Take your Pick of ¾ marathons and success in the Dublin Novices

10/10/2022

Clément Rince, Daniel Lowe, Barry McCarthy, David Willis, Colm Parnell, Peter O'Toole, Kevin Darcy, Andrea Rondina, Ruben Vega, Eddie Nugent, Andy Deuser, Joe McDermott, Brendan Glynn, Kevin Fitzgibbon, Tim O'Donnell, Aaron Cashman, Felix Martinez and Susan Walsh

It was a busy weekend of racing, both on the roads and also the start of the cross-country season. We had much to celebrate.

Tymon Park was the venue for the Dublin Novices XC on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon. Traditionally, these races have been held on the 15 Acres in the Phoenix Park, but it looks now as if those days are over. Nevertheless, Tymon provided a worthy backdrop to what were some extremely exciting races. The Dublin Novices never fail to provide a great spectacle and also bring out athletes who are new to the scene, often stars of the future. This was particularly the case for us this year as a club, with our newcomers performing well.

Funnily enough, we had no great expectations going into the adult races, principally because we had no idea of the opposition. Nevertheless, having 7 athletes in the women’s 4k race, representing 10% of the 69-strong field and 20 in the men’s 6k (or 20% of that field of more than 109) and with all our athletes coming home well bunched, we had a great opportunity for team medals. And so it proved.

The races involved a one short loop on relatively flat ground but followed by either 2 or 4 loops of about 1400m requiring some climbing and a sharp descent at one point that produced a few fallers, notably one of our athletes, Peter O’Toole, who got himself up quickly enough after his tumble, muddy but unbowed. The course is relatively familiar to several of us in the club as intermediate races have been held there in the past. The women’s race was first and was conducted in really windy conditions that worsened through the race, whilst the men had not just the wind to deal with but also heavy rain towards the end. The surface was thankfully not too soggy though.

Emily Sheils led our women home in a super 5th place in 15:50, 50 seconds behind race winner Faye Dervan (15:00) of DCH, having worked her way steadily through the field, as did Alma Hanevy, our second scorer who came home in 17th place (16:27). Isabelle Cairns and Danielle Hopkins held their places well during the race and were our 3rd and 4th scorers (Isabelle placing 23rd in 16:54 and Danielle just behind in 25th in a time of 16:59). Next came the “spoilers”, pushing back the other clubs’ 3rd or 4th scorers. Sarah Lyons, Kathryn Gibbons and Francesca Lee (most probably in her first XC) performed this role, with Sarah placing 27th in 17:08, Kathryn, 28th in 17:14, and Francesca, 48th in 18:13. It was a well-bunched performance and we were delighted to discover that the team had convincingly claimed the bronze team medal with 70 points. DCH took gold with 20 points (1st and 3rd finishers helped); Clonliffe 2nd with 52 points and Raheny 4th on 84 points.

It was then the men’s turn and they didn’t disappoint either, but the result was much closer, the team similarly winning the bronze medal and similarly finishing behind Clonliffe who took silver, and ahead of Raheny in 4th place.

We witnessed an extremely steady run from Andrea Rondina, who has only been with the club for about a month. Andrea led our men home in 10th place, behind what appeared to be an exciting dead heat between Shane Spring of Raheny and Eddie O’Connor of Brothers Pearse. Both athletes fell across the line together and recorded the same time of 19:31 and apparently have been given joint first.

Andrea finished exactly a minute behind in 20:31 and he was followed by our second scorer, Clément Rince (11th in 20:39), who also worked well through the race. Barry McCarthy (16th in 20:57) and the scorers were completed by Colm Parnell (17th in 20:59). With only 7 positions and 28 seconds separating our runners, it was no surprise that we medalled with 54 points, but it was so close between us and Raheny in 4th place on 56 points. Again, we were helped by our spoilers: David Willis (18th in 21:02) recovering from the Berlin marathon, Felix Martinez (26th in 21:26), Peter O’Toole (32nd in 21:42), Ruben Vega (33rd in 21:45), Kevin Fitzgibbon (41st in 22:15), only a week following his exploits in the London marathon, Aaron Cashman (45th in 22:27), Daniel Lowe (56th in 22:52), Patrick Conlon (64th in 23:10), Robert Browne (65th in 23:18), Joe Walsh (66th in 23:23), another survivor from Berlin, Eddie Nugent (75th in 23:55), Tim O’Donnell (82nd in 24:15), Kevin Darcy (88th in 24:36), Andy Deuser (101st in 27:00) and Brendan Glynn (105th in 28:16). Michael Wycherley was running well until he was unfortunately forced to pull out with a sore ankle that has been plaguing him for a while. Still, it was a fantastic turnout and bodes well for the future! Brothers Pearse took team gold on 30 points, followed by Clonliffe (41 points) and ourselves on 54 points.

