The Power of Ten

20/8/2023

Standing L-R: Ciara Lynch, Paul O'Hara, Rory Goldsmith, James Cottle, Ciara Regan, Cian Coughlan, Áine Crotty, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Hannah Jones. Kneeling L-R: Robbie Moore, Rebecca Fleming and Maeve Lochrie

Just like Dublin buses, you wait for one and two arrive at the same time. In this case, it was three that came along this weekend, in the form of 10-mile road races. The first was the Irish Life Dublin Marathon Series Frank Duffy, incorporating the Dublin ten-mile championships. That took place on Saturday morning in the aftermath of Storm Betty, so that we continued to see quite strong winds whistling around and changing direction throughout the morning. Sunday saw both the Cork City 10-miler, along with one organised by St. Coca’s in Co. Kildare, using part of the fast and flat course used for the Kilcock 5k, but with a different finish on the canal towpath.

We had over 40 runners, most of them preparing for the Dublin marathon in October, in the Frank Duffy, on a hilly and challenging course in the Phoenix Park in warm and blustery conditions (winds mostly from the southwest at 30kph) early on Saturday morning. All races now seem to be confined to the west and south side of the park so that we probably saw nearly all the hills, except, mercifully, for the Khyber Pass. As the smoke clears, we possibly came home with women’s senior team bronze, men’s senior team silver and gold for both men’s and women’s O/35 teams, along with at least one individual age category medal. We will need to wait and see on the team results as some of our runners were not recorded as Crusaders at the time they entered (and at least one was just plainly missed). The report will be updated once we have a firmer handle on the outcome of the team competitions.

In a field of 2,807 finishers Brendan Murphy was our first runner home in a time of 57:18 for 6th place. Brendan was followed across the line by Warren Swords (36th in 61:29), who found the going tough but was happy enough, considering. Dee Lawlor was next (40th in 62:03) and he was followed by newcomer John O’Donnell (81st in 64:18). Infrequent racer Ronan Doolin was next (106th in 65:22) and he was followed by Rory Goldsmith (118th in 65:38), Cian Coughlan (128th in 65:46), Kieran Martin (146th in 66:52), Garret Connolly (164th in 67:15), Alby Allan with a 4-minutes PB (176th in 67:39) and Karl Walsh (178th in 67:32).

Ciara Regan placed 223rd overall and 14th female finisher in 68:47 and she was followed by Maeve Lochrie (241st and 16th in 69:01), Paul O’Hara with a likely PB (293rd in 70:48) and James Cottle, who found the going extremely tough from early on, stopping several times during the race, but being consoled by coming home in second place in the M65 age category overall and taking the silver medal for that category (299th in 71:10). Behind James came Áine Crotty (359th and 30th in 72:11), Paula Bradshaw with a PB (439th and 41st in 73:29), Carmel Cooney (450th and 43rd in 73:50), Rebecca Fleming (486th and 51st in 75:05), Adam Kinch (582nd in 76:09), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (612th and 68th in 77:22), Robbie Moore (646th in 78:07), Hannah Jones (670th and 78th in 77:59) and Lisa Branigan who joined the other women to place in the top 100 (735th overall and 91st in 78:34).

Further back came David Tuohy (957th in 82:19), James Bradshaw, in his first 10-miler and breaking 80 minutes (993rd in 79:57), Christina Campbell (1001st and 153rd in 82:21), Olwyn Dunne who treated the race as part of her long run (1035th and 165th in 83:16), Frank Renehan (1045th in 83:47), Martin Joyce with a PB (1489th in 90:03), Emily Glen, another runner like Olwyn to treat the race as part of a much longer run (1595th and 356th in 89:07), Gillian McDarby (1658th and 381st in 90:27), Anna Hernick (1718th and 403rd in 93:36), Kevin Kenny (1741st in 90:29), Amy Forde (2009th and 539th in 95:59), John Corish (2039th in 97:27), Etain Finn (2065th and 569th in 97:27), Carina Davidson (2387th and 756th in 1:51:05), Daniel O’Mahony (2446th in 1:47:00), Andrea Garcia (2455th and 798th in 1:47:51) and Rachel Kelly (2624th and 917th in 1:55:20).

The following day, Ciara Lehane raced in her native Cork in the ten-miler there. On a course that was largely flat with a couple of loops on the south side of the River Lee and with southwesterly winds at around 20kph and again in sunny and warm conditions, Ciara ran with 936 other runners, placing 297th overall and 48th female finisher in a time of 76:37. Incidentally, the race was won by the runner-up in our Docklands 5k race this year, Michael Harty, who finished in a time of 49:39.

