![]() The main focus this weekend was on defending 60mH champion Matt Behan along with Valantinos Goularas in the National Senior Indoors championships. The two training partners had gone toe to toe with each other over the past few weeks and both were up against each other in the final of the 60mH in championships. They did not disappoint. A fantastic race saw Matt equalling his season’s best with the win in 8.10, followed by Valantinos taking the silver medal in a PB time of 8.138, 2/1000s of a second ahead of Josh Armstrong in third place. It took some time to sort out the finish, with Matt’s dip at the end being decisive, despite having knocked out one or two hurdles on the way. Many congrats to both runners. Another result from the championships on day 1 saw Peter Murphy run in heat 6 of the first round of the men’s 200m. Although, Peter placed 2nd from an unfavourable lane draw (lane 3) in a time of 24.44, his time was not fast enough to qualify for the final. Additionally, slight confusion reigns over Hugo Magee’s result in the semi final of the men’s 400m. He qualified for the semis from heat 1, having placed 2nd in a time of 49.89. Then, in the semis he placed 3rd in the second heat (ostensibly with 3 to go through from each heat). However, the runner in the first heat who placed 4th in that race ran a faster time than Hugo’s 50.83 and was shown as qualifying too. With only 6 spaces available on the track, it appears that it was the faster runner from the first semi who was given the nod for the final. On day 2, we had runners in just one event: the 4x200m relays. The results of the event were decided from times taken over two races, with 9 teams competing. Although the Crusaders team of Valantinos, Matt, Peter Murphy and Charlie Bastow placed 3rd in the second race in a time of 1:32.14, once the smoke cleared, they effectively finished in 6th place overall. Still, a noble effort! On Sunday, the club hosted the third round of the Women’s Meet and Train winter league, and Fiona Shine, the league and race organiser, along with sister Lisa, managed to recruit a substantial number of club members to steward on the day. In slightly breezy conditions, the race of just over 2 miles was conducted in Seán Moore Park, starting and finishing on the path into the Irishtown Nature reserve and taking in the hill in the reserve for good measure. We fielded a good few runners, at least 20 in total, in a field of nearly 100. The outright winner of the race, well-known in the Cabinteely parkruns, was Blackrock’s Cristin Scollard who covered the distance in 14:17. Not so far behind, in 3rd place, came Niamh Corby in 15:00, totally on her own and a good 23 seconds ahead of the 4th placed runner. Ciara Lynch was next for the club in 6th place (15:39), and Ciara was followed by Rebecca Fleming (9th in 15:56), Tanja Narancic (14th in 16:14), Nina Holmes, making a welcome return (16th in 16:21), Emer Kenny (19th in 16:27), just behind, and Margaret Foley, a little further back (28th in 16:52). Margaret was followed by Kate Murray, a glutton for punishment (32nd in 17:02), who herself was followed closely by Dee Ni Chearbhaill (33rd in 17:07). Further back came Christina Campbell (41st in 17:45) and Lieze Verberght (46th in 18:03), with Ciara Hutchinson just behind Lieze (49th in 18:06). Ali O’Regan (56th in 18:31) was our next runner across the line, followed by Catriona Egan (61st in 18:48), Carina Davidson (63rd in 18:52), Avril Ryan (64th in 18:55), Anna Hernick (68th in 19:18), Anna Shine (81st in 20:13), Maureen McGinley (82nd in 20:18), Mairead Cashman (91st in 22:00) and Niamh Trihy (93rd in 23:29). The women’s A team led the field home and, if they are able to put out a complete team in the last race in a few weeks’ time, then they should be well placed to podium at least in the league. On the previous day, the BHAA organised another XC race, this time hosted by the Central Bank on the grounds of Wesley College in Sandyford. We had at least 16 Crusaders in the field of 135, in a 4-mile race that was twisty and turny around the playing fields of the college. Although there were a few inclines, there was nothing particularly severe on the one-mile loop that had to be negotiated 4 times. Conditions underfoot were relatively dry, but, of course, being thick grass in places, naturally strength-sapping. Our contingent was led home in the notable quality field by Colm Parnell who placed 6th in 21:43. Michael Kiely kept Colm well in sight for most of the race and placed 7th just behind in 21:59, followed by a resurgent Joe Walsh (11th) who ran 22:55, a time one second ahead of the third runner in his age category, to take 