Well-earned gold and silver for Crusaders women in Dublin Masters Championships

7/1/2018

Pat Hooper, Adrienne Jordan, Niamh Boland, Niamh Corby, Dee Ni Chearbhaill and John Fitzsimons

What a truly super day! On a weekend otherwise devoid of much racing locally, the highlight was without doubt our participation in the Dublin Masters XC Championships, where we fielded a team of 9 women and 21 men in the two races on offer. The support as usual was second to none and there seemed to be a Crusader everywhere on the course.

We were spared the strong winds of the previous day, so what wind we experienced was rather benign and refreshing. Nevertheless, even in the sun we experienced the cold chill of January. Surprising, also, were the underfoot conditions. The bulk of the course was quite dry and hard, and some runners accordingly chose to go for it in runners. However, where there was mud (in two or three places), it became increasingly treacherous and deep as more laps were undertaken on it. Those of us who opted for spikes were grateful for the grip, in the final analysis.

As is customary, the women’s race went off first with 158 runners, one of two record fields on the day. The distance was 3K, which involved a straight line start of about 100m through swampy conditions onto a loop which had to be covered twice. The loop was a mixture of open grassland and forest trail (involving a leap over a log on an extremely narrow part of the course) under a canopy of trees and totally flat. Adrienne Jordan and Niamh Boland were right up at the front from pretty much the start and by the end of the first lap were both running together in dominant form. Niamh was recovering from a bout of flu earlier in the week, which kept partner Karl Fahy out of the men’s race later, but still incredibly managed to hold onto second place (12:25 and first F35) coming across the line, 5 seconds behind Adrienne (12:20 and first F40) who reversed the finishing positions of Monday’s Tom Brennan 5K between the two women. Before the race Adrienne had been complaining that the course was too short and not enough of a test. By the end, she was beaming with a well–deserved gold medal! Niamh held on in the final sprint despite a determined charge from the athlete in 3rd place, as did Niamh Corby who ran a super race, tucking in behind a group of girls lying in the top 10 spots. Niamh came home in a creditable 6th position (12:36), and with Dee Ni Chearbhaill in 25th place (13:37), the top 4 Crusader women took home the team silver medal (34 points) behind Sportsworld (29) and ahead of Raheny (72). The remaining athletes all acquitted themselves well, headed by Kate Murray (66th in 14:43) and followed by Ciara Lehane (73rd in 14:58), Triona Quill (76th in 15:03), Olwyn Dunne (90th in 15:24) and Mairead Cashman (150th in 18:19).

Having churned up the course nicely, the women then gave way to the 6k men’s race, which involved the same start, followed by 4 loops. Some of us made the mistake of starting out on the left hand side which took us close to some rugby posts. The course was far muddier taking this route than the other side, but thankfully it did not last long. The record field, however, of 280, did create some issues early on with runners fighting for position as the course significantly narrowed after 100m. The race was won for the second year in a row by Raheny’s John Dunne, but, again, Crusaders made their mark among the finishers. Ciaran Diviney, took 8th spot (2nd M45 in 21:40) with a time that almost matched what he ran last year, whilst several others of us were able to record faster times in the drier conditions. Jason Kehoe was next in a super 13th place (22:08), followed by Peter O’Toole also running brilliantly (17th in 23:15). Michael Wycherley, still suffering a bit from an ankle injury, excelled himself with 36th place (23:15) and between them, the first 4 home were able to take 5th place in the team event (out of a total of 30, including 11 M50, teams). Behind Michael came Karl Walsh (48th in 23:43), followed by James Cahill (52nd in 23:15), new to cross country running, along with Barry McGuire (66th in 24:11). Club president, Will Owens, was next (70th in 24:15), followed by Michael Maughan (86th in 24:48) and Eddie Nugent (97th in 25:01). They were followed by the first 4 runners of our 9-strong M50 team. First home was Colm Kernan who ran a belter of a race picking up places (at least 32) consistently through the event (109th in 25:15), followed by Dave Tilly, who dusted off a really old pair of Nike spikes for the occasion, running really well (125th in 25:42). The final two were James Cottle (133rd in 25:52), just pipping Pat Quill on the line (134th with the same time), having enjoyed a push-me-pull-you throughout the race. James was able to take the bronze medal in the M60 category, just two seconds and one place the second placed athlete, who James had been reeling in throughout the race from a 100m separation at the end of the first lap, but who just managed to hold on in the end. The Men’s M50 team managed to record the best result the club has achieved to date, in coming home in 4th place (out of 11) and even also taking 3 M35 team scalps in the process. The later runners were led home by Tim O’Donnell of the M35 team enjoying a baptism of fire (169th in 26:41) and Tim was followed by David Long (186th in 27:13) off the back of little preparation due to drawn out dental treatment, Denis Murphy (190th in 27:21), Neil Brown (207th in 27:43) and the remaining members of the M50 team, Robbie Moore (230th in 28:27), Joe Dunne (238th in 29:07) making a welcome return to racing, and by Russell Murphy (251st in 30:00).

