 L-R standing: Cian Coughlan, Ian Clifford (blue shirt), Brian McGuckin, (John McAuley- ex-Crusader), Ger Forde (365), Neil Brown, Thomas Vogée, Gareth Phelan, Pat Duffy, James Cottle, Phelim Murray, Eddie Nugent, Olwyn Dunne. Kneeling L-R: Emily Glen, Sophia Morgan, Joanne Carey, Nina Holmes, Kate Murray, Ciara Regan, Sarah Lyons, Carmel Higgins. There’s a lot on which to report this week as we get fully into the swing of the outdoor track season as well as the return of at least one old favourite on the roads. We start with Wednesday’s graded meet, the second in the Dublin series, this time in Tallaght stadium. Several disciplines were on offer and we had participants in the 200m, 1500m and discus events. Katie-Rose Barry placed 3rd out of 7 runners in a time of 27.86 in the women’s 200m B race, whilst Charlie Bastow placed 5th in the men’s A race in 23.47. Three of our athletes took part in the men’s C 200m race, all taking podium places. Cillian Doherty came across the line first in 25.11, followed by Liam Beaumont (2nd in 25.19) and Leo Gormley (3rd in 25.55). Paul E. Kelly ran in the 1500m grade D (heat 1) event, where he placed 16th in 7:21.85, whilst we had 2 athletes in heat 2 of the same grade: Enda Clarke placing 5th in 4:29.66 and Henry Griffin a little further back in 8th place in a time of 4:34.27. Finally, in the discus, in a field of 13 throwers, Conor Quinn placed 3rd with a throw of 31.10m, whilst James Quinn threw 31.04 for 4th spot. The next track meet was the one organised in Belfast on Saturday afternoon by the Belfast Milers Club in tandem with the Irish Milers Club fully involving coaches Mike McGovern and Susan Walsh. It was a truly brilliant event with lots of quality athletes from Ireland and abroad. The races were exceptionally high standard and often so close. Who would have expected a B standard women’s 800m to be won in a close finish in 2:04? The venue is good too, well protected by picturesque parkland and in a bowl, so that wind would unlikely to be much of a factor. The Mondo track was in perfect condition and is well-maintained. Many members will have seen athletes being trained by Mike in lane 8 on Tuesday night in preparation for the outdoor track season, and, for most of them, the Belfast meet was their first experience on the track. Loads of PBs as a consequence and some great confidence-boosting performances so early in the season. We had 11 athletes competing across 7 races, a mix of 800m and 1500m. First up in warm and sunny conditions was Patrick Conlon who ran in the men’s 1500m E race, placing 9th in a solid 4:35.11. Staying with the men’s events, we had 3 runners in the 1500m D grade, with Barry McCarthy placing 3rd in 4:02.20, being chased all the way to the line by a fast-finishing Colm Parnell (4th in 4:04.18) and not too far back, with Chris Russell returning to the track after a break of 8 years and recording a PB of 4:10.90 for 8th place. We also had runners in 3 of the 800m races. Aaron Cashman tackled the E standard, where he finished in 6th place in 2:04.34, whilst Felix Martinez ran in the C standard race, where he also placed 6th in 1:53.89. Finally, Fearghal O’Hare took on the men’s B 800m where he placed 10th in 1:53.31. Annie Hughes, Maeve Lochrie and Laura Garcia Gonzalez enjoyed a baptism of fire, running in the women’s 800 E event. Annie was able to hold onto 4th place in a fierce battle down the home straight, running 2:28.15, followed by Maeve pacing well in 5th (2:34.09) and Laura just behind (6th in 2:38.51). Charlotte Myers was our lone runner in the 800m C standard race. Her gutsy run produced an excellent 