2nd place as an M45. Joe McDermott came next in 16th spot (23:13) with John Mulvihill not too far behind (18th in 23:22) and with Ross Neill (20th in 23:43) a further 20-odd seconds back. Clare Sullivan and Aoife Quigley were never too far apart throughout the race, with Clare ultimately taking 36th and 4th female finisher spot in 25:27, with Aoife only 2 seconds back in 37th and 5th places (25:29). It was no disgrace finishing behind Sarah Mulligan, Edel Gaffney and Aoife Byrne. Rachael Yorke took 6th place (58th overall) in a time of 26:54, and she was followed by Enda Currid (67th in 27:20), Kate Murray (89th, 13th female finisher and 4th F45 in 29:48), Michael McGovern (107th and 4th M65 in 31:28), Patrick Needham (115th in 32:18) and Susan Walsh (121st, 21st female finisher and winner of the F60 age category after a good duel with a familiar rival). Members may be interested to read that Sean Murphy, who trains with us, placed 50th in 26:18. Suzanne Martin also ran in the race, but had to pull out, after running well, about halfway through with tightness in her achilles. The international Spring full and half marathon season effectively kicked off this weekend and we had runners in two major events. Kieran Little and Brian O’Kelly took on the Seville marathon on Sunday morning. In increasing temperatures (thankfully the race started early) to about 23 degrees by the afternoon, Kieran was able to turn in a spectacular PB time of 2:31:05, with Brian running well too to finish in 2:35:20. In a field of 9,400 finishers, Kieran placed 198th, with Brian, 263rd. Both had run almost identical first halves of 1:14:00, the second half definitely making life challenging in the rising heat. On the same day, Gill Earley and Amy McGuinness competed in the Barcelona half marathon, where both ran well, Gill finishing in a super PB time of 1:31:32 and Amy crossing the line in 1:37:03, after temporarily having had to stop at 13k with cramp. Well done to both on getting through the warm conditions. Sticking with matters Spanish, news comes of Pablo Sanchez, our Spanish exile in Madrid. Midweek, he ran in the Madrid Master Athletics Championships where he placed 2nd in the 1500m on the track. Late news has just come in that Daniel Lowe won the 307-strong Tony McGowan 10k in Co. Leitrim on Sunday. In windy conditions, and running mostly on his own, Daniel ran 35:57 for the win. Congrats to him. We had runners in at least 14 parkruns on Saturday morning, four of them in the UK. As usual, we also saw some podium finishes. Yvonne Macauley and Alan Sheehy took part in the Victoria Parkrun in Belfast, where Yvonne ran a super time of 18:34 to cross the line as first female finisher (13th overall in a field of 198). Alan also ran well to place 9th in 17:40. We had at least 11 runners in Poolbeg, with two of our members recording first finishes. Stephen Hurley led the field of 170 home in a time of 17:41, whilst Rachel Calvey finished 22nd overall (1st female finisher) in a time of 21:33. They were joined in the event by Rob Glascott (14th in 20:12), Daniel Sheridan (15th in 20:21), Josie Ward (39th and 3rd in 22:59), Sharon Woods (48th and 7th in 23:51), Russell Murphy (55th in 24:22), Kenan Furlong, pacing the 25 mins runners (62nd in 24:53), Gillian Curran (109th and 34th in 27:58), Louise O’Riordan (123rd and 43rd in 28:41) and Mari Hansen (155th and 61st in 33:52). We had 3 runners in Shanganagh, with Liam Morris finishing ahead of the field of 228 in a time of 16:30. Liam was followed by Eoghan Corrigan (41st in 21:43) and Orlaith de Burca (160th and 48th in 30:18). Kevin Fitzgibbon placed 3rd in 19:54 with Toby Benham placing 4th in 20:11 in Brickfields with 93 runners, whilst Darina Scully joined 105 other runners in River Valley, where she placed 18th and 2nd in 23:57. Susanne English ran in Oldbridge in a field of 83, where she placed 38th and 3rd in 27:49, whilst Olwyn Dunne took on Tramore Valley in a visit to Cork, finishing in 27th and 8th places in 22:28 in a field of 192. In Tolka Valley, Andy Deuser, John Lohan and Tara Murphy joined 48 other runners, where Andy placed 14th in 21:49, John placed 16th in 22:05 and Tara ran 25:16 for 26th and 4th places. Maureen McGinley ran in Sligo, placing 60th and 22nd in a field of 121 and in a time of 28:01, whilst Anna and Máirín Shine ran in the Barclay Parkrun in Hoddesdon in the UK, where Anna placed 66th and 20th in 30:56 and Máirín came home in 68th and 22nd in 31:08 in a field of 124. Another runner ran in Belfast on Saturday morning: Mairead Cashman ran with 131 other participants in Queen’s, where she placed 115th and 39th in 33:18, whilst Aidan Hudner continues to