One of the highlights of the year, the National Road Relays, took place on Sunday in brillian sunshine. Order has been somewhat restored. It is a super event and an opportunity for club athletes to compete alongside Olympians and other leading Irish runners. The races are of the highest quality. The format is relatively simple (except for the men’s seniors!) with, generally, 3 runners in a team, the first and third athletes running a mile leg and the middle covering a 2-mile distance, all on the same one mile, relatively flat, loop around the outside perimeter of a housing estate in Raheny. It doesn’t sound particularly glamorous, and, moreover, there is a certain amount of traffic at times on the route (there is invariably a double decker bus staying just feet ahead of the leading runners, which was indeed the case on Sunday in one of the races), and it is also run on a concrete surface, but it is such fun and fiercely competitive. This course, established and stewarded by Raheny Shamrock AC, has been in existence for some time and so most of the runners are familiar with its vagaries. Runners also reported that there was quite a strong headwind this year on the long home stretch of the course before the final turn for the finish. Although the club came home with no medals, still we saw some super running from the 6 teams we fielded. Unfortunately, we did not have a men’s senior team. That particular relay is 8k, (2,1,3,2) and we were not able to find 4 runners available this year. Hopefully, we can rectify that for next year. In the meantime, we had 2 O/35 teams in both men and women’s divisions, along with men’s and women’s O/50 teams. Our women’s masters teams were the first off, with a strong showing in the A team from Aoife Quigley placing 5th after the first leg, Clare Sullivan running solidly for the tough second leg and Mary Horgan finishing with the fastest anchor leg of all the runners in the race. The team finished in 5th place, less than 45 seconds off a podium place. The B team of Niamh Corby, Rebecca Fleming and Dee Ni Chearbhaill also ran well to come home in 9th place. The O/50s women’s team consisted of Sharon Woods, who had a super run for 4th fastest time on her leg, despite the tough distraction of a sudden bereavement in her family, Triona Quill and, also, Olwyn Dunne, just a week following the Boston marathon. They placed 7th overall. On the men’s side, our M35 A team of Peter O’Toole, Michael Kiely and Ciaran Diviney took 4th place overall, just 10 seconds off a podium place, with both Michael and Ciaran recording the 3rd fastest times for their legs, and the B team of Alan Sheehy, Michael Wycherley and Joe McDermott ran consistently too to place 14th overall. The men’s O/50 team were always going to find it challenging, but fought gamely and made sure that they did not carry the “lampe rouge” in placing 14th. Finally, we had 2 senior women’s teams. The A team had newcomer Charlotte Myers leading them off and giving them a good start with a 5th place finish in her leg. However, some of the clubs had kept their powder dry for the later legs and, eventually, the team of Charlotte, Léan Ni Chiobhain and Sarah McGettigan had to settle for 13th place overall. The B team of Ciara Lynch, Sarah Lyons and Emer Kenny (a last-minute draftee into the team) were able to finish around a minute behind our A team and took 20th place. On the roads this weekend, we had runners in several hilly events. In Connemara, Áine Kenny took part in the half marathon there, intending for it to be a training session, and surprised herself with the victory, placing 35th overall in a field of 798 runners and a time of 1:36:48. Enda Clarke also took part in the challenging race, placing 7th in a time of 1:27:08, ahead of Gareth Phelan (84th in 1:43:48), Ian Smith (158th in 1:56:06) and Pauline Szypruk (414th in 2:10:31). John Lohan ran the Connemarathon on the same day, just ahead of the half marathoners on the point-to-point hilly course, coming home in 49th place in a field of 355. John’s time was 3:40:08. Down in Wexford on Sunday we had three runners take part in the half marathon there. In a field of 934 finishers, Toby Benham was the first Crusader across the line in 12th place and a chiptime of 1:22:36. Toby was followed by Stephen Carroll in 18th place and a chiptime of 1:22:31, having started further down the field than Toby. The contingent was completed by Stephen Mulligan (588th in 2:00:06) as he