Wet conditions fail to dampen Cru spirits in National Half Marathon and Streets of Galway 8k

15/8/2018

Katie McElroy, Olwyn Dunne, Alma Hanevy and Joe Walsh

In a huge field on a really tough course involving several hills, we enjoyed some success on Sunday in the national half marathon championships that were incorporated into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half marathon with a field in excess of 5,700 finishers. There was a bit of drizzle and the roads were somewhat slippery as a consequence. If it wasn’t a PB course beforehand, the weather conditions certainly ensured it remained that way. At least 19 Crusaders finished the race with the distinction of a gold medal for Alma Hanevy in her F35 age category and a senior silver medal for the team of Alma, Katie McElroy and Ruth Dwyer. It was pointed out that team silver is better than gold at times since it preserves eligibility for novice and intermediate racing! Well done to the girls.

Kieran Little was first across the line for the club in 28th place (in the Rock ’n’ Roll) in a super time of 77:21, followed by Declan Ryan, the visually-impaired runner from Thurles who trains with us (60th in 80:48). They were followed by Joe Walsh who had an excellent run to place 94th in 84:27 and by Tim Francony who ran 86:13 for his 132nd place. Karl Walsh (203rd in 89:26) was next, followed closely by Alma (208th overall, 14th female finisher), in 89:33. Patrick Needham took 299th place in 94:07, followed by James Cahill (393rd in 96:17), Katie (468th overall in 97:50), Gordon Celender (508th in 98:48) and Luke Haran just under the 100 minutes wire (565th in 99:59). Our last man across the line was Joe O’Reilly (2,564th in 2:04:27) among a mix of Cru women (whose gender places are difficult to determine): As 3rd scorer in the team, Ruth came home in 1:47:23 (1,011th overall), followed by Maria Kennedy who added the race to a long run as part of her marathon training and so didn’t really race the course (1,210th overall in 1:50:04), Olwyn Dunne (1,238th overall, in 1:50:29), Maria Esteban (1,975th overall, in 1:58:43) both who also took the race as a training run, Janet McManus (2,489th overall, in 2:03:34), Adrienne O’Driscoll (2,872nd overall, in 2:07:52), Emilie Fournier (3,552nd overall in 2:15:18) and Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (4,395th overall in 2:27:17).

The other major event of the weekend was the Cru trip to Galway to run in the 8k there (the Streets of Galway) organised by GCH. We have been going there as a group since 2013 and this trip was just as much fun as any year since then. Nearly 30 of us took part in the race this year and we were well supported around the course. One of the surprising things about the event is that each year we forget how hilly the course is, describing it to newcomers as largely flat with perhaps a little climb into Eyre Square in the first kilometre. In fact, there are several hills after that before a descent onto Salthill Strand for the last 2.5km. For most of the race the wind was in our faces until we hit the seafront. We enjoyed a wet drizzly afternoon on our arrival, but it had largely stopped by the start of the race (which started at 7 in the evening), only to return with a cloud-bursting vengeance for those unlucky enough not to have finished under 40 minutes. Still, it was dry again for the after-race celebrations (which did not disappoint) and we partied well into the early morning before embarking on our long runs on a gloriously sunny Sunday morning with but a pinch of sleep.

The haul was reasonably rich too, the Cru men and women’s teams doing the club proud. The Cru women’s team of Adrienne Jordan, Catherine Thornton and Caroline Crowley took 1st place ahead of the much-fancied GCH team, whilst the men came home in 3rd place. In a substantial field of more than 2,500 runners, and behind race winner John Travers (23:56), Vinnie McGuinness led the men home in 16th place with a time of 26:40. He was followed closely by Michael Kiely (18th in 26:52) and by Rob Cross (22nd and 1st M45 in 27:11), the 3 being scorers for the men’s team. Next came Brendan Murphy (24th in 27:24) who experienced a bit of difficulty at one point but nevertheless was able to get going again, and he was followed by Tony Carter, the prodigal Geordie returning for his second running of the race since we started going in 2013 (33rd in 28:00). It was great to see Hugh Larkin, one of the organisers of the weekend, running competitively (hopefully pain free after months of difficulty) and finishing in 30:00 (78th place), followed closely by another of the organisers, club president Will Owens (83rd in 30:09). In 100th place overall and 7th female finisher, Adrienne led the Cru women home (30:52) followed by Catherine (113th overall, 8th woman, in 31:19) who was able to track her for most of the race. Indeed, Catherine enjoyed an epic sprint to the line with Eddie Nugent (114th in 31:12) in hot pursuit. James Cottle was not so much further back and had hoped to reel the two in until they increased the pace towards the end (124th and 2nd M60, in 31:31). Caroline was 3rd scorer for the women’s team and enjoyed a decent outing following injury (133rd overall, 9th woman, in 31:45), despite running much of the race with flapping shoelaces! Again, it was a bit like the Cathar castles in the Pyrenees, each runner could see a Crusader ahead as he or she traversed the course, several of us anxious not to finish behind a runner dressed from head to toe in a Spiderman costume! Behind Caroline came David Timoney, a late addition to the group, who ran well to place 139th in 32:03, followed by Kiera Roche (140th overall, 10th woman, in 32:11) who was initially nursing a sore knee. It was a lucrative day for the girls as the first 10 across the line were eligible for prizes. After Kiera came Tim O’Donnell (161st in 32:41), Orla Kennedy (214th overall, 21st woman, in 33:41) whose fiancé Peter Clinton also ran, coming in marginally ahead, Gian Piero Allerta, in a taper before next weekend’s Longford marathon (218th in 33:57), Grainne Regan (231st overall, 25th woman, in 34:08), Eanna Farrell (254th in 34:40) and Brendan Glynn (307th in 35:23). Amy McGuinness, who is expecting a baby in the next few months, ran well and ahead of expectations to finish in 35:50 (337th overall, 40th woman), followed by Sarah Lyons (486th overall, 72nd woman, in 37:23). Karl Gohery, whose last run in this race was followed less than a month later by an accident when he was knocked down running on the Dublin quays, this being only his second competitive run since then, was next in 627th place (38:31) and he was followed by Maeve Muldowney (761st overall, 143rd woman, in 39:41), Phelim Murray (771st in 40:22), another runner with injury problems, nursing a pulled hamstring, Leo Lundy (969th in 42:32) in his 2nd event of the day having run a parkrun in Dublin in the morning, and by Rebecca Fleming (1,211th overall in 44:17) enjoying a trip back from Malta, coming in with Emer Kenny (1,214th overall in 44:18). Hazel Green, who now lives in Galway, completed the Crusader representation, placing 1,319th overall in 44:45.

