Road racing in Meath and Wicklow, whilst parkruns begin to trickle back

12/9/2021

Dee Lawlor

Not an enormous amount on which to report this week. We’re coming into the Autumn marathon season and several Crusaders are just starting their tapering periods in preparation for some of those marathons that have been rescheduled from the Spring (such as London, Boston and Belfast) as well as those that have managed to avoid much disruption, such as Berlin in a couple of weeks. One of those rescheduled was Hamburg which took place on Sunday morning with the participation of at least one of our German exiles, Johannes Frederking, who placed 213th in a field of 1,978 runners (much reduced from its norm) and who ran 3:19:19. A good start to the season.

Back home there have been a few road races, but little in the mountains as the IMRA activities have taken a bit of a break.

There were at least two major events on the roads this weekend. The first, on Saturday, was the Lakes 10k down in Blessington, Co Wicklow, a race familiar to many of our members. This year’s action, unfortunately, was limited to a registration of 200 (in line with the soon-to-be-lifted Covid restrictions) and, in the event, 194 got to the finish line, including Dee Lawlor, Neil Brown and Aoife and Paul Kelly. In a race held in muggy and warm conditions and where the male and female race winners were well known to us all in Sergiu Ciobanu (30:49) and Maria McCambridge (35:49), Dee placed 19th in a time of 37:19. Also on the course, with a major hill in the middle, was Neil who also ran well, placing 82nd and 3rd M50 in a time of 46:48. Around the course Paul paced Aoife who found the going challenging but was ultimately glad to have got round, placing 113th overall and 19th female finisher in 50:42, just behind Paul who ran 50:37 for 112th place. The race was remarkable for seeing the third place finisher, Brishan O'Brien, run the entire race in 33:11 with his right arm in a sling!

Then, up in Ratoath, Co. Meath, two races were staged on Saturday morning. The first was a half marathon which did not feature any Crusaders, but which did involve Sean Murphy, the United Striders runner who trains with us. In a field of 314, Sean placed 25th in 1:23:39 on the hilly one loop course run on country lanes between Ratoath and Dunboyne. However, we did have a runner in the 5k that followed. 119 participants contested the race, among them David McEvoy who placed 20th in 20:44.

During the week, Raheny Shamrocks hosted round 4 of the Lord Mayor of Raheny’s two-mile series. For some reason the round was divided into 2 races, the first of 25 runners being won by Rob Frewen in 10:04 with the women being led home by Kate Purcell in 11:31. The second race of 34 participants involved Aoife Cowhie, who placed 16th in the race, 5th female finisher and 3rd F50, in a time of 15:42. Aoife finished behind that race’s overall winner, Ivan Griffin (12:42), and leading female Rebecca O’Rourke (14:29).

Finally, we come to the parkruns, of which there were some to start in Ireland this weekend. Ronan Moynihan and Lisa Shine took part in the Mallow Castle parkrun down in Co. Cork, where, in a field of 107, Ronan finished 2nd in 18:40, just 10 seconds behind the first finisher, whilst Lisa placed 29th overall, 4th woman to finish, in 24:41. Maria Kennedy chose to run in her native Kilkenny where, in a field of 164, she placed 47th and 12th in 25:32. Meanwhile, in a parkrun staged at Mountlucas windfarm near Ballycon in Co. Offaly, Maureen McGinley ran 29:20 to place 43rd and 18th in a field of 87. The Lakes 10k was not the only event to be staged in Blessington, Co. Wicklow on Saturday morning. Mairead Cashman chose to run in the Russborough parkrun nearby, where she placed 55th and 14th in 30:46. Olwyn Dunne was a tailwalker there too, supporting the field of 99 participants. Our Australian exile, Kris Ryan, also took the opportunity to tailwalk, this time in Coomera in Queensland. Finally, on a trip to Cambridge, David O’Donnell ran in the Coldham’s Common parkrun where, in a field of 347 (numbers we can only currently dream of!), he placed 69th in 22:44.

Anything missed, please let us know. Thanks!

The Lakes 10k (194)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sergiu Ciobanu 1 00:30:49
12 Maria McCambridge 1 00:35:49
Crusaders AC runners
19 Dee Lawlor 00:37:19
82 Neil Brown 00:46:48
112 Paul Kelly 00:50:37
113 Aoife Kelly 00:50:42 (19)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-lakes-10km-2021/
Ratoath 5k (119)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Smyth 1 00:15:54
4 Mary Mulhare 1 00:17:21
Crusaders AC runner
20 David McEvoy 00:20:44
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/ratoath_half_marathon__and_5k/4163/results
Lord Mayor of Raheny Round 4 (2 miles) (2nd race) (34)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ivan Griffin 1 00:12:42
9 Rebecca O’Rourke 1 00:14:29
Crusaders AC runner
16 Aoife Cowhie 00:15:42 (5)
Full results here: https://rahenyshamrock.ie/?p=4863