Sand, rocks, wind and rays of sun

27/5/2019

Paul Dempsey

The report starts with last week’s BHAA 5k beach run on Sandymount Strand at low tide on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it clashed once again with training on Tuesday night, so that the amount of Crusader participation was minimal at 6 runners and the overall number of competitors was relatively low at 127 (somewhat close to the levels Crusaders used to get for its annual Bloomsday 5k run in the same spot a few years ago and before we took back full control of the Docklands race). It’s a shame that it is so poorly supported, as it’s a fun event and, in keeping with BHAA tradition, there’s always a good spread to follow.

On a windy but mild evening, and on the usual 2 lap course, Karl Walsh distinguished himself in the race with an excellent time of 18:02 for 3rd place, followed by Patrick Needham who ran 20:04 for 12th place. Patrick reported that there was a strong headwind on the way out and thankfully becoming a tailwind on the return. There was usual soft sand and also pools of water to navigate, but still highly enjoyable. Patrick was followed by Phelim Murray (28th in 21:36), Robbie Moore (39th in 22:19), Mairead Cashman (107th in 29:19) and Fiona Lane (113th in 30:18).

On the same evening the latest edition of the Bob Heffernan 5k took place in Co. Meath as the 3rd race in the 2019 Kia Race Series. By all accounts, it is a fast race and each of our 3 participants recorded a PB. In a field of 628 and where 235 runners broke 20 minutes, Brian Scanlan ran 18:07 for 118th place, followed by Cormac McGuire (19:34 for 201st) and Paul F. Kelly who ran 19:44 for 217th place. The attraction of this race could also have had an impact on the BHAA event on the same night.

A day later, we had club mates participate in the local Dublin mountains IMRA race. This occasion was the Three Rocks Summer race contested over a distance of 8.5k with a climb of 344m on difficult terrain, but on a warm and calm evening. 212 runners took part, reflecting the popularity of mountain running at this time, and we had at least 9 Crusaders in the fray. Jason Kehoe was our first athlete across the finishing line, in 6th place in a time of 41:12, followed by John McAuley who placed 22nd in 46:25. Next came the dependable Michael Maughan (41st in 48:51), followed by Brian McGuckin who continues to improve following injury (51st in 49:34) and who took the 6th O/50 spot. Gavan Doherty has continued to race a bit in recent weeks and he placed 54th in 50:11, followed by Karl Walsh who was suffering a little after his beach effort the evening before (61st in 50:54). Dorothy Maguire led the Crusader women home, placing 114th overall (11th woman finisher) in 57:59, followed by Kate Murray (117th and 12th in 58:17), who also took 5th place in the O/40 competition, and Claudine Hughes, inspired, like Kate, by the WWR effort of the week before (125th and 15th in 59:08).

Like the first swallow of summer, Freddy Sittuk has now returned to these shores and, along with fellow Kenyan Peter Somba, is likely to dominate the podiums during the coming months. Freddy’s first race of the season was one of the Runs with Ray (Darcy) that took place over the weekend. The race in question was organised by Sliabh Buidhe AC down in Craanford in Wexford on Sunday. In windy conditions, Freddy won the race beating 199 other runners in the process and recording a time of 15:30. We had just one runner in the race, but she acquitted herself well. Dee Ni Chearbhaill crossed the line in 36th place overall (4th female finisher) but more importantly, 1st F40, winning a highly unusual trophy into the bargain.

The appropriately named Windmill (10k) Run took place in Garristown Co Dublin on Sunday, also in windy conditions. Paul Dempsey was our only participant, taking a creditable 4th place in a field of 195 and in a time of 38:25.

On a weekend in which the veteran runner, Tommy Hughes, who will turn 60 in January, won the Newry Half marathon in an incredible time (a new world record for a 59-year old) of 1:11:57, we had one athlete in the Edinburgh half marathon on Sunday. In rainy conditions and in a field of nearly 11000 runners Kieran Martin came home in 156th place in an excellent 1:24:53.