4th place in a time of 2:10.36. We now come to Sunday on the roads and the blue riband event of the weekend was the Terenure 5 miler hosted by Sportsworld. This was the first running of the race since before the pandemic, last year’s event having had to be cancelled because of traffic management issues. Those issues still exist and it is a tribute to the organisers that the race went off without a hitch. It’s a super event and one hopes that it will be able to continue. Although the two-lap course does not involve any major climbs, it is still a good test of endurance, with long seemingly inexorable drags in places and some sharp turns. It is a PB course, as evidenced by at least a couple being recorded by our athletes, but it seems to require a lot of effort and the final mile to the finish is uphill on a concrete surface. There were 3 major clubs in evidence when it came to team prize distribution in particular. Bros Pearse seemed to clear up a lot, along with ourselves and Raheny. Each of us had good numbers in the race, with Bros. Pearse and ourselves each having more than 40 athletes take part in the field of nearly 1000 finishers. The race also enjoyed the best conditions of the day with little wind or rain, although some were feeling the heat in the later stages. Our sizeable contingent was led home by Andrea Rondina (7th in 26:34) and he was followed by Ger Forde (14th and 2nd M40 in 27:28). Joe Walsh was next in 22nd place with a time of 28:23 (5th M45) just ahead of Paul Cowhie (24th and 1st M55 in 28:26). Thomas Vogée joined Andrea, Ger and Paul on the rostrum as 2nd placed senior men’s team, by running 28:59 for 31st place. Next came Karl Fitzmaurice (52nd in 29:47) and Karl was followed by Eddie Nugent (57th in 29:58) and Michael Fitzsimons (75th in 31:03). The three athletes placed 5th O/40 team. Members may be interested to know that Ronan Doolin, who has now moved to Mullingar, finished in between Eddie and Michael in 65th in a time of 30:28. Completing a top 100 performance came Cian Coughlan in 87th place in a time of 31:35, and Cian was followed by Gareth Phelan with a PB run of 32:14 (110th), pursued hotly by Brian McGuckin (113th and 4th M50 in 32:23) and Phelim Murray who seemed to come from nowhere to place 115th in 32:18. Just behind that trio came James Cottle, who had enjoyed a decent changing of places through the race with Brian McGuckin. Despite suffering from nausea in the final approach (and giving vocal expression to it!) James was able to hang on for 117th place and 1st M65 in a time of 32:29, not knowing that Ciara Regan was hard on his heels for a super 121st and 7th female finisher placing in 32:33. Pat Duffy also enjoyed a decent result, placing 129th and 4th M60 in 32:47, and he was followed across the line by Nina Holmes (154th and 12th in 33:42). Neil Brown also ran a PB on the day, placing 156th and 6th M55 in 33:43, with Joanne Carey coming next (177th overall, 19th female finisher and 4th F40 in 34:33), followed by training companion Sophia Morgan (194th overall, 26th female finisher and 5th F45 in 34:57). The team of Ciara, Nina, Joanne and Sophia took second place in the senior team competition. Next came Tony Owens (266th in 36:27) and he was followed by Olwyn Dunne (275th overall, 46th female finisher and 5th F55), Emily Glen (277th and 46th in 36:43), Alan Kavanagh (286th in 36:35), Carmel Higgins (292nd and 55th in 37:10), James Bradshaw, in his first race for the club (298th in 37:10) and Kate Murray (335th overall, 67th female finisher and 6th F50 in 37:35). The team of Olwyn, Carmel and Kate placed 3rd in the women’s O/40 