Ticknock and Clontarf were the places to be last week

10/7/2023

Amy McGuinness and Laura Garcia Gonzalez

The major event of the weekend was the annual running of the Joe Duffy Clontarf half marathon and 5-mile races. One hesitates to call them road races, as the 5-mile event, in particular, is mostly conducted on concrete footpaths and grass. The out-and-back nature of the events on footpaths, which are not segregated for runners coming in both directions (making for lots of weaving), also can be made more challenging by the strong coastal breezes that generally prevail. The races may not be everyone’s cup of tea for these reasons. Reports from runners also indicate that the experience can be slightly chaotic at times and this certainly seems to be reflected in the published results where there appears to be some confusion, particularly with the half marathon results, as to who actually won, both the men’s and the women’s races, and, as a consequence, it is not totally clear as to the placings of the runners who followed the likely winners home.

We start, however, as usual, on the track. Wednesday evening saw the sixth graded meet of the Dublin Athletics series take place on DSD’s new track in Taylorsgrange, west Dublin. This was an opportunity for athletes to try out the track and we had at least nine members of the club do so. As usual, various distances were available, principally 100m, 800m and 3,000m. In the women’s 100m A graded race, Sinead Moloney placed 3rd in 13.42, whilst in the men’s grade B Mark Inuwa also placed 3rd in 11.61. Liam Beaumont ran in the C grade race where he also placed 3rd in 12.01, with John O’Loughlin taking 6th place in the D grade event in a time of 13.89.

In the combined C and D grades of the women’s 800m, Amy McGuinness placed 3rd in the C grade in 2:31.71, whilst Laura Garcia placed 3rd in the D grade, but 6th overall, in a time of 2:44.26. Paul E. Kelly contested the D grade of the men’s 800m, placing 10th in heat 1 in a time of 3:16.56, whilst Gary Park ran in the second heat, where he placed 9th in 2:18.15. Finally, Paul Cowhie, another of the 4 masters from the club running as seniors, took 8th spot in the 3,000m grade C race in a time of 10:01.89.

So, the Clontarf runners had to experience quite windy conditions in their races on Saturday morning. Nearly 2,700 contested the half marathon, with a further 1,100 in the 5-mile event. We had at least 9 members of the club in the half, with a further 7 at least in the shorter distance event.

Kenan Furlong was our first runner home in the half marathon, where he likely placed 26th in an excellent 1:24:28, followed by Cormac Fenton running strongly for 141st in a time of 1:36:37, just ahead of Christophe Marsan (142nd in 1:36;51). They were followed by Michael Judge (274th in 1:42:49), Simon Kenny (358th in 1:43:48), Cría Dowling (378th and likely 20th female finisher in 1:43:26), David Healy (437th in 1:48:42), Christina Campbell (1,510th and 30th in 1:56:58) and Linda Walsh (2,082nd and 545th in 2:23:21).

Alex Ainsworth cannot stop recording PBs at the moment and, sure enough, he got one in the 5-mile race, despite the wind. Alex placed 4th overall in a great time of 29:06 and he was followed by some great running by Maeve Lochrie (21st and 4th in 32:55) and Laura Garcia Gonzalez (61st and 10th in 36:04). In between the two training partners came Tony Owens who placed 54th in 35:28. The contingent was completed by Brendan Glynn (107th in 38:52), Sharon Woods (138th and 36th in 40:07) and Lydia Bigley (259th and 88th in 43:56).

There was one IMRA race last week in the Leinster League This was a race that started and finished at Ticknock, quite close to the action at DSD’s track nearby, and being conducted on a clockwise loop, over 9k with a climb of 350m on difficult terrain, of Three Rock and Fairy Castle. There were 188 finishers in the event, including 7 Crusaders. Our best placed finisher was Jason Kehoe who, despite going the wrong way at one point and losing time and places, still managed a creditable 8th place in 42:19. Jason was followed by Warren Swords (15th in 43:44), Cian Coughlan (58th in 50:51), Gareth Phelan (88th in 54:45), Will Holton (93rd in 55:42), Gavan Doherty (107th in 57:74) and Ian Clifford (126th in 61:34).

