Strong club showing in St. Patrick’s Festival 5K

20/3/2017

Eddie Nugent, James Cottle, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Lisa Shine, Irene Gorman, Catherine Thornton, Tom Dunne, Emer Kenny, Kate Murray, Helena Maier, Grainne Regan, Brendan Glynn

The three-day weekend, welcome as it was, was action-packed with races, some of which had decent Cru presence, in particular the MSB-organised St. Patrick’s festival 5K and the Mullingar half marathon.

We start with Mullingar, which took place on Friday in damp and quite windy conditions (the general theme for the weekend in fact). At least 7 Crusaders took part in the newish event which is fast becoming popular as it’s held on a fast course with excellent local support and the post-race refreshments and goody bag etc are praiseworthy.

Pat Quill, tapering for the Milan marathon, was our first runner home and, despite experiencing a few back niggles, was still able to record a 1:28 finish (83rd place in a field of nearly 1,270 participants). Pat was followed by Olwyn Dunne in the first of 3 events in which she participated over the holiday (Pat ran two himself). Olwyn placed 292nd overall, 29th woman finisher and 3rd in her age category, in a time of 1:40:53. Next came Aoife Clarke, in marathon training herself, running 1:43:54 (357th overall and 44th woman), followed by Carina Davidson (455th overall, 86th woman, in 1:47:28), Fiona Bane (491st overall, 91st woman, in 1:48:00), Darina Scully (513th overall, 101st woman) and Maria Pertl, who, like Fiona, also ran twice over the festive period (523rd overall, 105th woman, in 1:49:04).

On the same day, Alex Romano placed 46th in a field of 614 runners in the Streets of Portlaoise 5K. Alex's time was 18:21. On Saturday, newcomer Tim Francony was another lone representative, this time in the Tralee half marathon. In a field of nearly 280 runners and in relatively dry and mild conditions, Tim placed 3rd in a great time of 1:21:25.

The big race of the weekend was the St. Patrick’s festival 5K, organized by MSB. Because of the ongoing Luas works the course had to be changed yet again and as in past years it proved to be a challenge, with so many twists and turns and doubling back, to get an accurate 5k distance. The general consensus was that it measured 130m long (or anywhere between 25-40s added to our results, depending on finishing times), even though it is acknowledged that GPS can be notoriously tricky in built-up areas. Still, it didn’t detract from what is a really well-run and enjoyable event and, even so, we got a couple of PBs among the results, which involved a total field of 1,228 runners. There was rain in the air at the start but this gave way to sun by the end. Also, although we faced blustery conditions, particularly along the canal, they were much reduced from what we might have expected hours earlier.

With the largest representation of any club, including MSB, at least 38 Crusaders (20 men and 18 women) turned out for the race, with the last to arrive to register, Irene Gorman, at 11:50 for a midday start. Irene, who has been working nights in a maternity hospital, confessed that she only woke up 40 minutes earlier and cycled hard to get to registration where the organisers gladly took her entry fee on the one hand whilst also saying on the other that she was likely to miss the start. In the event, Irene came bounding up to the front just in the nick of time, and, although her efforts to make the race may have had a bearing on her finishing time, she acquitted herself well, leading the Cru women home in the race.

Our women’s team placed 3rd overall out of 26 (behind Raheny and Sli Cualann) with scoring from Irene who placed 106th overall (11th female finisher) in 19:30, Catherine Thornton (114th overall, 13th female, in 19:47), Grainne Regan (137th overall, 19th female in 20:10) and Dee Ni Chearbhaill (169th overall, 30th female, in 20:45). Lisa Shine was next, recording a PB time of 21:07 (181st overall, 35th female), despite nearly being taken out by a woman with a pushchair trying to cross the course at one point. Results are shown below, but there were other notable runs from the likes of Nina Holmes, returning from a long-term back injury (218th overall, 42nd female, in 21:44), Kate Murray (231st overall, 47th female, in in 22:09), who came 10th in her age category and Mairin Shine (521st overall, 190th female, in 27:29), who came 4th in hers. Top 100 finishes went also too Emer Kenny (251st overall, 57th female, in 22:24), Olwyn Dunne (267th overall, 63rd female, in 22:51), in her 3rd race of the weekend and 7th in her age category, Mary Fitzsimons (279th overall, 67th female, in 23:14), paced by brother Michael, Fiona Bane (288th overall, 71st female, in 23:19) and Orlaith de Burca (305th overall, 79th female, in 23:35) in her second event of the weekend.

