Riding the Wild Wind

Ciara Regan

Conditions were quite blustery for this weekend’s road racing, from Dingle in the West to Lucan in the East. However, given that many are using the weekends now for their marathon preparations and increasing their long runs, we didn’t have a significant number involved in those races on offer. Nevertheless, there were one or two who did use them as part of their marathon preparation and several combined Saturday morning’s parkruns with their long runs, to get some speed into their legs.

We actually start the report in Carrigaline, for a Cork BHAA midweek race, the ThermoFisher Scientific 4-miler, which involved a field of 227, among them two Crusaders. Orla Drumm won the women’s race, placing 19th overall in a great time of 23:48, followed further back by Lorraine McMahon, in the first of three events recorded in the report in which she ran, in a time of 36:25 for 180th place overall.

Dingle in Co. Kerry was one of the venues on Saturday morning featuring some of our athletes. We had four runners take part in the half marathon, a point-to-point, east to west, race, enjoying this year a strong tailwind for much of the event. In a field of 1815 finishers, Justin O’Connor placed 432nd in a time of 1:53:55. He was followed by Barry O’Neill (685th in 1:59:46) and by Carina Davidson (1125th overall and 528th female finisher in 2:17:59). Unfortunately, Louise O’Riordan had to deal with a slight niggle and pulled out at the halfway stage as a precaution.

Further up the west coast, in Swinford, Co. Mayo, there were three races on offer on Saturday morning in the Swinford AC-organised Ireland West event. We had runners in two of them, the out-and-back hilly 10k and ¾ marathon. Ciara Regan was our sole competitor in the 10k, winning the women’s race in 42:02 and placing 13th overall in a field of 263. Meanwhile, Áine Kenny joined 227 other runners in the ¾ marathon, as part of her marathon preparations, placing 45th and 7th in a solid time of 2:31:53.

On the same morning, David McEvoy ran around the outside of the Leopardstown Racecourse in the Very Pink Run. The results of the 10k race have not appeared, but David ran a time of 43:30 for the distance.

Then on Sunday, Lorraine McMahon raced once again (having completed her 100th parkrun the previous day). This time she ran in the Craughwell 10k, where, in a field of 156, she placed 92nd and 29th in 58:14. Members may be interested to hear that Catherine Thornton, a former Crusader who continues to train with us from time to time, won the women’s race, placing 6th overall in 38:19.

Anna Brown was our solo representative in the Lucan Harriers AC 5-mile race on Sunday morning. The event also incorporated the Co. Dublin 5-mile road championships. In a field of 567, Anna placed 247th and 37th (5th F40) in a time of 40:19.

Further afield, on Saturday morning, Sebastian Hansen paced the 3:15 runners in the Helsingborg marathon in Sweden, finishing correctly in a time of 3:14:45. On Sunday morning, one of our German exiles, Anna Hoesl took part in a Relay Half marathon in Augsburg, finishing her 6.9k leg in the 3-person team in a time of 28:51. Thom Martini, one of our London exiles, took part there in the Big Half, which he completed in 93:53.

Stephen Hurley was the first to finish the Poolbeg parkrun on Saturday morning, completing the 5k distance in 18:12. He was followed in the field of 202 by 20 other members of the club. First among them was Simon Kenny (4th in 19:14), and Simon was followed by Saketh Ravuluri (13th in 20:59), Ross Neill (17th in 21:10) just ahead of Ryan Preston (18th in 21:12), Zlatko Kulic (20th in 21:19), Conor Kilkenny (28th in 21:45) and Claire Reidy (29th and 4th with a PB time of 21:46) paced by Ronan Walsh (31st in 21:50). Further back came John Lohan (45th in 23:17), followed by Emily Glen (55th and 10th in 24:33), Kabir Sala (63rd in 25:05), Josie Ward (67th and 18th in 25:16), Olwyn Dunne (69th and 19th in 25:25), Franky Keane (93rd in 26:41), Ellen Walsh (98th and 35th in 26:59), Sharon Woods (103rd and 38th in 27:23), Sophia Morgan (112th and 40th in 28:17), Maureen McGinley (149th and 62nd in 30:23), Kevin Kenny (152nd in 30:30 and Mari Hansen (161st and 71st in 32:02).

