Interested in joining an athletics / running club but not sure if it would be for you?...
Our open day is your opportunity to find out. All standards will be catered for, from beginners to regular racers. Join us for our open day on May 15th come along and try out a session or just have a look round at our facilities. It starts at 7.30pm, meet us at the reception of Irishtown stadium and we will talk you through the night. We will have refreshments available after the session and coaches on hand to answer all your questions. We look forward to seeing you there! Athletes took full advantage of the long weekend to take part in the events on offer. The track season and field season is now well underway and there are still a good few long distance road races taking place. We start with Saturday’s IMC meet that took place in the Morton Stadium in Santry. Crusaders were out in force, helping out Mike McGovern and Susan Walsh out and the whole afternoon went extremely smoothly and on time. Conditions were not great as it was on the cool side and there was a bit of a headwind coming off the bend onto the home straight for runners. Still, there were some good times recorded and some really exciting races, not least of which was the last 800m race of the afternoon involving British Olympic 4th place finalist, Alex Bell, and a strong Polish runner, Margarita Koczanowa. Alex took the win with a time of 2:01.374 to Margarita’s 2:01.380 as she fell at the line. We also had some Crusaders taking part in a few of the races, as well as the shot put. Henry griffin placed 5th in the 800m men’s G standard contest, with a time of 2:08.36. Later, Chris Russell recorded a PB time of 4:09.62 for 9th place in the men’s 1500m D standard race. We had two runners take part in the 1500m men’s E graded event, and they pulled and puished each other to the line. Patrick Conlon just managed to get past Enda Clarke in 3rd place in a PB time of 4:23.26, with Enda one place back in 4th in a time of 4:23.85. Conor Quinn was the only competitor to throw the 5kg shot, where he recorded a throw of 14.78m. Members may be interested to know that Mary Horgan, who now runs for UCD, placed 5th in the women’s 1500m A race in a time of 4:29.32. On Sunday, track and field athletes headed to UCD’s track for the first meet of the Dublin Graded fixtures. One of the highlights of the day, a sunny and warm one finally, was Clare Sullivan’s win in the women’s 3000m A+B graded race. It turned out to be the County championship and Clare won her gold medal in a time of 10:41.64. Then, in the C+D event, Amy O’Donoghue placed 2nd in a time of 14:52.68, a time affected by her recovering from a midweek cold. Amy McGuinness ran in the 800m grade C race, taking 2nd place in 2:29.75, and being awarded the bronze medal in the Dublin Championships, a great start to the season. Members may be interested to learn that Rhianna McCarthy, running now for UCD, took 3rd spot in the women’s A graded 100m in a time of 12.21. Turning to the men, we had runners in several 100m events. In the grade A round 1, 3rd heat, Hugo Magee placed 3rd in 10.99 and then going on to win the 2nd heat of round 2 in 10.81. Meanwhile, Luke Timlin crossed the line in 11.08 to place 2nd in the 1st heat of round 1 of the B graded event, going on to place 2nd again in the first heat of round 2 in a time of 11.00. Finally, Cillian Doherty won both races in the grade C 100m, in times of 11.20 and 11.22. The next series of races for the men were the 3000m, where in the A graded race Andrea Rondina finished in 9th place in 9:03.10 and where for some reason there were no results posted for the B race in which we had at least 4, maybe 5, runners. When the results are posted, the report will be updated. What we do know, from a couple of the runners themselves is that Enda Clarke ran a PB time of 9.49, whilst Brian Regan may have run 10.03. Men’s captain Joe McDermott also competed in the race, along with Jan Manschot. Suffering slightly from a cold, Brendan Glynn placed 8th in 14:18.79 in the D grade event. The final track results come from the men’s 800m, where, in heat 2, Paul E. Kelly took 9th place in the grade D event in a time of 3:23.85, whilst, in heat 3, Karl Fitzmaurice ran 2:22.50 for 7th place in the same grade. In the field Shane Cosgrave placed 4th in the hammer with a throw of 33.03m, whilst Conor Quinn won the shot put with his 4th throw of 6 to record a distance of 15.0m, followed by Shane Lynch who took 3rd spot with a throw of 12.63m (from his second throw). On the roads this week, there was a lot of action in Limerick around the races that traditionally occur during the festival there to celebrate the bank holiday weekend. In hot conditions on Sunday on a hilly course we had at least 3 runners in the full marathon. Alongside 1,065 other runners, Robert Browne placed 11th in a great time of 2:47:24. Rob was followed by Kenan Furlong who managed to record pretty even splits to achieve a time of 2:59:46 and then by Garret Connolly (72nd in a PB time of 3:05:38), improving his marathon time by about 5 minutes and qualifying him for entry into Boston next year, despite finding the last 10k extremely challenging. Then, in the field of nearly 1400 in the half marathon we had at least 8 Crusaders take part. They were led across the line by Kevin Kavanagh, another runner to record a PB, placing 16th in 78:19. Kevin was followed by John Fahy (28th in 81:16, possibly quite close to a PB time). John was followed by Limerick native Paul Reidy who found the second half extremely tough as he returns from recent injury (92nd in 88:37) and then by Kev Moore (164th in 91:47). Further back came another Limerick local, Luke Haran, who placed 408th in 1:42:42 who finished just ahead of Mary Donnelly (523rd overall and 69th female finisher in 1:43:21), with Eoghan Kerins a few minutes behind them (768th in 1:46:19). The contingent was completed by Aitor Arribas Velasco who ran 1:55:52 for 1,330th place. Also, in Ireland on Sunday, Sean Brady joined a field of 883 finishers in the Drogheda 10k. On a hilly course that required an early climb but also a helpful downhill halfway through, Sean reported that conditions were warm for the race, but that he was satisfied with his pacing to record a super 43:31 and 89th spot. Aoife Kelly reported that she completed her longest run of the year to date, achieving a distance of 16.75k in a time of about 98 minutes as she was caught at that point by the chasing car in the Wings for Life World Run that took place around Raheny and Clontarf on Sunday. Lukasz Batruch ran as a pacer in the same event, but in Zug, in Switzerland, managing to get to 30k in 2:25:00. Then, on Bank Holiday Monday, ladies' captain Kathryn Gibbons took part in a race in her native Donegal, the North West 10k. In a field of 993 finishers, Kathryn placed 46th overall and 5th female finisher in a time of 40:21. The course was flat for the most part with a short climb and descent in the middle of about 20m and involved one clockwise and two ant-clockwise loops of Letterkenny. Further afield, we had runners in Spain, Switzerland and Denmark for full and half marathons. Josie Ward ran in the Geneva marathon where on an undulating course and in increasing warm temperatures she recorded a super PB time of 3:45:25. Further west, Joanne Carey ran in the Estepona Half marathon in Malaga in Spain where she recorded a time of 1:42:57 for 142nd overall out of 490 runners and 14th female finisher. Finally, we had two runners take part in the Copenhagen marathon Again, in warm conditions, but on a flat course, Conor Macguinness, in his second marathon in 3 weeks (Boston being the first of the two), finished in an excellent time of 3:02:06, possibly even a PB, ahead of Michael Judge, who ran 3:26:31 on the back of limited training. There was another midweek race last week in the mountains. This time it was an 8.5k run over Scarr in Wicklow. The course involved a