Winning ways

23/2/2025

Luke Timlin

Weather-wise, Saturday was the better of the two days this weekend, despite the strong winds. But it did have the glorious sunshine. Of course, this was of no benefit or concern to those many Crusaders who took part in the National Senior Indoors Championships over the weekend in the NIA in Abbotstown, which is where we start this week’s report.

Of note, our sprints coach, Steven Colvert, managed to have representation in 7 of the 9 heats of the men’s 60m sprint, as well as decent participation in other events too. This will have been extremely helpful to the development of our younger sprinters. Indeed, the club can be proud of a medal in one of the events, the men’s 200m.

On the first day, Luke Timlin had to negotiate a heat (the 2nd) of the 200m where, having a great draw in lane 6, he placed 1st in 21.75. This allowed him a reasonable draw of lane 5 in the following final, where he was able to take the bronze medal, finishing in 21.76. Many congrats to him. Andrew Hooke also took part in the event, running in heat 3 of the first round. From lane 4 he placed 3rd in 24.10, but unfortunately this was not enough to qualify for the final.

The 200m is not often run, because the banking of the 200m track can favour the outer lanes, and this may have been reflected in some of the women’s results in the first round. Running in lane 2 in heat 1, Eva Griffin placed 4th in 28.61. Also placing 4th, and as a consequence not progressing, were Nguilulu Rachel Messa, running in lane 3 in heat 2, and Karen Hughes, running in lane 3 in heat 3. Nguilulu ran 30.17, with Karen running 29.22.

In the women’s 400m, Irantzu Gerate Muro completed the distance in 58.41 for 4th place in heat 2 of the first round, but unfortunately this was enough to go forward.

Moving on to the 2nd day of the championships, Cillian Doherty did enough to progress to the semi-finals of the men’s 60m sprint, placing 3rd in 6.97 in heat 1 of the first round. Sean Owens did likewise in heat 9, placing 3rd in 7.03. In between we had several runners who performed well, but not enough to move forward into the semis. In heat 2, Victor Michalak placed 7th in 8.34, whilst Liam Beaumont ran 7.60 to place 6th in heat 3. Luc Culliton placed 6th in heat 4 in a time of 7.63, whilst Masahiro Watanabe took 5th spot in 7.47 in heat 5, ahead of Andrew Hooke who placed 6th in 7.53 in the same heat. Finally, Saad Ashraf placed 7th in heat 8 in a time of 7.38. In the semi-finals, Cillian placed 5th in the first heat in 6.94, whilst Sean placed 8th in heat 3 in 7.16. Neither, unfortunately, progressed.

Members may be interested to learn that Hugo Magee, who is currently being coached by Adam McMullen under the banner of Fast-Twitch AC, placed 4th in the final of the men’s 400m in a time of 48.46, having run 48.38 in the 2nd semi final and 50.22 to win his initial heat.

In quick succession, the BHAA held another XC event on Saturday morning, following last Sunday’s race. This time it was the turn of the Central Bank to sponsor the race, held over 6k in Glenshane Park near Tallaght. We had at least 9 athletes from the club take part in the event, with Clare Sullivan once again winning the women’s race, placing 21st overall in a field of 97.

Ahead of Clare came T.J. Bourke who placed 14th and 1st M50 in 24:48, and then followed by Sean Murphy (30th in 27:09), Neil Brown (53rd in 29:45), Karl Walsh (55th in 29:53), Kate Murray (58th and 11th female finisher in 30:44), Robbie Moore (60th in 30:52), Chris Bannon (77th in 33:17) and Ailish Hassett (80th and 19th in 33:54).

Now, onto the roads. On Saturday morning we had a few of our members take part in two of the events organised on behalf of the Wicklow Hospice. On a hilly course, Julie McGrath distinguished herself by winning the women’s race in the half marathon, with Dee Lawlor placing 2nd overall in a field of 396. Dee ran 82:41, whilst Julie was not far behind in 6th place overall, running a super time of 86:50. They were followed by David Dempsey (62nd in 1:41:17), Charles Cartledge (122nd in 1:49:05), Phil Sykes (138th in 1:51:10) and Djinn Von Noorden (315th and 111th in 2:09:28. Then, Carina Davidson ran in the 10k alongside 525 other participants. Carina placed 226th and 92nd in 59:18.

On Sunday morning, Orla Walsh and Sean Brady joined a field of 334 in the Duleek and District 5k, where, in placing 19th overall, she won the women’s race in a great time of 18:21, considering the windy conditions on a course that was slightly uphill to halfway before a downhill finish. Ahead of the Bologna marathon next weekend, Sean Brady treated the race as a tempo run and placed around 92nd in 22:11.

