Something for everyone

23/7/2018

Catherine Thornton (with cup) and Ilona McElroy (on right)

Club members were involved in a lot of racing in the past week, on track, road and mountain, and, as usual, we saw some success.

Starting with track, we had athletes take part in the 7th edition of the Dublin graded meets, once again in Tallaght. In the field Jonny Bell came 1st in the 2kg discus with a throw of 33.55m. Then, on the track we had 10 runners competing. Michael O’Conor took 1st place in the men’s 1500m B race with a time of 4:19.1. Then, in the 1500m C event Frank Halligan placed 4th in 4:38.56, followed by John McAuley in 6th with a PB of 4:42.57, whilst, in the D race, Brendan Glynn also finished with a PB by placing 4th in 5:06.42. In the women’s 1500m B race Rachael Yorke placed 5th in 5:12.66, whilst Lisa Shine placed 7th in the 1500m C event in 6:00.65. There were also sprint events available. Liam Lyster ran 30.23 and placed 4th in the 200m C1 race. In the C2 event of the same distance, Patrick Saunders took 2nd in 24.70. Finally, in two of the 400m races, Jonathan Miller ran 51.56 to place 2nd in the A race and John O’Loughlin, came 2nd in 58.35 and Frank Halligan, 6th in 64.48 in the C event. On the following evening in Santry we had 4 members compete in 3 races as part of the Morton Games. On a balmy evening and perfect conditions for track racing in which 11 runners in the Morton Mile finished under 4 minutes, Andrew Mellon managed to hold on in the men’s 400m race to place 2nd in 48.12, whilst Nick Ennis took 6th in the same race in 49.62. Fearghal O’Hare ran an excellent 1:54.72 in the IMC men’s 800m with its international field to place 8th and Mary Horgan came home in 10th in a time of 2:14.09 in the IMC women’s 800m.

There was one IMRA race on Wednesday on which to report. It took place on Seefingan mountain on the borders of Counties Dublin and Wicklow. On a course measuring 8.75km and with a climb of 486m on moderate terrain Becky Quinn was the usual winner (19th place overall) of the women’s race in a time of 49:18. Anthony O’Reilly followed in 34th place (52:00), with Jim Stagg in 36th place (57:33), Ali Onur Uyar in 50th (56:06) and Berndt Heim in 113th (73:04). The field measured 132 runners. Then, over the weekend, Warren Swords embarked on and completed the Wicklow round, which is a loop of the Wicklow mountains involving 26 summits and a total climb of 6,000m over a distance of nearly 120km. Warren completed it in 23:13:00. An amazing feat!

There was much to be seen on roads and paths during the week, with some success. On Wednesday evening in the BHAA DCC 5k which started and finished in Irishtown Stadium and took in 3 loops of Ringsend Park, Karl Walsh led the136-strong field for much of the race, but after initially opening up a gap of some 40m, the effects of the previous night’s session perhaps took its toll and he had to settle for 4th place, albeit in an excellent time of 16:49 and he was followed by United Striders' Sean Murphy who trains with us (8th in 17:44). Meanwhile, Catherine Thornton ran a steady race in a group of about 5 runners which included, for much of the race, Ilona McElroy, finally pulling away and taking the win in the women’s race (19th overall), with Ilona just two places back (21st overall) in 2nd. Catherine’s time was just outside her PB in 18:33, whilst Ilona ran 18:47. Congratulations to them. Niamh Corby was next (30th place overall) in 4th in the women’s race in a time of 19:49, followed closely by Tomas Mahony, back from recent injury, who ran 19:52 to place 33rd. Phelim Murray took 47th place in 20:58, coming in ahead of his girlfriend Sarah Lyons (70th overall, 10th woman, in 22:10) and reversing positions in a recent parkrun in Germany. Robbie Moore came home in 49th spot in 21:07 alongside Edel Haverty (50th in the same time) who used the event as an alternative to a session and treating it as a tempo run. Sharon Woods placed 94th overall (16th woman) in 24:07, followed by Paul Kelly who came home in 115th in 26:49.

