Success for the Boys in Green

13/11/2022

Paul Cowhie (5508) with Pauric McKinney (5505), Francis Marsh (5506) and Eamonn Murphy (5507)

It was another weekend of mild and clement weather and this was particularly welcome in the Santry Demesne on Saturday morning when Ireland hosted the return of the annual British and Irish Masters International XC (the so-called “5 Nations”) in which teams of Irish athletes across all the 5-year age categories from 35 to 75 pitted themselves against teams from Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. The meet rotates around the British Isles and this year it fell to Ireland to host, a deferral from 2021 when the meet had been replaced by an invitational match between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The event did not disappoint and every single Irish team finished on the podium. There was also individual success. Once the smoke had cleared, Ireland was awarded the overall match trophy for the best all round performance.

We had 2 athletes from the club participate in one of the races, an 8k involving the M50, M55 and M60 categories. Ciaran Diviney ran in the M50 squad, placing 19th overall in the category and 6th member of the team across the line, with the team claiming silver. Paul Cowhie also ran in the same event for the M55 team, coming home in 7th place in the age category and 3rd Irish scorer. Again, the team won silver. Many congratulations to Paul and Ciaran, with the former running most of the race in no man's land and the latter putting in an exhausting sprint at the end for his placing. James Cottle was first reserve for the M65 team that had to run 6k on a course that would be familiar to those who have participated in BHAA races or Dublin senior XC races over the years, involving a steep hill climb alongside the outside of a walled garden 4 times on the 1500m loop. The M65 team took home gold, with an extraordinary sprint by Joe Gough in the final 150m to win the individual silver. The morning was quite memorable for some strong standout performances by the likes of Pauric McKinney, Shane O’Neill, Brian Maher, Sinead O’Connor and Annette Kealy. The run of the day though has to go to Scotland’s Alastair Walker, an M65 athlete who completed the 6k in 20:44, more than 2 minutes ahead of the rest of the field, led home by Joe Gough. Members may also be interested to hear that Shane Collins, a Crusader now with Leevale, ran in the M35 8k race, placing 4th in his age category and first Irishman home to help his team win silver.

On the roads this week, we start on Tuesday night with Ciarain Kelly running in the 4th and final round of the Raheny Shamrock-organised 2-mile Autumn Classic. Ciarain led the field of 27 home on the circuit used for the national road relays in a time of 10:49.

On Wednesday night in dry conditions we saw the return of the Run in the Dark 5k and 10k races held on the quays in Dublin’s docklands. The events attract significant fields for what is an important charity assisting Mark Pollock in funding research into paraplegic injuries. Whilst the races represent a noble clause, it has to be said that they are frequently slightly chaotic. This was particularly the case this year when the 10k runners were sent off ahead of the 5k, with the lead runners in the longer event having to weave among the backmarkers in the 5k towards the finish. Despite, there were a few PBs among the leaders running on a course that is naturally flat and fast.

Maurice Kelter was our first runner home in the 10k with a super time of 36:17 for 11th place in a field of 1780. Maurice is preparing for the Valencia marathon at the beginning of December, so he will have drawn a lot of confidence form that performance, which followed a strong run in the Dublin marathon a week earlier. He was followed by Rob Glascott (22nd in 37:55), which is likely to be a PB or close to it. Ollie McGrath followed in 42nd place in a time of 39:35.

We had more athletes in the 5k with its field of 1870. Alex Ainsworth led our contingent home in 3rd place in a time of 17:22 and he was followed by Zlatko Kulic (11th in 20:00), Michael Judge (37th in 21:34), Sebastien Le Roy (86th in 20:58), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (94th and 9th female finisher in 23:10), Ian Smith (332nd in 25:34), Paul E. Kelly (492nd in 27:11) and Russell Murphy (1775th in 48:52).

On Saturday morning, Tim O’Donnell ran in his native Cork, taking part in the Eyeries 5-mile race on the west side of the county. On an undulating course, with a couple of severe climbs, Tim ran 34:31, placing 20th and 5th M40 in a field of 128.

