Weekend Warriors

19/11/2023

Donatas Jocius

There was a decent amount of choice this weekend for those looking to race, from cross-country, to roads, paths and beach and to events in the mountains, and we had strength in some numbers, running in windy conditions.

The first event of the racing week, however, took place on the Dublin quays, using the entirety of the route we use for the Docklands 5k, but also bringing in the inclines of the Samuel Beckett bridge and starting and finishing at the Point. There were two races on offer on Tuesday evening, the latest edition of Dublin’s contribution to the Run in the Dark in aid of research on behalf of Mark Pollock, and, as usual, they did not fail to produce their brand of mayhem. The first race to go was the 10k, which may have been a mistake, in that, because the race was an out-and-back two laps, the front runners soon came up against the back markers in the following race, the 5k, and so did the front runners in the 5k come across the back markers in the 10k. A total bottleneck by all accounts! It seems inexplicable that the organisers persist with two different races on the same course and involving over 4000 runners! It’s the same each year. Also, in years gone by, some of the 10k runners ended up running only 5k because of the confusion on the course. This may well have happened again this year and, for this reason, along with the fact that at least one male runner finished up on the women’s podium of the 5k, it is hard to trust the results. In addition, for some reason, at least 3 of our clubmates who did not run on the night had their bibs used by others without their knowledge although their names appeared in the results.

So, it appears that the following Crusaders did run on the night: Will Owens was our first runner home in the 10k in 43rd place in a field of more than 1900 participants. Will’s time was given as 40:47. He was followed by Tom Gleeson (67th in 41:55), Adrian Groarke (100th in 43:37) and Kevin Kenny (889th in 54:59). It is possible that Anna Hoesl ran in the race too, finishing in 43:38. However, her result and that of Daniel Gleeson has not been recorded.

We had at least 2 runners in the 2105-strong 5k, and it is possible that Annie Hughes won the women’s race, although, officially, she was placed 4th in 20:03 (26th overall). The recorded winner (running under the name of one of our athletes!) was actually a man (and we have ignored his result in the results below) and it is possible that the runners awarded second and third places finished the 10k early. Given that the results are essentially gun-time, it is impossible to tell. The other runner was Kelly Brown who placed 256th overall and 60th female finisher in 25:53.

Another event that may have had more than its fair share of critics over the years, but, like the RITD, remains popular all the same, is the Clontarf half marathon and 5 miler, conducted back and forth along the Tolka estuary coast. There has often been congestion with the front runners and back markers clashing on the narrow paths on the route, without there being adequate demarcation between those running out and those running back. However, this year, there do not appear to have been any major complaints on a course that traditionally experiences quite windy conditions, Saturday’s event being little different. Indeed, we even saw some PB results amongst our finishers.

We had at least 7 runners take part in the half, led home by Jamie Symmons who placed 74th in the field of 2821, in a time of 1:29:36. Jamie was followed by Annie Hughes, in her second race of the week, recording a PB time of 1:33:14 for 126th and 10th places. Just behind Annie came Anna Gallo, who really enjoyed the race, placing 152nd and 12th in a PB time of 1:34:18, and she was followed by Gareth Phelan (353rd in 1:41:52). Next to cross the line was Diarmuid Fahey, who placed 399th in 1:43:26, and he was followed by another runner with a PB, Séamas Bulaeir. Séamas ran 1:46:37 FOR 614th place. Finally, Phil Sykes recorded a time of 1:53:15, placing 1463rd.

The 5-miler also produced a PB, this time for Alex Ainsworth. Alex placed 3rd in a field of 1116 and in a great time of 28:22. He was followed by Ronan Smith, making a welcome return to racing, who placed 50th in 35:32.