competition. The club contingent was completed by Sarah Lyons (387th and 90th in 39:16), Ian Clifford (390th in 39:15), Kelly Brown (460th and 116th in 40:41) despite suffering a stitch in the middle of the race, Aoife Cowhie (490th and 131st in 41:05), Evelyn Neary (551st and 160th in 43:01), Carina Davidson (618th and 202nd in 43:46), Mairead Cashman (637th and 211th in 44:54), Paul E. Kelly (816th in 48:07) and Lorraine Fitzsimons (957th overall in 58:01). The whole great event was topped off by a line up of goodies, similar to that of the Raheny 5, loads of guilty pleasures! Also, on the day, we had runners in Killarney in two well-attended races, a 10k and a half marathon. In the former, Colm Foley joined 1120 other runners, placing 91st in a time of 48:00, whilst, in the half, Karl Walsh placed 53rd in a field of 938 and a time of 1:32:09. Over in the UK, Kevin Kenny, ever a glutton for punishment, ran in the Leeds marathon, completing it in a time of 4:10. There were two IMRA races in the Irish mountains this week. The first was the weekly event in the Leinster League that took place on Wednesday. This race took place in Co. Wicklow and involved a figure of eight course taking in the summit of Carrick Mountain. The course involved 2 climbs and 2 downhills on moderate and fully marked terrain with an overall climb of 421m and an event covering a distance of 7.5k. In the field of 167, Warren Swords placed 5th in 42:17 and he was followed by Paul McNamara (61st in 54:40), Ian Clifford (84th in 59:44) and Gavan Doherty (106th in 63:45). At the weekend, results have yet to be published for the first of the Irish Mountain Championship races that took place on Saturday. It was conducted on difficult terrain over 10k with a climb of 850m on Slieve Donard in Co. Down. We do know, however, that Becky Quinn placed second female finisher in the race. Once the details are published, the report will be updated as usual. Conor Macguinness took part in the Glencullen Backyard Ultra on Saturday where he covered a distance of 57km in 7:15. Further afield, we had runners take part in the Snowdonia 55k, part of the UTMB series. Daniel Gleeson was running his first ultra and he finished the mountainous journey in 10:17. Richie Phelan finished in 10:20, Daniel O’Mahony, 10:02 and Stephen McBrinn, another runner in his first ultra, covered the 4 serious peaks in 12:51. Again, as usual, we have an update of the parkrun results for Saturday morning where Crusaders were involved. There was only one first finisher this week, but several podium places. Sarah Lyons was our first finisher in Tolka Valley Park where she placed 4th overall in 21:45 in a field of 41. Just behind her, and still working her way through an injury, came Ilona McElroy (6th and 2nd in 22:14). Elsewhere, John Lohan placed 2nd in 21:26 in a field of 39 in Athlone, whilst Toby Benham placed 3rd in Tramore Valley, Cork in 18:03 in a field of 131. We had 7 runners in Poolbeg, with Ross Neill leading them home in 3rd place in a time of 17:53. Ross was followed by Michael Wycherley (5th in 18:28), Kenan Furlong (22nd in 21:36), Redmond Murphy right behind (23rd in 21:38), Diarmuid Bolger (55th in 24:13), Gillian Curran (82nd and 17th in 27:08) and Mari Hansen (126th and 46th in 33:20). The field measured 143. The reason why there were so few Crusaders in Poolbeg this week was because we had a good turnout in Cabinteely to say goodbye to Olwyn Dunne as race director for the event there. We had 9 members from the club take part in an event involving 196 runners. They were led home by Dave Carter, testing his ankle on the ills for