Windy Weather

Cai Lewis

The end of the week seemed to mark a change in the weather, if only temporary, with overcast skies and quite strong winds.

It did not seem to affect too adversely, however, those athletes involved in the National Senior Track and Field Championships held over the two days of the weekend in the Morton Stadium in Santry. We were treated to some excellent contests, several involving our club colleagues.

On the first day, Charlotte Myers was our first athlete out on the track and, running in the first heat of three, she posted the 9th fastest time across the 3 heats, finishing in an excellent 4th place in her heat with a time of 2:10.80. The men’s 1500m involved four heats and in the first Cai Lewis broke away early from the field but was slowly reeled in to finish in a creditable 6th place in 3:58.23. Alex Ainsworth tackled the second heat, placing 11th in 4:11.25. Finally, Sarah Lyons ran a gutsy 4:47.12, not far off her PB in the women’s 1500m, placing 14th in her heat. None of the runners progressed to the final in what was for each their first appearances in national senior competition on the track. Hugo Magee and Lúc Culliton contested heat 5 (of 7) in the men’s 200m, with Hugo placing 2nd in 21.98 and Lúc just behind in 3rd in 22.77. Unfortunately, despite their placings, their times were not fast enough to qualify for the semi-final, ending up 17th and 26th of 51 competitors in the first round of the event.

The first day was concluded by two 4 x 100m relays, men’s and women’s. The women’s team of Marion Gillman, Meabh Murphy, Juliette O’Connor and Juliette McCloskey placed 6th in their final in a time of 51.97, whilst the men’s team unfortunately got into difficulties on the second exchange and were unable to finish.

We had 4 athletes compete on day 2 in the men’s 100m. There were ten heats, leading to a semi-final and a final. In the second heat Luke Timlin qualified for the semi-final in 2nd place with a time of 10.80. He was joined by Sean Owens who also placed 2nd in his heat (9) in a time of 10.84. Liam Beaumont, with a 7th place in heat 5 in 11.49, and Lúc, placing 5th in heat 8 in 11.32, were unable to progress. In the semi-final first heat, Luke placed 6th in 10.85, with Sean placing 6th in the same time in the second semi-final. Unfortunately, neither were able to progress.

Then, towards the end of the afternoon, Colm Parnell and Adan Shier ran in the second of three runnings of the 5000m, the medals being decided by the fastest times across the 3 races. Colm placed 5th in a time of 15:04.24, with Adam, punching the air as he crossed the line, placing 7th in a PB time of 15:08.14 (an improvement of nearly 12 seconds).

There were several road races taking place during the week and over the weekend.

On Tuesday evening Abdé Boumaza participated in the Park West Night Run 5k in a field of 590, placing 6th overall in a time of 17:45. He was followed by Helen Finucane (390th overall and 163rd female finisher in 31:56), whilst on the same evening, David O’Donnell ran in the Burtonport Festival 5k, situated near Letterkenny in Co. Donegal. In a field of 130, David placed 27th overall in a PB time of 20:25 and first place in his M60 age category. Also, during the week, Ellen Walsh joined the field of 75 on the well-known mile loop in Raheny for the John Fennell Cup, a two-mile race in the Raheny 2-mile Race Series. Ellen placed 39th overall and 4th female finisher in a time of 14.23.

Then, over the weekend, Sligo natives Shane Egan, Paddy Gaynor and Ellen took part in the two races on offer there, a 10k and 5k known as the Keash King of the Hill. Ellen, in her second race of the week, took on the 5k with a field of 51, where she placed 13th and 5th in 24:08, whilst in the 113-strong field in the 10k, Shane placed 6th in 38:38, followed closely by Paddy (7th in 39:14). The 10k involved an early climb in the first 3k, followed by a largely downhill 7k.

Then, in Co Clare, we had at least 5 of our members take part in the Kilkee Half marathon. On a windy, rainy and hilly course, Asley Hayes placed 4th in the field of 1216 finishers and in a time of 79:24. Ashley was followed by Louise O’Riordan (68th and 7th in a PB time of 93:21), Eamon MacFhionnlaoich (86th and 2nd M60 in a time of 95:28), James Beary (208th in 1:41:33) and Matthew Dundon (280th in 1:45:50).

Further afield, Aitor Arribas Velasco tackled another ultra marathon. The race was staged in the Wirral in the UK and was a Backyard Ultra, consisting of running loops of 4.1 miles every hour until one runner remains. Aitor was able to manage 12 hours with a total distance of 50 miles. He did, however, point out that there were still athletes going after 25 hours!

