What a wonderful weekend - again! It started on a chilly Saturday afternoon on a blustery golf course in Navan, converted for the day into a cross-country circuit. The course has several long drags, winding round in a 2k loop and, despite the ground being harder than one might have expected, it is strength-sapping and challenging with a long 250m uphill finish straight. In each of the men’s and women’s races we saw the running order of finishers changing on this demanding finish straight as some went too early in their attack. Conditions were breezy but dry for the two races. We had 29 intrepid Crusaders in the event, where we were defending both men’s and women’s team gold medals. Neither team disappointed, both gaining podium results, with the men successfully defending their title and the women taking the bronze. Neither race, however, was without its drama at the end. The men’s scorers, in their 6k race (3 loops) with its quality field, were all in a bunch, 10th through 19th, men’s captain Michael Kiely (10th) out on his own after having broken away from Fearghal O’Hare (14th), who himself came in ahead of Italo Giancaterina (18th) and Michael O’Conor (19th), crossing the line together. Important roles were to be played for yet another race in the latest XC sequence by Tony Carter (28th) and Michael Wycherley (38th). They acted as significant spoilers. At the end of the race both Crusaders and Dunboyne were equal on points with each having 61. However, despite having 3 runners among the top 10 finishers, Dunboyne were pushed into 2nd place on countback because Tony and Michael finished ahead of Dunboyne’s 4th scorer and Michael O’Conor’s 19th place was better than Dunboyne’s 43rd place. Every place counts. There were also excellent runs from the rest of the team with Joe McDermott placing 65th, followed by Daniel Lowe (77th), Diarmuid O'Foghlu (86th), Eddie Nugent (91st), Michael Maughan (94th), Kevin Darcy (99th), Gary Park (108th) and Phelim Murray (112th). In the inter-county competition, Michael Kiely, Fearghal and Italo were members of the gold medal winning County Dublin team. The women’s race, which preceded the men’s, was just as exciting. Initially, the women were awarded the bronze medal without question, but then it was found that Rathfarnham who looked to have been in 5th place were missing the result of their 1st scorer (Carla Sweeney). Carla, one of the pre-race favourites (and 1st scorer on the gold-medal-winning Co. Dublin team), had been in 4th place going into the last 100m but ultimately finished in 6th. If she had not been overtaken, the outcome would have been significantly different, as, once the smoke had cleared, Rathfarnham finished one point behind Crusaders (who held on to the bronze medal) on 104 points. A narrow escape! Julie McGrath (15th) led the Cru pack over the line, breaking away from a group that also included Kiera Roche (23rd) for a time. Rachael Yorke had her usual gutsy performance placing 31st ahead of surprise of the day Jane Wallace who also had a super race (34th). They were our 4 scorers and were followed by great runs from Katie McElroy (50th), Serena Moloney (55th) and Sarah Lyons (60th) finishing strongly, ahead of Grainne Regan (62nd). Next came Maeve Muldowney (75th), followed by Emer Kenny (79th), Anna Shine (98th), Aisling Dilworth (101st) and Mairead Cashman (105th). It was another excellent day of cross country running for the club. Next up will be the Dublin seniors at the weekend to be held in Santry Demesne. It also promises to be exciting and of the highest quality, as usual. On Sunday, there were also fish to be fried as we fielded at least 60 runners in the 39th edition of the Dublin marathon. In the end we had a few casualties, but at least 58 managed to cross the finish line, tired but generally happy. It was, as usual, a strong performance from the club, since, although other clubs could perhaps boast of larger turnouts, few could produce a similar level of performance. Nearly 90% of our runners came home in under 4 hours (49 out of 58), with 11 finishing inside 3 hours and 31 (or more than 50%) inside 3:30. We are reasonably confident that among the results we’ll have produced a couple of national age category champions (both as it happens, marathon coaches!) with a good chance of some medals at provincial and county level too. The report will be updated once confirmed. Conditions for the race were probably as good as you’re likely to get. The northerly Arctic wind had dropped considerably. It was cold at the start, but got warmer through the morning, so that hats and gloves were the principal items discarded