The Paddy’s Day long weekend provided plenty of opportunity to race, from 2 miles in the Women’s Meet and Train, right up to marathon distance. The weekend started off on St. Patrick’s Day itself with a couple of quality 5ks, a 10k and a half marathon. Most of our runners headed over to Tallaght for the 5k road race, incorporating the Dublin Novice championships, that took a circular anticlockwise loop with a 15m differential, so largely flat, starting downhill and finishing slightly uphill to the Tallaght AC track. Wind at around 18kph would have been in runners’ faces at the start and towards the end, but would have been quite helpful on the backside of the course. It was damp underfoot, but the rain largely held off. At least 13 Crusaders took on the challenge, alongside 400 other runners, and they were led home by Andrea Rondina in 9th place overall, but importantly 2nd novice, in a great time of 15:57. In a race dominated by Rathfarnham’s Mitchell Byrne (14:44), Patrick Conlon was our second male club-mate across the line (23rd overall, 12th novice, in 16:49) and he was followed by Paul Cowhie (35th and winner of the M55 age cat. in 17:21), Eddie Nugent (91st and 40th novice in 18:22) and Cathal O’Hara (133rd and 53rd novice in 19:31). The 4-man team placed 7th overall. Cathal was actually preceded by our first female athlete, the ever-improving and coming back to her pre-maternity form Irene Gorman, who placed 113th overall and 15th woman across the line in 19:09. Irene was followed by Ciara Lynch (164th and 44th in 21:20), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (207th, 53rd and 8th F45 in 21:55), Margaret Foley (215th and 57th In 22:05), Neil Brown (274th in 24:31), pacing his daughter Kelly to a finish under 25 minutes, Maureen McGinley (333rd, 118th and 3rd F60 in 27:49), Mairead Cashman (336th, 121st and 7th F55 in 27:51) just behind Mairead, and Paul E. Kelly (363rd in 29:56). It was good to see all our runners finishing under 30 minutes in the race. On the same morning in similar conditions, we had two runners take on the Streets of Portlaoise 5k, the first race of this year’s Peugeot Race Series (replacing Kia). The anti-clockwise one loop course is fast and relatively flat (except for a slightly sharp climb in the 4th km) and with a downhill fast finish enjoyed a top-quality field with a great contest between Eoin Everard, William Maunsell and Jake O’Regan only determined in the last 200m, with Eoin taking the win by 1s in 14:36 from William. The women’s race, again with a class field, was dominated by Michelle Finn (16:00). We had 2 runners in the field of 609. In pulling away from a group of runners and crossing the line in 21st place, Colm Parnell recorded a super PB time of 15:45. Colm was followed by Joe McDermott (63rd in 17:21) in a nearly identical time to that which he achieved last year, a sign of good form considering he ran the Bohermeen Half on Sunday, followed by a tough session on Tuesday. With a similar background of Bohermeen and session going into the race, Catherine Thornton, an ex-Crusader who trains with us from time to time, came home in 17:54 for 91st overall and 12th female finisher. It is notable that 18 women broke 19 minutes in the non-championship race. On the same day there was the 2023 edition of the Mullingar half marathon. On an undulating one lap clockwise course on country roads with a couple of sharp climbs over a bypass, we had at least 8 runners in the race, experiencing wet conditions, but otherwise with the same SSE wind seen in the other events. Our first athlete home was Robert Browne who placed 42nd in the field of 1229 finishers. Robert’s time was 1:20:41. Kevin Lambe was next (106th and 9th M50 in 1:27:43), followed by Franky Keane with an impressive PB improvement to a time of 1:37:01 (for 253rd place), Olwyn Dunne with a satisfying 1:41:21 (331st, 51st and 5th F50), just ahead of Triona Quill (343rd, 55th and 6th F50 in 1:41:52). Next came Kate Murray (485th and 108th in 1:47:24) and Kate was followed by Rebecca Fleming (527th and 122nd in 1:48:41) and by Aitor Arribas Velasco (560th in 1:50:22). To complete the racing picture on Friday, we had one runner in the Tubbercurry 10k