the first time since an injury earlier in the year. Dave placed 4th in 19:48, and he was followed by Miriam Logan (25th and 4th in 23:12), Stephen Mulligan (46th in 24:41), Emer Kenny (62nd and 12th in 25:52), Carina Davidson (91st and 25th in 28:02), Lisa Shine (105th and 34th in 28:59), Kate Murray (125th and 41st in 30:02) alongside Aitor Arribas Velasco (126th in 30:03) and Mairead Cashman just behind them (127th and 42nd in 30:10). Georgina Hawkins was our singleton runner in Shanganagh. In a field of 183, Georgina placed 72nd and 13th in 24:49, whilst, in River Valley Park, Darina Scully placed 25th and 4th in 24:15 in a field of 107. Luke Haran ran once again down in his native Limerick in Mungret Parkrun where he placed 11th in a field of 73 in a time of 20:51, whilst Paul F. Kelly crossed the line in 53rd place in Fairview, where he ran 26:55, in a field of 158. Kevin Flynn ran with 85 other participants in Porterstown where he placed 76th in 37:47, whilst Franky Keane accompanied his wife around Bushy Park. In a field of 157, Franky placed 139th in 34:37. Phil Sykes ran in Marlay Park alongside 422 other runners, placing 54th in 22:38, whilst Tim Hyland joined 440 other runners in St. Anne’s Raheny where he placed 111th in 24:06. Diarmuid Byrne took 27th spot in Poppintree with its field of 173. Diarmuid’s time was 23:02 and, lastly, Kris Ryan, down in Queensland, Australia, joined 263 runners in Paradise Point once again where she placed 79th and 15th in 25:29. Sportsworld Terenure 5-mile road race (994) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aaron Hanlon 1 00:24:42 18 Ciara Hickey 1 00:27:58 Crusaders AC runners 7 Andrea Rondina 00:26:34 14 Ger Forde 00:27:28 22 Joe Walsh 00:28:23 24 Paul Cowhie 00:28:26 31 Thomas Vogée 00:28:59 52 Karl Fitzmaurice 00:29:47 57 Eddie Nugent 00:29:58 65 Ronan Doolin 00:30:28 75 Michael Fitzsimons 00:31:03 87 Cian Coughlan 00:31:35 110 Gareth Phelan 00:32:14 (PB) 113 Brian McGuckin 00:32:23 115 Phelim Murray 00:32:18 117 James Cottle 00:32:29 121 Ciara Regan 00:32:33 (7) 129 Patrick Duffy 00:32:47 154 Nina Holmes 00:33:42 (12) 156 Neil Brown 00:33:43 (PB) 177 Joanne Carey 00:34:33 (19) 194 Sophia Morgan 00:34:57 (26) 266 Anthony Owens 00:36:27 275 Olwyn Dunne 00:36:35 (46) 277 Emily Glen 00:36:43 (47) 286 Alan Kavanagh 00:36:35 292 Carmel Higgins 00:37:10 (55) 298 James Bradshaw 00:37:10 335 Kate Murray 00:37:35 (67) 387 Sarah Lyons 00:39:16 (90) 390 Ian Clifford 00:39:15 460 Kelly Brown 00:40:41 (116) 490 Aoife Cowhie 00:41:05 (131) 551 Evelyn Neary 00:43:01 (160) 618 Carina Davidson 00:43:46 (202) 637 Mairead Cashman 00:44:54 (211) 816 Paul E. Kelly 00:48:07 957 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:58:01 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sportsworld_terenure_5_mile_2023/4764/results Run Killarney 10k (1121) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Vinny Connolly 1 00:32:22 9 Siobhan Daly 1 00:39:32 Crusaders AC runner 91 Colm Foley 00:48:00 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/run_killarney_10k__half_marathon/4673/results Run Killarney Half marathon (938) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Derek Griffin 1 01:12:54 2 Niamh Clifford 1 01:17:41 Crusaders AC runner 53 Karl Walsh 01:32:09 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/bweeng_trail_blazers_5k_2023/4768/results IMRA Carrick Mountain 7.5k (167) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter Roche 1 00:38:41 26 Jan Corcoran 1 00:47:22 Crusaders AC runners 5 Warren Swords 00:42:17 61 Paul McNamara 00:54:40 84 Ian Clifford 00:59:44 106 Gavan Doherty 01:03:45 