on route. The weather conditions probably explain the significant number of PBs, since the course is definitely not easy, with a lot of hills in the first half and several again towards the end. The hills are so steep in places that it was quite a challenge for the wheelchair racers who found themselves struggling on the uphills and then flying down among the runners (particularly on Knockmaroon Hill) at breakneck speed with no apparent ability to stop and runners parting hurriedly to get out of their way or risk being taken out! Crusaders enjoyed the best conditions of all, as our supporters, who are second to none, were literally everywhere and calling out with great gusto. The runners felt themselves humble and privileged to get so much encouragement wearing the red and white singlet that can be seen for miles. Our top 10 men included Frank Halligan with a PB time of 2:35 (and a 1 minute differential in the splits), followed by Ciaran Diviney who ran 2:36 in even splits as usual on the back of Berlin 6 weeks ago, for 2nd place in the M45s and likely national, Leinster and Dublin champion as a result. Both spent some time helping to run with Lizzie Lee, first Irish female athlete home. Albin Ingmarsson, in his 2nd marathon, ran a PB of 2:40, followed by Padraig Sheehan (a PB of 2:43) who ran in Chicago earlier in the month in 2:50 and Rob Cross who, despite an inflamed Achilles, pulled out a 2:47 result. After some confusion, Frank, Ciaran and Albin won senior men's team bronze medals in Leinster and Dublin. Seamus MacFloinn was next also in 2:47 (which may be a PB), followed by Adam Flanagan (2:49 and a PB) and Dee Lawlor (who definitely did get a PB and had to dash off for a flight to Lisbon which he just made immediately afterwards). Dee was followed by the ever-dependable Warren Swords (2:56), followed himself by Stephen O’Kennedy (2:57 and a PB) and, then, one of the most improved runners of the year, Rob Browne, was next also in 2:57, running slightly negative splits for a 13 minute PB improvement. We should also note that Declan Ryan of Thurles, one our visually-impaired friends who trains with us, ran a super 2:51 as well. Just outside 3 hours came Niall Murphy (3:00), whose calf seized up outside the RTE complex, but he managed to hold on. Karl Walsh and Turlough Bolger were next, both in 3:02, followed by James Cottle, who, in his 50th marathon (completed admittedly over 20 years), specifically targeted to occur in Dublin, and again another Berlin runner, was only 13 seconds off his PB in 3:03 and won his age category with surprising ease, taking the 3 titles available with the victory. Behind James came Seamus Moore (3:05), Brian Scanlan (a PB of 3:09), Bob Cahill, coming back from injury (3:10), Patrick Needham (a PB of 3:11), Tom Clarke (3:12), Matt Cranley (without the buggy in a PB of 3:12), Pat Quill (3:13), Micheal Killeen (3:24), Damien Fitzgibbon (3:25), Gian Piero Allerta (in a PB time of 3:29), Joe O’Donoghue (3:29), T.J. Bourke (3:29), on the back of training impacted by hamstring difficulties but in advance of running the marathon in New York this coming weekend, Donatas Jocius (3:31), Tommy Faherty (3:40), newcomers Tim Duggan (3:41) and Cormac McGuire (3:32), Gerard White (3:52), Barry O’Neill (3:47), Dave Tuohy (3:53), Mike Stewart, recovering from injury (3:55), Bob Manson (4:05), a week after Amsterdam, Joe Dunne (3:59) successfully pacing the 4 hour runners again with wife Olwyn (3:59), newcomer Colin Maguire (4:07), Russell Murphy (4:08), Leo Lundy (5:11) and Lesley Lluyd Hughes (6:59). There was also an excellent turnout of Cru women in the race (particularly bearing in mind that this year’s medal reproduced an image of Countess Markiewicz), with at least 17 (or nearly a third of our contingent) running in the event for the club. There were some excellent results which might otherwise have produced medals but for the fact that prizes are awarded on gun time, not chip, and so anyone not in the first wave would be unlikely to receive anything. Adrienne Jordan, who suffered for a while in the second half, was our first woman home in 3:14, picking up a silver F40 medal in Leinster and a senior bronze in Dublin, along with a Dublin senior bronze team medal. Newcomer Jemma Lyons also distinguished herself with a PB of 3:23 but she started quite far back and her guntime does not help the result. F50 runner, Triona Quill was next with a PB of 3:27 (again, a winner of both Dublin and Leinster golds for her age category as well as a senior team bronze in Dublin), followed by Aoife Clarke with a PB of 3:28 and the 3rd scorer of the senior bronze