Road racing this week started on Tuesday night with the Grant Thornton 5k. Numbers at 2560 were about 2000 down on 2019, but we still saw a significant participation of Crusaders in the event, with a likely fielding of 20 athletes at least. They were led home by John Mulvihill (11th in 16:49) and John was followed by Adam Flanagan (18th in 17:08) on a changed course from previous years. The course looks quite similar to our own Docklands 5k with visits to the Point and Capital Dock. However, it also involves two crossings of the Samuel Beckett Bridge, which would likely have made it a slightly slower course than ours. The weather was relatively kind to the runners, with the forecast evening rain not making an appearance.

Adam was followed home by Dee Lawlor (57th in 18:32), Gary Park (155th in 20:03), Simon Kenny (160th in 20:04), Amy McGuinness (191st and 10th female finisher in 20:24), Kathryn Gibbons (206th and 14th in a PB time of 20:31), Phelim Murray (209th in 20:32), Gillian Earley (224th and 15th in 20:44), Rebecca Fleming (225th and 16th in 20:46), Emily Quinlan (264th and 18th in 21:02), Tomás Bradley (267th in 21:03), James Moran (393rd in 21:58), Diarmuid Fahey (411th in 22:04), Ger Hoare (456th in 22:16), Gian Piero Allerta (537th in 22:37), John Cunnane (552nd in 22:41) on the back of an early evening session in Irishtown, Sarah Lyons (565th and 44th in 22:46), Ciara Lynch (711th and 66th in 23:22) and Maria Kennedy (804th and 81st in 23:47).

Runners were spoiled for choice on Sunday with regards to ¾ marathons as preparation for the Dublin marathon in 3 weeks’ time over the bank holiday weekend at the end of the month. Runners could opt for Clondalkin or Longwood and the majority opted for the latter, although both offered equally flat courses. 833 took on the Longwood ¾ marathon and we provided several of the pacers for an event that needs to see a great deal of discipline from those of its participants preparing for the marathon. The last thing anyone wants to do at this stage of their training is to go out too fast and run the risk of compromising his or her full marathon.

So, we had 7 actual competitors in the race. In windy conditions, they were led home by Jim Stagg (37th in 2:11:38) and he was followed by Ronan Moynihan (91st in 2:22:15), Kevin Kavanagh (102nd in 2:24:34), Phelim Murray (158th in 2:33:44) and Olwyn Dunne (218th and 27th in 2:42:05). Olwyn also won the prize for 1st F50, a narrow margin of victory over a rival who finished 2 seconds behind her on gun time (and 3 seconds ahead on chiptime, demonstrating how critical it can be oft-times to be as close to the start line as possible, since, as everyone should know by now, most races (the upcoming National, Leinster and Dublin marathon championships within the Dublin marathon being a good example in particular) are decided by gun times, not chip). Olwyn was followed by Emer Kenny and Ciara Lehane crossing the line together (in 323rd and 324th places (57th and 58th female finishers, respectively) in 2:54:06).

The pacers were Kieran Martin and Dee Lawlor (79th and 80th in 2:20:36), Áine Crotty and Cian Coughlan (258th (and 37th) and 259th in 2:44:57 and 2:44:58) and Joe Dunne and Miriam Logan (528th and 529th (139th female finisher) in 3:08:53). Well done to all!

We had 2 runners in the Fastlane ¾ marathon on the banks of the Grand Canal in Clondalkin with its field of 314. Jonathan Claridge placed 51st in 2:29:26 and he was followed by Fiachra O’Cionnaith (223rd in 3:08:14). Members may be interested to learn that Sean Murphy, who sometimes runs with us, placed 16th in 2:15:36.