in Co. Sligo. In an event with a field of 163 and won by Andrew Coscoran in 29:30, Ciara Regan placed 51st overall and 10th woman home in a time of 43:39, just 3 minutes behind the female winner of the race. Further afield on the roads over the weekend, we had at least 6 runners in the Rome Marathon. Conditions were quite favourable with little wind and a starting temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. However, the course is challenging for PBs given that, although it is a point-to-point and relatively flat, it follows a twisty turn-y route (and is noted for its cobblestones!). Our contingent was led home by a sparkling run from Michael Reilly who placed 337th in a field of nearly 13,500 finishers in a PB time of 2:58:19, his first time breaking 3 hours. Michael was followed by Michael Judge (3:09:24) who found the 2nd half challenging, and by his training partner, Gerard Moore who ran steadily throughout for his 3:16:24. Ian Weldon was next in 3:59:35 and Ian was followed by a courageous Kate McMahon. On the back of little distance training and an injury that kept her from running over the last two weeks of her taper, Kate completed the race in 4:51:04, just ahead of our other runner, Ian Smith (4:52:34). Then, in New York, our exile in Canada, Ian Kinsella, ran in the NYC Half marathon where he recorded a time of 1:20. Gian Piero Allerta also ran outside Ireland on the Sunday, competing in the 50th Stramilano 10.7k in Milan, where he recorded a time of 51:19. Also, in Italy on Sunday, our exile Italo Giancaterina placed 2nd in the Ren Ten Arenzano, a 10k race, where his time was 31:27. Even further afield, Donnacha McCarthy and his paratriathlete guide, Sean Husband, placed 4th in the Australian paratriathlon world series opener in Sydney at the weekend. This was despite a heavy bike crash on the highly technical course impacted by rain during the event. This weekend marked the end of the WM&T winter XC league with its 4th and final race taking place in Abbotstown on Sunday morning. 17 Crusaders were involved in the event and final results would determine the outcome of the league (with the 3 best finishes across the 4 to count). As the dust settled, it was clear that Crusaders A team had won the Platinum League ahead of Sportsworld A and Bros. Pearse A teams in 2nd and 3rd, whilst Crusaders D placed 3rd in their Bronze League behind Donore and Waterstown. The other two teams were incomplete for more than one race, so did not really place in their leagues. The last race of approx. 2 miles took place on a 1km muddy loop on the purpose-built course and involved 95 runners in total. We fielded 17 runners, although Lieze Verberght was not able to finish because of an Achilles injury. The remaining 16 acquitted themselves well behind the race winner Aoife Carroll of Sportsworld (11:17). They were led home by Nina Holmes in 9th place (12:19), and Nina was followed by Kate Murray, Tanja Narancic and Rebecca Fleming who crossed the line almost together (16th, 17th and 18th respectively in 12:36 for Kate and Tanja and 12:37 for Rebecca). League organiser Fiona Shine was not too far behind (24th in 12:48), with Emer Kenny (25th in 12:50) hard on her heels. A little further back came Lisa Shine (31st in 13:09), followed by Carina Davidson (50th in 13:58) and Avril Ryan (55th in 14:17). The contigent was completed by Caitriona Egan (65th in 14:46), Anna Shine (69th in 15:02), Emma O'Mahony (74th in 15:28), Maureen McGinley (81st in 15:50), Máirín Shine (85th in 16:20), Mairead Cashman (86th in 16:28) and Niamh Trihy (91st in 18:05). Many congrats to all who ran and hats off to Fiona and those who assisted in organising. In the mountains on Saturday, IMRA organised the Wicklow Way Half marathon, which in fact was a 22k race (11k out from Lough Tay to Crone Wood and back along the same route), following the Wicklow Way. It involved a climb of 840k and was considered to be a relatively easy course by IMRA standards, but was challenging enough! We had at least 4 runners in the event which saw 159 finishers from an initial field of 163: Donatas Jocius who placed 9th in a highly satisfying time of 1:57:32 as he prepares for the Maurice Mullins