Satisfying the Need – plenty of racing over the Christmas holidays

28/12/2022

Cian Coughlan, Áine Crotty, Ciara Lynch, David McEvoy and Tim O'Donnell

A mild festive period has allowed all scheduled events to take place and our members have taken full advantage on what has been on offer. The Christmas weekend witnessed a major turnout in parkruns and these were followed by the races that have taken place since. It’s always incredible how well people run on Stephen’s Day, considering what’s expected of us all the day before!

Christmas Eve saw participation by Crusaders near and far in at least 24 parkruns. In the UK there were even parkruns available here and there on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Hats off to all the volunteers who helped out on both days.

We start with the Fields of Athenry, an iconic 10k, that took place on Stephen’s Day. This was the 19th running of a race that started life in 2002. On an undulating course, with a reasonable wind behind runners for much of the second half of the race (but in their faces for a lot of the early stages), by managing to dip under 32 minutes (31:59) Brian O’Kelly was able to take 7th place in a field of 1,129 runners. He was followed by Galway native Cian Coughlan who also ran extremely well for his 64th place in 38:38. Cian was followed by another local, Áine Kenny, in training for the Tokyo marathon in early March, who ran 41:28 for 131st and 17th spots, with Brendan Glynn (232nd in 44:28) not too far behind and Diarmuid Fahey (446th in 46:36) a further two minutes behind Brendan. The contingent was completed by Áine Ryan (558th in 51:02). Members may be interested to learn that ex-Crusader, Catherine Thornton, placed 32nd and 3rd in a PB time of 36:01.

On the same day, we had at least two clubmates join the field of 292 in the Streets of Wicklow 5k. On a course with a couple of significant climbs on an otherwise lightly undulating course, and in a strong WSW breeze that would have been across the runners for the most part, Ollie McGrath placed 37th in 18:56, followed by Carina Davidson (159th and 38th in 26:04).

There were at least two other races on Stephen’s Day which saw Crusader participation. Down in Kerry, Tomás Bradley and Margaret Foley took part in the Farranfore Maine Valley AC 5k with its field of 235 runners. On an out-and-back course with a slight uphill start and, naturally, a downhill finish, together with the wind behind runners for the return, Tomás placed 64th in 20:41 and Margaret took 100th and 10th spots in 22:32.

Then, in Co. Tipperary, Eddie Nugent ran once again in the Clonmel AC 4-mile road race. He was joined this year by Alban Coghlan (21st and 4th M40 in 22:34) and ran 23:35 for 32nd place (and 4th M45) in a field of 288. The course is a relatively flat one, with a downhill start, but this year enjoying a headwind for the last 3k or so.

On Tuesday morning, at least 3 of our intrepid club-mates tackled the challenging 10k up and down Howth, a climb of about 150m, in the Suttonians RFC-organised Fat Turkey Run. Among the 386 runners were Emer Kenny, Olwyn Dunne and Darina Scully. Emer led the small contingent home in 81st and 12th places and a time of 47:29. Emer was followed by Olwyn who placed 99th and 15th (also 3rd “vet”, likely to be O/40) in 48:42 and then Darina (163rd and 34th in 52:21). The trail race was conducted in damp conditions and runners would have experienced a strong south-westerly wind which would have been in their faces on the climb.

On the same day, IMRA held an 8k race over Djouce in Co. Wicklow. The course had a climb of approx 120m and would have been familar to many of the 167 runners who took part. We had at least 3 Crusaders in the event. Ollie McGrath turned out again to place 14th in 37:01, followed by Redmond Murphy (60th in 43:05) and Ian Clifford (67th in 44:34).