prepares for the Waterford marathon later in the year. Continuing to speak of marathons, we had two runners in Hamburg and one in Madrid on Sunday morning. In Hamburg Eugene McDonough ran a steady pace throughout to record a time of 2:47:14, only about a minute off his PB, whilst Darran Lovely did record a PB with his time of 3:02:14. Both were excellent results in conditions where the temperature was favourable but where at time runners had to battle with a strong NE wind on the looped city course. Aitor Arribas Velasco ran in Madrid where he recorded a time of 4:20:42. There were two races in the mountains last week, the first won overall by Conor Greenan with Becky Quinn taking first place in the women’s race in both events. The first, in the Leinster League, was held on Wednesday evening and took place on Belmont and Little Sugar Loaf in Co. Wicklow. The race involved a 360m ascent in a race of 8.6k conducted over moderate terrain on a fully-marked route. Conor’s winning time was 40:36 and he was followed by Paul Flynn (18th in 45:18), Becky (20th in 45:47), Léan (Ni Chiobhain) who placed 33rd and 2nd in 48:20, Brian McGuckin (50th and 4th M50 in 51:14) and Gavan Doherty (77th in 57:10). The field measured 148. Then, on Sunday in warm and windy conditions, Becky took on the Circuit of Avonbeg, the venue for the Leinster Championships. It described itself as an event of extreme difficulty on unmarked trails covering a loop over 25.5k of Glenmalure Valley. The race involved a climb of 1,345m and encompassed Clohernagh, Luchnacoille, Camenabologue, Conavalla, Lugduff and Mullacor, all names to conjure with! In the small field of 36 runners, Becky’s time was 3:19:52 and she placed a creditable 13th overall to take the win. Further afield, Italo Giancaterina once again took on the 10,000m on the track in his native Italy. This time he took part in the Lazio regional championships where he placed 2nd in a great time of 32:19.20, under 2 seconds behind the winner. Numbers were generally higher this week than last in the parkruns. Again, we had some first finishers, and, once again they included Kate Murray, Kieran Little, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri. Kate ran in Mullingar where, in a field of 75, she placed 14th overall in 23:36, whilst Kieran led home several Crusaders with one or two recording milestone parkruns (Mairin Shine 200th and Fiona Shine 100th) in Cabinteely. The field measured 128 and Kieran’s time was 17:19. Next came Ronan Moynihan (5th in 19:17), Barry O’Mahony (17th in 22:23), Tanja Narancic (46th and 12th in 27:44), Mairead Cashman (64th and 19th in 29:07), Mairin Shine (66th and 21st in 29:13), Fiona Shine (67th and 22nd in 29:13), Lisa Shine (75th and 27th in 29:36), Orlaith de Burca (79th and 29th in 30:34) and Anna Shine (87th and 34th in 31:32). Cristian and Esther ran in Father Collins Park along with 62 other participants. Cristian’s time was 17:21 and Esther’s was yet another PB time with 18:56 for 6th place overall. Podium places were also secured elsewhere. Paul Cowhie ran in Malahide where he finished in 2nd place in 17:13 in a field of 236. Emer Kenny also ran, where she placed 91st and 15th in 25:08. Meanwhile, in Poolbeg, Stephen Hurley placed 2nd in a field of 149, in a time of 17:49. Stephen was followed by Thomas Vogee (4th in 18:44), Sam Carvill (5th in 19:03), Gerard Moore (6th in 19:05), Simon Everard (12th in 19:50), David Timoney (29th in 21:21), Russell Murphy (53rd in 24:18) and Maureen McGinley (109th and 31st in 29:37). Karl Walsh finished in 4th place in Naas where, in a field of 87, he ran 19:28. Toby Benham prepared for the Wexford half marathon with a run in Brickfields. Toby joined 70 other runners and placed 7th in a time of 21:33. Aoife Kelly ran in Fairview where she placed 44th and 13th in 28:51. The field measured 86. Alan Kavanagh placed 16th in 21:18 in a 200-strong field in Tralee, whilst Maria Kennedy ran in her native Kilkenny with 113 other runners, placing 47th and 17th in 27:56. Carina Davidson and Jill Nason ran in Shanganagh, with Carina running 26:57 for 69th and 12th, whilst Jill placed 94th and 28th in 28:59. The field measured 145. Further afield, Kris Ryan ran in Queensland and in Paradise point in a field of 195 she placed 50th and 8th. Finally, Darina Scully tailwalked in River Valley Park, whilst, in Tolka Valley, Diarmuid Byrne ran 24:39 for 15th place alongside 36 other runners. IMRA Belmont and Little Sugar