Further afield on the same day, we had four excellent results in the Seville marathon. In benign, not too warm until the end (21 degrees), conditions, with a cooling breeze, club ladies captain Kathryn Gibbons ran a PB time of 3:02:59 with a positive split of about 2 minutes, whilst Gerard Moore ran 3:09:01 with a similar positive split. Toby Benham also ran a PB time, of 2:48:32 with pretty even splits. Despite having to stop at one point, Florian Mormont still managed to achieve a PB result of 3:41:55. On the same day, we had 4 runners take part in the Napoli Half marathon and marathon relay. Mairead Cashman and Philip Matthews ran in the relay with colleagues from Dublin City Council, whilst Louise O’Riordan and Enda Currid ran in the half marathon which was largely flat along the coast, but with a drag in the last 2k in a tunnel. Louise ran in 1:43, whilst Enda managed to complete the distance in 89 minutes.

With the sunshine of Saturday morning, participation numbers were high in parkruns. Again, Poolbeg was well attended by Crusaders, but we also had a decent turnout elsewhere.

We had podium finishes in several events. Gill Earley placed 14th and 3rd in 21:20 in the 161-strong field in Naas, whilst Paul O’Hara placed 2nd in 18:51 alongside 137 other runners in Castlebar. Kathryn Tomkins (née Sweeney) placed 10th and 2nd in 22:19 in the 98-strong field in her native Omagh, whilst Mary Donnelly also placed 2nd (26th overall) in 22:04 in Bushy Park. In a field of 256, Kev Moore also ran, where he placed 10th in 20:27. John O’Connell completed the podium results by placing 3rd in Claremorris. In a field of 115, John ran 19:53.

Emer Kenny joined 127 other participants in Father Collins Park where she placed 49th and 8th in 26:12, whilst Irene Gorman joined Paul F. Kelly (who paced the 25 minutes runners) and Aisling O’Riordan in St. Anne’s Raheny with its field of 594. Irene placed 66th and 7th in 22:02, followed by Paul who ran 24:47 for 150th spot and Aisling who placed 299th and 83rd in 28:44. Meanwhile, Garret Connolly and Will Holton joined 193 other runners in Fairview, where Garret placed 16th in 22:08 followed by Will (18th in 22:33). Lorraine McMahon ran with 164 other participants in Tramore, where she placed 81st and 28th in 29:12, whilst, in Donabate, Brendan Glynn recorded a time of 30:07 for 105th place in a field of 173.

In Malahide, with its field of 326, Aoife Cowhie crossed the line in 114th and 17th in 25:28, whilst Martina White ran a time of 31:14 for 58th and 18th in the 96-strong field in Lees Road, Ennis. Áine Crotty joined 94 other runners in Coole, where she placed 78th and 37th in 35:24, whilst Barry O’Neill took 106th spot in 26:15 in the 310-strong field in Midleton Greenway.

Finally, we had an enormous contingent of at least 25 runners in Poolbeg which enjoyed a large field of 277. The group was led home by Kenan Furlong in 6th place (18:18) and he was followed by James Sherry (14th in 19:25), Kabir Sala (19th in 20:23), Zlatko Kulic (39th in 22:02), Franky Keane (43rd in 22:28), Sharon woods (67th and 7th in 23:51), just ahead of Luz Estevan (68th and 8th in 23:56), Bo Chicoine (69th in 23:57) and Josie Ward (72nd and 10th in 24:02). Next came John Lohan (76th in 24:16) and he was followed by Fiona Bane (84th and 13th in 24:40) and Tanja Narancic (91st and 14th in 24:55). Further back came Cliodhna O’Reilly (130th and 34th in 27:36), followed by Tara Murphy (133rd and 37th in 27:53), with Fanny Trébouet (147th and 42nd in 28:25) finishing alongside Orla Walsh (148th and 43rd in the same time), Lisa Branigan (149th and 44th in 28:26) and Olwyn Dunne (150th and 45th in 28:27).

Gregoire Marnotte was next (153rd in 28:30), followed by Kevin Kenny (168th in 29:00), Máirín Shine (193rd and 70th in 29:59), Ryan Hoey (194th in 30:02), Fiona Shine (215th and 84th in 31:31) alongside Lisa Shine (216th and 85th in 31:32). Linda Walsh (243rd and 98th in 33:30) completed the contingent.