We had some noteworthy results in the parkruns on Saturday morning. In Mallow Town, Ronan Moynihan was first finisher in 19:07, whilst Eddie Nugent, just across the border from his native county Waterford, in Clonmel, was also a first finisher in 18:20 (Maureen McGinley also ran there, placing 36th overall, 10th female, in 28:39). Finally, Dee Lawlor placed first in Shanganagh in 17:35, ahead of Orlaith de Burca (71st and 10th in 25:54). Other podium spots in parkruns went to Sarah Lyons and Brian Scanlan. Sarah ran in Fairview, placing 3rd (13th overall) in 23:13, whilst Brian placed 3rd in River Valley in a time of 19:45. With Sarah in Fairview was Anthony Owens who took 10th spot in 21:53. Just off the podium, David Carter placed 4th in Cabinteely in 19:53 (followed by Barry O’Mahony, 44th in 24:25), as was Kenan Furlong who placed 4th in Poolbeg in 18:46. In fact, we had 15 Crusaders take part in Poolbeg. Kenan was followed by Gavan Doherty (8th in 19:26), Paul Fox (18th in 21:09), Russell Murphy (32nd in 22:26), Olwyn Dunne (42nd and 5th in 23:06), Sharon Woods (55th and 10th in 24:02), Ali May Hann (66th and 12th in 24:31), Cathal Murphy (75th in 24:48), Ava Rose Clarke (79th and 15th in 25:09), Kate Healy (88th and 19th in 25:41), Gillian Curran (90th and 20th in 25;48), Karla Woods (112th and 29th in 27:23), Paul E. Kelly (113th in 27:43), Mary Dolan (114th and 30th in 27:44), Ciara McElligott (151st and 47th in 33:07) and Fiona Bane who was acting as tailwalker. Another 4th place finisher was Cormac McGuire who ran in Tolka valley and recorded a time of 19:58. Elsewhere, Mari hansen joined over 100 runners on the Isle of Man, and finishing in 33rd and 5th in a time of 25:56 in the Nobles parkrun on the island. Lisa and Mairin Shine took on Royal Canal Kilcock and placed respectively 37th (and 11th) and 83rd (and 39th) in times of 27:58 and 38:27. Meanwhile, Luke Davis placed 10th in Marlay in 18:52, followed by Killian Barry (16th in 19:29), Barry O’Neill (69th in 22:02) and Jonathan Sykes (74th in 22:10). Colm Foley took on Griffeen, placing 55th in 23:56, whilst Zlatko Kulic ran in St. Anne’s, placing 9th in 19:19, followed by Paul F. Kelly (259th in 27:450 and Aoife Kelly (297th and 101st in 28:53). Lastly, Maria Pertl and Diarmuid Byrne ran more or less side by side in Poppintree, where they placed respectively 79th (and 28th) and 80th in times of 32:16 and 32:17.

