet, Joanne Carey, Ellen Walsh, friend, Lorraine McMahon, Nina, Lieze Verberght, Anna Hernick, Louise O'Riordan