Further afield last week, Daniel O’Mahony and Richie Phelan ran in the 120-125k Ultra trail de Corse on the island of Corsica. Despite it being less than well-organised, the two managed to finish, with Daniel completing the distance, conducted over mountainous trails in 43h28m and Richie, 44h8m, both earning themselves valuable points for the UTMB next year. Even further away, Marty James, one of our Australian exiles, took part in the Sandown Raceway Relay in Melbourne, running his 6.25k leg in just over 25 minutes. Italo Giancaterina, our Italian exile, was also in action on Sunday, where he placed 3rd in a time of 31:03 in a 9.65k beachfront race in Scerne Di Pineto in Italy. Finally, members may be interested to hear that Louise O'Riordan competed in the Harbourman Triathlon in and around Wicklow town over the weekend. Louise ran the 10k element in a time of 52:17, placing 24th female finisher and 5th in her age category.

There were no Crusader first finishers in parkruns this week, but a few podium places and some good times generally, even so. In Shanganagh, in a field of 236, Richard Healy placed 3rd in a time of 18:58. He was followed by Carina Davidson (111th and 30th in 27:26), Orlaith de Burca (147th and 48th in 29:34) and Niamh Quinn (190th and 77th in 32:58). Ross Neill ran once again in Sligo, where, in a field of 107, he placed 3rd in 18:15. Finally, also to appear on the rostrum was Tara Murphy, in Tullow. Among 82 other runners Tara placed 15th and 3rd in 25:21, whilst partner John Lohan placed 5th in 22:39. Kate Murray joined198 other participants in Griffeen Park, where she placed 37th and 4th in 23:02, whilst Carmel Cooney recorded the same feat in St. Anne’s Raheny, placing 25th and 4th in 21:02. In the field of 272, Carmel was followed by Tim Hyland (58th in 23:43) and Hannah Jones (62nd and 10th in 23:47).

Eoghan Corrigan took 5th spot in Waterstown with its field of 58. Eoghan’s time with the buggy was 23:15, whilst, in Poolbeg, Simon Everard also took 5th place in a time of 19:49. In the 187-strong field Simon was followed by Paul Campbell (15th in 21:27), Rob Glascott (46th in 23:55), Josie Ward (62nd and 12th in 24:44), Kevin Lambe just behind Josie (63rd in 24:48), Maureen McGinley (104th and 24th in 28:16), Gillian Curran (111th and 34th in 28:39), with Fiona Bane tailwalking once again. Darina Scully placed 75th and 9th in 25:28 in Malahide alongside 215 other runners, whilst Tomás Bradley placed 7th in 19:48 in the 91-strong field in Killarney House. Ciarán Smyth took 6th spot in a time of 26:37 in the modest field of 28 in Narin Beach, whilst in an equally modest field of 31, three of the Shine family ran in the Achill Greenway parkrun. Máirín placed 17th and 5th in 30:31, whilst Anna took 18th and 6th places in 31:06, followed by Lisa in 19th and 7th in 31:12.

We had two runners in Glen River with its field of 52. Aitor Arribas Velasco took 14th spot in 25:04, followed closely by Ailsa Berkely who placed 17th and 5th in 25:19. Finally, we had runners in both Porterstown and Bushy Park. Kevin Flynn ran in Porterstown where, in a field of 88, he placed 77th in 37:05, whilst Mairead Cashman joined 263 other runners in Bushy Park, where she placed 170th and 48th in 30:12.