On a trip to London, Annie Hughes ran alongside 528 other runners in Mile End where she placed 28th and 4th in 20:39, whilst, back home, Aoife McCarthy placed 35th and 5th in 24:16 running in a field of 213 in Bushy Park. Darina Scully placed 22nd and 5th in 25:04 in the 108-strong field in Avondale Forest, whilst Luke Haran ran in Mungret Park alongside 128 other participants, placing 8th in 21:00. Meanwhile Fiona Bane and Maria Pertl ran in Tolka Valley park, where, in a field of 49, Fiona placed 14th and 4th in 25:14, followed by Maria who placed 33rd and 14th in 31:58.

Ronan Moynihan combined the parkrun in Marlay with a long run, placing 23rd in a field of 475 and in a time of 20:57, followed by Kate Murray who placed 84th and 11th in 24:02. Lorraine McMahon, in her third event of the week, was our lone runner in the Midleton Greenway parkrun, where she placed 61st and 19th in 28:11 in a field of 120, whilst Michael Maughan joined 398 other runners in St. Anne’s, placing 129th in 26:04. Helena O’Keeffe placed 150th and 31st in the 316-strong field in Ballincollig with a time of 28:55, whilst Mairead Cashman ran alongside 84 other participants in Clonmel, placing 49th and 16th in 30:54.