Congratulations to all. It was a most enjoyable race with great atmosphere and a quality field. The occasion was made even more special for us, as John Fitzsimons, our veteran about to have major surgery this week, was given the honour by Dublin Athletics of handing out the medals. We extend him all our love and wish him all the best in the weeks to come.

Abroad, we had at least two runners in races. Brian Scanlan ran in the Disney marathon in Florida over the weekend coming home in a time of 3:21:03, finding the final few miles quite tough, but fun. Then in Spain, Pablo Sanchez took second place in the Tres Cantosroad and trail 5k near Madrid.

Because there were so few races on offer this weekend there was a jam-packed participation of Crusaders in the parkruns. The fields for each one are listed below and some of them were much larger than usual.

We actually start with those run in the Antipodes. Kris Ryan is maintaining her parkrun tradition, running in Coomera in Australia and in a field of 162 she placed 22nd overall, 3rd female, in 23:56, whilst in New Zealand, in the Western Springs parkrun in Auckland, Brian Carroll joined 115 other runners, placing 7th in 20:34.

Some stand out results were recorded firstly by Dave Carter and Suzanne Martin who were both first finishers in Cabinteely for Crusaders. Dave ran 19:42 to place first overall, whilst Suzanne took 31st place overall, coming home in 23:53. They were joined by Anthony O’Reilly (7th in 20:44). Catherine Thornton followed home Dave’s doppelgänger from GCH in the equally challenging Knocknacarra, taking 3rd place overall and first female finisher in 20:04, capping an excellent period of racing. Ronan Moynihan placed 18th in Malahide in 19:54, whilst, in St Anne’s, Colm Kernan prepared for the XC on Sunday with a warm up 73rd place (22:24). Natasha Murray was also a sole runner for the club in Tymon, taking 129th place, 50th female, in 42:30, whilst Maria Pertl has started to bring her times down following recent pregnancy, running 30:25 in Poppintree to take 86th place overall (26th female). Neil Brown also prepared for the following day’s XC with a run of 27:30 (73rd place) in Shanganagh, and, similarly, Denis Murphy did the same thing in Fairview (15th in 24:12). Also running in Fairview were Phelim Murray (13th in 23:45), Sarah Lyons (18th overall, 3rd woman, in 24:49) and Leo Lundy (19th in 25:00). Porterstown saw Donal Foley in action (19th in 22:52), followed by Martina White (47th overall, 13th woman, in 27:11) after a long absence and by Kevin Flynn (54th in 27:48). We had the usual large turnout in Poolbeg. Our nine runners were led home by David Timoney (15th in 20:54), followed by Anthony Owens (17th in 21:00), Zalan Kovacs (43rd in 23:08), Gillian Curran (66th overall, 6th woman, in 25:400, Ali May Hannigan (77th overall, 11th woman, in 26:37), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (110th overall, 25th woman, in 29:39), Mary Dolan (139th overall, 41st woman, in 35:45), Don Anderton just behind (140th in 35:460 and by Mairin Shine picking up the pieces (147th overall, 44th woman, in 40:44). Finally, there was a new parkrun inaugurated in Drimnagh on Saturday (Brickfields). Olwyn Dunne (62nd overall, 15th woman, in 29:59) nobly paced the 30 minutes runners, preparing herself for the Dublin masters. In the substantial field Olwyn was accompanied by Padraig Walsh (10th in 21:51) and by another athlete saving herself for the masters, Mairead Cashman (45th overall, 7th woman, in 27:34).