There were other races on Sunday. The Rock ‘n’ Roll event included both 5 and 10k races. We had at least two runners in the 5k. In a field of 1,756 runners, Daniel Lowe took 5th place in a time of 18:41, followed by Zlatko Kulic who crossed the line in 22nd spot (19:34). Then newcomer Adam Flanagan, who is in marathon training, returned to his native Monaghan to run in the Monaghan Town 10 miler there, taking 11th place in a field of 365 finishers with an admirable time of 61:15. The race was won by Freddy Sittuk in 54:47.

On the track Andrew Mellon ran for Ireland last week in the European Championships in the 4x400m men’s relay team but unfortunately the team failed to make it into the final. Still, it was a major honour to be selected and the team gave it their all.

In the mountains there was one race on which to report. Anthony O’Reilly was our sole representative in an end of season handicap race in the mountains on the borders of Counties Dublin and Wicklow. The race took place on Kippure Mountain over difficult terrain, involving a climb of more than 300m over 9.3km. Anthony placed 21st in a field of 64 and a time of 75:40.

Finally, we come to last Saturday’s parkruns. There were first finisher places for Aoife Quinn (who included the event as part of her hen party) in Bushy Park (18th overall in 22:46), Fiona Bane (10th overall, in 22:21) in Father Collins, Diarmuid Byrne in Tolka Valley (19:26) and Kris Ryan in Gainsborough Greens in Australia (8th overall in a field of 62 and a time of 22:35). Podium places were achieved by Matt Cranley (with his buggy) (3rd in 19:50) in Father Collins, Kate Murray (2nd in Bushy Park and 29th overall in 24:12) and Maria Pertl (3rd in Tolka Valley, 21st overall, in 27:13). Lisa Shine took 4th spot in Castlehaven (9th overall) in 27:30, whilst, in Poolbeg; Andrej Kujikis placed 5th in 19:22. Andrej was closely followed by the returning John Thuillier (6th in 19:26) and by David O’Donnell (20th in 20:42), Sharon Woods (42nd overall, 6th woman, in 23:36), Brian Langton (51st in 24:37), Mary Dolan (67th overall, 14th woman, in 25:44), Cliodhna O’Reilly (69th overall, 15th woman, in 25:55) and Mari Hansen (82nd overall, 20th woman, in 27:51). Mairin Shine also ran in Bushy Park, placing 119th overall, 38th female, in 32:48, whilst Emma O’Mahony ran well to place 61st overall, 6th female finisher, in 27:59 in Cabinteely. Mairead Cashman took 86th spot overall, 19th female finisher, in 29:31 in Donabate, whilst we had 3 runners in St Anne’s. Denis Murphy was first across the line in 85th in a time of 23:05, followed closely by Colm Kernan (86th in 23:10). Leo Lundy completed the trio with his first run of the day before heading to Galway (168th in 26:12).