medal-winning team in Dublin. Niamh Aspell ran an excellent 3:32, followed by London exile Maeve Curry who surprised herself with a 3:35 PB finish. Kate Murray ran a super 3:35 too (PB?), as did Aifric O’Sullivan (3:48) and Liz Nixon (3:54) another Berlin marathoner. Mary Fitzsimons ran 3:56, whilst Miriam Logan (3:53) produced an improvement of 6 minutes over her recent Berlin PB. Carina Davidson (3:54) was another runner with a PB, followed by newcomer Gillian Lyons (4:11), Maria Esteban (PB of 4:15), Michelle Geoghegan (4:45) and Aisling O’Connor (5:06) another Berlin runner and who accompanied her sisters around the course. Support from clubmates around the course was immense! Runners should also thank Bob Manson for once again letting us use his office facilities for changing and bag drop. What a great day and capped by Susan Walsh’s excellent and knowledgeable commentary on the race’s YouTube livestream in which many Crusaders featured! We also had a runner in Frankfurt on the same day. Barry McGuire ran an excellent 2:56. Bearing mind the major races taking place this weekend, there was still a good participation in the parkruns, even including one or two runners who took part in the marathon the following day (Brian Scanlan and Olwyn Dunne). Laura Flannelly (along with husband Brian) was a first finisher again (7th overall), this time in Porterstown in a time of 20:47. Brian Langton (60th in 27:17) and Kevin Flynn (109th in 40:500 also participated. Brian Scanlan placed 7th in 21:49 in River Valley, whilst Olwyn Dunne placed 76th overall, 18th female, in 26:04 in Bushy Dublin. Mairead Cashman also ran there just before heading up to Navan for the XC, placing 105th overall, 28th woman, in 28:20. David Carter took 3rd place in Cabinteely in 20:15, whilst Orlaith de Burca also ran before Saturday Leinster Novices in Shanganagh, placing 85th overall, 17th female finisher, in 27:12. Aidan Hudner ran once again in Glasgow, placing 73rd in field of 164 in 22:23, whilst Darina Scully took 199th spot overall, 54th woman, in 27:42 in Malahide. We had 3 runners in Marlay. Luke Davis came home in 8th place in 18:57, followed by David Long (10th in 19:19) and Killian Barry (12th in 19:23). Meanwhile we had 2 runners in St. Anne’s. Donal Foley was 42nd in 21:05, followed by Aoife Quinn (164th overall, 34th woman, in 25:15). Diarmuid Byrne (6th in 21:56) and Maria Pertl (27th overall, 11th woman, in 28:03) took on Tolka valley, whilst we had 6 participants in Poolbeg. The contingent was led across the line by Zlatko Kulic (19th in 19:35), followed by Tim O’Donnell (25th in 20:09), Sharon Woods (55th overall, 7th woman, in 23:40), Lisa Shine (74th overall, 12th woman, in 24:54), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (111th overall, 30th woman, in 28:28) and Mairin Shine, on the road back to recovery (150th overall, 54th woman, in 45:55). Leinster Novices XC (Men 6k) (115 finishers) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cormac Dalton 1 00:19:19 2 Mitchell Byrne 2 00:19:24 Crusaders AC runners 10 Michael Kiely 00:20:30 14 Fearghal O’Hare 00:20:40 18 Italo Giancaterina 00:20:54 19 Michael O’Conor 00:20:54 28 Tony Carter 00:21:19 38 Michael Wycherley 00:21:43 65 Joe McDermott 00:22:27 77 Daniel Lowe 00:22:49 86 Diarmuid O'Foghlu 00:23:19 91 Eddie Nugent 00:23:29 94 Michael Maughan 00:23:36 99 Kevin Darcy 00:24:07 108 Gary Park 00:25:24 112 Phelim Murray 00:26:09 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/leinster_cross_country_novice/2925/results Leinster Novices XC (Women 4k) (106 finishers) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nadine Donegan 1 00:15:05 2 Kevin Costello 2 00:15:07 Crusaders AC runners 15 Julie McGrath 00:15:57 23 Kiera Roche 00:16:18 31 Rachael Yorke 00:16:34 34 Jane Wallace 00:16:39 50 Katie McElroy 00:17:11 55 Serena Moloney 00:17:19 60 Sarah Lyons 00:17:30 52 Grainne Regan 00:17:33 75 Maeve Muldowney 00:18:10 79 Emer Kenny 00:18:21 98 Anna Shine 00:20:28 101 Aisling Dilworth 00:20:44 105 Mairead Cashman 00:22:25 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/leinster_cross_country_novice/2925/results Dublin marathon (16435) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Asefe Bekele 1 02:13:23 57 Mesera Dubiso 1 02:33:48 Crusaders AC runners 71 Frank Halligan 02:35:59 (PB) 77 Ciaran Diviney 02:36:23 118 Albin Ingmarsson 02:40:47 (PB) 151 Padraig Sheehan 02:43:45 (PB) 218 Rob Cross 02:47:46 226 Seamus MacFloinn 02:47:58 248 Adam Flanagan 02:49:19 301 Dee Lawlor 02:51:55 (PB) 440 Warren Swords 02:56:17 476 Stephen O’Kennedy 02:57:16 493 Rob Browne 02:57:13 (PB) 711 Niall Murphy 03:00:31 739 Karl Walsh 