We had 5 runners in Poppintree, headed home by Emer Kenny. In a field of 154, Emer placed 72nd and 20th in 29:40, just ahead of Máirín Shine (73rd and 21st in 29:42), with Lisa and Fiona Shine further back in respectively 32:19 and 32:20 for 91st and 32nd and 92nd and 33rd places, and Anna Shine completing the contingent, placing 98th and 38th in 33:46. In Shanganagh, with its field of 249, Gareth Phelan placed 110th in 27:20, followed, in 179th and 50th spots, by Orlaith de Burca in a time of 31:01. Finally, two of our UK exiles also ran. Aidan Hudner placed 54th in a field of 385 in Pollok in Glasgow, in a time of 24:07, whilst Jeanie Watson ran in the Hackney Marshes parkrun alongside 475 other runners, placing 178th and 21st in 25:16, as part of her long run.
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Dingle Half Marathon (1815)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Meade 1 01:13:45
14 Lisa Madden 1 01:24:45
Crusaders AC runners
432 Justin O’Connor 01:53:55
685 Barry O’Neill 01:59:46
1125 Carina Davidson 02:17:59 (528)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon_2025/5560/results
Swinford AC Ireland West ¾ marathon (228)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Matthew McMeekin 1 01:56:19
16 Sinead Egan 1 02:15:55
Crusaders AC runner
45 Áine Kenny 02:31:53 (7)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/ireland_west_3_4_marathon_10k__5k_2025/5695/results
Swinford AC Ireland West 10k (263)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Cathal Kennedy 1 00:33:26
13 Ciara Regan 1 00:42:02
Crusaders AC runner
13 Ciara Regan 00:42:02 (1)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/ireland_west_3_4_marathon_10k__5k_2025/5695/results
Craughwell 10k (156)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Damien Carter 1 00:34:40
6 Catherine Thornton 1 00:38:19
Crusaders AC runner
92 Lorraine McMahon 00:58:14 (29)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/craughwell-10mile-10km-road-race-2025/#1_D8DF98
Lucan Harriers 5-miler (incorporating Dublin 5-mile championships) (567)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Colm Rooney 1 00:24:09
27 Faye Dervan 1 00:29:15
Crusaders AC runner
247 Anna Brown 00:40:19 (37)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/lucan_harriers_ac_5_mile/5810/results
Cork BHAA ThermoFisher Scientific 4-miler (227)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry Twohig 1 00:20:28
19 Orla Drumm 1 00:23:48
Crusaders AC runners
19 Orla Drumm 00:23:48 (1)
180 Lorraine McMahon 00:36:25
Full results here: https://www.corkbhaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ThermoFisher-Scientific-4-Miles-Results-Sep-3-2025.pdf
Marlay Parkrun (507) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry McCartin 1 00:17:47
22 Ailbhe Bergin 1 00:20:54
Crusaders AC runners
23 Ronan Moynihan 00:20:57
84 Kate Murray 00:24:02 (11)
Clonmel Parkrun (85)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alastair Hawkins 1 00:19:14
6 Angela McCann 1 00:19:52
Crusaders AC runner
49 Mairead Cashman 00:30:54 (16)
Shanganagh Parkrun (249)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul McKenna 1 00:17:08
10 Sarah MacNamara 1 00:19:52
Crusaders AC Runners
110 Gareth Phelan 00:27:20
179 Orlaith de Burca 00:31:01 (50)
Poolbeg Parkrun (202)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:12
11 Niamh Corbett 1 00:20:56
Crusaders AC runners
1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:12
4 Simon Kenny 00:19:14
13 Saketh Ravuluri 00:20:59
17 Ross Neill 00:21:10
18 Ryan Preston 00:21:12
20 Zlatko Kulic 00:21:19
28 Conor Kilkenny 00:21:45
29 Claire Reidy 00:21:46 (PB) (4)
31 Ronan Walsh 00:21:50
45 John Lohan 00:23:17
55 Emily Glen 00:24:33 (10)
63 Kabir Sala 00:25:05
67 Josie Ward 00:25:16 (18)
69 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:25 (19)
93 Franky Keane 00:26:41
98 Ellen Walsh 00:26:59 (35)
103 Sharon Woods 00:27:23 (38)
112 Sophia Morgan 00:28:17 (40)
149 Maureen McGinley 00:30:23 (62)
152 Kevin Kenny 00:30:30
161 Mari Hansen 00:32:02 (71)
Poppintree Parkrun (154)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Bobby Bedford 1 00:18:22
8 Peigi Allen 1 00:21:05
Crusaders AC runners
72 Emer Kenny 00:29:40 (20)
73 Máirín Shine 00:29:42 (21)
91 Lisa Shine 00:32:19 (32)
92 Fiona Shine 00:32:20 (33)
98 Fiona Shine 00:33:46 (38)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (49)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rob Cross 1 00:18:38
8 Aleksandra Sobota 1 00:24:34
Crusaders AC runners
14 Fiona Bane 00:25:14 (4)
33 Maria Pertl 00:31:58 (14)
Mungret Parkrun (129)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel McCarthy 1 00:19:09
6 Laura Langan 1 00:20:19
Crusaders AC runner
8 Luke Haran 00:21:00
St. Anne’s Parkrun (399)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kenneth Nolan 1 00:17:53
38 Aoife Thorpe 1 00:21:57
Crusaders AC runner
129 Michael Maughan 00:26:04
Midleton Greenway Parkrun (120)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jennifer Martin 1 00:17:56
2 Brendan Maguire 1 00:18:25
Crusaders AC runner
61 Lorraine McMahon 00:28:11 (19)
Ballincollig Parkrun (316)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Catherine Murphy 1 00:18:50
2 Alan O’Sullivan 1 00:18:55
Crusaders AC runner
150 Helen O’Keeffe 00:28:55 (31)
Bushy Parkrun (213)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Edwin Keville 1 00:19:17
10 Kate Mills 1 00:21:42
Crusaders AC runner
35 Aoife McCarthy 00:24:16 (5)
Avondale Forest Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher McMahon 1 00:18:30
11 Lianna Bell 1 00:23:00
Crusaders AC runner
22 Darina Scully 00:25:04 (5)

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Áine Kenny

Ciara Regan

Carina Davidson

Orla Drumm