Ultra in the next few weeks, Raghnall O'Donoghue (54th in 2:23:49), Daniel O'Mahony (107th in 2:29:13) and Stephen McBrinn (129th in 2:59:19). We had a couple of first finishers in Saturday morning’s parkruns. Sarah Lyons celebrated her return from a month in Kenya (including a visit to Iten) with an 11th place finish in 22:08 in Tolka Valley with its field of 52. Demonstrating their competitive spirits, Phelim Murray crossed the line one place ahead of Sarah, but given the same time. Ahead of them came Diarmuid Byrne in 7th place with a time of 20:42, behind male overall winner, Paul Fleming (17:45). Once again, Stephen Hurley led the field in Poolbeg home on Saturday morning. In a field of 143, Stephen ran 17:36 and he was followed by Kenan Furlong, almost back to his pre-sickness form (4th in 18:56), by Alby Allan, also running well (6th in 19:18), young Daniel Sheridan (10th in 19:52), John McDowell (12th in 20:05), Patrick Duffy (17th in a 78% age grade time of 20:43), Dale Whelehan (37th in 22:30) and by Sharon Woods (40th and 4th in a 76% age grade time of 22:52). Note that 80% is national standard. Russell Murphy came next, in 43rd (23:20), and he was followed by Emily Glen (44th and 5th in 23:21) not too far off her PB for the distance, Gillian Curran (76th and 14th in 25:58), Maureen McGinley (96th and 22nd in 27:52), Louise O’Riordan (113th and 32nd in 29:48) and Una McCullagh (119th and 36th in 31:23). Elsewhere, we had a podium finish in Avondale Forest with its field of 82. Darina Scully placed 3rd there (20th overall) in a time of 24:50. Ross Neill came close in the 351-strong field in Ormeau Park in Belfast where he placed 4th in 17:56, whilst Karl Walsh took 6th spot in Naas, where, alongside 106 other participants, he ran 19:35. We had two 5th place finishes: Andy Deuser took 5th spot in Fairview in a time of 22:09 and in a field of 107, whilst Helena O’Keeffe placed 40th and 5th in a time of 24:50 in Tramore Valley, Cork. There were 167 participants there. In placing 6th in a time of 18:16, Luke Davis led a large contingent of Crusaders home in Marlay Park. In a field of 416, we had several runners joining Caroline Crowley (whose time was not recorded, but who ran 19:55, effectively to place 20th and 3rd female finisher on the back of little running) for the hen party ahead of her impending nuptials. Also in the event was fiancé Eoghan Corrigan who placed 87th in 23:35 and he was followed by Orla Kennedy (148th and 24th in 25:26), Yvonne Macauley (149th and 25th in the same time), Olwyn Dunne (155th and 28th in 25:36), Miriam Logan (202nd and 46th in 27:30), Mairead Cashman (262nd and 68th in 29:21), Irene Gorman (290th and 88th in 30:21) and Emer Kenny (291st and 89th in 30:22). Tim Hyland joined 373 other runners in St. Anne’s where he placed 89th in 24:32, whilst we had 6 runners in Shanganagh. David carter took 6th place in a field of 145 and a time of 19:49, ahead of Carina Davidson (61st and 17th in 26:11), Jill Nason (100th and 34th in 29:54), Orlaith de Burca (106th and 38th in 30:47), just ahead of Lisa Shine (107th and 39th in 30:48) and Máirín Shine (108th and 40th in the same time). Tallaght AC 5k (414) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mitchell Byrne 1 00:14:44 41 Laura McDonnell 1 00:17:26 Crusaders AC runners 9 Andrea Rondina 00:15:57 23 Patrick Conlon 00:16:49 35 Paul Cowhie 00:17:21 91 Eddie Nugent 00:18:22 113 Irene Gorman 00:19:09 (15) 133 Cathal O’Hara 00:19:31 164 Ciara Lynch 00:21:20 (44) 207 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 00:21:55 (53) 215 Margaret Foley 00:22:05 (57) 274 Neil Brown 00:24:31 333 Maureen McGinley 00:27:49 (118) 336 Mairead Cashman 00:27:51 (121) 363 Paul E. Kelly 00:29:56 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/tallaght-ac-5k-2023/#1_0A9A3E Streets of Portlaoise 5k (609) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Eoin Everard 1 00:14:36 26 Michelle Flynn 1 00:16:00 Crusaders AC runners 21 Colm Parnell 00:15:45 (PB) 63 Joe McDermott 00:17:21 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/streets-of-portlaoise-2023/ Mullingar Half Marathon (1229) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 01:10:46 12 Ciara Hickey 1 