On the same night, we had 9 runners take part in the annual Liberties 4 mile run in Dublin. On a hilly course Gearoid Grogan was our first man home, placing 44th in a field of more than 1,300. Gearoid ran 25:32. He was followed by Tim O’Donnell (56th in 26:13) and Luke Haran (61st in 26:23). In the women’s race, Katie McElroy distinguished herself with a 7th place finish (overall 71st) in 26:43, followed by Emer Kenny (139th overall, 19th woman, in 28:41), Miriam Logan (166th overall, 24th woman, in 29:12) alongside Ruth Dwyer (167th overall, 25th woman, in 29:13) and Aisling O’Connor (182nd overall, 27th woman, in 29:28).

The major event of the weekend in road racing terms was the Dublin Race Series South Dublin 10k. This was an old race (previously, the Fingal 10k held in Swords) on a new flat one loop course starting and finishing in Grange Castle Business park, home to several pharma companies like Pfizer and taking in Corkagh park and the Royal canal. It’s not overly scenic, but a decent course all the same and theoretically fast, although no one in our group appeared to get a PB, possibly because of the heat on the day as well as the humidity on the long drag along the canal towpath. We fielded 25 runners among the nearly 2,250 finishers in a race in which Lizzie Lee amazingly placed in the top 3 overall.

Rob Cross, winning his age category, was the first Crusader across the line, placing 13th in 34:48. He was followed by Peter O’Toole (39th in 36:09) just in front of Karl Walsh, with another good run where this time he worked through the field (43rd in 36:10), Joe McDermott, also a runner with yet another race under his belt (46th in 36:28), Frank Hague (74th in 37:43) and John McAuley (75th in 37:45) to complete those men in the top 100. Seamus MacFloinn, making a return to competitive running and in training for the Dublin marathon, came storming through the field to place 116th in 38:25, followed by another marathoner in training, James Cottle, who had a steady run, reeling in runners throughout (126th in 39:23 and winning his age category) with Eddie Nugent, who nearly took James on the line after having been overtaken 3km earlier, just one second behind (127th with the same chiptime). Damien Fitzgibbon was next, placing 169th in 40:28, followed by Sean Smith (183rd in 41:02), Dave Tuohy (292nd in 43:43), Micheal Killeen, like Dave a marathoner in training (337th in 43:22), Robbie Moore (358th in 44:40), David Timoney (545th in 47:15), Phelim Murray (594th in 47:05), who arrived late for the start and had to weave around back markers, and Colin Maguire (674th in 47:59). On the women’s side, Catherine Thornton felt the hard 5k run midweek still in her legs and decided to treat the race as a tempo run. Still, she managed a 12th place finish (165th overall) in a time of 40:33 and was followed by Dee Ni Chearbhaill, who like the rest of us felt the conditions surprisingly tough (29th woman, 340th overall, 7th in her age category, in 44:25), Aoife Quinn (568th overall, 75th woman, in 47:03), Sarah Lyons, another runner to find that she had to weave through back markers after arriving late (679th overall, 101st woman, in 47:41) and Carina Davidson (1,072nd overall, 212th woman, in 50:41). Miriam Logan and Maria Esteban decided to use the race as part of their long run in preparation for upcoming marathons. They came in alongside each other in 1,279th and 1,280th places overall (304th and 305th women), in the same chiptime of 54:51, followed by Jean Devlin (1,703rd overall, 534th woman, in 61:30).

Leo Lundy took part in yet another marathon on Sunday, this time in Galway in the Galway Block marathon, a mind-numbing race it appears which involved 27 laps of the Boston Scientific carpark. Leo completed it in 5:41. Also, after his 3rd place finish in Canada in the paratriathlon world cup with the help of Dave Tilly, Donnacha went onto Estonia where he and his partner for the race, Stephen Teeling Lynch, finished 9th in the European championships last Thursday. Donnacha and Dave then teamed up again on Sunday in Belfast to defend successfully their national title. Congrats to them.