Our men’s team did equally as well, having 3 runners in the top 10 finishers overall and placing 3rd out of 19 (behind Raheny and DSD), with Rob Cross leading the way (7th individually in 15:58 and winning his age category) after having tucked in behind Karl Fahy (8th in the same time) and coming through at the end. The other two scorers were Michael Kiely who was just behind (9th in 16:02) and, further back, Frank Hague (57th in 18:13). Newcomer Daniel Lowe acquitted himself well with 67th place (18:26) and other top 100 finishes went to Eddie Nugent (78th in 18:46) and Neil Monahan (85th in 18:54). James Cottle was just outside the top 100, placing 103rd in 19:20 and winning his age category, after a steady start and a strong surge through the last 3K, and he was followed by David Killion (112th in 19:42), Pat Quill, recovering from his back issue in Mullingar, (128th in 19:50), Luke Haran (141st in 20:08) and just behind him came Tom Dunne (142nd in 20:12) to complete our placings in the top 150. Other notable performances came from newcomer Gian Piero Allerta, a native of Milan, who is joining 8 other Crusaders for the marathon there in 2 weeks’ time (168th in 20:44), from Paul Kelly who finished with a PB (670th in 28:25) and from the legendary John Fitzsimons (774th in 30:53), who, in his 80th year, still managed to place 2nd M70 (773rd in 30:53).

Mention must be made once again of the fabulous support the club enjoyed from our clubmates who came out to cheer us along. What a difference it makes. We have to have the best supporters in the land! Thanks also to Susan Walsh for her invaluable race commentary. There is simply no one to rival her!

On Sunday Leo Lundy and Kris Ryan took part in the first 6-hour challenge to be hosted in Ireland. It was held in Whiteabbey just north of Belfast on a 4.2 mile out and back course that bordered Belfast lough. 150 runners started in wet conditions which fortunately brightened up as the day progressed. Leo managed 8 laps for 33.6 miles and a 13th place finish (out of 28 who attempted the ultra) whilst Kris, because of a midweek incident where a car drove over her foot as she was on her way to training, significantly reined in her efforts but still managed 4 laps for 16.8 miles and a mid-pack finish (117th out of 161 participants). The reward for the effort was a pint of Guinness and a medal of a pint of Guinness, both being the same size. This will no doubt become a popular format.

We had perhaps fewer participants in the parkruns than usual, but understandable because of the holiday period and numbers were down generally around the country. Maria Pertl placed 17th overall (3rd woman) in a time of 24:45 in Poppintree alongside 86 other runners, whilst Diarmuid Byrne, who is managing a slight leg injury as he prepares for the Vienna marathon with Maria, went (for him) for an easy run in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (533rd out of 636 participants in 32:35). With nearly 440 runners in Marlay, Mary Noelle Rohan was our sole entrant, placing 358th overall (124th woman) in 32:48. Olwyn Dunne continues to support fully the hilly Cabinteely run, by running in the event and placing 61st overall (23rd woman) in 29:55, warming up for the following day’s 5K. We had 4 runners in St. Anne’s in an event where Bernard Roe of Raheny was making a comeback from long term injury as first overall finisher. Denis Murphy placed 47th out of nearly 290 participants, in a time of 22:58. Colm Kernan was not far behind (51st in 23:07). Leo Lundy prepared for the following day’s ultra by placing 80th in 24:19 and Lorraine Fitzsimons also did a warm up run (225th overall, 87th female), coming home in 31:43. Orlaith de Burca took on Shanganagh, taking 85th place overall out of 136 in the field (18th woman) in a time of 28:23, whilst Emma O’Mahony paid a trip to Cork and ran in Ballincollig. Emma placed 47th overall in a field of 220, 2nd woman home, in a time of 23:53. Our exile in Scotland, Aidan Hudner, ran 21:56 to place 63rd in the 287-strong field in Glasgow. Finally, in Bushy Park, Mairead Cashman placed 58th overall, 10th woman, in a time of 28:29. The field measured 94 runners.

