Road Racing Across the Counties

Kathryn Gibbons

After all the excitement on the track last week, we now turn our attention back to the roads and there were a few races on offer over the past week around the island. Numbers from the club, however, were not huge, as a lot of those who enjoy racing week in week out are also preparing for the upcoming 10-mile, half-marathon and marathon challenges taking place over the next two to three months and this weekend was dedicated to getting in some long training runs for many of our clubmates.

The week’s competition began on Tuesday evening with the Kells Heritage 5k in Co. Meath. The race, on a flat out-and-back course, attracted a decent field of 429, including four Crusaders. Brian O’Kelly led the contingent home in a time of 15:28, for 4th place overall and 1st M40. He was followed by Conor Kilkenny, who is otherwise training for the Dublin marathon (7th in 16:46) and by Saoirse McGrath who placed 25th overall and 3rd female finisher in a time of 18:48. Our fourth participant was Richie MacLiam, our exile in Luxembourg, who ran his first race in 5 years, placing 84th in 21:47.

Then, on Friday evening, down in Co. Wexford, we had two members of the club run in the South East Greenway 5k Stride with its field of 320 runners. Aaron Cashman placed 25th behind this year’s Docklands 5k winner, David McCarthy (14:22), in a time of 17:21. Aaron was followed across the line by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (113th overall, 18th female finisher and 3rd F45 in 21:20).

We had fewer participants than usual in the 2883-strong field this year in the Streets of Galway, an 8k road race around Galway City and Salthill organised by GCH, on Saturday evening. It usually enjoys a super atmosphere and this year’s edition, its 37th, was likely no exception. This year, on a lovely sunny evening, it also had an extremely strong elite field, especially among the female runners. Indeed, the women’s race was won by US Olympian, Emily Sisson, in a time of 24:56 for the distance, a course record, a race director's dream. In second place came Mary Mulhare who was the female winner of our Docklands 5k this year. Mary ran 27:43 in the 8k.

We had just the two runners take part in the race. Both ran well. Brian Regan placed 40th in 27:29, whilst Emma Rowe had a stormer, placing 117th and 9th in 31:04.

On Sunday morning, we had three runners take part in the Youghal Bay races. Lorraine McMahon ran once again in the 10k with its field of nearly 900 runners, whilst Derek Boland and Joy Flaherty joined a field of nearly 900 in the half marathon.

Lorraine placed 537th and 213th in a time of 59:49 for the 10k, whilst Derek completed his challenge in 86:39 for 41st place and Joy placed 605th and 166th in 2:07:40. The half marathon course was a largely flat out-and-back with a loop along the coast.

Later in the day, ladies' club captain Kathryn Gibbons distinguished herself in the Monaghan 10-miler, a largely flat out-and-back race with a big loop conducted in the countryside around Monaghan Town. In a field of 382, Kathryn won the women's race in 66:12, placing 40th overall, with an extremely strong finish in the last two kilometres. Congrats to her. Then, also on Sunday afternoon, Ciara Regan ran in Co. Leitrim in the hilly and challenging Ballinamore 10k (otherwise described in the pre-race publicity as flat!) where, in a field of 61, she placed 7th and 2nd in 42:33. 

There was just one race this week organised by IMRA with Crusader involvement. It was the usual midweek run, this time on Bray Head. With a climb of 366m and a distance of 7.3k, the race enjoyed a larger field than usual of 243, among them Becky Quinn who placed 35th, 4th and 1st F50 in 41:23, preceded by Warren Swords (27th in 39:59) and followed by Gavan Doherty (109th in 50:19).

We don’t usually report on other types of competition, but this week news comes from Emer Kenny and Sarah Lyons who competed in an adventure race (run, bike, kayak, run) on Saturday where Sarah placed 14th female and Emer, 22nd (84th and 110th overall in a field of 184). Sarah’s time was 2:18:45 and Emer’s, 2:25:06.

Scott Thomas led the field of 62 home in the Laytown Beach parkrun on Saturday morning in a time of 19:04. Meanwhile, Mary Donnelly was a first finisher in Dublin’s Bushy Park where she placed 18th overall in 21:28. Mary followed her partner Kev Moore (7th in 19:57) and finished just ahead of Alma Hanevy (21st and 2nd in 21:50) and, also, Eoghan Corrigan (62nd in 25:51) and Tanja Narancic (110th and 23rd in 28:42). Elsewhere, Sarah-Grace Breen headed to London where she ran in the 723-strong field in Southwark, placing 29th and 2nd in 19:15. Olwyn Dunne was another podium finisher, this time in Cabinteely, where she placed 39th and 3rd in 25:26 behind GianPiero Allerta (22nd in 23:28) in the 173-strong field there.