climb of 410m on difficult terrain and attracted a field of 185 runners, of whom at least half a dozen were Crusaders. In the Leinster League event, Warren Swords placed 8th in a time of 36:01 and he was followed by Becky Quinn who placed 23rd overall and 2nd in the ladies’ race in a time of 40:12. Becky was followed by Brian McGuckin (65th in 45:28) and then by Ian Clifford (102nd in 49:09), Gavan Doherty (115th in 51:22) and by Berndt Heim (180th in 71:21). We had the usual smattering of podium places in parkruns on Saturday morning. Peter O’Toole led the field of 465 home in St. Anne’s Raheny in a time of 17:32. He was joined in the event by Emer Kenny who placed 149th and 34th in 26:18. Ciara Regan was also a first finisher, this time in Poolbeg, where she placed 12th overall in a field of 193. Ahead of her came John Mulvihill in 2nd place (17:53) and Shane Egan (4th in 18:42). Then Ciara was followed by Adrian Groarke (18th in 20:36), Sharon Woods (43rd and 5th in 23:41), John Lohan (49th in 24:00), Kevin Kenny (67th in 24:47), Kenan Furlong (69th in 24:48), Franky Keane (74th in 25:07), Tanja Narancic (77th and 15th in 25:30), Cynthia Perucca (161st and 569th in 32:58) and Niamh Trihy and Tara Murphy (167th and 168th and 74th and 75th in the same time of 35:36). Michael O’Conor was a first finisher in Falcarragh, where technically he placed 2nd in a time of 20:09 alongside 100 other runners. Caroline Crowley returned to winning form, 4 months after having her second child, placing 8th overall in 21:01 in the 212-strong field in Donabate. Brendan Glynn also ran in the event, placing 49th in 26:06. Karl Walsh appeared again on the podium this week, placing 2nd in 18:05 in Naas, alongside 162 other participants, whilst David Carter finished in 3rd place in the 179-strong field in Cabinteely, with a time of 20:21. Kate Murray ran in Brickfields where she placed 20th and 3rd in 24:50 in a field of 100, whilst Paul Cowhie also placed 3rd in Malahide, with its field of 296, in a time of 17:47. Ross Neill joined 362 other runners in Ormeau Park in Belfast, where he placed 2nd in 18:29, whilst Kev Moore placed 5th in 22:48 in the 65-strong field in Mungret. Elsewhere, Jonathan Claridge took 5th spot in the 123-strong field in Erris, in a time of 20:52, whilst Jill Nason crossed the finish line in 23rd and 8th places in the 40-strong field in Oughterard. Jill’s time was 33:57. Darina Scully paced the 31 minutes runners in River Valley, placing 61st and 15th in 30:59, alongside 119 other participants, whilst Mairead Cashman placed 40th and 15th in 30:44 in Glen River with its field of 74. In Shanganagh this week, Carina Davidson placed 244th and 105th in 38:30 in a field of 267, whilst Helena O’Keeffe placed 78th and 10th in 24:19 in the 217-strong field in Tramore Valley. Kevin Flynn ran a time of 39:07 in Porterstown for 94th position in a field of 117, whilst Colm Foley ran alongside 219 other runners in Griffeen Park, completing the distance in 24:33 for 60th spot. In the SETU Arena parkrun, Máirín, Lisa and Fiona Shine tailwalked for a field of 80 participants. Outside of Ireland, Orlaith de Burca took on Tokoinranta in Finland where, in a field of 98, she placed 71st and 25th in 35:03, whilst in Pollok in Glasgow, Aidan Hudner ran again in a field of 354, where he placed 80th in 24:41. Down in London, Thom Martini ran alongside 494 other runners in Highbury Fields where he placed 102nd in 22:56. Finally, in Dulwich, Richard Morrissey placed 13th in 17:13. The field there measured 666. Drogheda 10k (883) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aaron Hanlon 1 00:31:18 14 Fiona Roche 1 00:36:33 Crusaders AC runner 89 Sean Brady 00:43:31 Full results here: https://myrunresults.com/events/drogheda_10k_2024/4846/results Limerick Marathon (1068) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Tudor Mircea 1 02:24:11 28 Yuliya Tarasova 1 02:55:44 Crusaders AC runners 11 Robert Browne 02:47:24 56 Kenan Furlong 02:59:46 72 Garret Connolly 03:05:38 (PB) Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=4005#0_F170C4 Limerick Half marathon (1357) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 01:08:26 32 Sally Forristal 1 01:22:18 Crusaders AC runners 16 Kevin Kavanagh 01:18:19 (PB) 28 John Fahy 01:21:16 92 Paul Reidy 01:28:37 164 Kev Moore 01:31:47 408 Luke Haran 01:42:42 523 Mary Donnelly 01:43:21 (69) 768 Eoghan Kerins 01:46:19 1330 Aitor Arribas Velasco 01:55:52 Full results here: https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=4005#0_4446CB North West 10k (993) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mark Grennan 1 00:32:23 10 Noeleen Scanlan 1 00:36:07 Crusaders AC runner 46 Kathryn Gibbons 00:40:21 (5) Full results here: https://northwest10k.com/index.htm IMRA Scarr 8.5k (185) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Enda Cloake 1 00:31:49 18 Sarah Flanagan 1 00:39:06 Crusaders AC runners 8 Warren Swords 00:36:01 23 Becky Quinn 00:40:12 (2) 65 Brian McGuckin 00:45:28 102 Ian Clifford 00:49:09 115 Gavan Doherty 00:51:22 180 Berndt Heim 01:11:21 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2511/ Glen River Parkrun (74) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 David Jackson 1 00:18:28 4 Orla Rodgers 1 00:21:38 Crusaders AC runner 40 Mairead Cashman 00:30:44 (15) Shanganagh Parkrun (267) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Burke 1 00:17:47 18 Suzanne Foot 1 00:20:54 Crusaders AC runner 244 Carina Davidson 00:38:30 (105) Mungret Parkrun (65) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Frank Ryan 1 00:17:48 26 Aisling Kelly 1 00:27:03 Crusaders AC runner 5 Kev Moore 00:22:48 Poolbeg Parkrun (193) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Malcolm O’Connell 1 00:17:45 12 Ciara Regan 1 00:19:55 Crusaders AC runners 2 John Mulvihill 00:17:53 4 Shane Egan 00:18:42 12 Ciara Regan 00:19:55 (1) 18 Adrian Groarke 00:20:36 43 Sharon Woods 00:23:41 (5) 49 John Lohan 00:24:00 67 Kevin Kenny 00:24:47 69 Kenan Furlong 00:24:48 74 Franky Keane 00:25:07 77 Tanja Narancic 00:25:30 (15) 161 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:58 (69) 167 Niamh Trihy 00:35:36 (74) 168 Tara Murphy 00:35:36 (75) SETU Arena Parkrun (80) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruairi Hogan 1 00:20:32 11 Meabh Counihan 1 00:24:28 Crusaders AC runners 74 Máirín Shine 00:47:46 (36) 75 Lisa Shine 00:48:42 (37) 76 Fiona Shine 00:48:43 (38) Naas Parkrun (163) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cian Connolly 1 00:18:03 6 Robyn Browne 1 00:19:38 Crusaders AC runner 2 Karl Walsh 00:18:05 Malahide Parkrun (296) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Baragwanath 1 00:17:32 7 Annette Kealy 1 00:18:39 Crusaders AC runner 3 Paul Cowhie 00:17:47 Griffeen Parkrun (220) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Greg Devereux 1 00:17:23 18 Shuang Shuang Wang 1 00:21:19 Crusaders AC runner 60 Colm Foley 00:24:33 Porterstown Parkrun (117) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Thomas Sherlock 1 00:16:58 13 Colleen Barrett 1 00:22:09 Crusaders AC runner 94 Kevin Flynn 00:39:07 Erris Parkrun (123) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruairi McDonnell 1 00:18:39 3 Kea Lavelle 1 00:20:05 Crusaders AC runner 5 Jonathan Claridge 00:20:52 River Valley Parkrun (120) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:17:59 9 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:03 Crusaders AC runner 61 Darina Scully 00:30:59 (15) Oughterard Parkrun (40) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cathal Curley 1 00:22:19 4 Aideen Summerville 1 00:25:34 Crusaders AC runner 23 Jill Nason 00:33:57 (8) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (217) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Charlie Gaffney 1 00:16:16 28 Pamela Barry 1 00:21:33 Crusaders AC runner 78 Helena O’Keeffe 00:24:19 (10) Falacarragh Parkrun (101) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Roseann Spence 1 