Finally, we have a record of the weekend’s parkruns. We had 3 runners outside of Ireland. Tomas Dunne took on the challenging one on Hampstead Heath in Northwest London, placing 64th in a field of 443 in a time of 22:14. Meanwhile, in Coomera, Australia, Kris Ryan took 3rd place (21st overall) in the 107-strong field in a time of 23:19. Then, Aidan Hudner came home in 117th in 23:40 in the 367-strong field in Victoria Park in Glasgow.

There were podium performances from Matt Cranley who placed 2nd with his buggy in Father Collins in a time of 20:12, along with Fiona Bane who was first woman finisher (22nd overall) in Poolbeg in 22:35, Darina Scully (32nd overall, 3rd woman, in 23:31) and Diarmuid Byrne who was 3rd overall in the same event (19:08). In fact, Fiona, Darina and Diarmuid ran with 11 other club members in Poolbeg. First across the line behind Diarmuid was Russell Murphy (17th in 22:14), followed by Zalan Kovacs (25th in 23:13), Neil Brown (30th in 23:24), Sharon Woods (45th overall, 7th woman, in 24:39), Gillian Curran (50th overall, 8th woman, in 24:52), Brian Langton (53rd in 25:07), Cliodhna O’Reilly (55th overall, 10th woman, in 25:32), Milo Furlong (63rd in 26:21), Maria Pertl (68th overall, 17th woman, in 26:50) alongside Aoife Clarke (69th overall, 18th woman, in 26:52) and Don Anderton (104th in 34:38). Edwina Quinlan ran in Clonmel, placing 22nd overall, 8th woman, in 29:45, whilst Katie McElroy and Mairead Cashman took part in Bushy Park, placing respectively 89th and 120th overall (24th and 32nd women) in respective times of 27:21 and 29:11. Leo Lundy looked after the back markers in Fairview (76th in 48:39), whilst Orlaith de Burca placed 71st overall, 20th female) in 27:55 in Shanganagh. Jonathan Claridge ran a fast 18:21 to place 9th in St. Anne’s, followed by Ronan Reilly (32nd in 20:27). Finally, Anthony O’Reilly took 6th place in a time of 20:22 in Cabinteely. He was joined by Emma O’Mahony (82nd overall, 19th female) in 29:13.