On Christmas Eve it was good to see that we maintained our tradition of first and podium finishers in parkruns. Darina Scully ran in River Valley Park where, in a field of 65, she placed 12th overall and first woman home in 23:58, whilst Kevin Fitzgibbon led all 131 runners home in Castletown in a time of 18:11. Peter O’Toole was technically 2nd in St. Anne’s Raheny in a time of 16:51, among the 329 runners who followed him home was Paul F. Kelly, who placed 89th in 24:15. Warming up for his races in Athenry and Togher, Cian Coughlan ran in Oranmore, where, in a field of 39, he took 2nd place in a time of 20:26, whilst Ross Neill took on Ormeau Park in Belfast, where he placed 3rd in a field of 326 and in a time of 18:03. Ronan Moynihan was our sole runner in Mallow Castle where he took 2nd spot in 18:54 alongside 73 other participants, whilst Paula Bradshaw ran a parkrun best in Poolbeg in placing 19th and 3rd in a field of 87 and a time of 21:323. In an event that saw current European 50k champion Caitriona Jennings place 2nd in 17:51, Paula was joined by Daniel Sheridan (4th in 20:10), Martin McCoy (Caitriona’s partner) (5th in 20:14), Kenan Furlong who ran the parkrun as part of a much longer run (13th in 21:17), David O’Donnell (15th in 21:21), Gian Piero Allerta (30th in 23:45), Russell Murphy (34th in 24:11), Maureen McGinley (60th and 15th in 28:46), Una McCullagh (61st and 16th in 28:50) and David Tilly (63rd in 29:09). Sharon Woods joined 59 other runners in Tymon Park where she placed 19th and 4th in 25:25, whilst Dee Ni Chearbhaill ran with her sister, Maura Matthews, in Poppintree, placing 31st and 5th in 25:09 and in a field of 108. Tim O’Donnell ran in Clonakilty, where, alongside 29 other runners, he placed 6th in a time of 20:36, whilst Ali May Hann took 28th and 7th spots in Monaghan in finishing in 25:18 alongside 108 other participants. In Brickfields, Brian McGuckin came home in 5th place in a field of 54. Brian’s time was 21:09, whilst, in Portumna, Brendan Glynn also placed 5th in a time of 22:35, in a field of 31. Luke Haran was our singleton runner in Mungret Park in Limerick, where he placed 20th in 23:21 in a field of 67, whilst Karl Walsh took 17th spot in Naas in a time of 20:21. The field there measured 154. Barry O’Neill as our sole representative in the 381-strong field in Marlay Park where he ran 25:54 for 163rd place, whilst Tob Benham ran in Worthing on the south English coast, where he placed 7th in 17:03, alongside a field of 661 other runners. Tim Hyland ran with 95 other runners in Dundalk where he placed 29th in 24:47, whilst in Paradise Point, Queensland, Australia, our Aussie exile, Kris Ryan, joined 316 other runners, placing 71st and 17th in 25:17. Mairead Cashman crossed the finish line in Glen River Park in a time of 32:19 for 46th and 15th spots and she was followed almost immediately by Emma O’Mahony (47th and 16th in 32:21). Eoghan Corrigan and his partner Caroline Crowley ran in Kilcock where, in a field of 110, Eoghan placed 14th in 22:29, whilst Caroline, likely pushing a buggy, placed 68th and 19th in 31:02. In Shanganagh Carina Davidson took 100th and 32nd spots in a time of 29:12, followed by Orlaith de Burca in the 137-strong field, in 112th and 41st and a time of 30:36. Finally, on Christmas Eve, we had at least 8 runners in Cabinteely. In a field of 128, Tanja Narancic led our contingent home in 42nd and 9th spots in a time of 26:55. Tanja was followed by Olwyn Dunne (45th and 11th in 27:13), Stephen Mulligan (56th in 28:03), Anna Shine (64th and 19th in 29:23), Emer Kenny (69th and 24th in 29:55), Lisa Shine (71st and 25th in 29:58), Fiona Shine (72nd and 26th in 29:59) and Mairin Shine (76th and 29th in 31:11).

Then, on Christmas Day we had a runner in at least one parkrun held in the UK on that day. James Cottle joined 262 other participants in Finsbury Park, north London, where, on a hilly course in otherwise calm conditions, he placed 28th in 20:40, a course best for him. Ireland offered at least 12 parkruns and we had participants in 3 of them. Tim O'Donnell placed 2nd in Clonakilty with its modest field of 20 runners. Tim's time was 20:38. Mairead Cashman headed to Glen River Park where she placed 50th and 18th in 31:13 in a field of 62. Finally, three members of the Shine family were given the identical time of 30:24 in Waterstown, with Anna placing 102nd (and 23rd), Lisa (103rd and 24th) and Mairin (104th and 25th) in a field of 178.