00:19:32 2 Michael O’Conor 1 00:20:09 Crusaders AC runner 1 Michael O’Conor 00:20:09 Cabinteely Parkrun (179) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Venter 1 00:18:18 18 Jennelyn Villocino 1 00:23:54 Crusaders AC runner 3 David Carter 00:20:21 Donabate Parkrun (212) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Shane O’Farrell 1 00:17:27 8 Caroline Crowley 1 00:21:01 Crusaders AC runners 8 Caroline Crowley 00:21:01 (1) 49 Brendan Glynn 00:26:06 Ormeau Parkrun (363) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cory Fines 1 00:17:29 16 Rachel Morison 1 00:21:00 Crusaders AC runner 2 Ross Neill 00:18:29 Brickfields Parkrun (100) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stirling Green 1 00:17:11 6 Scarlett Kent 1 00:20:14 Crusaders AC runner 20 Kate Murray 00:24:50 (3) St. Anne’s Parkrun (465) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter O’Toole 1 00:17:32 9 Fiona Stack 1 00:18:46 Crusaders AC runners 1 Peter O’Toole 00:17:32 149 Emer Kenny 00:26:18 (34) One of the highlights of the year for the club is participation in the National Road Relays, which for as long as one can remember, have been hosted on pretty much the last Sunday in April by Raheny Shamrock around a well-known flat one-mile loop on the concrete roads bordering St. Anne’s Park and the Howth Road. The races, of which there were 5 distinct ones this year, never cease to produce exciting results and because of the deep quality fields in all the age categories it is phenomenally difficult to podium. Sunday afternoon in Raheny was at times warm and sunny and then, when the sun dipped behind the clouds, rather chilly. Conditions were, nevertheless, perfect for the races with little wind. Our marathoners in Hamburg on the hand had to contend with ever-rising heat which affected the results of all our runners there. We start with the National Road Relays and we had runners in 4 of the 5 events. First up were the masters O/35 women who raced alongside the O/50 women. There were 13 teams of 3 in the O/35 race and our team of Aoife Quigley (first leg of 1 mile), Clare Sullivan (second leg of 2 miles) and Nina Holmes (the anchor leg of 1 mile) acquitted themselves well. After an extremely strong start from Aoife (5:45) who was carrying a nasty cough and not in the best of health, Clare took over (running 11:43) and briefly put us into 3rd place. However, despite Nina’s excellent run (6:09) in her first relay, we had to settle for 6th place overall (23:36 total) as other clubs had put extremely strong runners on their last leg. Still, a super start to the afternoon. The masters O/35 men’s teams were next, with some new faces alongside veteran relayers running the same distances as the masters women. The team of Enda Clarke (5:05), John Mulvihill (11:00) and men’s club captain Joe McDermott (5:26) placed 9th in 21:31 in the 17-strong field, whilst our B team of Karl Fitzmaurice (5:25), Sean Brady (12:57) and Jan Manschot (5:30) placed 16th in 23:51. This year, perhaps for only the second time, there were enough O/50 men to have their own race, but we were not able to field a team. Maybe next year one hopes. So, the next race in which we had a strong interest was the senior women’s event, with 26 teams competing in a 3-person format and distance as the masters races. Our A team of Annie Hughes (5:37), ladies’ club captain Kathryn Gibbons (12:03) and Charlotte Myers (5:18) ran a super combined time of 22:56, placing 13th overall, followed by the B team of Rachael Yorke (5:52), newcomer Ioanna Politi (14:31) and Cría Dowling (6:34) performed creditably with a combined total of 26:56 for 26th place. The last event was the senior men’s relay. The race was conducted over 8 miles with 4 runners in each team and involved successive legs of 2 miles, 1 mile, 3 miles and 2 miles. It was quite a challenge for any squad and particularly for the runner on the 3rd leg with nearly the equivalent of a parkrun to complete. One of the more amusing vignettes of the day was the sight of Efrem Gidey, who ran the third leg for Clonliffe, starting his leg quite far back down the field, but finishing way out in front as he demonstrated the action of reeling in the Raheny runner ahead of him who was leading the field in the second mile of the leg. Inevitably, Clonliffe took away the gold medal with some ease largely as a consequence of Efrem's effort. We fielded one team in the senior men’s race and it was wonderful to watch the nearly metronomic times being recorded by the runners as they passed us on each occasion towards the finish line which had to be run through every mile. The clock above the gantry was fascinating to follow. The first leg was run by Chris Russell who recorded 10:14 for the two miles. He was followed by Brian Regan (one mile in 5:08), then Andrea Rondina with the really tough pacing job which he mastered with aplomb, with nearly identical splits for each mile (15:23 in total) and the effort was completed by Alex Ainsworth who, despite finding the second mile tough, still managed a creditable 10:15 finish. So, the team placed 17th out of 32 teams in 40:58 for the distance. Not a bad outcome at all and a baptism of fire for several of our athletes! We had at least 7 Crusaders, one of them an exile in Germany, running in the Hamburg marathon on Sunday morning. Although, the day started not too warm at about 13 degrees Celsius, the temperature soon climbed over the course of the race to about 19 degrees in the shade, certainly conditions which they were not used to. It is clear from the results that the going got really tough in the second half of the race. First across the line was John O’Donnell who, despite his training having been interrupted by injury, ran an excellent 3:02:31, which included a shuffle after 35k. Another runner coming off injury was Charles-Édouard Cattier, who ran 3:22:02, just behind Gerard Moore with a surprising PB (3:13:25) and Michael Reilly (3:22:52). Just behind Michael came Maeve Lochrie who surprised herself with a super 3:25:08 PB finish, despite little training and also having had to stop a couple of times during the race. The next finisher was Johannes Frederking who now lives in Hamburg (4:09:29), just ahead of Kevin Kenny (4:17:12). Earlier in the week, in Ireland, Tim O’Donnell ran on a fast counter-clockwise course around Bandon in his native Cork. The course, along country roads, is surely fast and flat with PB potential and, sure enough, in a field of 327, Tim ran a super PB time of 18:32 to place 34th. Then on Saturday morning we had two runners take part in the Coolock AC-organised race on the northside of Dublin in Darndale Park, the Another Way 5k. By all accounts, it was an excellent race, its third annual running. Mary and Lorraine Fitzsimons took part in the race, with Mary finishing in 91st place overall (15th female finisher) in 23:50, followed by sister Lorraine, 317th and 161st in 32:22. Also, over the weekend we had a runner take part in one of the four races on offer in Ballylinan, Co. Laois. In the half marathon there Daniel Farrell placed 39th out of 57 in a time of 2:02:17. Further afield, Clément Rincé, one of our French exiles in France, took part in an interclub 3000m steeplechase which he ran in a great time of 9:51. And Lukasz Batruch ran in the 20km de Lausanne in Switzerland, completing the event in 85:55. Meanwhile, one of our Australian exiles, Marty James, took part in the Ballarat marathon, west of Melbourne, which he completed in 3:11:31. Weekday racing in the mountains resumed last week with the traditional visit to the two Sugarloaf mountains in Co. Wicklow. In the 8.6k race with its 360m climb and a stage in the Leinster League, we had at least 4 runners. In a large field of 259, Warren Swords led the contingent home in 12th place in a time of 41:33. Warren was followed by Gavan Doherty (220th in 63:54), Regina Kelly (206th in 75:58) and Berndt Heim (244th in 77:25). The results below are