Ross Neill placed 4th in the field of 174 in Naas, with a time of 19:00, whilst Darina Scully ran in River Valley Park again, where she placed 29th and 4th in 26:01 in a field of 129.
At least 24 Crusaders took part in the Poolbeg parkrun this week, with its field of 217. Ex-Crusader teenager Cate Beddy finished first woman in 19:48, but our contingent was led home by Sebastian Hansen (4th in 17:24). Sebastian was followed by Kenan Furlong (5th in 17:45), Stephen Hurley (10th in 19:41), Adrian Groarke (13th in 20:18), Jade Murphy (20th and 4th in 21:25), Claire Reidy (29th and 6th in 22:00) alongside partner Ronan Walsh (30th in 22:01) and John Lohan (31st in 22:02). Further back came David Timoney (36th in 22:52), Sharon Woods (41st and 9th in 22:58) and Cate’s younger sister, Alice (48th and 11th in 23:14). Next came Aoife McCarthy (58th and 12th in 23:27) ahead of Russell Murphy (86th in 25:13), Fiona Bane (94th and 24th in 25:48), Tara Murphy (103rd and 28th in 27:03), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (109th and 30th in 27:28), Ellen Walsh (122nd and 37th in 28:17), Aisling O’Riordan (126th and 39th in 28:25), Kabir Sala (136th in 28:41), Kevin Kenny (140th in 28:51), Anna Hernick (143rd and 49th in 29:16), Cynthia Perucca (178th and 74th in 32:06), Niamh Trihy (202nd and 88th in 37;41), with Maureen McGinley tailwalking.

We had 7 participants in Shanganagh on Saturday morning. Alongside 281 other participants, Dee Lawlor placed 9th in 19:08, followed by Saketh Ravuluri (12th in 19:38), David carter combining it with a long run (17th in 20:11), Orlaith de Burca (166th and 37th in 28:25), Lisa Shine (212th and 65th in 30:38) just ahead of Fiona Shine (213th and 66th in 30:40) and Máirín Shine (214th and 67th in 30:42). Meanwhile, in Ballincollig, Niall O’Connell joined 264 other runners where he placed 5th in 20:26. Niall was followed home by Helena O’Keeffe (124th and 26th in 28:40), whilst, in Killarney House, Joe Murphy placed 9th in 19:33, followed by Ciara McElligott (128th and 42nd in 28:42). The field measured 182.

Ailish Hassett ran once again on Bere Island, joining 214 other participants there. Ailish placed 120th and 52nd in 36:46, whilst, in Tolka Valley Park, in a field of 78, Phelim Murray placed 68th in 39:53, followed by Garret Connolly who placed 70th in 44:51. Mairead Cashman joined 284 other runners in Corkagh Park, where she took 126th and 39th spots in 31:04, whilst, in Marlay Park, Ronan Moynihan placed 16th in a field of 436 and in a time of 20:23. Carina Davidson also took part there, where she placed 285th and 84th in 30:35.

Remaining close to home, Kevin Flynn joined 124 other participants in Porterstown, where he placed 109th in 41:37. Further afield, Paul and Aoife Kelly headed to Germany where they ran in the Wohrder See parkrun, with Paul placing 63rd in the field of 278, in a time of 24:47, whilst Aoife placed 248th in 44:17. Patrick Carthy ran in Elder Park in Glasgow where he placed 86th in 26:11 in a field 192 strong, whilst two of our exiles in London ran on Clapham Common. In a field of 978, Rob Glascott placed 48th in 20:21, whilst his partner, Eva Kennedy, placed 320th and 50th in 24:59. Finally, another of our London exiles, Jeanie Watson, placed 138th and 15th in 23:13 in the 651-strong field in Highbury Fields.