Closer to home, we had 6 runners take part in the 10-mile race in Kilcock. Again, it was quite blustery, with similar strong 20kph winds from the southwest that would have affected runners for part of the single loop course on relatively flat terrain (a slight downhill overall). Similarly, conditions were again warm and humid, like the day before. In the field of 383 Ger Forde recorded yet another PB, placing 10th in 56:08. He was followed by Adrienne Jordan (48th and 5th in 63:58 and awarded first place in the F40 age category). The women’s race was highly congested in the front end of the race and was likewise among our club runners finishing after Adrienne. Each of the remaining 4 was within a minute of each other. They were led by Gillian Earley (90th and 11th in 68:49) and Gill was followed by Miriam Logan, another athlete to record yet another PB (97th and 13th in 69:31), Brian McGuckin (106th in 69:45) and Nina Holmes (108th and 15th in 69:41).

We had at least three participants in the Cork Ironman 70.3 and one in the full Ironman that took place in Youghal on Sunday. Toby Benham completed the half marathon segment in 1:28:54, whilst Fiona Shine finished the run in 2:17:47, followed closely by Louise O’Riordan who ran it in 2:18:51. meanwhile, Seamus Moore took on the full challenge, completing the marathon segment in 3:46:28.

Moving on to the parkruns on Saturday morning, we had fewer participants perhaps than usual, with so many of our athletes committing to racing or long runs. Some of the parkruns (e.g. Cabinteely) were also cancelled because of fallen trees in their parks.

Kathryn Sweeney tried her hand at running Gorey, where she was a first finisher (4th overall) in a field of 99. Kathryn’s time was 20:04. Kenan Furlong ran in Poolbeg where, in a field of 138, he placed 2nd in 17:48. Kenan was followed by Cathal O’Hara (7th in 19:26), John Lohan (27th in 22:58, Russell Murphy (34th in 23:37), Mía Zoladz (88th and 22nd in 29:42), Cynthia Perucca (121st and 41st in 36:16) and Niamh Trihy (122nd and 42nd in 36:40).

Members of the Shine family ran in the Macroom Castle Demesne parkrun alongside 40 other participants. Lisa placed 18th and 2nd in 26:03, followed by Fiona (34th and 10th in 31:05) and Máirin (35th and 11th in 31:06). Kate Murray ran in Sligo, where, in a field of 71, she placed 14th and 2nd in 23:10, whilst Ailsa Berkeley and Mairead Cashman ran in nearby Glen River in a field of 86. Ailsa placed 28th and 4th in 25:20, with Mairead taking 70th and 25th spots in 32:14. Also, in Cork, Simon Kenny and Toby Benham ran in the 281-strong field in Ballincollig. Simon placed 12th in 20:49, with Toby placing 30th in 23:13.

Luke Corcoran took 4th place in Bushy Park in a time of 19:27. The field there measured 126, whilst, in Shanganagh, Eoghan Corrigan placed 20th in 22:25 and Janet McManus placed 50th and 7th in 24:30 alongside 190 other runners. Maureen McGinley ran in Hellbrun in Germany, where, in a field of 34, she placed 17th and 4th in 30:30, whilst Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 319, he placed 67th in 25:02. Finally, Paul F. Kelly ran in Tolka Valley in a field of 107, he placed 48th in a time of 27:37, whilst Barry O’Neill ran 24:09 for 95th place in the 374-strong field in Marlay Park.