displayed slightly out of sequence in places, but this reflects the IMRA website record of the event. The parkrunners were out in force on Saturday morning, enjoying the sunshine, even though it remains chilly for the time of year, more like March than April. As usual, our athletes did not disappoint in providing us with podium results, among them two first finishers. Before a mammoth bike ride, Karl Walsh ran in Westport where, in a field of 98, he led everyone home in 18:04. Meanwhile, back in Cabinteely, Dee Lawlor finished first ahead of 178 other runners in a time of 18:11. He was followed by Louise Dobbyn (50th overall and 6th female finisher in 25:42). Podium places were recorded by several other of our club-mates. Newcomer Mary Donnelly placed 31st and 2nd in a time of 23:12 in Bushy Park. Mary was joined in the field of 215 runners by another newcomer, Kev Moore (7th in 20:55), and Eoghan Corrigan (16th in 21:38). Again, out west, Áine Crotty placed 11th and 2nd in 23:14, followed by husband Cian Coughlan (15th in 23:15) in the 117-strong field in Sligo, whilst Áine Kenny took 13th and 3rd in 26:31 in Mountbellew Forest with its field of 35. By far our largest contingent ran in Shanaganagh, also recording podium finishes. In a field of 252, Alby Allan placed 2nd in 18:01, followed by David Carter (7th in 19:08), Emily Glen (22nd and 2nd in 20:58), Franky Keane (34th in 21:50), Tanja Narancic (58th and 6th in 23:39), Carina Davidson (171st and 55th in 30:27), then Máirín Shine (with a calf injury), Lisa Shine and Orlaith de Burca, tailwalking. Our second largest turnout of runners was not surprisingly in Poolbeg, albeit with slightly smaller numbers than usual among the 207-strong overall field. Jeanie Watson recorded a podium finish, placing 33rd overall and 3rd female finisher in a time of 22:38 and she was preceded by Stephen Hurley (11th in 19:54) and followed by Russell Murphy (56th in 24:15), Anna Hernick (125th and 52nd in 30:12), Kate Healy (135th and 57th in 30:54), Cynthia Perucca (171st and 78th in 33:38) and Mari Hansen (182nd and 84th in 35:56). Our final podium place went to Kate Murray in Mullingar, where, in a field of 104, she placed 17th and 3rd in 23:18. Elsewhere, Emiliano Sanchez took 9th spot in River Valley Park. In a field of 102 he ran 22:34, whilst, in Tramore Valley, Cork, Toby Benham placed 7th in 19:17 in a field of 246. Diarmuid Byrne joined 54 other runners in Tolka Valley Park, where he placed 5th in 21:20, whilst Luke Haran ran in Mungret in his native Limerick, where, in a field of 83, he placed 6th in 21:25. Maureen McGinley placed 46th and 15th in the 105-strong field in Tullow in a time of 29:06, whilst Mairead Cashman took 75th and 15th spots in Laytown Beach, where she ran 31:21. Enda Currid was our sole runner in the 627-strong field in Marlay Park, where he placed 19th in 19:54, whilst Andy Deuser also placed 19th in the 154-strong field in Fairview, where he ran 22:32. Emer Kenny ran in Father Collins Park alongside 155 other participants. Emer’s time was 26:14 and she placed 68th and 11th, whilst, in Donabate, Brendan Glynn joined a field of 205, where he placed 55th in 26:28. Our final home parkrun to be recorded was in Porterstown, where, in a field of 110, Kevin Flynn placed 85th in 37:06. Further afield, two of our intrepid marathoners in Germany ran the Alstervorland parkrun in Hamburg. In a field of 264, Kevin Kenny placed 79th in 26:07 and John O’Donnell followed him in 103rd place in a time of 27:49. Elsewhere, Richard Morrissey placed 9th in a time of 17:25 in the 636-strong field in Dulwich, whilst not too far away, Thom Martini, another of our exiles in the UK, placed 77th in 23:08 in the field of 492 in Brueton. Meanwhile, two of our Irish-resident clubmates also ran in London. David O’Donnell got to run in Wormwood Scrubs, where he placed 27th in 23:49 in a field of 97, whilst Kevin Fitzgibbon placed 27th in a field of 166 and in a time of 20:27 in the Lordship Recreation Ground parkrun. Finally, up in Scotland, John Reidy ran once again in Perth where, in a field of 325, he placed 24th in 21:38. Bandon 5k (327) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Gavin Kenny 1 00:15:34 10 Hannah Steeds 1 00:16:38 Crusaders AC runner 34 Tim O’Donnell 00:18:32 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/bandon_5k/5128/results Another Way 5k (523) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Stephen Butler 1 00:16:01 40 Chrissy Harford Crusaders AC runners 91 Mary Fitzsimons 00:23:50 (15) 317 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:32:22 (161) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/another_way_5k_2024/5154/results The Village Run Half marathon (57) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Stephen Conroy 1 01:09:53 10 Doireann Mullany 1 01:28:32 Crusaders AC runner 39 Daniel Farrell 02:02:17 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-village-run-2024/#3_917015 IMRA Belmont and Little Sugar Loaf 8.6k (259) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daire Finn 1 00:37:46 28 Sorcha Loughnane 1 00:45:10 Crusaders AC runners 12 Warren Swords 00:41:33 206 Regina Kelly 01:15:58 (57) 220 Gavan Doherty 01:03:56 244 Berndt Heim 01:17:25 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2509/ Laytown Beach Parkrun (115) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Koffi Kpoglo 1 00:18:41 18 Caroline Hynes 1 00:22:57 Crusaders AC runner 75 Mairead Cashman 00:31:21 (15) Shanganagh Parkrun (252) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nickolas Colyn 1 00:15:14 20 Sarah Baryga 1 00:20:45 Crusaders AC runners 2 Alby Allan 00:18:01 7 David Carter 00:19:08 9 Paul Campbell 00:19:13 22 Emily Glen 00:20:58 (2) 34 Franky Keane 00:21:50 58 Tanja Narancic 00:23:39 (6) 171 Carina Davidson 00:30:27 (35) 246 Máirín Shine 00:47:39 (104) 247 Lisa Shine 00:47:40 (105) 248 Orlaith de Burca 00:49:00 (106) Tolka Valley Parkrun (55) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Fay 1 00:20:07 14 Katarzyna Lee-Kocon 1 00:25:51 Crusaders AC runner 5 Diarmuid Byrne 00:21:20 Poolbeg Parkrun (207) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nelson Yarwood 1 00:17:54 25 Adrienne O’Beirne 1 00:21:46 Crusaders AC runners 11 Stephen Hurley 00:19:54 33 Jeanie Watson 00:22:38 (3) 56 Russell Murphy 00:24:15 125 Anna Hernick 00:30:12 (52) 135 Kate Healy 00:30:54 (57) 171 Cynthia Perucca 00:33:38 (78) 182 Mari Hansen 00:35:56 (84) Sligo Parkrun (117) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Kinsella 1 00:17:10 5 Ann-Marie Hodson 1 00:21:51 Crusaders AC runners 11 Áine Crotty 00:23:14 (2) 12 Cian Coughlan 00:23:15 Westport Parkrun (98) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Karl Walsh 1 00:18:04 18 Debs Burns 1 00:22:47 Crusaders AC runner 1 Karl Walsh 00:18:04 Marlay Parkrun (627) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry McCartin 1 00:17:52 30 Jennifer O’Sullivan 1 00:20:31 Crusaders AC runner 19 Enda Currid 00:19:54 Mungret Parkrun (83) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Lynn 1 00:19:16 16 Anna Delaney 1 00:24:06 Crusaders AC runner 26 Mairead Cashman 00:31:20 (3) Mullingar Parkrun (104) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oisin Quinn 1 00:18:51 10 Christina Griffith 1 00:22:24 Crusaders AC runner 17 Kate Murray 00:23:18 (3) Fairview Parkrun (154) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Patrick McDowell 1 00:18:43 20 Faye Kearney 1 00:22:39 Crusaders AC runner 19 Andy Deuser 00:22:32 River Valley Parkrun (102) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nicholas Roux 1 00:19:07 6 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:00 Crusaders AC runner 9 Emiliano Sanchez 00:22:34 Tullow Parkrun (105) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Arthur Hearns 1 00:19:13 5 Amy Stafford 1 00:21:25 Crusaders AC runner 46 Maureen McGinley 00:29:06 (15) Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (246) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Andrew