Much more straightforward was the combined 6k cross-country race held in Tymon Park on Saturday morning, the first race of the cross-country season organised by the BHAA. Having said that, it is a shame that the fields for such events nowadays are reasonably modest, with only 111 turning out on the day, given that the BHAA cross-country races are really the only game in town outside of the county, provincial and national championship events. Still, it was enjoyable for those who did get to race, completing four and a bit laps of the course used by the Dublin novices on the west side of the park across the M50, near the national basketball arena. It is quite hilly in places and a true test of cross-country racing. Our clubmates made up nearly 10% of the field, led across the line by Joe Walsh in 16th place and in a time of 23:05. Joe placed 2nd M45. He was followed by Donatas Jocius who ran 23:37 for 21st place and then by the third-placed M45, Eddie Nugent, who took 29th spot overall in 24:39. Rachael Yorke was next, placing 37th and 3rd female finisher in 25:32, and further back came a bunch of Crusaders led by David O’Donnell. David placed 65th in 28:14, ahead of Neil Brown (66th in 28:22), Kate Murray (69th overall, 11th woman home and 2nd F50 in 28:30) and Robbie Moore (70th and given the same time). The contingent was completed by Mairead Cashman (107th, 24th and 4th F55 in 38:01) in her second run of the day, having completed the Bushy Park parkrun just over an hour earlier. Members may be interested to know that Sean Murphy, who sometimes trains with us, ran 25:42 for 38th spot.

The other major event to take place on Saturday was the Run the Line in aid of the Dublin and Wicklow mountain rescue teams, in the mountains of Co. Dublin, on two courses starting and finishing in Glencullen. The short course of 13k took in a loop around Three Rock Mountain and Ticknock, whilst the long course added another loop to the west around Tibradden Mountain and Cruagh Wood. It was quite a windy affair.

At least 5 Crusaders took on the short course, and they were led across the line by Conor Macguinness, placing 14th in a field of 679 and in a time of 63:13. Conor was followed closely by Dave Carter who placed 16th in 63:31. Slightly further back came Kim Hickey who took 2nd place in the women’s race, placing 29th overall, in a time of 65:26, and Kim was followed home by Áine Kenny (105th and 19th in 74:31) and Daniel Gleeson, in 149th spot (77:16) in what was likely to have been his second race of the week.

The long course enjoyed a field of 523 and among the participants were at least 3 Crusaders. Aaron Farrell was our first athlete home, in 44th spot, with a time of 2:30:10. Aaron was followed by Kevin Fitzgibbon (64th in 2:33:26) and Kevin Kenny, further back in 3:29:46, placing 395th.

Further afield over the weekend, we saw a super result from Maurice Kelter who ran the 30k race in the Stromlo Running festival, west of Canberra, Australia. On an undulating series of loops on trails, Maurice completed the distance in 2:05:18, taking 2nd place in the race (reporting, that for the first time he saw kangaroos in the wild!). Members may be interested to learn that Maurice’s partner, Pauline Parker, ran in the 15k event which she completed in 1:40:31.

On Sunday, our Italian exile, Italo Giancaterina, ran in the Verona Marathon where he placed 10th overall, 2nd M35, in a fabulous time of 2:23:04, a new PB. Earlier in the weekend, and much further west, one of our exiles in the USA, Damien O’Brien, took part in the Philadelphia Half Marathon which he completed in an excellent 1:23:54.

Although numbers in the parkruns on Saturday morning appeared generally to be down, there was no real shortage of Crusaders taking part.

As usual, we had a number of first and podium finishers across the board. Saoirse Mcgrath placed 59th and first in Marlay Park, with its field of 473. Saoirse’s time was 19:17, and she was followed by Gary Park who took 22nd spot in 20:13. Then in the Mountjoy Prison Progression parkrun, in a field of 38, Sarah Lyons placed 7th and 1st in 22:22. Sarah was joined by husband Phelim Murray (9th in 22:45) and Mags Foley (10th and 2nd in 22:52). Finally, completing the first finishers, Tara Murphy ran once again in the US, in the Delaware and Raritan Canal parkrun. In a field of 68, Tara placed 13th and first in 25:29.

Other podium place finishers were recorded by several Crusaders. Toby Benham placed 2nd in 19:19, alongside 47 other runners, in Pobalscoil na Tríonóide down in Youghal, whilst Emer Kenny placed 38th and 2nd in Ardgillan in a time of 25:50. Emer was followed home, in the field of 174, by Lisa Shine (44th and 3rd in 26:10), Fiona Shine (77th and 6th in 29:46) and Máirín Shine (81st and 8th in 30:01). We had 10 club-mates running in the 147-strong field in Poolbeg, led home by Stephen Hurley in 2nd place in a time of 17:31. Close behind came Kenan Furling, for third place, in 17:53 and he was followed a little further back by Oisin Corish (6th in 19:38). Kevin Lynch was the next runner home in 11th place in a time of 20:45 and he was followed by Louise O’Riordan (54th and 7th in 25:04), Franky Keane (56th in 25:06), Caitlin Ni Mhurchu (77th and 19th in 27:59), Una McCullagh (96th and 28th in 29:24), Jeanie Watson (103rd and 35th in 29:51) and Evelyn Neary (115th and 42nd in 30:27).

