Short Runs on the Shortest Day (a short report)

Poolbeg parkrun preparation

​‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and thank heavens for parkruns to keep us all competitive when little else is scheduled and also all prepared for the mountain of food to come! 

Parkrunning was the order of the day on a blustery, but otherwise dry and sunny Saturday morning, the day of the Winter Solstice and, as has typically been the case throughout the year, Crusaders were out in force.

We start with the first finishers and, unusually, one of them came from down under. One of our exiles, Maurice Kelter, rounded off his spectacular year leading the field of 307 in the Queens Domain parkrun in Hobart, Tasmania, in a super time of 16:56. We also had another first finisher away from home, with Tara Murphy running in the Delaware and Raritan Canal parkrun in the USA, placing 7th and 1st female athlete across the line in 26:55 in a field of 31. Nearer to home, Darina Scully ran once again in River Valley Park, where, in a field of 88, she placed 18th overall and 1st female finisher in a time of 25:05.
Elsewhere, Laura O’Malley placed 11th and 3rd in Letterkenny, with its field of 63, whilst Mary Donnelly took 20th and 4th spots in Mungret down in Limerick. Mary ran 22:32 in the field of 98, with Kev Moore running 19:34 for 6th place overall. Louise O’Riordan ran alongside 310 runners in Ballincollig, where she placed 59th and 9th in 23:50, whilst Eoghan Corrigan, once again pushing his double buggy, ran 24:09 for 16th place in the 72-strong field in Brickfields.

As usual, our largest turnout was in Poolbeg. In a field of 158, Stephen Hurley placed 3rd in 18:04, followed by Kenan Furlong in 4th place in 18:33. Kenan was followed by Zlatko Kulic (12th in 20:37), John McDowell (14th in 21:00), Ryan Preston (23rd in 22:20), Fergal Morrissey (27th in 22:42), Luke Clarke (37th in 23:37), Fiona Bane (44th and 6th in 24:19), Josie Ward (49th and 7th in 24:35), Sharon Woods (53rd and 8th in 24:59), Bo Chicoine (60th in 25:38), Ellen Walsh (65th and 14th in 26:06), Alan Martin (70th in 26:27), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (92nd and 27th in 28:42), Aisling O’Riordan (98th and 31st in 29:00), Lorraine McMahon (104th and 34th in 29:09), Franky Keane (124th in 31:23) and Maureen McGinley (130th and 52nd in 33:10).

Ross Neill headed back to his native Belfast to run in the Ormeau parkrun, where he placed 11th in a field of 457 and in a time of 18:40, whilst Michael Wycherley, holidaying own in Queenstown, New Zealand’s South Island, joined a field of 245, placing 15th in 20:08. Karl Walsh ran once again in Naas, where, alongside 167 other participants, he placed 9th in 19:29.

We had a strong showing in St. Anne’s, Raheny. Eugene O’Neill led our contingent home in 34th place in 20:18 in a field of 504. Eugene was followed by Ivan Kinehan (143rd in 24:44) and then by Julian Callan (245th in 27:25). Lisa Shine and Emer Kenny ran side by side, with Lisa placing 376th and 142nd in 31:59, followed by Emer (377th and 143rd, 1 second behind in 32:00). The were followed closely by Máirín Shine (384th and 148th in 32:07) alongside Fiona Shine (385th and 149th in the same time) and finally by Anna Shine (394th and 154th in 32:18).

Dee Lawlor placed 17th in 23:44 in Cabinteely, with Carmel Higgins a little further back (50th and 10th in 26:41). In the field of 159, they were followed by Carina Davidson (133rd and 41st in 42:17). Meanwhile, Paul and Aoife Kelly ran once again in Poppintree, where, alongside 170 other runners, Paul placed 26th in 24:15, followed by Aoife (95th and 25th in 30:34). Jill Nason was our sole runner in 172-strong field in Shanganagh, where she placed 129th and 38th in 30:21, whilst, we had 3 athletes in Marlay Park with its field of 497. Killian Barry took 23rd spot in 20:07, followed by Ailish Hassett who continues to reduce her times (139th and 31st in 25:13) and by Mairead Cashman (348th and 129th in 30:29). Finally, Deirdre Kennedy, one of our exiles in Australia back home for the holidays, ran in Bushy Park, where she placed 114th and 39th in 23:12. The field there measured 155.