Davies 1 00:16:30 23 Pamela Barry 1 00:21:36 Crusaders AC runner 7 Toby Benham 00:19:17 Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (35) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gerry McDonnell 1 00:21:08 8 Ruth Burke 1 00:25:29 Crusaders AC runner 13 Áine Kenny 00:26:31 (3) Cabinteely Parkrun (179) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Derek Lawlor 1 00:18:11 10 Malika Hammani 1 00:2:59 Crusaders AC runners 1 Derek Lawlor 00:18:11 50 Louise Dobbyn 00:25:42 (6) Donabate Parkrun (205) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Fintan Counihan 1 00:18:27 11 Geraldine McHale 1 00:21:50 Crusaders AC runner 55 Brendan Glynn 00:26:28 Porterstown Parkrun (110) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Mark Flanagan 1 00:20:15 3 Patricia McLoughlin 1 00:21:30 Crusaders AC runner 85 Kevin Flynn 00:37:06 Bushy Parkrun (215) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Cahill 1 00:18:20 26 Lisa Ryan 1 00:23:00 Crusaders AC runners 7 Kev Moore 00:20:55 16 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:38 31 Mary Donnelly 00:23:12 (2) We are all now wondering whether Spring has finally sprung, with warm conditions experienced in Ireland over the weekend. Such conditions, however, were not necessarily experienced elsewhere on Sunday, where we saw most of the action. We start with the Royal Canal Ultramarathon on Saturday morning which was won by Donatas Jocius. Donatas completed the 52k distance in a great time of 3:50:43. On a flat out-and-back course, the field measured 33 finishers. The next race in which we had a runner was the Maynooth 5k held on the flattish roads of Kildare on Sunday morning, where, in a field of 417, Alex Ainsworth recorded a super PB time of 16:07 for 2nd place. Then, further south, in the Model County, we had runners in Wexford for the 10k and half marathon races there, which took place in warm conditions, the races being challenging enough with their hills. In the 10k, in a field of 840, Kenan Furlong placed 8th in a time of 37:22. Kenan was our sole representative in that event. However, we had at least 9 Crusaders feature in the half. In a field of 1336 finishers, Rory Goldsmith led the contingent home in 14th place in a time of 82:59. Rory was followed by Ciara Lynch (115th and 12th female finisher in 96:12) and then by Kabir Sala (279th in 1:42:35), Ciara Black (436th and 76th in 1:53:25), Lydia Bigley (526th and 108th in 1:55:57), John Corish (639th in 1:57:09), Liam Pardoe (712th in 2:00:43), Tara Murphy (774th and 219th in 2:04:04) and Frank Renehan (848th in 2:06:49). We also had several runners in the half marathon as part of the Connemarathon series of races on Sunday. On a hilly course in warm conditions, Aaron Farrell led our contingent across the finish line in 3rd place in a field of 1,365 finishers. Aaron’s time was 88:57, and he was followed by Liam Morris (89th in 1:43:48), Graham Tucker (1:45:48), Darragh O’Brien (231st in 1:52:12) and Mark Browne (352nd in 1:57:38). Further afield, at least eight of our clubmates took part in the London marathon. Michael Kiley in the first half and Ger Forde in the second, supported Thurles’ visually-impaired athlete, Declan Ryan, to a 2:44:57 finish, whilst we had 5 other runners complete the full marathon. Kevin Fitzgibbon recorded another marathon PB with his super 2:38:53, an improvement of around 50 seconds, whilst Margaret Foley also recorded yet another PB, this time of around 12 minutes, in finishing in a brilliant 3:09:46. Mags was followed home by Seamus Moore, who ran a creditable 3:10:09, after an injury-impacted build-up, with Áine Kenny, in her 5th running of the London marathon, also recording an excellent 3:18:00 finish. Further back came one of our London-based exiles, Louise Van Wildermeersch, who ran a PB time of 3:38:55. Our final competitor was Kate Murray. Having completed the Tokyo marathon just over a month ago, Kate ran 4:37:35. Conditions were great at the start at around 6 degrees Celsius, but would have warmed up a little during the race. There was a bit of a northeasterly wind, but conditions can really be described as totally acceptable! On the other hand, Charles Cartledge and Djinn Von Noorden had to experience strong winds, horizontal rain, hail and snow in the chilly Zurich marathon on Sunday morning. Charles ran 4:06:57 and Djinn recorded a time of 4:29:20. The luck of the draw! Conditions appear to have improved later on in the day for the Zurich 10k, in which Lukasz Batruch recorded a time of 38:18, the first time he has broken 40 minutes for the distance. Elsewhere over the weekend, another of our exiles, Maurice Kelter, took part in yet another marathon down under. This time he ran in Newcastle, north of Sydney, where he placed 3rd in a time of 2:44:11. In Spain, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri, two of our Spanish exiles, ran in the Velez Malaga Half marathon, where they each placed 3rd too, Cristian recording a time of 79 minutes and Esther, 88 minutes. The sun brought out lots of parkrunners on Saturday morning and in several of the runs the ranks were swelled as a result. We maintained our tradition of securing podium placements, with Ross Neill leading the field of 227 home in Poolbeg. Ross ran 17:22 and was followed by Simon Kenny (6th in 18:50), Adrian Groarke (10th in 20:40), Caroline Crowley (20th overall and 2nd female finisher in 21:26), Franky Keane (40th in 23:45), Kevin Kenny right behind (41st in 23:46) with John Lohan a little further back (43rd in 23:50). Next came Fiona Bane (45th and 7th in 23:56), followed by James Bradshaw (48th in 24:14), Russell Murphy (58th in 24:27), Kenan Furlong (66th in 24;42) just ahead of Alby Allan who is nursing a slight (hopefully) injury (67th in 24:43), Josie Ward (78th and 12th in 25:11) as she prepares for the Geneva marathon. Tanja Narancic (98th and 18th in 27:07) was next, alongside Joe Dunne (99th in 27:08) and they were followed by Maureen McGinley (139th and 44th in 29:35) and Cynthia Perucca (169th and 64th in 32:37). Members may be interested to know that Anna Gallo’s father ran again in Poolbeg (102nd in 27:14). Like Ross and Caroline, Karl Walsh was another podium finisher. He ran in the 238-strong field in Naas where he placed 2nd in 18:12, whilst Mairead Cashman placed 26th and 3rd in Carlow Town in a time of 31:20, alongside 75 other runners. Our final podium-placer was John O’Donnell who got himself a decent shakeout in Shanganagh as he prepares for next week’s Hamburg marathon. John ran 18:29 in a field of 215, placing 3rd, and followed by Jill Nason (123rd and 49th in 29:56). Toby Benham placed 5th in Clonmel in a time of 22:36 in a field of 73, whilst Dale Whelehan joined 126 other participants in Glengarriff where he placed 7th in 21:04. Darina pushed her buggy round River Valley Park, placing 44th and 8th in a field of 113, and producing a time of 28:58. Then, in St. Anne’s, Eugene O’Neill placed 5th in a field of 498, in a time of 18:17. Eugene was followed by Phelim Murray and Cian Coughlan (together running 26:17 for 162nd and 163rd spots) and by Sarah Lyons and Áine Crotty (who together ran 31:35 for 347th and 348th overall, 142nd and 143rd female finishers). Maria Pertl was our lone runner in Tolka Valley Park, where, in a field of 62, she placed 48th and 16th in a time of 31:06, whilst Andy Deuser ran in Fairview, where, in a field of 191, he placed 20th in a time of 22:42. Thom Martini, one of our London exiles, ran 23:51 for 28th place in the field of 190 in Crane Park, whilst Phil Sykes took on the parkrun in Fulham Palace where he placed 191st in 24:09 in a field of 775. Also, Clare Sullivan took advantage of a trip to The Hague in the Netherlands by running in the Zuiderpark Den Haag parkrun, where, in a field of 134, she ran 18:55 for 4th place overall and 2nd female finisher. Finally, we had some good numbers in Shanganagh where Orlaith de