Joe Duffy Clontarf Half Marathon (2673)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Yared Derese 1 01:10:27
39 Gemma McDonald 1 01:27:44
Crusaders AC runners
26 Kenan Furlong 01:24:28
141 Cormac Fenton 01:36:37
142 Christophe Marsan 01:36:51
274 Michael Judge 01:42:49
358 Simon Kenny 01:43:48
437 David Healy 01:48:42
378 Cría Dowling 01:43:26 (20)
1510 Christina Campbell 01:56:58 (30)
2082 Linda Walsh 02:23:21 (545)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_5_mile__half_marathon_july_2023/4667/results
Joe Duffy Clontarf 5-mile (1127)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Anthony Sharkey 1 00:28:26
5 Faye Dervan 1 00:29:25
Crusaders AC runner
4 Alex Ainsworth 00:29:06 (PB)
21 Maeve Lochrie 00:32:55 (4)
54 Anthony Owens 00:35:28
61 Laura Garcia Gonzalez 00:36:04 (10)
107 Brendan Glynn 00:38:52
138 Sharon Woods 00:40:07 (36)
259 Lydia Bigley 00:43:56 (88)
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_5_mile__half_marathon_july_2023/4667/results
IMRA Ticknock – Three Rock (188)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Enda Cloake 1 00:37:42
27 Jan Corcoran 1 00:46:13
Crusaders AC runners
8 Jason Kehoe 00:42:19
15 Warren Swords 00:43:44
58 Cian Coughlan 00:50:51
88 Gareth Phelan 00:54:45
93 Will Holton 00:55:42
107 Gavan Doherty 00:57:54
126 Ian Clifford 01:01:34
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2312/
Malahide Parkrun (216)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Glitz 1 00:17:14
5 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:32
Crusaders AC runner
75 Darina Scully 00:25:28 (9)
Waterstown Parkrun (58)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 P. Worthington 1 00:21:36
17 Marian Kavanagh 1 00:28:35
Crusaders AC runner
5 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:15
Sligo Parkrun (107)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dónal Egan 1 00:17:23
21 Mollie Finan 1 00:23:09
Crusaders AC runner
3 Ross Neill 00:18:15
Shanganagh Parkrun (236)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Caulfield 1 00:17:43
5 Suzanne Foot 1 00:19:55
Crusaders AC runners
3 Richard Healy 00:18:58
111 Carina Davidson 00:27:26 (30)
147 Orlaith de Burca 00:29:34 (48)
190 Niamh Quinn 00:32:58 (77)
Tullow Parkrun (83)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Pat Burke 1 00:18:18
6 Berit Follong 1 00:23:25
Crusaders AC runner
5 John Lohan 00:22:39
15 Tara Murphy 00:25:21 (3)
Griffeen Parkrun (199)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Thompson 1 00:17:26
22 Poppy Lyons Kennedy 1 00:21:24
Crusaders AC runner
37 Kate Murray 00:23:02 (4)
Glen River Parkrun (52)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Danny Finn 1 00:19:37
9 Nassreen Abdullah 1 00:23:47
Crusaders AC runners
14 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:25:04
17 Ailsa Berkeley 00:25:19 (5)
Poolbeg Parkrun (187)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Gavin Finlay 1 00:18:18
19 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:44
Crusaders AC runners
5 Simon Everard 00:19:49
15 Paul Campbell 00:21:27
46 Rob Glascott 00:23:55
62 Josie Ward 00:24:44 (12)
63 Kevin Lambe 00:24:48
104 Maureen McGinley 00:28:16 (24)
111 Gillian Curran 00:28:39 (34)
187 Fiona Bane 00:50:59
Narin Beach Parkrun (28)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Dale Mathers 1 00:24;15
10 Denise Quinn 1 00:28:59
Crusaders AC runner
6 Ciarán Smyth 00:26:37
Killarney House Parkrun (91)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Karl Mitchell 1 00:17:44
5 Niamh Cronin 1 00:19:38
Crusaders AC runner
7 Tomás Bradley 00:19:48
Fairview Parkrun (123)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Daniel Toal 1 00:19:54
14 Seona O’Keeffe 1 00:22:58
Crusaders AC runner
8 Andy Deuser 00:21:43
Achill Greenway Parkrun (31)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Mahon 1 00:18:29
6 Fiona Molloy 1 00:24:50
Crusaders AC runners
17 Máirín Shine 00:30:31 (5)
18 Anna Shine 00:31:06 (6)
19 Lisa Shine 00:31:12 (7)
St. Anne’s Parkrun (272)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Conall Rogers 1 00:16:21
2 Aine Crimin 1 00:19:17
Crusaders AC runners
25 Carmel Cooney 00:21:02 (4)
58 Tim Hyland 00:23:43
62 Hannah Jones 00:23:47 (10)
Porterstown Parkrun (88)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:06
12 Rachel Murray 1 00:22:55
Crusaders AC runner
77 Kevin Flynn 00:37:05
Bushy Parkrun (264)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:18:38
13 Sarah Lewis 1 00:21:28
Crusaders AC runner
170 Mairead Cashman 00:30:12 (48)