Run (Easter) Rabbit, Run

9/4/2023

L-R: Yvonne Macauley, Aoife Quigley, Emer Kenny, Kate Murray, Sharon Woods, Joe McDermott, Olwyn Dunne, Joe Dunne, Stephen Hurley, Kevin Kenny and Paul E.Kelly

The highlight of the Easter break was the Leinster 10 mile road championships on Easter Monday, which, as usual, was incorporated into the Battle of Clontarf 10 miler in St. Anne's park, Raheny. Although the morning was wet, the rain abated for the duration of the race, returning only for the cooldown, but the flat twisty-turn-y course was damp, making it potentially slippery in places as it meandered around the park a few times. It was also cold at the start.

In a field of 561, and a race won easily by Peter Somba, our first Crusader home was Stephen Hurley in 58:53 for 26th place. He was followed soon after by Joe McDermott (28th in 59:15) and a little later by Donatas Jocius (42nd in 61:06). Donatas has recently been selected to run for his country, Lithuania, in a mountain race in June. The three of them made up an O/35 team, winning the bronze medal in the Leinster team championships.

Next came Yvonne Macauley (68th overall and 6th female finisher), who had only entered the race within the last few days, in a great time of 64:17 and Yvonne was followed by Aoife Quigley (88th, 8th and winner of the F35 gold) in an excellent 66:01. Together with Olwyn Dunne, who ran 75:34 for 240th and 52nd places (and 4th F55), the three-woman team actually won the senior bronze, and only narrowly missing out on silver by one point.

Our other runners acquitted themselves well too. Cormac Fenton likely achieved a PB with his time of 69:30 for 138th place, and he was followed by Karl Walsh (117th in 68:23), Phelim Murray (182nd in 70:14), Joe Dunne, with a satisfying 75:52 with only two weeks to go before he and Olwyn embark on the Hamburg marathon (244th), Emer Kenny (261st and 57th in 76:23), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (269th and 59th in 76:45), Robbie Moore (270th in 76:44), Sharon Woods (315th, 76th and 7th F50 in 79:50), Kate Murray (322nd, 78th and 8th F50) in 80:30, Kevin Kenny (350th in 82:43), Elad Solomon (450th in 90:40) and Paul E. Kelly (541st in 102:48). Emer, Dee and Sharon made up the O/35 team and were 7th overall in a field of 15.

As a postscript, we also learned that Yvonne and Aoife were included in the silver medal-winning Co. Dublin senior team of 6, with Yvonne being the second scorer and Aoife, the fourth. In addition, Stephen Hurley was rewarded with inclusion in the O/35 Co. Dublin men's team, with his 5th place scoring contribution helping to win gold for the county. Congrats to all!

Also, on Easter Monday, we had 5 participants in the Rosslare 10k. On a reasonably flattish, one-lap clockwise course, Neil Brown was our first runner home, placing 56th in a field of 252 and in a time of 46:27. Neil was followed by his daughter Kelly (109th in 52:00) and by three members of the shine family. Lisa and Fiona (152nd and 153rd) crossed the line together in 55:23 and they were followed by Máirín (205th in 61:13).

The week had started with Pat Quill’s mammoth feat of crossing the breadth of England in the Northern Traverse Coast to Coast Race (from Egremont near Whitehaven in Cumbria on the west coast to Robin Hood’s Bay on the Yorkshire coast in the east, a distance of some 308.5km). Pat completed his remarkable challenge with its maximum climb of nearly 700m in just over 95 hours, taking 47th place out of a field of 69 finishers, 8th in his age category and 2nd Irishman home behind Eoin Keith who was 7th overall and 1st in the same age category in 57 hours. Congrats to both!

On Thursday evening we had 3 Crusaders head to Kilkenny, where they took part in the latest edition of the Peugeot Race series, the fast and furious 2-lap Streets of Kilkenny 5k. In a race won respectively by Andrew Coscoran (14:14) and Ide Nic Dhomhnaill (15:48), Brian O’Kelly showed that his recent marathon exploit has had no negative impact on his 5k speed, placing 24th in a quality field of 897, in a time of 15:09. Patrick Conlon was next with a PB performance, where he placed 83rd in 16:35, followed by Conor Macguinness (207th in 18:42). It is worth noting that 103 runners crossed the line in under 17 minutes, with 50 under 16 minutes. 283 men and women came home in under 20 minutes, such was the depth of quality on the night.