Frank Duffy 10-mile race (Dublin Championships) (2807)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Glynn 1 00:52:38
19 Caitlynn Harvey 1 01:00:22
Crusaders AC runners
6 Brendan Murphy 00:57:18
36 Warren Swords 01:01:29
40 Derek Lawlor 01:02:03
81 John O’Donnell 01:04:18
106 Ronan Doolin 01:05:22
118 Rory Goldsmith 01:05:38
128 Cian Coughlan 01:05:46
146 Kieran Martin 01:06:52
164 Garret Connolly 01:07:15
176 Alby Allan 01:07:39 (PB)
178 Karl Walsh 01:07:32
223 Ciara Regan 01:08:47 (14)
230 Ciara Lynch 01:08:46 (PB) (15)
241 Maeve Lochrie 01:09:01 (16)
293 Paul O’Hara 01:10:48 (PB)
299 James Cottle 01:11:10
359 Áine Crotty 01:12:11 (30)
439 Paula Bradshaw 01:13:29 (PB) (41)
450 Carmel Cooney 01:13:50 (43)
486 Rebecca Fleming 01:15:05 (51)
582 Adam Kinch 01:16:09
612 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:17:22 (68)
646 Robbie Moore 01:18:07
670 Hannah Jones 01:17:59 (PB) (78)
735 Lisa Branigan 01:18:34 (91)
957 David Tuohy 01:22:19
993 James Bradshaw 01:19:57 (PB)
1001 Christina Campbell 01:22:21 (153)
1035 Olwyn Dunne 01:23:16 (165)
1045 Frank Renehan 01:23:47
1489 Martin Joyce 01:30:03 (PB)
1595 Emily Glen 01:29:07 (356)
1658 Gillian McDarby 01:30:27 (381)
1718 Anna Hernick 01:33:36 (403)
1741 Kevin Kenny 01:30:29
2009 Amy Forde 01:35:59 (539)
2039 John Corish 01:37:30
2065 Etain Finn 01:37:27 (569)
2387 Carina Davidson 01:51:05 (756)
2446 Daniel O’Mahony 01:47:00
2455 Andrea Garcia 01:47:51 (798)
2624 Rachel Kelly 01:55:20 (917)
Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=3964#0_BF88B5
Cork City 10-mile (937)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Michael Harty 1 00:49:39
40 Dee Grady 1 01:00:41
Crusaders AC runner
297 Ciara Lehane 01:16:37 (48)
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/cork-city-10-mile-2023/
St. Coca’s AC Kilcock 10-mile (383)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Efrem Gidey 1 00:47:11
33 Niamh Devlin 1 01:01:35
Crusaders AC runners
10 Ger Forde 00:56:08 (PB)
48 Adrienne Jordan 01:03:58 (5)
90 Gillian Earley 01:08:49 (11)
97 Miriam Logan 01:09:31 (PB) (13)
106 Brian McGuckin 01:09:45
108 Nina Holmes 01:09:41 (15)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/st_cocas_ac_kilcock_10_from_10/4734/results
Macroom Castle Demesne Parkrun (43)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conor Lucey 1 00:17:57
17 Noreen Stewart 1 00:25:36
Crusader AC runners
18 Lisa Shine 00:26:03 (2)
34 Fiona Shine 00:31:05 (10)
35 Máirín Shine 00:31:06 (11)
Ballincollig Parkrun (281)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conrad Watt 1 00:17:33
17 Marie Kelly 1 00:21:04
Crusaders AC runners
12 Simon Kenny 00:20:49
30 Toby Benham 00:23:13
Gorey Parkrun (99)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Paul O’Beirne 1 00:17:48
4 Kathryn Sweeney 1 00:20:04
Crusaders AC runner
4 Kathryn Sweeney 00:20:04 (1)
Glen River Parkrun (86)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Barry Twohig 1 00:16:59
20 Nassreen Abdullah 1 00:23:47
Crusaders AC runners
28 Ailsa Berkeley 00:25:20 (4)
70 Mairead Cashman 00:32:14 (25)
Marlay Parkrun (374)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:23
9 Aisling O’Connor 1 00:18:57
Crusaders AC runner
95 Barry O’Neill 00:24:09
Poolbeg Parkrun (138)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:42
26 Sophie Tonge 1 00:22:57
Crusaders AC runners
2 Kenan Furlong 00:17:48
7 Cathal O’Hara 00:19:26
27 John Lohan 00:22:58
34 Russell Murphy 00:23:37
88 Mía Zoladz 00:29:42 (22)
121 Cynthia Perucca 00:36:16 (41)
122 Niamh Trihy 00:36:40 (42)
Sligo Parkrun (71)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Kinsella 1 00:17:14
6 Sarah Mulvaney-Kelly 1 00:20:26
Crusaders AC runner
14 Kate Murray 00:23:10 (4)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (107)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aaron Mullan 1 00:18:07
12 Helen Carr 1 00:22:22
Crusaders AC runner
48 Paul F. Kelly 00:27:37
Bushy Parkrun (126)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Thomas Fell 1 00:18:14
11 Malika Hammani 1 00:22:26
Crusaders AC runner
4 Luke Corcoran 00:19:27
Shanganagh Parkrun (192)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Naoise O’Conluain 1 00:17:20
8 Sarah Healy 1 00:20:01
Crusaders AC runners
20 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:25
50 Janet McManus 00:24:30 (7)