Burca and Máirín Shine tailwalked and where Lisa Shine finished just ahead in 513th and 230th in a field of 526 and in a time of 49:42. Meanwhile, Fiona Shine placed 419th and 165th in 33:11, followed by Mari Hansen (453rd and 187th in 35:28) and Rhona McGrath (454th and 188th in 35:43), who was not too far behind Mari. Wexford 10k (840) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Davis Mahon 1 00:32:36 19 Grainne Brennan 1 00:41:30 Crusaders AC runner 8 Kenan Furlong 00:37:22 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/pettitts_supervalu_wexford_half_marathon__10km_2024/4931/results Maynooth 5k (417) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Adam Foy 1 00:16:02 5 Lisa Madden 1 00:16:52 Crusaders AC runner 2 Alex Ainsworth 00:16:07 (PB) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/maynooth-10k-5k-2024/#1_7336A4 Wexford Half marathon (1336) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Paul Doran 1 01:12:50 47 Natalee Heiser 1 01:27:35 Crusaders AC runners 14 Rory Goldsmith 01:22:59 115 Ciara Lynch 01:36:12 (12) 279 Kabir Sala 01:42:35 436 Ciara Black 01:53:25 (76) 526 Lydia Bigley 01:55:57 (108) 639 John Corish 01:57:09 712 Liam Pardoe 02:00:43 774 Tara Murphy 02:04:04 (219) 848 Frank Renehan 02:06:49 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/pettitts_supervalu_wexford_half_marathon__10km_2024/4931/results Connemarathon Half (1365) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Marc Augustin 1 01:14:58 9 Eimear O’Leary 1 01:31:11 Crusaders AC runners 3 Aaron Farrell 01:28:57 89 Liam Morris 01:43:48 122 Graham Tucker 01:45:48 231 Darragh O’Brien 01:52:12 352 Mark Browne 01:57:38 results here: https://www.connemarathon.com/results/ Royal Canal Longford Ultra (33) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Donatas Jocius 1 03:50:43 3 Deirdre Martin 1 04:01:37 Crusaders AC runner 1 Donatas Jocius 03:50:43 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/royal-canal-run-longford-2024/ Clonmel Parkrun (73) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Darragh Ryan 1 00:19:35 2 Orla Mulholland 1 00:21:14 Crusaders AC runner 5 Toby Benham 00:22:36 Shanganagh Parkrun (215) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paul McKenna 1 00:17:13 10 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:20:30 Crusaders AC runners 3 John O’Donnell 00:18:29 123 Jill Nason 00:29:56 (49) Tolka Valley Parkrun (62) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tyrone O’Neill Power 1 00:20:12 11 Tricia Gough 1 00:23:12 Crusaders AC runner 48 Maria Pertl 00:31:06 (16) Poolbeg Parkrun (227) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ross Neill 1 00:17:22 7 Lauren O’Sullivan 1 00:18:55 Crusaders AC runners 1 Ross Neill 00:17:22 6 Simon Kenny 00:18:50 10 Adrian Groarke 00:20:40 20 Caroline Crowley 00:21:26 (2) 40 Franky Keane 00:23:45 41 Kevin Kenny 00:23:46 43 John Lohan 00:23:50 45 Fiona Bane 00:23:56 (7) 48 James Bradshaw 00:24:14 58 Russell Murphy 00:24:27 66 Kenan Furlong 00:24:42 67 Alby Allan 00:24:43 78 Josie Ward 00:25:11 (12) 98 Tanja Narancic 00:27:07 (18) 99 Joe Dunne 00:27:08 139 Maureen McGinley 00:29:35 (44) 169 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:37 (64) St. Anne’s Parkrun (498) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel De Palol 1 00:16:32 10 Zoe Quinn 1 00:18:42 Crusaders AC runners 5 Eugene O’Neill 00:18:17 162 Phelim Murray 00:26:17 163 Cian Coughlan 00:26:17 347 Sarah Lyons 00:31:35 (142) 348 Áine Crotty 00:31:35 (143) Naas Parkrun (238) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Dave Courtney 1 00:18:09 5 Geraldine Moffat 1 00:19:14 Crusaders AC runner 2 Karl Walsh 00:18:12 Marlay Parkrun (526) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Meghan Ryan 1 00:16:48 2 Ethan Bramhill 1 00:16:48 Crusaders AC runners 419 Fiona Shine 00:33:11 (165) 453 Mari Hansen 00:35:28 (187) 454 Rhona McGrath 00:35:43 (188) 513 Lisa Shine 00:49:42 (230) 521 Orlaith de Burca 00:52:30 (235) 522 Máirín Shine 00:56:23 (236) Carlow Town Parkrun (76) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Graham Bourne 1 00:20:11 15 Kerrie Evans 1 00:25:22 Crusaders AC runner 26 Mairead Cashman 00:31:20 (3) Glengarriff Parkrun (127) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Bobby Tangney 1 00:18:52 22 Niamh Casey 1 00:23:42 Crusaders AC runner 7 Dale Whelehan 00:21:04 Fairview Parkrun (191) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paddy Murphy 1 00:18:46 27 Nóra Butler 1 00:23:12 Crusaders AC runner 20 Andy Deuser 00:22:42 River Valley Parkrun (113) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:18:29 5 Cecile Ollagnier 1 00:22:30 Crusaders AC runner 44 Darina Scully 00:28:58 (8) Publication of this week’s report has been slightly delayed in order to allow inclusion of the results of Monday’s running of the 128th Boston Marathon, in which we had 3 participants from the club (and they were joined by one of our exiles in Canada). The sunny conditions were described as perfect for the race, although, in honesty, they might have been considered a little warm for those of us who have trained throughout the Irish winter, at 11 degrees Celsius, rising to 17-18 degrees over the course of the race. There was a light tailwind, however, for the point-to-point event, which would have helped to create fast times, as long as the runners did not overheat. The other challenge is the fast downhill first half which gives a false sense of security and which will have hammered the quads in places, followed by hills in the second half. It's not an easy marathon and certainly nowhere near a PB course even with a tailwind! Gerard White set off in the first wave along with Ian Kinsella, who now resides in Toronto and who amazingly underwent major heart surgery only six months ago. They were joined in the second wave by Paul Campbell and Conor Macguinness. With only a 2 minutes positive split, Gerard managed to cross the line in a super 2:59:15. He was followed by Conor who ran a creditable 3:09:02 and then by Paul who found the second half tough but still managed an excellent 3:37:50. Slightly further back came Ian with 3:38:38, amazing given the circumstances of his run. On Saturday morning we had Crusaders participate in at least 3 events, with another running a marathon for charity on Irishtown track. Over in Co. Mayo, Jeanie Watson competed in the Westport Half marathon, where, in a field of 1,170 finishers, she recorded a PB time of 1:36:32 for 129th overall and 13th female finisher places, whilst in the 10k, Annie Hughes also recorded a PB in completing the distance in 41:03. Annie placed 11th and 4th in a field of 1,228 finishers. Congrats to them. Elsewhere, John Corish and Phil Sykes joined 166 other runners around the racecourse in Leopardstown for the Grocers Fun Run 10k. Phil ran 49:19, but his place appeared not to have registered, whilst John placed 56th in a time of 51:40. Derek Boland had intended to run in the Ibiza marathon on Saturday, but illness in the family curtailed his plans, so, as he was running for charity, he decided to undertake the challenge on his own on the track in Irishtown, completing the distance in a highly creditable 3:19:36. That was a major achievement! The Great Ireland [10k] Run took place in the Phoenix Park on Sunday morning. It used the same course as last year, but this year, was run properly, with the cones being moved to allow runners to cross the start line again after a couple of kilometres. So, this year, the race measured an accurate 10k, as opposed to the 8.5k (and the course run ibn reverse) last year. However, it was no longer the national 10k championships. In windyish conditions (a southwesterly breeze), the course included a long downhill down the Upper Glen Road, but then a challenging climb on the bend from below the hospital up on to the Acres. Otherwise, the course was largely flat and, as a result, produced a few PBs, among them for Rachael Yorke and Rory Goldsmith. There