Loaf (148) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Greenan 1 00:40:36 20 Becky Quinn 1 00:45:47 Crusaders AC runners 1 Conor Greenan 00:40:36 18 Paul Flynn 00:45:18 20 Becky Quinn 00:45:47 (1) 33 Lean Ni Chiobhain 00:48:20 (2) 50 Brian McGuckin 00:51:14 77 Gavan Doherty 00:57:10 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2149 Wexford Half marathon (934) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 David Mahon 1 01:11:43 26 Lucy O’Malley 1 01:26:12 Crusaders AC runners 12 Toby Benham 01:22:36 18 Stephen Carroll 01:22:31 588 Stephen Mulligan 02:00:06 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/pettitts_supervalu_wexford_half_marathon__10k/4309/results Connemara Half marathon (798) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Tom McEnery 1 01:20:09 35 Aine Kenny 1 01:36:48 Crusaders AC runners 7 Enda Clarke 01:27:08 35 Aine Kenny 01:36:48 84 Gareth Phelan 01:43:48 158 Ian Smith 01:50:56 414 Pauline Szypruk 02:10:31 Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/CNM2022_HalfMarathon.html Connemarathon (355) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Paul Ogle 1 02:56:36 18 Jacqueline Rustidge 1 03:24:33 Crusaders AC runner 49 John Lohan 03:40:08 Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/CNM2022_HalfMarathon.html IMRA Circuit of Avonbeg 25.5k (36) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruairi Long 1 02:35:56 13 Becky Quinn 1 03:19:52 Crusaders AC runner 13 Becky Quinn 03:19:52 (1) Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2150 Brickfields Parkrun (71) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tadgh Ryan Charlton 1 00:17:41 11 Elaine De Courcy 1 00:22:57 Crusaders AC runner 7 Toby Benham 00:21:33 Kilkenny Parkrun (114) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Patrick Bowden 1 00:19:07 7 Leanne Butler 1 00:21:42 Crusaders AC runner 47 Maria Kennedy 00:27:56 (17) Tralee Parkrun (200) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary Egan 1 00:18:05 19 Catherine Fogarty Burke 1 00:21:45 Crusaders AC runner 16 Alan Kavanagh 00:21:18 Naas Parkrun (87) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gavin Kelly 1 00:17:30 24 Ceara Grogan 1 00:24:18 Crusaders AC runner 4 Karl Walsh 00:19:28 Mullingar Parkrun (100) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alan Crowley 1 00:16:56 14 Kate Murray 1 00:23:36 Crusaders AC runner 14 Kate Murray 00:23:36 (1) Father Collins Parkrun (64) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 1 00:17:21 6 Esther Requena Ferri 1 00:18:56 Crusaders AC runners 1 Cristian Vilchez Ceballos 00:17:21 6 Esther Requena Ferri 00:18:56 (PB) (1) Malahide Parkrun (236) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:17:03 11 Ciara Kilroy 1 00:19:54 Crusaders AC runners 2 Paul Cowhie 00:17:13 91 Emer Kenny 00:25:08 (15) Poolbeg Parkrun (149) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Damian Bourke 1 00:17:40 35 Carmel Cooney 1 00:22:11 Crusaders AC runners 2 Stephen Hurley 00:17:49 4 Thomas Vogee 00:18:44 5 Sam Carvill 00:19:03 6 Gerard Moore 00:19:05 12 Simon Everard 00:19:50 29 David Timoney 00:21:21 53 Russell Murphy 00:24:18 109 Maureen McGinley 00:29:37 (31) Shanganagh Parkrun (145) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Noah Harris 1 00:16:47 20 Sarah Baryga 1 00:20:53 Crusaders AC runners 69 Carina Davidson 00:26:57 (12) 94 Jill Nason 00:28:59 (28) Cabinteely Parkrun (128) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kieran Little 1 00:17:19 11 Cristin Scollard 1 00:21:39 Crusaders AC runners 1 Kieran Little 00:17:19 5 Ronan Moynihan 00:19:17 17 Barry O’Mahony 00:22:23 46 Tanja Narancic 00:27:44 (12) 64 Mairead Cashman 00:29:07 (19) 66 Mairin Shine 00:29:13 (21) 67 Fiona Shine 00:29:13 (22) 75 Lisa Shine 00:29:36 (27) 79 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:34 (29) 87 Anna Shine 00:31:32 (34) River Valley Parkrun (120) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Liam Roarty 1 00:19:02 5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:20:55 Crusaders AC runner 114 Darina Scully 00:51:53 Tolka Valley Parkrun (37) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Fay 1 00:19:25 10 April Dunne 1 00:23:51 Crusaders AC runner 15 Diarmuid Byrne 00:24:39 Fairview Parkrun (86) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Geisler 1 00:18:00 9 Aisling Kirby 1 00:23:23 Crusaders AC runner 44 Aoife Kelly 00:28:51 (13) Comments are closed.
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