Mullingar Half marathon
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Peter Mooney 1 01:13:21
21 Siobhan O’Doherty 1 01:18:48
Crusaders AC runners
83 Pat Quill 01:28:00
292 Olwyn Dunne 01:40:53 (29)
357 Aoife Clarke 01:43:54 (44)
455 Carina Davidson 01:47:28 (86)
491 Fiona Bane 01:48:00 (91)
513 Darina Scully 01:48:40 (101)
523 Maria Pertl 01:49:04 (105)
Full results here: http://www.myrunresults.com/events/aon_mullingar_half_marathon_2017/2038/results
Streets of Portlaoise 5K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Maher 1 00:15:02
38 Mary Mulhare 1 00:17:56
Crusaders AC runner
46 Alex Romano 00:18:21
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/raceresult/streets-of-portlaoise-2017/
Tralee Half Marathon
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Derek Griffin 1 01:15:24
11 Deirdre Nagle 1 01:28:09
Crusaders AC runner
3 Tim Francony 01:21:25
Full results here: http://www.myrunresults.com/events/tralee_international_marathon_race_series_/2000/results
MSB St. Patrick’s Festival 5K
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Coughlan 1 00:15:12
26 Barbara Cleary 1 00:17:04
Crusaders AC runners
7 Rob Cross 00:15:58
8 Karl Fahy 00:15:58
9 Michael Kiely 00:16:02
57 Frank Hague 00:18:13
67 Daniel Lowe 00:18:26
78 Eddie Nugent 00:18:46
85 Neil Monahan 00:18:54
103 James Cottle 00:19:20
106 Irene Gorman 00:19:30 (11)
112 David Killion 00:19:42
114 Catherine Thornton 00:19:47 (13)
128 Pat Quill 00:19:50
137 Grainne Regan 00:20:10 (19)
141 Luke Haran 00:20:08
142 Tom Dunne 00:20:12
168 Gian Piero Allerta 00:20:44
169 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:20:45 (30)
181 Lisa Shine 00:21:07 (PB) (35)
193 Robbie Moore 00:21:13
202 Tony Hackett 00:21:24
218 Nina Holmes 00:21:44 (42)
231 Kate Murray 00:22:09 (47)
251 Emer Kenny 00:22:24 (57)
260 Brendan Glynn 00:22:48
267 Olwyn Dunne 00:22:51 (63)
278 Mary Fitzsimons 00:23:14 (67)
279 Michael Fitzsimons 00:23:16
288 Fiona Bane 00:23:19 (71)
305 Orlaith de Burca 00:23:35 (79)
323 Neil Brown 00:23:44
521 Mairin Shine 00:27:29 (190)
577 Mairead Cashman 00:28:01 (223)
652 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:28:07 (271)
670 Paul Kelly 00:28:25 (PB)
724 Lindsey Brown 00:30:10 (325)
773 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:30:54 (363)
774 John Fitzsimons 00:30:53
878 Ciara McElligott 00:31:50 (451)
Full results here: http://www.myrunresults.com/events/msb_st._patricks_festival_5k_road_race/2012/results
Poppintree Parkrun #124
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Unknown 1 00:18:41
7 Ciara McGrath 1 00:23:06
Crusaders AC runner
17 Maria Pertl 00:24:45 (3)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=124
Marlay Parkrun #201
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Arnaud Malinconi 1 00:17:49
10 Sarah Baryga 1 00:19:28
Crusaders AC runners
358 Mary Noelle Rohan 00:32:48 (124)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/marlay/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=201
Cabinteely Parkrun #103
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul Dunne 1 00:19:28
5 Malika Hammani 1 00:20:46
Crusaders AC runner
61 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:55 (23)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=103
St Anne’s Parkrun #174
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Bernard Roe 1 00:18:12
16 Hannah Craddock 1 00:20:48
Crusaders AC runners
47 Denis Murphy 00:22:58
51 Colm Kernan 00:23:07
80 Leo Lundy 00:24:19
225 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:31:43 (87)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=174
Shanganagh Parkrun #104
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Andrew Lawless 1 00:17:47
23 Georgina Devlin 1 00:21:44
Crusaders AC runner
85 Orlaith de Burca 00:28:23 (18)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=104
Ballincollig Parkrun #40
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Richard Doyle 1 00:18:16
44 Suzanne Twomey 1 00:23:42
Crusaders AC runner
47 Emma O’Mahony 00:23:53 (2)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=40
Bushy Dublin Parkrun #4
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Cian Flanagan 1 00:20:32
6 Christine Kinsella 1 00:21:28
Crusaders AC runner
58 Mairead Cashman 00:28:29 (10)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/bushydublin/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=4

Back row: Mairin Shine, Orlaith de Burca, Joe Dunne, Olwyn Dunne, Catherine Thornton, Irene Gorman, Eddie Nugent, Tony Hackett, Grainne Regan, Michael Kiely, Rob Cross, Dee Ni Chearbhaill; Front row: Emer Kenny, Lisa Shine, Helena Maier, James Cottle, Brendan Glynn, Mairead Cashman, Paul Kelly