were at least 7 Crusaders in the large field in excess of 2,000 finishers. Our contingent was led home by Andrea Rondina (5th in 32:41) and followed by Paul Cowhie (15th overall and 1st M60 in 36:57) and Rory (20th in 37:17, a road PB). The three leading male Crusaders won the team competition involving 20 clubs. Congrats to them. Further back came Rachael, in a PB time of 42:15 for 122nd and 10th places, followed by Will Holton (217th in a time of 44:10), with Phelim Murray further back, having started towards the back of the field (42:06 for 266th place). Tom Gleeson completed the contingent, running 47:23 for 413th spot. On the same day, Luke Haran ran in the Michal Rejmer (Dooneen AC-organised) 10-miler down in his native Limerick, where, in a field of 214, he ran 74 minutes for 66th place. Further afield, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos and Esther Requena Ferri, two of our Spanish exiles and living in Malaga, ran in the Carrera Solidaria Mayoral 5k on the sea-front. On an out-and-back street course, Cristian ran the distance in 16:43 and Esther ran 19:01 for a place on the podium. Also, Daniel O’Mahony ran in the Reading Half marathon, pacing a friend, and finishing in a time of 1:57:46. The parkruns on Saturday morning were well attended and we enjoyed a decent representation in them with a couple of first finishers as usual. Preparing for next week’s London marathon, Kevin Fitzgibbon enjoyed a decent shakeout in Poolbeg where he led the field of 232 across the line in a time of 17:02. He was followed by Adrian Groarke (19th in 20:58), Kevin Lambe (25th in 21:38), Charles Cartledge, in training for next week’s Zurich marathon (27th in 22:00), Josie Ward (75th and 7th female finisher in 24:49), Franky Keane, just behind (76th in 24:50), Christina Campbell (90th and 17th in 26:07), Djinn Von Noorden, also getting ready for Zurich (108th and 27th in 27:13), Aisling O’Riordan (116th and 32nd in 27:31), Cynthia Perucca (180th and 72nd in 32:29), Niamh Trihy and Tara Murphy (196th and 79th and 197th and 80th in 35:33), Andrea Talpo (221st in 45:44) and Kevin Kenny, tailwalking. Members may be interested to know that Anna Gallo’s father, Marco, on a visit from Italy, placed 99th in 26:50. Our other first finisher was Michael O’Conor, who ran in Brickfields, crossing the line first in a field of 104 and in a time of 18:17. Podium places went to Ross Neill (2nd in a time of 17:08 in a field of 488 in Ormeau Park, Belfast) and Karl Walsh (2nd in a field of 134 in a time of 20:11 in Naas). Toby Benham in Tramore Valley in a field of 239 and Maria Pertl in Tolka Valley with its field of 60, both tailwalked. Diarmuid Byrne also ran in Tolka Valley where he placed 16th and 30th in 25:59. Emer Kenny took 22nd and 6th places in a time of 24:34 in Father Collins Park with its field of 114, whilst Darina Scully ran 29:02 for 32nd and 12th places in the 95-strong field in River Valley Park. Mairead Cashman ran her 250th parkrun in Illaunmanagh where, in a field of 79, she placed 34th and 7th in 29:21. Paul F. and Aoife Kelly ran in Poppintree alongside 226 other runners, where Paul placed 32nd in 22:49 and Aoife came home in 73rd and 11th places in 27:18, whilst, in Marlay Park, Kate Murray took 151st and 28th spots in a field of 522 and in a time of 25:50. Meanwhile, Liam Lyster joined 31 other participants in Strokestown where he placed 13th in 31:16, whilst Eoghan Corrigan crossed the line in Kilcock in a time of 22:23 for 23rd place. The field there measured 189. In Fenit Greenway, Fiona Shine placed 43rd and 15th in 28:34, followed, in the field of 76, by Lisa Shine and Máirín Shine, tailwalking. In St. Anne’s Raheny, with its field of 482, Cian Coughlan placed 96th in 24:23, followed by Áine Crotty (114th and 29th in 24:53), Cría Dowling (313th and 129th in 31:07) and Louise O’Riordan (314th and 130th in 31:08), whilst, in Shanganagh, with its field of 229, Aoife Clarke finished in 132nd and 36th places in 29:27, followed by Carina Davidson (212th and 86th in 39:41) and Orlaith de Burca, tailwalking. Further afield, Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow where, in a field of 371, he placed 61st in 24:34, whilst Thom Martini placed 256th in 27:01 in a field of 626 in Gunnersbury Park in London, and Richard Morrissey placed 27th in 17:30 in the 778-strong field in Dulwich. Great Ireland Run 10k (2003) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Aaron Hanlon 1 00:31:10 36 Aisling O’Connor 1 00:38:16 Crusaders AC runners 5 Andrea Rondina 00:32:41 15 Paul Cowhie 00:36:57 20 Rory Goldsmith 00:37:17 (PB) 122 Rachael Yorke 00:42:15 (PB) (10) 217 Will Holton 00:44:10 266 Phelim Murray 00:42:06 413 Tom Gleeson 00:47:23 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/biofreeze_great_ireland_run_2024/4979/results Grocers Fun Run 10k (168) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Myles Gibbons 1 00:35:00 12 Siobhan Eviston 1 00:38:29 Crusaders AC runners XX Phil Sykes 00:49:19 56 John Corish 00:51:40 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/grocers-fun-run-dublin-2024/#1_7336A4 Westport Half marathon (1170) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Hugh Armstrong 1 01:06:24 6 Elizabeth Griffiths 1 01:13:38 Crusaders AC runner 129 Jeanie Watson 01:36:32 (PB) (13) Full results here: https://sportmaniacs.com/en/races/westport-marathon-24/661a8a44-fd50-4073-abfb-48c3ac1f0060/rankings Westport 10k (1228) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Regan 1 00:34:14 3 Ellen Moran 1 00:34:59 Crusaders AC runner 11 Annie Hughes 00:41:03 (PB) (4) Full results here: https://sportmaniacs.com/en/races/westport-marathon-24/661a8a47-92d8-40bc-87e0-4101ac1f1551/rankings Michal Rejmer Dooneen 10-mile road race (214) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 00:52:40 26 Breda Gaffney 1 01:06:02 Crusaders AC runner 66 Luke Haran 01:14:00 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/michal_rejmer_dooneen_10_mile_2024/5046/results Illanmanaugh Parkrun (79) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aidan Suleyman 1 00:17:25 16 Aoife Mullane 1 00:24:04 Crusaders AC runner 34 Mairead Cashman 00:29:21 (7) Shanganagh Parkrun (229) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Drew Donoghoe 1 00:16:49 11 Emily Feighan 1 00:20:57 Crusaders AC runners 132 Aoife Clarke 00:29:27 (36) 212 Carina Davidson 00:39:41 (86) 228 Orlaith de Burca 00:52:56 (100) Tolka Valley Parkrun (60) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Luke Townsend 1 00:17:48 11 Victoria Rooney 1 00:24:56 Crusaders AC runners 16 Diarmuid Byrne 00:25:59 59 Maria Pertl 00:49:52 (30) Poolbeg Parkrun ()232 Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Fitzgibbon 1 00:17:02 23 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:29 Crusaders AC runners 1 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:17:02 19 Adrian Groarke 00:20:58 25 Kevin Lambe 00:21:38 27 Charles Cartledge 00:22:00 75 Josie Ward 00:24:49 (7) 76 Franky Keane 00:24:50 90 Christina Campbell 00:26:07 (17) 108 Djinn Von Noorden 00:27:13 (27) 116 Aisling O’Riordan 00:27:31 (32) 180 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:29 (72) 196 Niamh Trihy 00:35:33 (79) 197 Tara Murphy 00:35:33 (80) 221 Andrea Talpo 00:45:44 231 Kevin Kenny 01:01:56 St. Anne’s Parkrun (482) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Caleb Long 1 00:18:05 2 Maria Ní Mhaolagain 1 00:18:19 Crusaders AC runners 96 Cian Coughlan 00:24:23 114 Áine Crotty 00:24:53 (29) 313 Cría Dowling 00:31:07 (129) 314 Louise O’Riordan 00:31:08 (130) Naas Parkrun (134) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Steven Byrne 1 00:18:04 10 Aoibheann O’Brien 1 00:20:11 Crusaders AC runner 2 Karl Walsh 00:20:11 Marlay Parkrun (522) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ethan Bramhill 1 00:17:37 6 Doireann Mullany 1 00:19:33 Crusaders AC runner 151 Kate Murray 00:25:50 (28) Poppintree Parkrun (228) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aaron