BHAA Central Bank 6k XC (97)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Doran 1 00:21:29
21 Clare Sullivan 1 00:25:41
Crusaders AC runners
14 T.J. Bourke 00:24:48
21 Clare Sullivan 00:25:41 (1)
30 Sean Murphy 00:27:09
53 Neil Brown 00:29:45
55 Karl Walsh 00:29:53
58 Kate Murray 00:30:44 (11)
60 Robbie Moore 00:30:52
77 Chris Bannon 00:33:17
80 Ailish Hassett 00:33:54 (19)
Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/CBOI_6k_2025_Results.pdf
Wicklow Hospice 10k (526)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Ben Kinsella 1 00:35:27
8 Grace Sweeney 1 00:41:24
Crusaders AC runner
226 Carina Davidson 00:59:18
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/wicklow_hospice_half_marathon_and_10k_2025/5537/results
Wicklow Hospice Half Marathon (396)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime
1 Jason Reilly 1 01:17: 08
6 Julie McGrath 1 01:26:50
Crusaders AC runners
2 Dee Lawlor 01:22:41
6 Julie McGrath 01:26:50 (1)
62 David Dempsey 01:41:17
122 Charles Cartledge 01:49:05
138 Phil Sykes 01:51:10
315 Djinn Von Noorden 02:09:28 (111)
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/wicklow_hospice_half_marathon_and_10k_2025/5537/results
Duleek and District 5k (334)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Sean Doran 1 00:15:35
19 Orla Walsh 1 00:18:21
Crusaders AC runners
19 Orla Walsh 00:18:21 (1)
92 Sean Brady 00:22:11
Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/duleek__district_ac_5k_/5622/results
Bushy Park Parkrun (256)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cian Buckley 1 00:19:05
20 Katrina Hamilton 1 00:21:06
Crusaders AC runners
10 Kev Moore 00:20:27
26 Mary Donnelly 00:22:04 (2)
Father Collins Parkrun (128)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Peter Fenyvesi 1 00:18:26
13 Carla Moran 1 00:21:26
Crusaders AC runner
49 Emer Kenny 00:26:12 (8)
Omagh Parkrun (98)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Nick Campbell 1 00:18:22
7 Aideen Casey 1 00:21:30
Crusaders AC runner
10 Kathryn Sweeney 00:22:19 (2)
Donabate Parkrun (173)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Colm O’Brien 1 00:18:50
17 Ramune Zolbiene 1 00:22:30
Crusaders AC runner
105 Brendan Glynn 00:30:07
Poolbeg Parkrun (277)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Kieran Halsey 1 00:17:27
16 Laura Behan 1 00:19:30
Crusaders AC runners
6 Kenan Furlong 00:18:18
14 James Sherry 00:19:25
19 Kabir Sala 00:20:03
39 Zlatko Kulic 00:22:02
43 Franky Keane 00:22:28
67 Sharon Woods 00:23:51 (7)
68 Luz Estevan 00:23:56 (8)
69 Bo Chicoine 00:23:57
72 Josie Ward 00:24:02 (10)
76 John Lohan 00:24:16
84 Fiona Bane 00:24:40 (13)
91 Tanja Narancic 00:24:55 (14)
130 Cliodhna O’Reilly 00:27:36 (34)
133 Tara Murphy 00:27:53 (37)
147 Fanny Trébouet 00:28:25 (42)
148 Orla Walsh 00:28:25 (43)
149 Lisa Branigan 00:28:26 (44)
150 Olwyn Dunne 00:28:27 (45)
153 Gregoire Marnotte 00:28:30
168 Kevin Kenny 00:29:00
193 Máirín Shine 00:29:59 (70)
194 Ryan Hoey 00:30:02
215 Fiona Shine 00:31:31 (84)
216 Lisa Shine 00:31:32 (85)
243 Linda Walsh 00:33:30 (98)
Coole Parkrun (95)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Brian Sheedy 1 00:18:35
3 Ava Gallagher 1 00:20:27
Crusaders AC runner
78 Áine Crotty 00:35:24 (37)
Midleton Greenway Parkrun (310)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Anthony Mannix 1 00:16:15
20 Irene Eighan 1 00:20:11
Crusaders AC runner
106 Barry O’Neill 00:26:15
St. Anne’s Parkrun (594)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Robert Lea 1 00:17:08
29 Aoibhín O’Connor 1 00:20:17
Crusaders AC runners
66 Irene Gorman 00:22:02 (7)
150 Paul F. Kelly 00:24;47
299 Aisling O’Riordan 00:28:44 (83)
Claremorris Parkrun (115)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Tom Forde 1 00:18:07
21 Rita Kilgannon 1 00:23:57
Crusaders AC runner
3 John O’Donnell 00:19:53
Malahide Parkrun (326)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Thomas Collins 1 00:16:50
10 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:51
Crusaders AC runner
114 Aoife Cowhie 00:25:28 (17)
Naas Parkrun (161)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Cian Connolly 1 00:16:49
5 Iris McCartan 1 00:18:55
Crusaders AC runner
14 Gillian Earley 00:21:20 (3)
Castlebar Parkrun (138)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Ben Gumbrell 1 00:18:27
11 Colette Tuohy 1 00:21:48
Crusaders AC runner
2 Paul O’Hara 00:18:51
Lees Road Parkrun (96)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
2 Thomas Garrahy 1 00:18:54
16 Dympna O’Dwyer 1 00:22:39
Crusaders AC runner
58 Martina White 00:31:14 (18)
Tramore Parkrun (165)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 T-Jay Flanagan 1 00:17:59
10 Ruth Comerford 1 00:21:01
Crusaders AC runner
81 Lorraine McMahon 00:29:12
Fairview Parkrun (195)
Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime
1 Jamie Rutherford 1 00:17:55
13 Ciara Burridge 1 00:21:44
Crusaders AC runners
16 Garret Connolly 00:22:08
18 Will Holton 00:22:33