There was a midweek IMRA race in which we had a participant. Donatas Jocius joined a field of 108 in Co. Louth for the Carnavaddy 10k, involving a 450m climb around the Ravensdale Forest. Donatas placed 11th in 58:00. Then, at the weekend, Kevin Lambe raced on Slieve Bawn in Co. Roscommon. In a race of 8k with a climb of 250m, Kevin placed 20th and 3rd M50 in a field of 34 and in a time of 43:30.

We had one first finisher this week in the parkruns. April Dunne placed 24th and 1st in 24:53 in Fairview. In the field of 194, April was followed by Fanny Trébouet (52nd and 7th in 28:14).

Meanwhile, Mary Donnelly placed 25th and 2nd in 22:54 in Bushy Park with its field of 247. Mary was preceded by Kev Moore (5th in 20:01), whilst, in Shanganagh with 285 runners, Dee Lawlor took 2nd spot in 18:25. He was followed by Mairead Cashman (192nd and 67th in 31:03) and Órlaith de Burca (194th and 69th in 31:06), just behind Mairead.

In Ballymount, with its field of 189, Aoife McCarthy placed 32nd and 3rd in 24:43, followed by Carina Davidson (69th and 15th in 28:37), Máirín Shine (96th and 28th in 30:57) and Lisa Shine (107th and 37th in 32:01), whilst, in St. Anne’s, Peter O’Toole took 6th spot in 18:51, ahead of Michael O’Shea (11th in 19:12) and Grainne Regan (130th and 17th in 25:30). The field there measured 490.

There was a field of 292 in Poolbeg, among them fewer Crusaders than of late. The contingent was led home by Stephen Hurley (5th in 18:05) and he was followed by Joe Murphy (7th in 18:33), Mustaf Ahmed (17th in 20:07), Daniel Littlewood (35th in 21:36), Russell Murphy (77th in 25:23), Imogen Guinness (80th and 11th in 25:38), Sharon Woods (106th and 23rd in 27:03), Aisling O’Riordan (153rd and 52nd in 29:10), Kevin Kenny (169th in 29:42), Lorraine McMahon (171st and 59th in 29:48), Cynthia Perucca (230th and 96th in 34:14), Edwina Hogan (233rd and 99th in 34:23, with Tara Murphy tailwalking.
Meanwhile, David O’Donnell joined 65 other runners in Dungloe, where he placed 10th in 22:56, whilst in Malahide, Kabir Sala was our sole representative in the field of 385, placing 42nd in 21:30. Brendan Glynn took 30th spot in the 242-strong field in Donabate, with a time of 23:04, whilst, in Marlay Park, with its field of 534, Alban Coghlan placed 7th in 18:44, followed by Paul Flynn (8th in 18:46), Killian Barry (15th in 19:47) and Myles Nolan (41st in 21:51). Paul F. Kelly ran alongside 60 other runners on Narin Beach, where he placed 6th in 24:42, whilst Áine Crotty placed 168th and 46th in 31:17 in the field of 252 in Tramore Valley in Cork. Staying in that region, Helena O’Keeffe placed 124th and 24th in Ballincollig with its field of 306 in a time of 27:50.

Finally, further afield, Rob Glascott and Eva Kennedy, two of our London exiles, ran in the 746-strong field on Clapham Common, where Rob placed 62nd in 21:24 and Eva placed 179th and 26th in 24:35. Down in Australia, Kris Ryan, one of our exiles there, ran once again in Paradise Point parkrun where, in a field of 407, she placed 133rd and 32nd in 25:46.
 