On Sunday, undoubtedly, we had a few runners in the Remembrance Run. However, results don’t get posted. We are aware that Marta Imaz did take part running the 5k event in 30:43. Another remembrance run took place in Donegal on the same day. Kathryn Gibbons ran in the Finn Valley Remembrance 10k coming home in 2nd place in the women’s race, running 42:41. The day also saw the running of the fast and flat Polish Independence 10k in St. Anne's Park in Raheny. In a field of 139, Enda Currid ran 42:58 for 17th place.

Further afield, Italo Giancaterina, one of our exiles abroad and living in Italy, ran in the Ravenna marathon which doubled up as the Italian national championships. Italo ran a super 2:28:56 for 7th place (5th senior) in the championships and 10th place overall. Also, on Saturday afternoon, Thomas Vogée and Chris Russell ran in a 9.35k race (the Braids Hill XC race organised by Edinburgh University). Chris ran 36:54 for the distance, whilst Thomas ran 38:19.

Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of the Malahide parkrun and as a result its numbers were swelled this week, particularly including those wearing 250 run tee shirts! We had 4 Crusaders taking part in the field of 481, including Olwyn Dunne (149th and 34th in 24:25), Emer Kenny (250th and 71st in 27:06), Lisa Shine (251st and 72nd in 27:07) with Mairin Shine tailwalking.

We had at least two first finishers this weekend. Ilona McElroy placed 2nd overall out of 27 in Tolka Valley Park in a time of 20:09, whilst, in Poolbeg, Michael Wycherley once again led the field (of 156 this week) home. This week his time was 18:36. Michael was followed by Simon Kenny (11th in 20:18), Paul Campbell (15th in 20:49), Emily Glen (54th and 11th in 24:34), Aisling O’Riordan (94th and 32nd in 27:18), Una McCullagh (106th and 40th in 28:57), Maureen McGinley (109th and 43rd in 29:31) and Mari Hansen (137th and 55th in 34:14).

Brian McGuckin ran in a field of 86 in Brickfields, placing 5th in 21:02, whilst Tomás Bradley ran in Tralee. In a field of 238, Tomás placed 9th in 20:00. Ronan Moynihan placed 6th in 18:55 in the 344-strong field in Marlay Park, whilst Martina White made a return to parkruns, placing 26th and 5th in 27:20 in the 60-strong field of Porterstown. John Lohan and Tara Murphy ran in Bushy Park, with John taking 16th spot in 21:23 and Tara, 42nd and 9th in 25:14. There were 145 runners in the event. John Rooney placed 19th in 24:37 in the 90-strong field in Sligo, whilst Stephen Mulligan ran in Cabinteely, where he placed 26th in 25:22 in a field of 112. Mairead Cashman took on Glen River where she placed 46th and 15th in 31:05, in a field of 78, whilst, as mentioned, Thomas Vogée headed to Scotland for the weekend where he ran in the Obair parkrun, placing 23rd in a field of 125 and in a time of 22:50. In St. Anne’s we had 2 runners. In a field of 369, Michael Maughan ran 22:45 for 59th spot, followed by Aitor Arribas Velasco, who placed 269th in a time of 31:09. Andy Deuser joined Paul F. Kelly and 78 other participants in Fairview, where he ran 22:39 for 16th place, whilst Paul ran 23:22 for 23rd spot. Finally, in the second running of the Dodder Valley Parkrun, Fiona Shine placed 44th and 6th in 22:21, followed by Kate Murray (82nd and 14th in 25:11) and Orlaith de Burca tailwalking. The field measured 218.