Rock n Roll Half (inc National Half marathon championships) (5710)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 David Flynn 1 01:08:50
63 Simone Monacizzo 1 01:21:16
Crusaders AC runners
28 Kieran Little 01:17:21
94 Joe Walsh 01:24:27
132 Tim Francony 01:26:13
203 Karl Walsh 01:29:26
208 Alma Hanevy 01:29:33 (14)
299 Patrick Needham 01:34:07
393 James Cahill 01:36:17
468 Katie McElroy 01:37:50
508 Gordon Celender 01:38:48
565 Luke Haran 01:39:59
1011 Ruth Dwyer 01:47:23
1210 Maria Kennedy 01:50:04
1238 Olwyn Dunne 01:50:29
1975 Maria Esteban 01:58:43
2489 Janet McManus 02:03:34
2564 Joe O’Reilly 02:04:27
2872 Adrienne O’Driscoll 02:07:52
3552 Emilie Fournier 02:15:18
4395 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 02:27:17
Full results here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/6434070225854923520/races/427954
Streets of Galway 8k (2535)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 John Travers 1 00:23:56
31 Siobhan O’Doherty 1 00:27:50
Crusaders AC runners
16 Vinnie McGuinness 00:26:40
18 Michael Kiely 00:26:52
22 Rob Cross 00:27:11
24 Brendan Murphy 00:27:24
33 Tony Carter 00:28:00
78 Hugh Larkin 00:30:00
83 Will Owens 00:30:09
100 Adrienne Jordan 00:30:52 (7)
113 Catherine Thornton 00:31:19 (8)
114 Eddie Nugent 00:31:12
124 James Cottle 00:31:31
133 Caroline Crowley 00:31:45 (9)
139 David Timoney 00:32:03
140 Kiera Roche 00:32:11 (10)
161 Tim O’Donnell 00:33:41
214 Orla Kennedy 00:33:41 (21)
218 Gian Piero Allerta 00:33:57
231 Grainne Regan 00:34:08 (25)
254 Eanna Farrell 00:34:40
307 Brendan Glynn 00:35:23
337 Amy McGuinness 00:35:50 (40)
486 Sarah Lyons 00:37:23 (72)
627 Karl Gohery 00:38:31
761 Maeve Muldowney 00:39:41 (143)
771 Phelim Murray 00:40:22
969 Leo Lundy 00:42:32
1211 Rebecca Fleming 00:44:17
1214 Emer Kenny 00:44:18
1319 Hazel Greene 00:44:45
Full results here: http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/SoG2018.pdf
IMRA Kippure Handicap (64)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Phil Behan 1 01:11:09
5 Dee Bohan 1 01:12:55
Crusaders AC runner
21 Anthony O’Reilly 01:15:40
Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/1609/
Rock n Roll 5k (1756)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jack England 1 00:17:55
11 Lucy Niemz 1 00:19:06
Crusaders AC runners
5 Daniel Lowe 00:18:41
22 Zlatko Kulic 00:19:34
Full results here: https://rnr30-compgroup.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/sites/21/2018/08/Rock-n-Roll-Dublin-5K-Results.pdf
Monaghan Town 10 Mile race (529)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Freddy Sittuk 1 00:54:47
25 Nicola Flanagan 1 01:05:40
Crusaders AC runner
11 Adam Flanagan 01:01:15
Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_monaghan_town_10__5_miler_2018/2678/results
St. Anne’s Parkrun #244 (397)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Deirdre Byrne 1 00:17:23
2 Colm Cassidy 1 00:17:24
Crusaders AC runners
85 Denis Murphy 00:23:05
86 Colm Kernan 00:23:10
168 Leo Lundy 00:26:12
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=244
Poolbeg Parkrun #50 (121)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Unknown 1 00:17:52
26 Lauren Marsden 1 00:21:08
Crusaders AC runners
5 Andrej Kujikis 00:19:22
6 John Thuillier 00:19:26
20 David O’Donnell 00:20:42
42 Sharon Woods 00:23:36 (6)
51 Brian Langton 00:24:37
67 Mary Dolan 00:25:44 (14)
69 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:25:53 (15)
82 Mari Hansen 00:27:51 (20)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/poolbeg/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=50
Cabinteely Parkrun #175 (122)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ted Burke 1 00:19:53
26 Georgina Devlin 1 00:24:13
Crusaders AC runner
61 Emma O’Mahony 00:27:59 (6)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/cabinteely/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=175
Castlehaven Parkrun #135 (34)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Stephen Connolly 1 00:23:20
5 Anne-Marie Green 1 00:26:11
Crusaders AC runner
9 Lisa Shine 00:27:30 (4)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=135
Tolka Valley Parkrun #25 (53)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Diarmuid Byrne 1 00:19:26
4 Magdalena Komorowska 1 00:22:59
Crusaders AC runners
1 Diarmuid Byrne 00:19:26
21 Maria Pertl 00:27:13 (3)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/tolkavalley/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=25
Bushy Parkrun #76 (159)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Luke Corcoran 1 00:19:08
18 Aoife Quinn 1 00:22:46
Crusaders AC runners
18 Aoife Quinn 00:22:46 (1)
29 Kate Murray 00:24:12 (2)
119 Mairin Shine 00:32:48 (38)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/bushydublin/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=76
Father Collins Parkrun #151 (84)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Paul Walsh 1 00:19:42
10 Fiona Bane 1 00:22:21
Crusaders AC runners
3 Matt Cranley 00:19:50
10 Fiona Bane 00:22:21 (1)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=151
Donabate Parkrun #144 (156)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Brian Sexton 1 00:18:19
25 Dolores Kelly 1 00:22:58
Crusaders AC runner
86 Mairead Cashman 00:29:31 (19)
Full results here: http://www.parkrun.ie/donabate/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=144