Running Amok – thrills and spills of racing

Fearghal O'Hare

We are all nervously waiting to see if, come the end of August, the maximum number of runners in a race may be allowed to increase. For road racing, in particular, we all need to see the limit move up from 200 to 500 for some of the fixtures to be viable. In the meantime, we continue to train in the hope that these races will ultimately go ahead on the scheduled dates. However, September is looking increasingly at risk.

There has of course been some successful racing, albeit with really small numbers or organised virtually. IMRA can pat itself on the back with its recent offerings, even though the limit is at around 100 runners with a few stewards in addition. Then, the Dublin graded meets have generated substantial interest, selling out quickly.

The most recent graded track and field meet, organised by Dublin Athletics, took place last Wednesday in Tallaght and several of our members were able to participate in the 200m and 800m events that were staged there.  There was also a field event competition, with Jonny Bell placing 2nd out of 9 in the shot put with a throw of 11.82m. In the women’s 200m AB1 race, Rhianna McCarthy ran 26.64, coming home in 3rd place in an 8-strong field, narrowly missing out on 2nd place in a photo finish. We had 2 competitors in the 7-strong men’s A1 200m, with Shane Keane placing 4th in 23.00 followed hard on his heels by Hugo Magee in 5th in 23.01. Likewise, we had 2 clubmates take part in the men’s B1 event, with victory going to Valentinos Goularas in 23.59, followed by Max Doyle in 3rd in 24.42, in a field of 7 runners. To close out the 200m events, we had one runner in the men’s C1, where Charlie Bastow placed 2nd in a field of 7 and a time of 23.99. Then, we come onto the 800m races, in 5 of which we fielded competitors. Fiona Shine ran in the women’s AB1 event where, in a field of 9 runners, she placed 9th in 2:35.32. Fiona would have finished higher up the field but for a girl falling in front of her with 350m to go. Fiona was able to side step inside the fallen runner but it impacted her finishing time. Sister Lisa Shine also experienced some discomfort in her C1 event. In a field of 10 runners, Lisa placed 6th in 2:47.04, having a lace come untied 50m into the race. She was lucky that neither she nor anyone else was tripped by it and found that she was able to run almost as well as if it had not happened. Fearghal O’Hare took on the men’s A1 event, where he placed 5th out of 11 in a time of 1:55.51. The B2 race followed and 4th place went to Finn Boyle in 2:07.06, Finn crossing the line ahead of 7 other runners. Finally, in the 14-strong D1 race, Brendan Glynn and Paul Kelly finished, respectively, 10th and 14th in times of 2:37.15 and 2:55.16.

Also last Wednesday, two Crusaders competed in the IMRA race set around Scalp in the Dublin Mountains. The race distance measured 6.35k with an overall climb of 217m involving two loops of different size on moderate terrain in the woods of Barnaslingan and Carrickgollogan. In a field of 105 runners, and a race won overall by Karol Cronin of Sportsworld in 24:32, Warren Swords found himself in 4th place for much of what he considered a tough challenge, holding onto 2nd and 3rd placed runners for much of the distance, but finally being unable to overtake them. He finished in a time of 25:51. The group was surprised at one stage, however, when a huge feral pig shot across the path in front of them. It’s an unusual but not unknown sighting of such animals in the area. Geraldine Clements also took part in the race, her first in a while, and she placed 94th overall, 19th female finisher and 4th F45 in a time of 45:08.
 
Finally, since early July, and his Malin to Mizen Head achievement, Leo Lundy has been busy on the virtual stage, clocking up three long runs that could be completed side by side. The first was the Ulster Way 1000km. Leo crossed the line in 2nd place out of 34 competitors in a time of 29 days, 13 hours and 6 minutes, a new PB for the intrepid ultra-runner. The second was the 120 miles Trans-Rockies Ultra, in which Leo placed 3rd with a time of 3 days, 20 hours and 27 minutes. Finally, in the past few days, Leo embarked on the Trans Texas Virtual run (879 miles theoretically along the I-10 the length of Texas finishing in El Paso, but in reality an average of 22 miles a day since the beginning of July in the heat and humidity of Southern England). Leo won the solo element of the race, with a winning margin of 158 miles over his nearest competitor.

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Fiona Shine

Lisa Shine

Warren Swords

Geraldine Clements