BHAA DCC 5k (136)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Sean Doran 1 00:16:25
19 Catherine Thornton 1 00:18:33
Crusaders AC runners
4 Karl Walsh 00:16:49
19 Catherine Thornton 00:18:33 (1)
21 Ilona McElroy 00:18:47 (2)
30 Niamh Corby 00:19:49 (4)
33 Tomas Mahony 00:19:52
47 Phelim Murray 00:20:58
49 Robbie Moore 00:21:07
50 Edel Haverty 00:21:07 (7)
70 Sarah Lyons 00:22:10 (10)
94 Sharon Woods 00:24:07 (16)
115 Paul Kelly 00:26:49
Full results here: https://bhaa.ie/race/dcc-5km-2018/
Liberties 4 mile (1303)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Gross time
1 Freddie Sittuk 1 00:20:30
40 Mary Finn 1 00:25:25
Crusaders AC runners
44 Gearoid Grogan 00:25:32
56 Tim O’Donnell 00:26:13
61 Luke Haran 00:26:23
71 Katie McElroy 00:26:43 (7)
139 Emer Kenny 00:28:41 (19)
166 Miriam Logan 00:29:12 (24)
167 Ruth Dwyer 00:29:13 (25)
182 Aisling O’Connor 00:29:28 (27)
Full results here: http://www.championchipireland.com/results/index.php
IMRA Seefingan (132)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Furey 1 00:40:40
19 Becky Quinn 1 00:49:18
Crusaders AC runners
19 Becky Quinn 00:49:18
34 Anthony O’Reilly 00:52:00
36 Jim Stagg 00:52:33
50 Ali Onur Uyar 00:56:06
113 Berndt Heim 01:13:04
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/1606/
Dublin Race Series South Dublin 10k (2249)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Flynn 1 00:32:02
3 Lizzie Lee 1 00:33:24
Crusaders AC runners
13 Rob Cross 00:34:48
39 Peter O’Toole 00:36:09
43 Karl Walsh 00:36:10
46 Joe McDermott 00:36:28
74 Frank Hague 00:37:43
75 John McAuley 00:37:45
116 Seamus MacFloinn 00:38:25
126 James Cottle 00:39:23
127 Eddie Nugent 00:39:23
165 Catherine Thornton 00:40:33 (12)
169 Damien Fitzgibbon 00:40:28
183 Sean Smith 00:41:02
292 David Tuohy 00:43:43
337 Micheal Killeen 00:43:22
340 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:44:25 (29)
358 Robbie Moore 00:44:40
545 David Timoney 00:47:15
568 Aoife Quinn 00:47:03 (75)
594 Phelim Murray 00:47:05
674 Colin Maguire 00:47:59
679 Sarah Lyons 00:47:41 (101)
1072 Carina Davidson 00:50:41 (212)
1279 Miriam Logan 00:54:51 (304)
1280 Maria Esteban 00:54:51 (305)
1703 Jean Devlin 01:01:30 (534)
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/event-results/events
Fairview Parkrun #53 (76)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen McGuinn 1 00:18:26
13 Triona Keogh 1 00:23:19
Crusaders AC runner
76 Leo Lundy 00:48:39
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=53
St. Anne’s Parkrun #241 (389)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Sexton 1 00:17:27
17 Fiona Stack 1 00:19:21
Crusaders AC runners
9 Jonathan Claridge 00:18:21
32 Ronan Reilly 00:20:27
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=241
Poolbeg Parkrun #47 (117)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Damian Bourke 1 00:17:48
22 Fiona Bane 1 00:22:35
Crusaders AC runners
3 Diarmuid Byrne 00:19:08
17 Russell Murphy 00:22:14
22 Fiona Bane 00:22:35 (1)
25 Zalan Kovacs 00:23:13
30 Neil Brown 00:23:24
32 Darina Scully 00:23:31 (3)
45 Sharon Woods 00:24:39 (7)
50 Gillian Curran 00:24:52 (8)
53 Brian Langton 00:25:07
55 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:32 (10)
63 Milo Furlong 00:26:21
68 Maria Pertl 00:26:50 (17)
69 Aoife Clarke 00:26:52 (18)
104 Don Anderton 00:34:38
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=47
Clonmel Parkrun #60 (40)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 unknown 1 00:21:46
7 Joan Stakelum-Ryan 1 00:24:36
Crusaders AC runner
22 Edwina Quinlan 00:29:45 (8)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/clonmel/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=60
Father Collins Parkrun #148 (67)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Witek Lochowski 1 00:19:27
5 Therese Casey 1 00:22:36
Crusaders AC runner
2 Matt Cranley 00:20:12
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=148
Cabinteely Parkrun #172 (130)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Igor Pashchenko 1 00:18:04
14 Lillian Ecock 1 00:23:07
Crusaders AC runners
6 Anthony O’Reilly 00:20:22
82 Emma O’Mahony 00:29:13 (19)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=172
Shanganagh Parkrun #172 (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Joe Cawley 1 00:17:31
14 Elizabeth Walsh 1 00:21:49
Crusaders AC runner
71 Orlaith de Burca 00:27:55 (20)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=172
Bushy Dublin Parkrun #73 (185)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Adam Moss 1 00:18:57
24 Sharon Lawlor 1 00:22:33
Crusaders AC runner
89 Katie McElroy 00:27:21 (24)
120 Mairead Cashman 00:29:11 (32)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/bushydublin/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=73