Parkwest Dublin Night Run 5k (590)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Adam Foy 1 00:16:09
8 Lorraine O’Connor 1 00:18:04
Crusaders AC runners
6 Abdessamed Boumaza 00:17:45
​390 Helen Finucane 00:31:56 (163)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/parkwest_dublin_night_run_2026/6123/results
John Fennell Cup (Raheny Shamrock 2-mile series) (75)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Stephen Butler 1 00:10:15
27 Ciara Brady 1 00:13:35
Crusaders AC runner
39 Ellen Walsh 00:14:23 (4)
Full results here: https://rahenyshamrock.ie/?p=37120
Burtonport Festival 5k (130)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Ferry 1 00:15:25
13 Helen McCready 1 00:18:13
Crusaders AC runner
27 David O’Donnell 00:20:25 (PB)
Full results here: https://www.facebook.com/p/North-West-Chip-Timing-61555717735585/
Keash King of the Hill 10k (725)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Killian Mooney 1 00:32:00
11 Valeriia Petrova 1 00:42:50
Crusaders AC runners
6 Shane Egan 00:38:38
7 Patrick Gaynor 00:39:14
Full results here: https://my.raceresult.com/412463/#1_2EB1FB
Keash King of the Hill 5k (51)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Aherne 1 00:19:27
6 Laurie Douglas 1 00:22:33
Crusaders AC runner
13 Ellen Walsh 00:24:08 (5)
Full results here: https://my.raceresult.com/412463/#2_975A90
Kilkee Half marathon (1216)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jake O’Regan 1 01:09:30
13 Mary Gough 1 01:23:03
Crusaders AC runners
4 Ashley Hayes 01:19:24
68 Louise O’Riordan 01:33:21 (PB) (7)
86 Eamon MacFhionnlaoich 01:35:28
208 James Beary 01:41:33
280 Matthew Dundon 01:45:50
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/run_kilkee_half_marathon__10km/6325/results?class=half%20marathon
IMRA Carnavaddy 10k (108)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 James Millar 1 00:51:56
26 Anna-May Woods 1 01:08:09
Crusaders AC runner
11 Donatas Jocius 00:58:00
Full results here: https://imra.ie/events/results?id=2850
IMRA Slieve Bawn 8k (34)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Declan Brennan 1 00:32:26
13 Donna Gallagher 1 00:39:36
Crusaders AC runner
20 Kevin Lambe 00:43:30
Full results here: https://imra.ie/events/results?id=2823
Dungloe Parkrun (66) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Charlie O’Donnell 1 00:19:07
3 Sarah Hudak 1 00:19:43
Crusaders AC runner
10 David O’Donnell 00:22:56
Narin Beach Parkrun (61) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Eimear Marie English 1 00:21:36
2 Ewan Campbell 1 00:21:57
Crusaders AC runner
6 Paul F. Kelly 00:24:42
Ballincollig Parkrun (306)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Matthew Cooke 1 00:18:40
23 Caitriona McGettigan 1 00:21:35
Crusaders AC runner
124 Helena O’Keeffe 00:27:50 (24)
Ballymount Parkrun (189)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Valentine 1 00:18:41
23 Rosie Lenehan 1 00:23:43
Crusaders AC runners
32 Aoife McCarthy 00:24:43 (3)
69 Carina Davidson 00:28:37 (15)
96 Máirín Shine 00:30:57 (28)
107 Lisa Shine 00:32:01 (37)
Shanganagh Parkrun (285)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Dylan Nazareth 1 00:16:30
4 Eleanor Foot 1 00:19:24
Crusaders AC runners
2 Derek Lawlor 00:18:25
192 Mairead Cashman 00:31:03 (67)
194 Órlaith de Burca 00:31:06 (69)
Poolbeg Parkrun (262)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Denis Buckley 1 00:17:30
13 Mia Goddard 1 00:19:31
Crusaders AC runners
5 Stephen Hurley 00:18:05
7 Joe Murphy 00:18:33
17 Mustaf Ahmed 00:20:07
35 Daniel Littlewood 00:21:36
77 Russell Murphy 00:25:23
80 Imogen Guinness 00:25:38 (11)
106 Sharon Woods 00:27:03 (23)
169 Kevin Kenny 00:29:42
171 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:48 (59)
230 Cynthia Perucca 00:34:14 (96)
233 Edwina Hogan 00:34:23 (99)
262 Tara Murphy 00:59:14
St. Anne’s Parkrun (490)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Aidan Jones 1 00:17:39
12 Rachel McFadden 1 00:19:32
Crusaders AC runners
6 Peter O’Toole 00:18:51
11 Michael O’Shea 00:19:12
130 Grainne Regan 00:25:30 (17)
Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (252)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 David Carrasco Coquillat 1 00:17:07
20 Elaine Morrissey 1 00:21:00
Crusaders AC runner
168 Áine Crotty 00:31:17 (46)
Fairview Parkrun (194) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Koffi Kpoglo 1 00:18:52
24 April Dunne 1 00:24:53
Crusaders AC runners
24 April Dunne 00:24:53 (1)
52 Fanny Trébouet 00:28:14 (7)
Marlay Parkrun (534) 
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Fionnán Keogh 1 00:17:20
22 Niamh Keegan 1 00:20:28
Crusaders AC runners
7 Alban Coghlan 00:18:44
8 Paul Flynn 00:18:46
15 Killian Barry 00:19:47
41 Myles Nolan 00:21:51
Donabate Parkrun (242)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Hill 1 00:17:05
16 Geraldine McHale 1 00:21:49
Crusaders AC runner
30 Brendan Glynn 00:23:04
Bushy Parkrun (247)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Ben Cocker 1 00:18:51
7 Megan Walls 1 00:20:21
Crusaders AC runners
5 Kev Moore 00:20:01
25 Mary Donnelly 00:22:54 (2)
Malahide Parkrun (385)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Niall Baragwanath 1 00:16:17
10 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:36
Crusaders AC runner
42 Kabir Sala 00:21:30

Ellen Walsh (1216), Shane Egan (877) and Paddy Gaynor (889)

Aitor Arribas Velasco

Aitor Arribas Velasco