BHAA ESB 5k Beach Run (127)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Eoin Callaghan 1 00:16:58
10 Karla Doran 1 00:19:58
Crusaders AC runners
3 Karl Walsh 00:18:02
12 Patrick Needham 00:20:04
28 Phelim Murray 00:21:36
39 Robbie Moore 00:22:19
107 Mairead Cashman 00:29:19
113 Fiona Lane 00:30:18
Full results here: https://bhaa.ie/race/esb-5km-2019/
Windmill Run (195)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sandama Magee 1 00:36:53
12 Jill Horan 1 00:43:31
Crusaders AC runner
4 Paul Dempsey 00:38:25
Full results here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E8EjgfNsjPqti6pwlBZUodOhvHgjHldC/view?fbclid=IwAR3jhQTVaHCaOQUAbjfx_Mq5oYVb0qkk9GxFlQJgNiGrpkuXEgzXZmP9FMI
Run with Ray Craanford (200)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Freddy Sittuk 1 00:15:30
16 Clodagh Kelly 1 00:18:36
Crusaders AC runner
36 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:13 (4)
Full results here: http://www.sbrclub.com/
Bob Heffernan 5k (628)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Hiko Tonosa 1 00:14;19
32 Mary Mulhare 1 00:16:40
Crusaders AC runners
118 Brian Scanlan 00:18:07 (PB)
201 Cormac McGuire 00:19:34 (PB)
217 Paul F. Kelly 00:19;44 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/bob-heffernan-5k-road-race-2/#1_80DEA1
IMRA Three Rock Summer 8.5k (212)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke McMullan 1 00:38:23
27 Sonya McConnon 1 00:46:58
Crusaders AC runners
6 Jason Kehoe 00:41:12
22 John McAuley 00:46:25
41 Michael Maughan 00:48:51
50 Brian McGuckin 00:49:34
54 Gavan Doherty 00:50:11
61 Karl Walsh 00:50:54
114 Dorothy Maguire 00:57:59 (11)
117 Kate Murray 00:58:17 (12)
125 Claudine Hughes 00:59:08 (15)
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/1721
Mallow Town Parkrun #17 (82)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ronan Moynihan 1 00:19:07
12 Eimear Lavery 1 00:23:27
Crusaders AC runner
1 Ronan Moynihan 00:19:07
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/mallowtown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=17
Marlay Parkrun #306 (536)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:16:38
12 Harriette Ann-Marie Robinson 1 00:18:57
Crusaders AC runners
10 Luke Davis 00:18:52
16 Killian Barry 00:19:29
69 Barry O’Neill 00:22:02
74 Jonathan Sykes 00:22:10
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=306
St. Anne’s Parkrun #285 (462)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Conor Devaney 1 00:17:15
8 Aoife Brady 1 00:19:14
Crusaders AC runners
9 Zlatko Kulic 00:19:19
259 Paul F. Kelly 00:27:45
297 Aoife Kelly 00:28:53 (101)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=285
Shanganagh Parkrun #214 (179)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Derek Lawlor 1 00:17:35
24 Sheila Doyle 1 00:21:47
Crusaders AC runners
1 Derek Lawlor 00:17:35
71 Orlaith de Burca 00:25:54 (10)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=214
Poolbeg Parkrun #92 (167)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Will Rawling 1 00:17:47
10 Blaithin Sheil 1 00:19:55
Crusaders AC runners
4 Kenan Furlong 00:18:46
8 Gavan Doherty 00:19:26
18 Paul Fox 00:21:09
32 Russell Murphy 00:22:26
42 Olwyn Dunne 00:23:06 (5)
55 Sharon Woods 00:24:02 (10)
66 Ali May Hann 00:24:31 (12)
75 Cathal Murphy 00:24:48
79 Ava Rose Clarke 00:25:09 (15)
88 Kate Healy 00:25:41 (19)
90 Gillian Curran 00:25:48 (20)
112 Karla Woods 00:27:23 (29)
113 Paul E. Kelly 00:27:43
114 Mary Dolan 00:27:44 (30)
151 Ciara McElligott 00:33:07 (47)
167 Fiona Bane 00:49:56 (56)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=92
Cabinteely Parkrun #215 (152)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ted Burke 1 00:18:36
24 Joanne Ryan 1 00:21:53
Crusaders AC runners
4 David Carter 00:19:53
44 Barry O’Mahony 00:24:25
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=215
Tolka Valley Parkrun #66 (46)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Mick Bermingham 1 00:18:49
11 Claire Gilligan 1 00:23:33
Crusaders AC runner
4 Cormac McGuire 00:19:58
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tolkavalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=66
Royal Canal Kilcock Parkrun #7 (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Shane McNerney 1 00:18:54
2 Aine Burke 1 00:19:30
Crusaders AC runners
37 Lisa Shine 00:27:58 (11)
83 Mairin Shine 00:38:27 (39)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/royalcanalkilcock/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=17
Glen River Parkrun #27 (66)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Daniel Johnson 1 00:20:07
21 Carmel Brady 1 00:25:40
Crusaders AC runner
50 Mairead Cashman 00:32:23 (10)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=27
Griffeen Parkrun #311 (189)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alex O’Brien 1 00:17:43
14 Mary O’Hare 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
55 Colm Foley 00:23:56
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/griffeen/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=311
Poppintree Parkrun #236 (100)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paddy Quinn 1 00:19:00
23 Maureen Barrett 1 00:24:32
Crusaders AC runners
79 Maria Pertl 00:32:16 (28)
80 Diarmuid Byrne 00:32:17
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=236
River Valley Parkrun #147 (109)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Luke Murphy 1 00:19:06
6 Maeve O’Mahony 1 00:21:56
Crusaders AC runner
3 Brian Scanlan 00:19:45
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/rivervalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=147
Clonmel Parkrun #105 (61)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eddie Nugent 1 00:18:20
3 Orla Byrne 1 00:18:32
Crusaders AC runners
1 Eddie Nugent 00:18:32
36 Maureen McGinley 00:28:39 (10)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/clonmel/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=105
Fairview Parkrun #95 (95)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Bobby Bedford 1 00:18:43
8 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:21:50
Crusaders AC runners
10 Anthony Owens 00:21:53
13 Sarah Lyons 00:23:13 (3)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=95