There was one race, the following day, with Crusader involvement. However, it was in Spain. One of our Spanish exiles, Esther Requena Ferri, won the San Silvestre Monovera, a street race in Monovar in Southern Spain, inland from Alicante. Esther ran the 5k race in 21:09. Esther’s partner, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, also ran, completing the distance in 19:31.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Mungret Parkrun (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alan McCutcheon 1 00:17:09
8 Ella Grace Osborne 1 00:20:24
Crusaders AC runners
6 Kev Moore 00:19:34
20 Mary Donnelly 00:22:32 (4)
Letterkenny Parkrun (63)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Logue 1 00:20:03
7 Jane Toner 1 00:23:18
Crusaders AC runner
11 Laura O’Malley 00:24:18 (3)
Brickfields Parkrun (72)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Maxim Bondarenko 1 00:19:18
12 Georgia Palmer 1 00:23:00
Crusaders AC runner
10 Eoghan Corrigan 00:24:09
Bushy Parkrun (155)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom Aldred 1 00:16:27
12 Sinead Mitchell 1 00:23:12
Crusaders AC runner
114 Deirdre Kennedy 00:31:01 (39)
Marlay Parkrun (497)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Paul Nagle 1 00:17:40
38 Carmel Moran 1 00:21:36
Crusaders AC runners
23 Killian Barry 00:20:07
139 Ailish Hassett 00:25:13 (31)
348 Mairead Cashman 00:30:29 (125)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (504)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cillian Kirwan 1 00:15:03
4 Beth Reamsbottom 1 00:17:52
Crusaders AC runners
34 Eugene O’Neill 00:20:18
143 Ivan Kinehan 00:24:44
376 Lisa Shine 00:31:59 (142)
377 Emer Kenny 00:32:00 (143)
384 Máirín Shine 00:32:07 (148)
385 Fiona Shine 00:32:07 (149)
394 Anna Shine 00:32:18 (154)
Ormeau Parkrun (457)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jonathan Spratt 1 00:15:44
20 Harriet Buswell 1 00:19:44
Crusaders AC runner
11 Ross Neill 00:18:40
Naas Parkrun (168)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ronan Walsh 1 00:18:35
6 Michelle Cox 1 00:19:02
Crusaders AC runner
9 Karl Walsh 00:19:29
Cabinteely Parkrun (159)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Megan Brunt 1 00:19:41
2 Alan McAndrew 1 00:19:46
Crusaders AC runners
17 Derek Lawlor 00:23:44
50 Carmel Higgin 00:26:41 (10)
133 Carina Davidson 00:42:17 (41)
River Valley Parkrun (88)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Moore 1 00:20:35
18 Darina Scully 1 00:25:05
Crusaders AC runner
18 Darina Scully 00:25:05 (1)
Poppintree Parkrun (163)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mark Carolan 1 00:18:42
15 Mya O’Reilly 1 00:22:20
Crusaders AC runners
26 Paul F. Kelly 00:24:15
95 Aoife Kelly 00:30:34 (25)
Ballincollig Parkrun (311)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ronan Deasy 1 00:17:00
6 Laura Cussen 1 00:19:41
Crusaders AC runner
59 Louise O’Riordan 00:23:50 (9)
Poolbeg Parkrun (197)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher O’Reilly 1 00:17:53
18 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:28
Crusaders AC runners
3 Stephen Hurley 00:18:04
4 Kenan Furlong 00:18:33
12 Zlatko Kulic 00:20:37
14 John McDowell 00:21:00
23 Ryan Preston 00:22:20
27 Fergal Morrissey 00:22:42
37 Luke Clarke 00:23:37
44 Fiona Bane 00:24:19 (6)
49 Josie Ward 00:24:35 (7)
53 Sharon Woods 00:24:59 (8)
60 Bo Chicoine 00:25:38
65 Ellen Walsh 00:26:06 (14)
70 Alan Martin 00:26:27
92 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:28:42 (27)
98 Aisling O’Riordan 00:29:00 (31)
104 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:09 (34)
124 Franky Keane 00:31:23
130 Maureen McGinley 00:33:10 (52)
Shanganagh Parkrun (172)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Chris Hudson 1 00:17:47
14 Jane Gormley 1 00:19:30
Crusaders AC runner
129 Jill Nason 00:30:21 (38)

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Esther Requena Ferri

Cristian Vilchez Ceballos