Fields of Athenry 10k (1129)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Finley Daly 1 00:30:46
22 Ellen Moran 1 00:35:37
Crusaders AC runners
7 Brian O’Kelly 00:31:59
64 Cian Coughlan 00:38:38
131 Áine Kenny 00:41:28 (17)
232 Brendan Glynn 00:44:28
446 Diarmuid Fahey 00:46:36
558 Áine Ryan 00:51:02
Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/FoA2022.pdf
Inbhear Dee Streets of Wicklow 5k (292)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jonas Stafford 1 00:15:06
29 Hana Blake 1 00:18:33
Crusaders AC runners
37 Ollie McGrath 00:18:56
159 Carina Davidson 00:26:04 (38)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/inbhear_dee_streets_of_wicklow_5k/4651/results
Farranfore Maine Valley AC 5k (235)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Oisyn Spillane 1 00:15:22
11 Niamh O’Mahony 1 00:17:13
Crusaders AC runners
64 Tomás Bradley 00:20:41
100 Margaret Foley 00:22:32 (10)
Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/farranfore-maine-valley-ac-5k-2022/events/1?page=2
Clonmel 4-mile road race (288)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Lynch 1 00:18:37
12 Courtney McGuire 1 00:22:01
Crusaders AC runners
21 Alban Coghlan 00:22:34
32 Eddie Nugent 00:23:35
Full results here: https://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2022-Race-Results/MSD-4-Mile-Race-Results
Togher AC 5k road race (564)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Evan Byrne 1 00:15:07
10 Aoife Cooke 1 00:16:12
Crusaders AC runners
64 David McEvoy 00:18:57
96 Tim O’Donnell 00:19:54
132 Eoghan Walsh 00:20:45
152 Ciara Lynch 00:21:14 (25)
295 Áine Crotty 00:25:24 (52)
296 Cian Coughlan 00:25:24
Full results here: https://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2022-Race-Results/Togher-AC-5K-Results
Fat Turkey Run 10k (386)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciaran McCarthy 1 00:35:21
3 Kate Purcell 1 00:36:53
Crusaders AC runners
81 Emer Kenny 00:44:34 (12)
99 Olwyn Dunne 00:48:42 (15)
163 Darina Scully 00:522:1 (34)
Full results here: https://fatturkeyrun.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/results-2022-1.0-1.pdf
IMRA Djouce Remembrance Run (167)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Derek Crammond 1 00:32:40
31 Cristin Scollard 1 00:39:37
Crusaders AC runners
14 Ollie McGrath 00:37:01
60 Redmond Murphy 00:43:05
67 Ian Clifford 00:44:34
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/2206
Clonakilty Parkrun (30)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Naoise Ó Flaitheartaigh 1 00:17:14
17 Susan Steele 1 00:26:12
Crusaders AC runner
6 Tim O’Donnell 00:20:36
Marlay Parkrun (381)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Shane O’Neill 1 00:16:19
15 Amy Moran 1 00:18:54
Crusaders AC runner
163 Barry O’Neill 00:25:54
St. Anne’s Parkrun (331)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Peter O’Toole 1 00:16:51
10 Zoe Quinn 1 00:18:39
Crusaders AC runners
2 Peter O’Toole 00:16:51
89 Paul F. Kelly 00:24:15
Shanganagh Parkrun (137)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen McGuinn 1 00:17:08
11 Sarah Baryga 1 00:20:42
Crusaders AC runners
100 Carina Davidson 00:29:12 (32)
112 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:36 (41)
River Valley Parkrun (65)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Murphy 1 00:18:25
12 Darina Scully 1 00:23:58
Crusaders AC runner
12 Darina Scully 00:23:58 (1)
Naas Parkrun (154)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Donal Moran 1 00:16:56
10 Geraldine Moffat 1 00:19:50
Crusaders AC runner
17 Karl Walsh 00:20:21
Tymon Parkrun (60)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cian Rynne 1 00:18:43
4 Sinead Tighe 1 00:20:14
Crusaders AC runner