Elsewhere on the roads we have much to report. In preparing for the Dublin marathon Thomas Vogée decided to treat the Lisbon marathon as a training run, still managing to record a super time of 3:05 on the flat coastal route that started west of the country’s capital. He was surprisingly joined by Elad Solomon who had only just completed the Run Galway Bay marathon the week before. Elad's time in Lisbon was 4:54:53. Mona Samir had to deal with warm conditions in the Budapest marathon where she ran a PB time of 3:38, again on a flat course. David Healy, one of the junior Cru coaches, ran in Chicago where he finished in 3:18:06 on a flat course with lighter winds than can be experienced there and in cold but sunny conditions.

Mairead Cashman took advantage of a trip to San Sebastian in Spain to take part in a 3 beach 10k race, which she completed in a time of 57 minutes. Mairin, Lisa and Fiona Shine took part in the relay event as part of the Munich marathon. Mairin ran the first leg of 10k in 58:30. Then, Lisa ran two of the legs (legs 2 and 3) for a total distance of 17k which she ran in 88 minutes, with Fiona running the 4th leg of 15k in 73 minutes. We had at least one runner in the Great Pink Run, another event forced out of the Phoenix Park. This year the race took place in Leopardstown and Carina completed it in 52:38. However, results have yet to be published. If and once they are produced, then the report will be updated.

In the mountains at the weekend, Warren Swords reported that he competed in a 30k challenge (IMRA 5 Tops and a Drop), an out-and-back race between Kilmacanaogue and Djouce in Co. Wicklow. The race involved a climb of 1500m on a course of extreme difficulty. Warren joined about 20 other runners in the event, completing it in just over 4 hours. Results have yet to be published.

Finally, our German exile in Hamburg, Johannes Frederking, took part in two races last week. On Monday he competed in the 12k Kohlbrandbruckenlauf race across bridges in Hamburg, finishing in a time of 49:33. Then on Sunday he took to the trails of Hamburg in the Bramfelder Half marathon, where he ran a time of 1:31.

As usual, several of our club-mates took part in parkruns on Saturday morning. Miriam Logan and Luke Davis were first finishers in Cabinteely, where, in a field of 103, Luke came in ahead of everyone in a time of 19:09, with Miriam placing 7th overall in 21:43. David Carter placed 2nd in 20:04, followed by Stephen Mulligan (17th in 24:26) and Olwyn Dunne (32nd and 5th in 25:51). Kate Murray placed 13th and 1st in Mullingar in a field of 73. Kate’s time was 24:19. Another first finisher was Darina Scully in River Valley, where, in a field of 87, she placed 6th and 1st in 23:54. We packed the top places in Tolka Valley, where Áine Crotty took 3rd and 1st in 21:36, followed by Cormac McGuire (4th in 21:52), Rebecca Fleming (5th and 2nd 22:13), Sarah Lyons (13th and 5th in 24:48) and Phelim Murray (30th in 32:59). There were 37 runners in the event.

Paul and Aoife Cowhie joined 378 other runners in Marlay Park, where Paul placed 3rd in 17:38, followed by Paul Flynn (7th in 18;14) and Aoife (128th and 17th in 24:57). Maria Kennedy ran once gain in Kilkenny where she placed 37th and 5th in a field of 142 in a time of 25:31, whilst Colm Foley placed 23rd in 22:51 in the 95-strong field in Killarney House. In Poolbeg, Stephen Hurley took 2nd place in the field of 131 and in a time of 17:39, and he was followed by Paul Campbell (18th in 21:16), Sharon Woods (31st and 5th in 22:35), John Lohan (63rd in 24:58) and Tara Murphy (78th and 23rd in 26:35). Andy Deuser ran along with 97 other runners in Fairview, where he placed 19th in 24:07, whilst Carina Davidson and Orlaith de Burca joined the field of 134 in Shanganagh. Carina placed 43rd and 7th in 25:38, whilst Orlaith took 90th and 54th spots in a time of 29:16. Lastly, Mairin, Fiona and Lisa Shine ran in Westpark in Munich. Fiona placed 136th and 56th in a field of 174 and a time of 32:04, followed by Mairin (137th and 59th in 32:05) and Lisa (138th and 60th in the same time).

As usual, any missing info or mistakes, please let us know! Thanks.