run in Pollok in Glasgow, where, in a field of 442, he placed 138th in 25:01. Finally, Karl Walsh placed 15th in Naas in a time of 21:01, in a field of 146, whilst we had two runners in St. Anne’s. In a field of 392, William Ralph crossed the line in 46th spot in 21:36, followed by Tim Hyland who placed 262nd in 30:14. BHAA Central Bank 4-mile XC (135) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eoin Flynn 1 00:20:22 15 Sarah Mulligan 1 00:23:11 Crusaders AC runners 6 Colm Parnell 00:21:43 7 Michael Kiely 00:21:59 11 Joe Walsh 00:22:55 16 Joe McDermott 00:23:13 18 John Mulvihill 00:23:22 20 Ross Neill 00:23:43 36 Clare Sullivan 00:25:27 (4) 37 Aoife Quigley 00:25:29 (5) 58 Rachael Yorke 00:26:54 (6) 67 Enda Currid 00:27:20 86 Robbie Moore 00:29:28 89 Kate Murray 00:29:48 (13) 107 Michael McGovern 00:31:28 115 Patrick Needham 00:32:18 121 Susan Walsh 00:33:01 (21) Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/Central%20Bank%204%20Mile%20CC%20Results%202023.pdf Women’s Meet & Train (98) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Cristin Scollard 00:14:47 Crusaders AC runners 3 Niamh Corby 00:15:00 6 Ciara Lynch 00:15:39 14 Tanja Narancic 00:16:14 16 Nina Holmes 00:16:21 19 Emer Kenny 00:16:27 28 Margaret Foley 00:16:52 32 Kate Murray 00:17:02 33 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:17:07 41Christina Campbell 00:17:45 46 Lieze Verberght 00:18:03 49 Ciara Hutchinson 00:18:06 56 Ali O’Regan 00:18:31 61 Catriona Egan 00:18:48 63 Carina Davidson 00:18:52 64 Avril Ryan 00:18:55 68 Anna Hernick 00:19:18 81 Anna Shine 00:20:13 82 Maureen McGinley 00:20:18 91 Mairead Cashman 00:22:00 93 Niamh Trihy 00:23:29 Tony McGowan 10k (307) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Daniel Lowe 1 00:35:57 16 Irene Clements 1 00:42:34 Crusaders AC runner 1 Daniel Lowe 00:35:57 Full results here: https://my.raceresult.com/233008/live#2_6710A8 Sligo Parkrun (121) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John O’Sullivan 1 00:19:57 4 Ciara Regan 1 00:20:09 Crusaders AC runner 60 Maureen McGinley 00:28:01 (22) Victoria Parkrun (198) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ronan Toland 1 00:16:16 13 Yvonne Macauley 1 00:18:34 Crusaders AC runners 9 Alan Sheehy 00:17:40 13 Yvonne Macauley 00:18:34 (1) Oldbridge Parkrun (83) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Martin Russell 1 00:19:31 18 Rebecca Carolan 1 00:23:28 Crusaders AC runner 38 Susanne English 00:27:49 (3) Shanganagh Parkrun (228) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Liam Morris 1 00:16:30 15 Julie Cleary 1 00:18:26 Crusaders AC runners 2 Liam Morris 00:16:30 41 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:43 160 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:18 (48) Brickfields Parkrun (93) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciaran Aylward 1 00:18:47 21 Sinead Tyrrell 1 00:23:15 Crusaders AC runners 3 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:19:54 4 Toby Benham 00:20:11 Naas Parkrun (146) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel McEntegart 1 00:16:57 6 Emma Boland 1 00:19:05 Crusaders AC runner 15 Karl Walsh 00:21:01 Queen’s Belfast Parkrun (132) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Watts 1 00:18:35 16 Ursula Daly 1 00:21:59 Crusaders AC runner 115 Mairead Cashman 00:33:18 (39) Tolka Valley Parkrun (51) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Lee Duddy 1 00:18:13 13 Aoife Donaghy 1 00:21:47 Crusaders AC runners 14 Andy Deuser 00:21:49 16 John Lohan 00:22:05 26 Tara Murphy 00:25:16 (4) River Valley Parkrun (106) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Christopher Lynch 1 00:18:57 16 Kate Higgins 1 00:23:46 Crusaders AC runner 18 Darina Scully 00:23:57 (2) Poolbeg Parkrun (170) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:41 22 Rachel Calvey 1 00:21:33 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:41 14 Rob Glascott 00:20:12 15 Daniel Sheridan 00:20:21 22 Rachel Calvey 00:21:33 (1) 39 Josie Ward 00:22:59 (3) 48 Sharon Woods 00:23:51 (7) 55 Russell Murphy 00:24:22 62 Kenan Furlong 00:24:53 109 Gillian Curran 00:27:58 (34) 123 Louise O’Riordan 00:28:41 (43) 155 Mari Hansen 00:33:52 (61) St. Anne’s Parkrun (392) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jamie Kavanagh Shiels 1 00:17:46 15 Laura Behan 1 00:19:42 Crusaders AC runners 46 William Ralph 00:21:36 262 Tim Hyland 00:30:14 Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (192) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Longan 1 00:17:08 6 Sandra Manning 1 00:20:07 Crusaders AC runner 27 Olwyn Dunne 00:22:28 (8) Comments are closed.
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