On Good Friday, three of our members ran in the Na Fianna 5k, a race around Glasnevin in support of the Sanctuary Runners. The race involved a climb and descent of around 30m on an out-an-back course with a loop around Albert College. In a field of 321, Phelim Murray placed 16th in 20:17 and Phelim was followed by Sarah Lyons (25th and 2nd in 20:45) and Rebecca Fleming (33rd and 3rd in 21:07).

Elsewhere, Thomas Vogée and Chris Russell spent Easter on the Isle of Man, taking part in the series of races over a three-day period as part of the Easter Festival of Running. The first race was a 10k mixed road race (the Quine and Cubbon 10k) and, in a field of 482, Chris ran a super 34:16 for 62nd place, followed by an equally inspiring run from Thomas who recorded a PB time of 36:01 for his 95th place finish. The second race a day later, on Easter Saturday, was the Peel Hill 5.62k trail race, which appeared to have different distances for men and women. In that event with its male field of 213, Chris placed 54th in 24:30 and Thomas was right behind in 56th place in a time of 24:39. The last race was a 5k out-and-back along the prom in Douglas. The mixed race enjoyed a field of 383 finishers, with Thomas recording a time of 17:28 for 65th place. Chris sat out the last event having turned an ankle slightly the night before. Once the smoke had cleared, Thomas had finished 56th overall.

Parkrunners were out in force on Saturday morning, no doubt taking advantage of the lovely weather over the Easter weekend. With so many Crusaders taking part, it was inevitable that we would see some excellent results. Michael O’Conor headed up to Donegal where the Kerryman joined 126 other runners in Falcarragh, coming across the line in first place in a time of 18:20, whilst Annie Hughes ran in Claremorris, Co. Mayo. In a field of 69, Annie ran 20:28 for 3rd and 1st places. Irene Gorman took advantage of a trip back to her native Galway by running in the Knocknacarra parkrun, placing 3rd and 1st female finisher in a time of 20:01 in a field of 78, whilst Darina Scully placed 10th and 1st in the 79-strong field in Porterstown. Further afield, Toby Benham joined 294 other participants in Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire, where he placed 3rd in 18:14, whilst Maureen McGinley ran in Farfalle in Italy. In a field of 47, Maureen placed 23rd and 4th in 27:53.

As usual we had a good few runners in Poolbeg. In a field of 103, Michael Wycherley, on his way back from injury, ran 18:58 for 3rd place, just ahead of Alby Allan (4th in 19:03). Alby was followed by Sharon Woods (18th and 4th in 22:24), Kevin Kenny (38th in 24:24), Tara Murphy (50th and 15th in 25:24), Josie Ward (52nd and 17th in 25:27) and Don Anderton, tailwalking. Daniel Lowe and Donatas Jocius joined the field of 404 in Marlay Park, where Daniel placed 2nd in 17:23, just ahead of Donatas (3rd in 17:33), whilst Miriam Logan ran in Templemore where she placed 9th and 4th in a field of 84 and in a time of 21:38. Ross Neill joined 387 other runners in Ormeau Park in Belfast where he placed 6th in 19:08, whilst Phelim Murray and Sarah Lyons ran in Castletown. Phelim placed 31set in 23:31, with Sarah on his shoulder in 32nd and 4th in 23:32. The field measured 226.