03:02:02 772 Turlough Bolger 03:02:59 781 James Cottle 03:03:31 859 Seamus Moore 03:05:12 1092 Brian Scanlan 03:09:52 (PB) 1103 Bob Cahill 03:10:39 1118 Patrick Needham 03:11:03 (PB) 1185 Thomas Clarke 03:12:24 1206 Matt Cranley 03:12:38 (PB) 1276 Pat Quill 03:13:57 1286 Adrienne Jordan 03:14:08 (74) 2012 Micheal Killeen 03:24:51 2106 Damien Fitzgibbon 03:25:55 2272 Triona Quill 03:27:24 (PB) (181) 2297 T.J.Bourke 03:29:21 2319 Gian Piero Allerta 3:29:09 (PB) 2320 Joe O’Donoghue 03:29:40 2468 Aoife Clarke 03:28:07 (PB) (206) 2475 Donatas Jocius 03:31:29 (PB) 2602 Niamh Aspell 03:32:34 (PB) (227) 2760 Kate Murray 03:35:09 (PB) (247) 2922 Jemma Lyons 03:23:38 (PB) (264) 3084 Tomas Faherty 03:40:14 3205 Tim Duggan 03:41:46 3542 Cormac McGuire 03:32:41 3814 Maeve Curry 03:35:35 (PB) (411) 3909 Gerard White 03:52:31 4155 Liz Nixon 03:54:11 (480) 4926 Barry O’Neill 03:47:42 5092 Aifric O’Sullivan 03:48 33 (696) 5622 Carina Davidson 03:54:51 (PB) (836) 5444 Dave Tuohy 03:53:07 5783 Mike Stewart 03:55:30 6041 Mary Fitzsimons 03:56:29 (964) 6747 Bob Manson 04:05:42 7012 Miriam Logan 03:53:47 (PB) (1248) 7030 Colin Maguire 04:07:08 7158 Russell Murphy 04:08:00 7350 Gillian Lyons 04:11:00 (1349) 7802 Olwyn Dunne 03:59:51 (pacer) 7807 Joe Dunne 03:59:52 (pacer) 10690 Maria Esteban 04:15:11 (PB) (2634) 11780 Leo Lundy 05:11:33 12995 Michelle Geoghegan 04:45:18 (3749) 13571 Aisling O’Connor 05:06:53 (4046) 16160 Leslie Lluyd Hughes 06:59:59 Full results here: Malahide Parkrun #311 (306) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Conor Fitzpatrick 1 00:16:54 3 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:31 Crusaders AC runner 199 Darina Scully 00:27:42 (54) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/malahide/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=311 Marlay Parkrun #278 (439) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Valter Valente 1 00:17:48 13 Ciara Hickey 1 00:18:06 Crusaders AC runners 8 Luke Davis 00:18:57 10 David Long 0:19:19 12 Killian Barry 00:19:23 Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=278 Poolbeg Parkrun #61 (152) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Matthew Rees 1 00:16:24 7 Kerry O’Flaherty 1 00:17:56 Crusaders AC runners 19 Zlatko Kulic 00:19:35 25 Tim O’Donnell 00:20:09 55 Sharon Woods 00:23:40 (7) 74 Lisa Shine 00:24:54 (12) 111 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:28:28 (30) 150 Mairin Shine 00:45:55 (54) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=61 St Annes’s Parkrun #255 (411) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Brian Leahy 1 00:16:23 24 Deborah Monaghan 1 00:20:00 Crusaders AC runners 42 Donal Foley 00:21:05 164 Aoife Quinn 00:25:15 (34) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=255 Shanganagh Parkrun #186 (164) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Louis Byrne 1 00:18:48 22 Marie Louise Maddison 1 00:22:12 Crusaders AC runner 85 Orlaith de Burca 00:27:12 (17) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=186 Porterstown Parkrun #158 (121) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Brian Flannelly 1 00:18:01 7 Laura Flannelly 1 00:20:47 Crusaders AC runners 7 Laura Flannelly 00:20:47 (1) 60 Brian Langton 00:27:17 109 Kevin Flynn 00:40:50 Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstownt/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=158 Tolka Valley Parkrun #36 (37) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:19:27 10 Aoife Donaghy 1 00:22:36 Crusaders AC runners 6 Diarmuid Byrne 00:21:56 27 Maria Pertl 00:28:03 (11) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tolkavalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=36 Bushy Parkrun #87 (190) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aiden O’Donnell 1 00:19:01 4 Orna Dilworth 1 00:19:38 Crusaders AC runner 105 Mairead Cashman 00:28:20 (28) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/bushydublin/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=87 River Valley Parkrun #117 (114) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Luke Murphy 1 00:20:13 4 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:21:20 Crusaders AC runner 6 Brian Scanlan 00:21:49 Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/rivervalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=117 Cabinteely Parkrun #186 (129) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mark Sheridan 1 00:18:51 12 Christine Hannelly 1 00:22:53 Crusaders AC runner 3 David Carter 00:20:15 (3) Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=186 Comments are closed.
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