Dublin Masters XC championships (women’s 3K)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Adrienne Jordan 1 00:12:20
Crusaders AC runners
1 Adrienne Jordan 00:12:20
2 Niamh Boland 00:12:25
6 Niamh Corby 00:12:36
25 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:13:37
66 Kate Murray 00:14:43
73 Ciara Lehane 00:14:58
76 Triona Quill 00:15:03
90 Olwyn Dunne 00:15:24
150 Mairead Cashman 00:18:19
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_athletics_masters_cross_country/2501/results
Dublin Masters XC championships (men’s 6K)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 John Dunne 1 00:21:03
Crusaders AC runners
8 Ciaran Diviney 00:21:40
13 Jason Kehoe 00:22:08
17 Peter O’Toole 00:22:18
36 Michael Wycherley 00:23:15
48 Karl Walsh 00:23:43
52 James Cahill 00:23:15
66 Barry McGuire 00:24:11
70 Will Owens 00:24:15
86 Michael Maughan 00:24:48
97 Eddie Nugent 00:25:01
109 Colm Kernan 00:25:15
125 Dave Tilly 00:25:42
133 James Cottle 00:25:52
134 Pat Quill 00:25:52
169 Tim O’Donnell 00:26:41
186 David Long 00:27:13
190 Denis Murphy 00:27:21
207 Neil Brown 00:27:43
230 Robbie Moore 00:28:27
238 Joe Dunne 00:29:07
251 Russell Murphy 00:30:00
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_athletics_masters_cross_country/2501/results
Malahide Parkrun #270 (325)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Eoin Callaghan 1 00:16:47
13 Rachel Eustace 1 00:19:46
Crusaders AC runner
18 Ronan Moynihan 00:19:54
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/malahide/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=270
Cabinteely Parkrun #145 (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Carter 1 00:19:42
31 Suzanne Martin 1 00:23:53
Crusaders AC runners
1 David Carter 00:19:42
7 Anthony O’Reilly 00:20:44
31 Suzanne Martin 00:23:53 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=145
St. Anne’s Parkrun #216 (442)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Karl Nolan 1 00:17:13
20 Mairead O’Rourke 1 00:19:48
Crusaders AC runner
73 Colm Kernan 00:00:22:24
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=216
Tymon Parkrun #186 (140)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Kevin English 1 00:19:44
18 Denise Ward 1 00:23:09
Crusaders AC runner
129 Natasha Murray 00:42:30 (50)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tymon/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=186
Knocknacarra Parkrun #185 (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Carter 1 00:18:41
3 Catherine Thornton 1 00:20:04
Crusaders AC runner
3 Catherine Thornton 00:20:04 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/knocknacarra/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=185
Poolbeg Parkrun #20 (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Sexton 1 00:17:42
25 Deirdre Nally 1 00:21:50
Crusaders AC runners
15 David Timoney 00:20:54
17 Anthony Owens 00:21:00
43 Zalan Kovacs 00:23:08
66 Gillian Curran 00:25:40 (6)
77 Ali May Hannigan 00:26:37 (11)
110 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:29:39 (25)
139 Mary Dolan 00:35:45 (41)
140 Don Anderton 00:35:46
147 Mairin Shine 00:40:44 (44)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=20
Porterstown Parkrun #117 (119)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Flannelly 1 00:18:45
14 Ann Foran 1 00:22:20
Crusaders AC runners
19 Donal Foley 00:22:52
47 Martina White 00:27:11 (13)
50 Kevin Flynn 00:28:02
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/porterstown/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=117
Shanganagh Parkrun #145 (132)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul McKenna 1 00:18:02
22 Sarah Steer 1 00:22:57
Crusaders AC runner
73 Neil Brown 00:27:30
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/shanganagh/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=145
Fairview Parkrun #26 (134)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Cillian O’Leary 1 00:17:15
12 Catherine Lynch 1 00:23:36
Crusaders AC runner
13 Phelim Murray 00:23:45
15 Denis Murphy 00:24:12
18 Sarah Lyons 00:24:49 (3)
19 Leo Lundy 00:25:00
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fairview/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=26
Poppintree Parkrun #166 (148)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Tom McKenna 1 00:18:34
24 Kate Cleary 1 00:22:54
Crusaders AC runner
88 Maria Pertl 00:30:25 (26)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poppintree/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=166
Brickfields Parkrun #1 (190)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Evan Grehan 1 00:19:44
7 Maura Ginty 1 00:21:46
Crusaders AC runners
10 Padraig Walsh 00:21:51
45 Mairead Cashman 00:27:34 (7)
62 Olwyn Dunne 00:29:59 (15)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/brickfields/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=1

Susan Walsh, Niamh Boland, Niamh Corby, Dee Ni Chearbhaill, Adrienne Jordan, Mairead Cashman, Olwyn Dunne, Ciara Lehane, Triona Quill and Kate Murray

Backrow: Russell Murphy, Eddie Nugent, Michael Wycherley, Joe Dunne, Neil Brown, Denis Murphy, Will Owens, Jason Kehoe, David Long, Dave Tilly, James Cahill, Peter O'Toole. Front row: Colm Kernan, Michael maughan, Pat Quill, Ciaran Diviney, Tim O'Donnell, James Cottle