19 Sharon Woods 00:25:25 (4)
Poppintree Parkrun (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Youssef Salem 1 00:18:32
8 Maura Matthews 1 00:21:04
Crusaders AC runner
31 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:25:09 (5)
Cabinteely Parkrun (128)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Nick Bowker 1 00:15:56
11 Robyn Kennedy 1 00:21:40
Crusaders AC runners
42 Tanja Narancic 00:26:55 (9)
45 Olwyn Dunne 00:27:13 (11)
56 Stephen Mulligan 00:28:03
64 Anna Shine 00:29:23 (19)
69 Emer Kenny 00:29:55 (24)
71 Lisa Shine 00:29:58 (25)
72 Fiona Shine 00:29:59 (26)
76 Mairin Shine 00:31:11 (29)
Dundalk Parkrun (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Keith Geoghegan 1 00:17:10
5 Kelly Breen 1 00:19:44
Crusaders AC runner
29 Tim Hyland 00:24:47
Oranmore Parkrun (39)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alasdair Brown 1 00:19:09
9 Elaine Harrington 1 00:23:36
Crusaders AC runner
2 Cian Coughlan 00:20:26
Monaghan Parkrun (109)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James McKenny 1 00:17:35
7 Ciara Quigley 1 00:22:11
Crusaders AC runner
28 Ali May Hann 00:25:18 (6)
Poolbeg Parkrun (87)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Reynolds 1 00:17:42
2 Caitriona Jennings 1 00:17:51
Crusaders AC runners
4 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:10
5 Martin McCoy 00:20:14
13 Kenan Furlong 00:21:17
15 David O’Donnell 00:21:21
19 Paula Bradshaw 00:21:33 (3)
30 Gian Piero Allerta 00:23:45
34 Russell Murphy 00:24:11
60 Maureen McGinley 00:28:46 (15)
61 Una McCullagh 00:28:50 (16)
63 David Tilly 00:29:09
Brickfields Parkrun (54)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gareth Murran 1 00:17:32
11 Anne Hughes 1 00:24:30
Crusaders AC runner
5 Brian McGuckin 00:21:09
Portumna Parkrun (31)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Joe Dervan 1 00:19:00
2 Ruth Dervan 1 00:21:05
Crusaders AC runner
5 Brendan Glynn 00:22:35
Mungret Parkrun (67)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Griffin 1 00:18:50
10 Niamh Sheehan 1 00:21:57
Crusaders AC runner
20 Luke Haran 00:23:21
Glen River Parkrun (65)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Richard Bourke 1 00:20:11
14 Evelyn Mullins 1 00:24:33
Crusaders AC runners
46 Mairead Cashman 00:32:19 (15)
47 Emma O’Mahony 00:32:21 (16)
Royal Canal Parkrun, Kilcock (110)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alexander Wallace 1 00:17:51
2 Maebh Caffrey 1 00:19:09
Crusaders AC runners
14 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:29
68 Caroline Crowley 00:31:02 (19)
Mallow Castle Parkrun (74)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Simon Bernard 1 00:18:49
6 Emma Flynn 1 00:19:47
Crusaders AC runner
2 Ronan Moynihan 00:18:54
Ormeau Parkrun (326)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Connolly 1 00:15:48
16 Grainne McGrath 1 00:19:35
Crusaders AC runner
3 Ross Neill 00:18:03
Castletown Parkrun (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kevin Fitzgibbon 1 00:18:11
4 Linda Earley 1 00:21:55
Crusaders AC runner
1 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:18:11
Clonakilty Parkrun (20)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin 1 00:20:23
3 Deirdre McCarthy 1 00:22:43
Crusaders AC runner
2 Tim O'Donnell 00:20:38
Glen River Parkrun (62)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tobi Grab 1 00:19:18
2 Michelle Kenny 1 00:19:33
Crusaders AC runner
50 Mairead Cashman 00:31:13 (18)
Waterstown Parkrun (178)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruairi Long 1 00:17:42
24 Aoife McCavana 1 00:21:23
Crusaders AC runners
102 Anna Shine 00:30:24 (23)
103 Lisa Shine 00:30:24 (24)
104 Mairin Shine 00:30:34 (25)