Raheny Shamrock Autumn Classic 2-mile race round 4 (27)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ciarain Kelly 1 00:10:49
7 Adrienne Atkins 1 00:13:38
Crusaders AC runner
1 Ciarain Kelly 00:10:49
Full results here: https://rahenyshamrock.ie/?p=6435
Run in the Dark 10k (1780)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoghan McElhinney 1 00:32:00
44 Aleksandra Rogalska 1 00:39:46
Crusaders AC runners
11 Maurice Kelter 00:36:17
22 Rob Glascott 00:37:55
42 Ollie McGrath 00:39:35Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/run-in-the-dark-dublin-2022/events/1/
Run in the Dark 5k (1870)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Benjamin Caullier 1 00:16:18
7 Magdalene Stefl 1 00:19:42
Crusaders AC runners
3 Alex Ainsworth 00:17:22
11 Zlatko Kulic 00:20:00
37 Michael Judge 00:21:34
86 Sebastien Le Roy 00:20:58
94 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:23:10 (9)
332 Ian Smith 00:25:34
492 Paul E. Kelly 00:27:11
1775 Russell Murphy 00:48:52
Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/run-in-the-dark-dublin-2022/events/2/
Eyeries 5-mile road race (128)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Donal Coakley 1 00:26:59
4 Aoife Cooke 1 00:28:41
Crusaders AC runner
20 Tim O’Donnell 00:34:31
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/eyeries-5-mile-road-race-2022/
Polish Independence Run 10k (139)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Alex Dalton 1 00:35:38
4 Catherine O’Connor 1 00:38:08
Crusaders AC runner
17 Enda Currid 00:42:58
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/polish-independence-run/
Malahide Parkrun (481)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 James Kelly 1 00:16:15
6 Sarah Quigley 1 00:18:04
Crusaders AC runners
106 Darina Scully 00:23:19 (18)
149 Olwyn Dunne 00:24:25 (34)
250 Emer Kenny 00:27:06 (71)
251 Lisa Shine 00:27:07 (72)
479 Mairin Shine 54:54
St. Anne’s Parkrun (369)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Bernard Duggan 1 00:16:53
25 Adrienne Atkins 1 00:21:02
Crusaders AC runners
59 Michael Maughan 00:22:45
269 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:31:09
Marlay Parkrun (344)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:21
2 Lucy Jones 1 00:17:23
Crusaders AC runner
6 Ronan Moynihan 00:18:55
Poolbeg Parkrun (156)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Michael Wycherley 1 00:18:36
9 Laura Behan 1 00:20:01
Crusaders AC runners
1 Michael Wycherley 00:18:36
11 Simon Kenny 00:20:18
15 Paul Campbell 00:20:49
54 Emily Glen 00:24:34 (11)
94 Aisling O’Riordan 00:27:18 (32)
106 Una McCullagh 00:28:57 (40)
109 Maureen McGinley 00:29:31 (43)
137 Mari Hansen 00:34:14 (55)
Tralee Parkrun (238)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Twohig 1 00:17:44
13 Abby Stephenson 1 00:21:21
Crusaders AC runner
9 Tomás Bradley 00:20:00
Sligo Parkrun (90)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kevin English 1 00:18:17
12 Ann McNamara 1 00:23:32
Crusaders AC runner
19 John Rooney 00:24:37
Porterstown Parkrun (60)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:17:46
8 Colleen Barrett 1 00:22:13
Crusaders AC runner
26 Martina White 00:27:20 (5)
Cabinteely Parkrun (112)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Johnston 1 00:18:49
5 Cristin Scollard 1 00:20:49
Crusaders AC runner
26 Stephen Mulligan 00:25:22
Bushy Parkrun (145)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Luke Corcoran 1 00:18:14
17 Christine Kinsella 1 00:21:37
Crusaders AC runners
16 John Lohan 00:21:23
42 Tara Murphy 00:25:14 (9)
Fairview Parkrun (80)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sebastian Ebenhoch 1 00:19:21
14 Sorcha Gannon 1 00:22:27
Crusaders AC runners
16 Andy Deuser 00:22:39
23 Paul F. Kelly 00:23:22
Brickfields Parkrun (86)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rory O’ Keeffe 1 00:18:16
11 Brigid Reilly 1 00:22:07
Crusaders AC runner
5 Brian McGuckin 00:21:02
Tolka Valley Parkrun (27)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Chris Leslie 1 00:19:05
2 Ilona McElroy 1 00:20:09
Crusaders AC runner
2 Ilona McElroy 00:20:09 (1)
Glen River Parkrun (86)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Finbarr O’Dwyer 1 00:18:11
8 Emily Crusher 1 00:21:36
Crusaders AC runner
46 Mairead Cashman 00:31:05 (15)
Dodder Valley Parkrun (218)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Martin Tyrrell 1 00:18:13
13 Caoimhe McCormack 1 00:20:18
Crusaders AC runners
44 Fiona Shine 00:22:21 (6)
82 Kate Murray 00:25:11 (14)
206 Orlaith de Burca 00:48:35