Kells Heritage 5k (429)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Conor McGuirk 1 00:15:07
10 Laura Mooney 1 00:17:13
Crusaders AC runners
4 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:28
7 Conor Kilkenny 00:16:46
25 Saoirse McGrath 00:18:48 (3)
84 Richie MacLiam 00:21:47
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/kells_heritage_5k_run/5787/results
South East Greenway 5k Stride (320)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David McCarthy 1 00:14:22
27 Fiona Kehoe 1 00:17:29
Crusaders AC runners
25 Aaron Cashman 00:17:21
113 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:20 (18)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/south_east_greenway_5k_stride_2025/5745/results
Streets of Galway 8k (2883)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Travers 1 00:23:26
11 Emily Sisson 1 00:24:56 (CR)
Crusaders AC runners
40 Brian Regan 00:27:29
117 Emma Rowe 00:31:04 (9)
Full results here: https://redtagtiming.com/results/SoG2025.html
Monaghan 10-miler (382)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Aaron Hanlon 1 00:51:08
40 Kathryn Gibbons 1 01:06:12
Crusaders AC runner
40 Kathryn Gibbons 01:06:12 (1)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-kpmg-monaghan-10-miler-2025/#2_47D931
Ballinamore 10k (61)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Colin Griffin 1 00:33:11
4 Deirdre Martin 1 00:41:06
Crusaders AC runner
7 Ciara Regan 00:42:33 (2)
Full results here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555717735585
Youghal Bay 10k (899)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Tony Forristal 1 00:32:26
22 Sharon Rynne 1 00:37:25
Crusaders AC runner
537 Lorraine McMahon 00:59:49 (213) 
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/youghal-bay-10k-half-marathon-2025/#2_47D931
Youghal Bay Half marathon (798)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kane Collins 1 01:10:27
10 Niamh Moore 1 01:18:46
Crusaders AC runners
41 Derek Boland 01:26:39
605 Joy Flaherty 02:07:40 (166)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/youghal-bay-10k-half-marathon-2025/#2_47D931
IMRA Bray Head 7.3k (243)  
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matt Kane 1 00:35:02
16 Kate McDonald 1 00:38:27
Crusaders AC runners
27 Warren Swords 00:39:59
35 Becky Quinn 00:41:23 (4)
109 Gavan Doherty 00:50:19
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2669
Marlay Parkrun (436) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Billy Ramsbottom 1 00:18:06
12 Aisling Kelly 1 00:20:09
Crusaders AC runners
16 Ronan Moynihan 00:20:23
285 Carina Davidson 00:30:35 (84)
Bushy Parkrun (244)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Eoin Fitzpatrick 1 00:17:58
18 Mary Donnelly 1 00:21:28
Crusaders AC runners
7 Kev Moore 00:19:57
18 Mary Donnelly 00:21:28 (1)
21 Alma Hanevy 00:21:50 (2)
62 Eoghan Corrigan 00:25:51
110 Tanja Narancic 00:28:42 (23)
Shanganagh Parkrun (288)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James Foot 1 00:17:37
23 Eileen O’Toole 1 00:20:53
Crusaders AC Runners
9 Derek Lawlor 00:19:08
12 Saketh Ravuluri 00:19:38
17 David Carter 00:20:11
166 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:25 (37)
212 Lisa Shine 00:30:38 (65)
213 Fiona Shine 00:30:40 (66)
214 Máirín Shine 00:30:42 (67)
Poolbeg Parkrun (217)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 George Rice 1 00:16:26
11 Cate Beddy 1 00:19:48
Crusaders AC runners
4 Sebastian Hansen 00:17:24
5 Kenan Furlong 00:17:45
10 Stephen Hurley 00:19:41
13 Adrian Groarke 00:20:18
20 Jade Murphy 00:21:25 (4)
29 Claire Reidy 00:22:00 (6)
30 Ronan Walsh 00:22:01
31 John Lohan 00:22:02
36 David Timoney 00:22:52
41 Sharon Woods 00:22:58 (9)
48 Alice Beddy 00:23:14 (11)
58 Aoife McCarthy 00:23:27 (12)
86 Russell Murphy 00:25:13
94 Fiona Bane 00:25:48 (24)
103 Tara Murphy 00:27:03 (28)
109 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:27:28 (30)
122 Ellen Walsh 00:28:17 (37)
126 Aisling O’Riordan 00:28:25 (39)
136 Kabir Sala 00:28:41
140 Kevin Kenny 00:28:51
178 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:06 (74)
202 Niamh Trihy 00:37:41 (89)
River Valley Parkrun (129)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian O’Reilly 1 00:19:00
12 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:23:15
Crusaders AC runner
29 Darina Scully 00:26:01 (4)
Cabinteely Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alex Mulvihill 1 00:17:24
19 Lara Woods 1 00:23:18
Crusaders AC runners
22 GianPiero Allerta 00:23:28
39 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:26 (3)
Laytown Beach Parkrun (62)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Scott Thomas 1 00:19:04
20 Martina O’Connor Dyas 1 00:28:23
Crusaders AC runner
1 Scott Thomas 00:19:04
Bere Island Parkrun (215)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Traolach O’Suilleabhain 1 00:19:48
6 Michelagh Murphy 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
120 Ailish Hassett 00:36:46 (52)
Porterstown Parkrun (125)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:07
20 Joan O’Callaghan 1 00:23:08
Crusaders AC runner
109 Kevin Flynn 00:41:37
Ballincollig Parkrun (265)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Lamprell 1 00:18:17
12 Ciara O’Gorman 1 00:21:24
Crusaders AC runners
5 Niall O’Connell 00:20:26
124 Helena O’Keeffe 00:28:40 (26)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:18:41
19 Aleksandra Sobota 1 00:23:39
Crusaders AC runners
68 Phelim Murray 00:39:53
70 Garret Connolly 00:44:51
Corkagh Parkrun (285)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Liam Morris 1 00:16:36
15 Ciara Foster 1 00:22:01
Crusaders AC runner
126 Mairead Cashman 00:31:04 (39)
Killarney House Parkrun (182)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 De Tremble 1 00:17:01
3 Lily Riordan 1 00:17:56
Crusaders AC runners
9 Joe Murphy 00:19:33
128 Ciara McElligott 00:28:42 (42)
Naas Parkrun (174)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert Fagan 1 00:18:23
10 Ruth O’Loughlin 1 00:21:34
Crusaders AC runner
4 Ross Neill 00:19:00

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Derek Boland

Saoirse McGrath

Warren Swords

Becky Quinn

Warren Swords