We had several of our clubmates run in New Ross on Saturday morning. Fiona shine led the contingent home in 34th and 5th in a field of 116. Fiona’s time was 25:15 and she was 1 second ahead of her sister Lisa (35th and 6th in 25:16), followed by Julian Callan (39th in 25:29) and by Anna Shine on her birthday weekend (61st and 19th in 29:06). Then, in Cabinteely with its field of 164, we had at least 5 runners from the club. They were led home by Tanja Narancic (42nd and 6th in 25:08) and Tanja was followed by Olwyn Dunne (who celebrated her 250th time volunteering, as well as her 155th parkrun) who placed 43rd and 7th in 25:16, by Dee Lawler, once gain pacing his daughter (58th in 26:49), Máirín Shine (99th and 30th in 30:38) and by Gavan Doherty (124th in 33:44). Fergal Carroll ran down in Ballincollig in Cork where he placed 11th in a field of 261 and a time of 19:46, whilst Luke Haran also placed 11th in Mungret Park in Limerick, where he ran 21:40 in a field of 99.

John Rooney ran once again in Sligo where he placed 26th in 23:59 among 136 other runners, whilst Diarmuid Byrne ran 25:11 among 151 other runners in Poppintree to place 44th. Eoghan Corrigan joined 260 other participants in Malahide, running 21:22 for 20th spot, whilst Aidan Hudner ran omce again in Pollok in Glasgow, placing 61st in 24:19 in a field of 273. Mairead Cashman was surprised to bump into Fiona Bane up in Enniskillen on Saturday morning. In a field of 137, Fiona ran 25:27 to place 40th and 8th, whilst Mairead ran 30:53 for 92nd and 34th places. We had two runners in St. Anne’s, Raheny. Michael Maughan took 47th spot in 21:54, whilst Tim Hyland placed 145th in 25:59. The field there measured 420. Finally, we had 4 runners in Shanganagh. In a field of 271, David Carter was the first Crusader home, in 16th place, in a time of 20:03. David was followed across the finishing line by Orlaith de Burca (179th and 72nd in 30:13), Niamh Quinn (199th and 89th in 31:16) and Carina Davidson (248th and 123rd in 34:45).