01:16:13 Crusaders AC runners 42 Robert Browne 01:20:41 106 Kevin Lambe 01:27:43 253 Franky Keane 01:37:01 (PB) 331 Olwyn Dunne 01:41:21 (51) 343 Triona Quill 01:41:52 (55) 485 Kate Murray 01:47:24 (108) 527 Rebecca Fleming 01:48:41 (122) 560 Aitor Arribas Velasco 01:50:22 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/aon_mullingar_half_marathon/4660/results IMRA Wicklow Half marathon (159) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Matthew McConnell 1 01:40:40 8 Sorcha Loughnane 1 01:54:36 Crusaders AC runners 9 Donatas Jocius 01:57:32 54 Raghnall O'Donoghue 02:23:49 107 Daniel O'Mahony 02:29:13 129 Stephen McBrinn 02:59:19 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2293/ Tubbercurry 10k (163) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Andrew Coscoran 1 00:29:30 25 Michelle Needham 1 00:40:32 Crusaders AC runner 51 Ciara Regan 00:43:39 (10) Full results here: https://coretiming.ie/events/tubbercurry-10-5k/#3_095C41 Women’s Meet & Train (95) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Aoife Carroll 00:11:17 Crusaders AC runners 9 Nina Holmes 00:12:19 16 Kate Murray 00:12:36 17 Tanja Narancic 00:12:36 18 Rebecca Fleming 00:12:37 24 Fiona Shine 00:12:48 25 Emer Kenny 00:12:50 31 Lisa Shine 00:13:09 50 Carina Davidson 00:13:58 55 Avril Ryan 00:14:17 65 Caitriona Egan 00:14:46 69 Anna Shine 00:15:02 74 Emma O'Mahony 81 Maureen McGinley 00:15:50 85 Máirín Shine 00:16:20 86 Mairead Cashman 00:16:28 91 Niamh Trihy 00:18:05 Ormeau Parkrun (351) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jared Martin 1 00:16:21 9 Caitlin Malone 1 00:20:09 Crusaders AC runner 4 Ross Neill 00:17:56 Marlay Parkrun (416) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry McCartin 1 00:17:19 13 Serena Tuffy 1 00:19:17 Crusaders AC runners 6 Luke Davis 00:18:16 20 Caroline Crowley 00:19:55 (3) 87 Eoghan Corrigan 00:23:35 148 Orla Kennedy 00:25:26 (24) 149 Yvonne Macauley 00:25:26 (25) 155 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:36 (28) 202 Miriam Logan 00:27:30 (46) 262 Mairead Cashman 00:29:21 (68) 290 Irene Gorman 00:30:21 (88) 291 Emer Kenny 00:30:22 (89) Naas Parkrun (107) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ronan Walsh 1 00:18:59 11 Julie O’Loughlin 1 00:20:22 Crusaders AC runner 6 Karl Walsh 00:19:35 Shanganagh Parkrun (145) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Murphy 1 00:17:08 12 Emily Kane 1 00:20:37 Crusaders AC runners 1 Niall Murphy 00:17:08 9 David Carter 00:19:49 61 Carina Davidson 00:26:11 (17) 100 Jill Nason 00:29:54 (34) 106 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:47 (38) 107 Lisa Shine 00:30:48 (39) 108 Máirín Shine 00:30:48 (40) Fairview Parkrun (107) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane Roe 1 00:20:54 6 Aine Ni Ghloinn 1 00:22:30 Crusaders AC runner 5 Andy Deuser 00:22:09 Avondale Forest Parkrun (82) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aaron Hanway 1 00:19:28 9 Layla Dixon 1 00:22:51 Crusaders AC runner 20 Darina Scully 00:24:50 (3) Tramore Valley Parkrun (167) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Thomas McCarthy 1 00:16:49 8 Aobhinn Keohane 1 00:18:59 Crusaders AC runners 40 Helena O’Keeffe 00:24:50 (5) Poolbeg Parkrun (143) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:17:36 22 Nicole Butler 1 00:20:58 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:17:36 4 Kenan Furlong 00:18:56 6 Alby Allan 00:19:18 10 Daniel Sheridan 00:19:52 12 John McDowell 000:20:05 17 Patrick Duffy 00:20:43 37 Dale Whelehan 00:22:30 40 Sharon Woods 00:22:52 (4) 43 Russell Murphy 00:23:20 44 Emily Glen 00:23:21 (5) 76 Gillian Curran 00:25:58 (14) 96 Maureen McGinley 00:27:52 (22) 113 Louise O’Riordan 00:29:48 (32) 119 Una McCullagh 00:31:23 (36) St. Anne’s Parkrun (374) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Anthony Brady 1 00:17:40 15 Maeve Lochrie 1 00:19:58 Crusaders AC runner 89 Tim Hyland 00:24:32 Tolka Valley Parkrun (52) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul Fleming 1 00:17:45 11 Sarah Lyons 1 00:22:08 Crusaders AC runners 7 Diarmuid Byrne 00:20:42 10 Phelim Murray 00:22:08 11 Sarah Lyons 00:22:08 (1) Comments are closed.
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