Ross Neill ran in Woking in Surrey where, in a field of 270, he placed 5th in 19:10, whilst Richard Morrissey ran once again in Brockwell, Herne Hill, where he also placed 5th in 17:55 in a field of 353. Another 5th place performance came from Kevin Lambe, fresh from his marathon exploits in Athens. Kevin joined 91 other runners in Mullingar where he finished in a time- of 19:52. Dale Whelehan took 7th spot in a time of 21:56 in the 98-strong field in Vicarstown, whilst Maria Pertl also placed 7th (30th overall) in 33:02 in the 43-strong field in Tolka Valley. Enda Currid ran 25:54 in Brickfields for 32nd place in a field of 98, whilst Darina Scully placed 59th and 8th in 23:43 in the 295-strong field in Malahide. We had 2 runners in St. Anne’s where Zlatko Kulic took 51st spot in 20:49 and Michael Maughan crossed the line in 22:52 for 90th place. The field there measured 385. Meanwhile, we had 3 runners in Shanganagh. Alongside 207 other runners, Tanja Narancic placed 80th and 19th in 25:26, followed by Olwyn Dunne (88th and 22nd in 25:47) and Carina Davidson (178th and 74th in 33:33).

Andy Deuser finished in 12th place in a time of 22:11 in Fairview alongside 110 other participants, whilst Eoghan Corrigan took 31st spot in 23:05 in Poppintree with its field of 173. Finally, as reported above, Mairead Cashman ran in Bushy Park where, in a field of 166, she placed 106th and 32nd in 31:43, whilst our exile in Scotland, Aidan Hudner, ran once again in Pollok, Glasgow, where, in a field of 260, he placed 54th in 24:21.