Battle of Clontarf (Leinster 10-mile Championships) (561)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Somba 1 00:51:59
50 Caroline Donnellan 1 00:59:15
Crusaders AC runners
26 Stephen Hurley 00:58:53
28 Joe McDermott 00:59:15
42 Donata Jocius 01:01:06
68 Yvonne Macauley 01:04:17 (6)
88 Aoife Quigley 01:06:01 (8)
117 Karl Walsh 01:08:23
138 Cormac Fenton 01:09:30
182 Phelim Murray 01:10:14
240 Olwyn Dunne 01:15:34 (52)
244 Joe Dunne 01:15:52
261 Emer Kenny 01:16:23 (57)
269 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:16:45 (59)
270 Robbie Moore 01:16:44
315 Sharon Woods 01:19:50 (76)
322 Kate Murray 01: 20:30 (78)
450 Elad Solomon 01:30:40
541 Paul E. Kelly 01:40:48
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/battle_of_clontarf_10_mile_leinster_chmp/4430/results
Rosslare 10k (252)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean Hehir 1 00:33:18
4 Ciara Wilson 1 00:37:13
Crusaders AC runners
56 Neil Brown 00:46:27
109 Kelly Bown 00:52:00
152 Lisa Shine 00:55:23
153 Fiona Shine 00:55:23
205 Máirín Shine 01:01:13
Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/Rosslare10km2023.pdf
Streets of Kilkenny 5k (897)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Andrew Coscoran 1 00:14:14
42 Ide Nic Dhomhnaill 1 00:15:48
Crusaders AC runners
24 Brian O’Kelly 00:15:09
83 Patrick Conlon 00:16:38 (PB)
207 Conor Macguinness 00:18:42
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/streets-of-kilkenny-2023/#1_7336A4
Na Fianna 5k (321)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Donlon 1 00:16:56
9 Julie Cleary 1 00:18:58
Crusaders AC runners
16 Phelim Murray 00:20:17
25 Sarah Lyons 00:20:45 (2)
33 Rebecca Fleming 00:21:07 (3)
Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/NaFianna5km2023.pdf
Malahide Parkrun (261)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jack Maughan 1 00:16:02
8 Cosette Desmond 1 00:19:28
Crusaders AC runner
20 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:22
Marlay Parkrun (404)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry McCartin 1 00:17:16
16 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:19:28
Crusaders AC runners
2 Daniel Lowe 00:17:23
3 Donatas Jocius 00:17:33
Enniskillen Parkrun (137)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Joseph Williamson 1 00:20:04
17 Béibhinn Bourke 1 00:22:18
Crusaders AC runners
40 Fiona Bane 00:25:27 (8)
92 Mairead Cashman 00:30:53 (34)
Shanganagh Parkrun (271)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ben Paviour 1 00:16:56
11 Chloe Hartley-Green 1 00:19:07
Crusaders AC runners
16 David Carter 00:20:03
179 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:13 (72)
199 Niamh Quinn 00:31:16 (89)
248 Carina Davidson 00:34:45 (123)
Knocknacarra Parkrun (78)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gavin Fox 1 00:19:11
3 Irene Gorman 1 00:20:01
Crusaders AC runner
3 Irene Gorman 00:20:01 (1)
Porterstown Parkrun (79)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David McConn 1 00:17:48
10 Darina Scully 1 00:24:06
Crusaders AC runner
10 Darina Scully 00:24:06 (1)
Sligo Parkrun (137)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rob Thornton 1 00:18:24
13 Maeve Haigney 1 00:21:06
Crusaders AC runner
26 John Rooney 00:23:59
Poolbeg Parkrun (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:43
9 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:38
Crusaders AC runners
3 Michael Wycherley 00:18:58
4 Alby Allan 00:19:03
18 Sharon Woods 00:22:24 (4)
38 Kevin Kenny 00:24:24
50 Tara Murphy 00:25:24 (15)
52 Josie Ward 00:25:27 (17)
103 Don Anderton 00:43:43
St. Anne’s Parkrun (420)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel De Palol 1 00:16:41
25 Vivien Nesbitt 1 00:20:34
Crusaders AC runners
47 Michael Maughan 00:21:54
145 Tim Hyland 00:25:59
Poppintree Parkrun (152)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ger Healy 1 00:15:57
28 Peigi Allen 1 00:22:43
Crusaders AC runner
44 Diarmuid Byrne 00:25:11
New Ross Parkrun (116)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John McGrath 1 00:17:44
7 Nicola Murphy 1 00:21:46
Crusaders AC runners
34 Fiona Shine 00:25:15 (5)
35 Lisa Shine 00:25:16 (6)
39 Julian Callan 00:25:29
61 Anna Shine 00:29:06 (19)
Cabinteely Parkrun (164)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ros Clancy 1 00:19:52
16 Victoria O’Mahony 1 00:22:51
Crusaders AC runners
42 Tanja Narancic 00:25:08 (6)
43 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:16 (7)
58 Dee Lawlor 00:26:49
99 Máirín Shine 00:30:38 (30)
124 Gavan Doherty 00:33:44
Castletown Parkrun (226)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Comer 1 00:18:21
21 Sophia O’Hara 1 00:22:33
Crusaders AC runners
31 Phelim Murray 00:23:31
832 Sarah Lyons 00:23:32 (4)
Falcarragh Parkrun (127)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael O’Conor 1 00:18:20
14 Stephanie Hawkins 1 00:22:43
Crusaders AC runner
1 Michael O’Conor 00:18:20
Ballincollig Parkrun (261)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark Hogan 1 00:17:50
8 Niamh O’Sullivan 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runner
11 Fergal Carroll 00:19:46
Templemore Parkrun (84)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aoife Delargy 1 00:19:02
3 Cian Ryan 1 00:19:16
Crusaders AC runner
9 Miriam Logan 00:21:38 (4)
Claremorris Parkrun (69)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John O’Donnell 1 00:18:36
3 Annie Hughes 1 00:20:28
Crusaders AC runner
3 Annie Hughes 00:20:28 (1)
Mungret Parkrun (99)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark Lynch 1 00:17:02
8 Susan Murnane 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
11 Luke Haran 00:21:40
Ormeau Parkrun (388)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Benedict Gillen 1 00:16:54
23 Rachel Morison 1 00:20:31
Crusaders AC runner
6 Ross Neill 00:19:08