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2306/ Athlone Parkrun (39) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Vernon Walsh 1 00:18:31 5 Anna Marie O’Dowd 1 00:22:26 Crusaders AC runner 2 John Lohan 00:21:26 Mungret Parkrun (73) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Whittaker 1 00:18:55 12 Susan Murnane 1 00:20:54 Crusaders AC runner 11 Luke Haran 00:20:51 Marlay Parkrun (423) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Lancelot Jacoud 1 00:17:46 10 Lynne Hennessy 1 00:19:12 Crusaders AC runner 54 Phil Sykes 00:22:38 Shanganagh Parkrun (183) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Darren Spring 1 00:18:23 35 Emily Kane 1 00:22:34 Crusaders AC runner 72 Georgina Hawkins 00:24:49 (13) Fairview Parkrun (158) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ian Conroy 1 00:17:59 18 Ciara Peelo 1 00:22:29 Crusaders AC runner 53 Paul F. Kelly 00:26:55 River Valley Parkrun (107) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian O’Reilly 1 00:19:37 8 Cecile Ollagnier 00:21:31 Crusaders AC runner 25 Darina Scully 00:24:15 (4) Tolka Valley Parkrun (41) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Fleming 1 00:17:34 4 Sarah Lyons 1 00:21:45 Crusaders AC runners 4 Sarah Lyons 00:21:45 (1) 6 Ilona McElroy 00:22:14 (2) Poolbeg Parkrun (143) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:24 17 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:21 Crusaders AC runners 3 Ross Neill 00:17:53 5 Michael Wycherley 00:18:28 22 Kenan Furlong 00:21:36 23 Redmond Murphy 00:21:38 55 Diarmuid Bolger 00:24:13 82 Gillian Curran 00:27:08 (17) 126 Mari Hansen 00:33:20 (46) Tramore Valley Parkrun (131) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Declan Brandley 1 00:17:04 13 Sorcha Kearney 1 00:21:18 Crusaders AC runner 3 Toby Benham 00:18:03 St. Anne’s Parkrun (441) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Colm Cassidy 1 00:17:29 27 Vivien Nesbitt 1 00:20:23 Crusaders AC runner 111 Tim Hyland 00:24:06 Cabinteely Parkrun (196) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Maher 1 00:19:07 8 Derval Devaney 1 00:21:14 Crusaders AC runners 4 David Carter 00:19:48 25 Miriam Logan 00:23:12 (4) 46 Stephen Mulligan 00:24:41 62 Emer Kenny 00:25:52 (12) 91 Carina Davidson 00:28:02 (25) 105 Lisa Shine 00:28:59 (34) 125 Kate Murray 00:30:02 (41) 126 Aitor Arribas Velasco 00:30:03 127 Mairead Cashman 00:30:10 (42) Bushy Parkrun (157) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:56 13 Stephanie Slevin 1 00:21:59 Crusaders AC runner 139 Franky Keane 00:34:37 Porterstown Parkrun (86) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rafal Wasyl 1 00:20:05 4 Caroline McCarthy 1 00:20:23 Crusaders AC runner 76 Kevin Flynn 00:37:47 Poppintree Parkrun (173) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Lee Duddy 1 00:17:58 32 Lorna St. Ledger 1 00:23:33 Crusaders AC runner 27 Diarmuid Byrne 00:23:02  L-R: Aaron Cashman, Patrick Conlon, Chris Russell, Barry McCarthy, Colm Parnell, Felix Martinez  L-R: Charlotte Myers, Maeve Lochrie, Laura Garcia Gonzalez, Annie Hughes  Patrick Conlon  Enda Clarke (with Henry Griffin hidden).  James Bradshaw  Cian Coughlan  Eddie Nugent  Gareth Phelan and Brian McGuckin  Joanne Carey  Joe Walsh  Nina Holmes and Neil Brown  Pat Duffy  Thomas Vogée  Back row L-R: Kate Murray, Joe Dunne. Middle row L-R: Paul E.Kelly, Carina Davidson, Ciara Regan. Kneeling L-R: Sarah Lyons, Mairead Cashman, Emily Glen  Ger Forde  Conor Macguinness (on left)  Gavan Doherty  Ian Clifford  Paul McNamara  Warren Swords (white shirt) Comments are closed.
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