Fast Lane ¾ Marathon (314)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Gavin Kelly 1 01:58:50
14 Carmel Ward 1 02:14:06
Crusaders AC runners
51 Jonathan Claridge 02:29:26
223 Fiachra O’Cionnaith 03:08:14
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/fast_lane_3_4_half_marathon__10k/4551/results
Irish ¾ Marathon (833)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Gary O’Hanlon 1 01:51:33
14 Barbara Cleary 1 02:03:29
Crusaders AC runners
37 Jim Stagg 02:11:38
79 Kieran Martin 02:20:36 PACER
80 Dee Lawlor 02:20:36 PACER
91 Ronan Moynihan 02:22:15
102 Kevin Kavanagh 02:24:34
158 Phelim Murray 02:33:44
218 Olwyn Dunne 02:42:05
258 Áine Crotty 02:44:57 (37) PACER
259 Cian Coughlan 02:44:58 PACER
323 Emer Kenny 02:54:06 (57)
324 Ciara Lehane 02:54:06 (58)
528 Joe Dunne 03:08:53
529 Miriam Logan 03:08:53 (139)
Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/Irish3Quarter2022.pdf
Grant Thornton 5k (2560)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jamie Fallon 1 00:15:19
75 Kate O’Neill 1 00:18:58
Crusaders AC runners
11 John Mulvihill 00:16:49
18 Adam Flanagan 00:17:08
57 Dee Lawlor 00:18:32
155 Gary Park 00:20:03
160 Simon Kenny 00:20:04
191 Amy McGuinness 00:20:24 (10)
206 Kathryn Gibbons 00:20:31 (PB) (14)
209 Phelim Murray 00:20:32
224 Gillian Earley 00:20:44 (15)
225 Rebecca Fleming 00:20:46 (16)
264 Emily Quinlan 00:21:02 (18)
267 Tomás Bradley 00:21:03
393 James Moran 00:21:58
411 Diarmuid Fahey 00:22:04
456 Ger Hoare 00:22:16
537 Gian Piero Allerta 00:22:37
552 John Cunnane 00:22:41
565 Sarah Lyons 00:22:46 (44)
711 Ciara Lynch 00:23:22 (66)
804 Maria Kennedy 00:23:47 (81)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/grant_thornton_corporate_5k_team_challenge_dublin/4565/results
Killarney House Parkrun (95)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert Patterson 1 00:18:27
19 Siobhan Daly 1 00:22:13
Crusaders AC runner
23 Colm Foley 00:22:51
Marlay Parkrun (380)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul Stephenson 1 00:15:38
18 Eilish Moloney 1 00:19:22
Crusaders AC runners
3 Paul Cowhie 00:17:38
7 Paul Flynn 00:18:14
128 Aoife Cowhie 00:24:57 (17)
River Valley Parkrun (87)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher Lynch 1 00:20:26
6 Darina Scully 00:23:54
Crusaders AC runner
6 Darina Scully 00:23:54 (1)
Mullingar Parkrun (73)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Murphy 1 00:19:01
13 Kate Murray 1 00:24:19
Crusaders AC runner
13 Kate Murray 00:24:19 (1)
Poolbeg Parkrun (131)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ross Collins 1 00:17:36
5 Miranda Spencer 1 00:18:34
Crusaders AC runners
2 Stephen Hurley 00:17:39
18 Paul Campbell 00:21:16
31 Sharon Woods 00:22:35 (5)
63 John Lohan 00:24:58
78 Tara Murphy 00:26:35 (23)
Kilkenny Parkrun (142)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Mike Kelly 1 00:17:45
12 Claire Phelan 1 00:21:16
Crusaders AC runner
37 Maria Kennedy 00:25:31 (5)
Fairview Parkrun (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Bryan Dalton 1 00:20:31
20 Marina Horan 1 00:24:13
Crusaders AC runner
19 Andy Deuser 00:24:07
Shanganagh Parkrun (134)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Caulfield 1 00:18:07
19 Shirley Casey 1 00:23:15
Crusaders AC runners
43 Carina Davidson 00:25:38 (7)
90 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:16 (34)
Cabinteely Parkrun (103)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Davis 1 00:19:09
7 Miriam Logan 1 00:21:43
Crusaders AC runners
1 Luke Davis 00:19:09
2 David Carter 00:20:04
7 Miriam Logan 00:21:43 (1)
17 Stephen Mulligan 00:24:26
32 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:51 (5)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (37)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:18:45
3 Áine Crotty 1 00:21:36
Crusaders AC runners
3 Áine Crotty 00:21:36 (1)
4 Cormac McGuire 00:21:52
5 Rebecca Fleming 00:22:13 (2)
13 Sarah Lyons 00:24:48 (5)
30 Phelim Murray 00:32:59