BHAA Eir AC Combined 6k XC (111)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Doran 1 00:21:08
14 Laura McDonnell 1 00:2:50
Crusaders AC runners
16 Joe Walsh 00:23:05
21 Donatas Jocius 00:23:37
29 Eddie Nugent 00:24:39
37 Rachael Yorke 00:25:32 (3)
65 David Odonnell 00:28:14
66 Neil Brown 00:28:22
69 Kate Murray 00:28:30 (11)
70 Robbie Moore 00:28:30
107 Mairead Cashman 00:38:01 (24)
Full results here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:9a51d0af-747b-4d22-967c-2235b94cadc7?fbclid=IwAR1asuwD7Hy_-RvoNVyAovNrGNWboW_6mjcaIgP0YcKMQaB1vT3UE4fBJCs
Run the Line Short Course 13k (679)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Alex Gray 1 00:49:14
13 Niamh Murphy 1 01:03:10
Crusaders AC runners
14 Conor Macguinness 01:03:13
16 David Carter 01:03:31
29 Kim Hickey 01:05:26 (2)
105 Áine Kenny 01:14:31 (19)
149 Daniel Gleeson 01:17:16
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-the-line-2023/#2_9D70EA
Run the Line Long Course 26k (523)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Killian Mooney 1 01:52:50
24 Elizabeth Wheeler 1 02:25:20
Crusaders AC runners
44 Aaron Farrell 02:30:10
64 Kevin Fitzgibbon 02:33:26
395 Kevin Kenny 03:29:46
Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-the-line-2023/#2_9D70EA
Clontarf Half Marathon (2821)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Anthony O’Brien 1 01:10:34
9 Becky Woods 1 01:21:28
Crusaders AC runners
74 Jamie Symmons 01:29:36
126 Annie Hughes 01:33:14 (PB) (10)
152 Anna Gallo 01:34:18 (PB) (12)
353 Gareth Phelan 01:41:52
399 Diarmuid Fahey 01:43:26
614 Séamas Bulaeir 01:46:37 (PB)
1463 Phil Sykes 01:53:15
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_half_marathon__5_mile/4767/results
Clontarf 5-mile race (1116)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Johnpaul Williamson 1 00:25:45
28 Sive Duncan 1 00:33:51
Crusaders AC runners
3 Alex Ainsworth 00:28:22 (PB)
50 Ronan Smith 00:35:32
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_joe_duffy_bmw_clontarf_half_marathon__5_mile/4767/results
Run in the Dark 10k (1903)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Evan Reid 1 00:34:21
2 Sinead Fitzpatrick 1 00:34:28
Crusaders AC runners
43 Will Owens 00:40:47
67 Tom Gleeson 00:41:55
100 Adrian Groarke 00:43:37
889 Kevin Kenny 00:54:59
Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/run-in-the-dark-dublin-2023/events/1?page=1
Run in the Dark 5k (2105)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jack Maughan 1 00:16:07
9 Lynette Richardson 1 00:18:18
Crusaders AC runners
26 Annie Hughes 00:20:03 (3)
256 Kelly Brown 00:25:53 (60)
Full results here: https://www.sportsplits.com/races/run-in-the-dark-dublin-2023/events/2/
Vicarstown Parkrun (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kristian Redmond 1 00:19:05
3 Niamh O’Boyle 1 00:21:11
Crusader AC runner
7 Dale Whelehan 00:21:56
Brickfields Parkrun (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Christopher McMahon 1 00:18:13
24 Mairead Conlon 1 00:24:42
Crusaders AC runner
32 Enda Currid 00:25:54
Malahide Parkrun (295)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Liam Duffy 1 00:17:53
27 Caroline Hynes 1 00:21:40
Crusaders AC runner
59 Darina Scully 00:23:43 (8)
Bushy Parkrun (166)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Daniel Tallon 1 00:19:36
28 Anne Linton 1 00:23:53
Crusaders AC runner
106 Mairead Cashman 00:31:43 (32)
Pobalscoil na Tríonóide Parkrun (48)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jack Murphy 1 00:19:04
11 Ornaith Keane 1 00:23:30
Crusaders AC runner
2 Toby Benham 00:19:19
Poolbeg Parkrun (147)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ashley Hayes 1 00:17:29
24 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:22:20
Crusaders AC runners
2 Stephen Hurley 00:17:31
3 Kenan Furlong 00:17:53
6 Oisin Corish 00:19:38
11 Kevin Lynch 00:20:45
54 Louise O’Riordan 00:25:04 (7)
56 Franky Keane 00:25:06
77 Caitlin Ni Mhurchu 00:27:59 (19)
96 Una McCullagh 00:29:24 (28)
103 Jeanie Watson 00:29:51 (35)
115 Evelyn Neary 00:30:27 (42)
Tolka Valley Parkrun (43)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Owen Robinson 1 00:19:31
18 Kate Brazier 1 00:26:06
Crusaders AC runner
30 Maria Pertl 00:33:02
Shanganagh Parkrun (209)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Rían MacMaoláin 1 00:17:33
6 Sarah Baryga 1 00:20:03
Crusaders AC runners
80 Tanja Narancic 00:25:26 (19)
88 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:47 (22)
178 Carina Davidson 00:33:33 (74)
Poppintree Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dermot Coffey 1 00:17:33
16 Maura Matthews 1 00:21:23
Crusaders AC runner
31 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:05
St. Anne’s Parkrun (385)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Oisin McKinley 1 00:15:41
24 Aisling Ahern 1 00:19:29
Crusaders AC runners
51 Zlatko Kulic 00:20:49
90 Michael Maughan 00:22:52
Fairview Parkrun (111)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jake Butler 1 00:19:04
30 Orla Deighan 1 00:23:32
Crusaders AC runner
12 Andy Deuser 00:22:11
Mullingar Parkrun (92)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Eddie Newman 1 00:18:00
26 Mia Flynn 1 00:25:29
Crusaders AC runner
5 Kevin Lambe 00:19:52
Ardgillan Parkrun (174)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 K. Downey 1 00:19:31
37 Loretto Lacey 1 00:25:47
Crusaders AC runners
38 Emer Kenny 00:25:50 (2)
44 Lisa Shine 00:26:10 (3)
77 Fiona Shine 00:29:46 (6)
81 Máirín Shine 00:30:01 (8)
Marlay Parkrun (473)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:16:39
15 Saoirse McGrath 1 00:19:17
Crusaders AC runners
15 Saoirse McGrath 00:19:17 (1)
22 Gary Park 00:20:13
Progression Parkrun (38)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Timothée Laurent 1 00:20:15
7 Sarah Lyons 1 00:22:22
Crusaders AC runners
7 Sarah Lyons 00:22:22 (1)
9 Phelim Murray 00:22:45
10 Margaret Foley 00:22:52