Murray 1 00:17:46 25 Karen Slye 1 00:22:20 Crusaders AC runners 32 Paul F. Kelly 00:22:49 73 Aoife Kelly 00:27:18 (11) Fenit Greenway Parkrun (76) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Garoid Pierse 1 00:18:32 3 Abby Stephenson 1 00:20:06 Crusaders AC runners 43 Fiona Shine 00:28:34 (15) 73 Lisa Shine 00:48:08 (38) 74 Máirín Shine 00:48:16 (39) Father Collins Parkrun (114) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Anthony Brady 1 00:16:42 9 Andreea Bortas 1 00:22:35 Crusaders AC runner 22 Emer Kenny 00:24:34 (6) River Valley Parkrun (95) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Declan McGrath 1 00:21:18 12 Imelda Kavanagh 1 00:24:19 Crusaders AC runner 32 Darina Scully 00:29:02 (12) Brickfields Parkrun (104) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michael O’Conor 1 00:18:17 12 Stephanie Bergin 1 00:22:12 Crusaders AC runner 1 Michael O’Conor 00:18:17 Strokestown Parkrun (32) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Barry Lohan 1 00:20:26 9 Katie Daly 1 00:28:42 Crusaders AC runner 13 Liam Lyster 00:31:16 Royal Canal, Kilcock Parkrun (189) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alexander Wallace 1 00:16:48 8 Louise Reilly 1 00:19:31 Crusaders AC runner 23 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:23 Ormeau Parkrun (488) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Neill Weir 1 00:17:04 24 Georgina Garland 1 00:20:40 Crusaders AC runner 2 Ross Neill 00:17:08 Tramore Valley Parkrun (239) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alan O’Sullivan 1 00:18:10 12 Maeve Buckley 1 00:20:57 Crusaders AC runner 237 Toby Benham 00:51:32 You name a race location and the club was quite likely represented there this week. From Roscommon to Wexford and on to Paris, Berlin, Florence and Canberra and a few places in between. We start on Wednesday with Sean Brady running in a TCD 5k race on the grass of College Green. He thinks the race measured quite short (perhaps as much as 500m) with his 5th place time of 18:35, so he added an extra lap to get his watch to confirm 5k(!), but likely still ran sub-20 minutes. Then, on Friday evening Áine Kenny decided to run in the first race in a series of four 5k events in Roscommon. Alongside 130 other participants, Áine finished in 10th place overall, 3rd female across the line, in a time of 20:20. Storm Kathleen had a major impact on parkruns on Saturday morning, but, at least, several went ahead as did the BHAA DCC-sponsored 4-mile road race in St. Anne’s Raheny, which for much of the period leading up to its start, looked to be in jeopardy because of the proximity of the route to trees around the park. It attracted a larger field than usual, to include runners from the Lord Mayor’s current fitness initiative. At least 10 Crusaders joined the field of 181, and they were led home by Donatas Jocius in 4th place in a time of 23:34. Donatas was followed by Paul Cowhie (5th in 23:45 and 1st in his new M60 age category) and then by Karl Walsh who was also 1st in his M45 age category (7th overall in 24:01). Sean Murphy, who trains with us, was next in 12th place with a time of 25:33 and he was followed by the 4th Crusader home, Phelim Murray (15th in 26:15). Next came Robbie Moore (30th in 28:37) and he was followed by Neil Brown (32nd in 28:48), Tony Hackett (38th in 29:15) and Olwyn Dunne (46th overall, 7th female and 2nd F55) who had made a last-minute decision to race after her flight to watch son Jack’s Exeter Chiefs play in the European Cup was cancelled. Lorraine Fitzsimons (147th, 71st and 4th F60 in 44:16) and Faeed Faeedi (155th in 45:31) completed the contingent. Also on Saturday, Shane Egan took 23rd place in the 562-strong field in the Bear Races Dundalk Half marathon in a time of 88:48 in extremely windy conditions, whilst, further afield, Ciarain Kelly took part in the Prague Half marathon, and, in warm conditions, he ran 80:39. On the same day, one of our exiles in Australia, Maurice Kelter, ran a PB in a wet and hilly Canberra marathon with a time of 2:41. Finally, Brandon Lai ran an ultra in Croatia (The Istria 100 Buzet organised by the group that organises the UTMB) and, over a distance of 110k, Brandon completed the challenge in 16:04:48. Then, on Sunday, Justin O'Connor took part in the Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10-miler, where, in a field of 828 runners, he finished in 355th place in a time of 84:41. Members may be interested to hear that Shane Collins, an ex-Crusader, ran 53:57 for 5th place. Also, on the same day, we had a large contingent in both the Paris Marathon and the Berlin Half marathon. In warm conditions on the continent (as in Prague the previous day), we had some excellent results. Toby Benham led the contingent home in Paris, finishing in 2:58:49. He was followed not too far behind by Rob Glascott, who, despite an interrupted training programme, still managed to record a great time of 2:59:46. Next came Paul Moloney, who really enjoyed the experience and who ran another excellent time of 3:07:14. Paul was followed by Brian Reilly, nursing a slight injury, who ran 3:21:52 and by Eva Kennedy who recorded a net time of 3:38:25 (a difference of nearly an hour from her guntime of 4:29:13!). The contingent was completed by Kevin Kenny (4:06:29), Thomas O’Dwyer (4:19:00) and Florian Mormont (4:46:41) who suffered severe leg cramps in the heat after 28k, but still managed to finish. We had a decent turnout too in the Berlin Half marathon, again in much higher temperatures than we are used to at this time of year in Ireland. Kevin Kavanagh crossed the line in a great time in the circumstances of 79:38. He was followed by Lukasz Batruch (90:54) and then by Luke Haran. Luke recorded a time of 1:43:44 and he was followed by Lydia Bigley (1:58:38), Tanja Narancic (1:59:32), Lieze Verberght (2:01:49), Joe Green (2:05:03) and by Fanny Trébouet (2:06:58). Elsewhere, Rachel Kelly recorded a 25-minute PB improvement in the Brighton marathon on Sunday, where she ran 5:18:22, whilst, in the Firenze Half marathon in Florence, Jeanie Watson ran 2:18:07. Further north, Sala Kabir ran in the Milan Marathon, where he finished in a time of 3:41:58. Finally, Cristian Vilchez Ceballos, one of our Spanish exiles, ran a 3,000m on the track in Malaga, winning the race in 9:28.62. Closer to home, the WM&T held a social run and awards ceremony on Sunday and we learned that the Crusaders ladies C team had placed 2nd in their division in the winter league, whilst Máirín Shine was 2nd F60 in the league. In the mountains over the weekend, Warren Swords ran in the Annagh Hill 10.7k challenge down in Co. Wicklow, where, in the race with its 550m climb, he took what he described as the scenic route, placing 20th in a field of 93 in a time of 77:18. The race was the latest in the Leinster Spring League. Probably as a consequence of the difficult conditions experienced on Saturday morning because of Storm Kathleen, there was a lower turnout than usual in all the parkruns. Our participation was also affected by foreign travel! Nevertheless, we had at least one first finisher among the relatively few from the club who did participate. Ciara Regan ran in the Tubbercurry Trail Parkrun, where, in a field of 108, she placed 3rd overall and 1st female across the line in a time of 22:08. Down in Shanganagh, Darina scully placed 37th and 5th in 23:35. Darina was followed home in the field of 220 by Jill Nason (124th and 38th in 29:34) and by Carina Davidson (198th and 88th in 36:38). Then, in Tolka Valley, Maria Pertl placed 20th and 7th in a 42-strong field and in a time of 29:55, whilst, in Fairview, with its field of 162, Andy Deuser ran 23:27 for 22nd place, followed home by Mairead Cashman who placed 110th and 42nd in 32:15. Poolbeg still enjoyed a relatively large field of 164 with at least 12 Crusaders taking part. Fiona Bane led the contingent home in 47th and 8th places in 24:46, followed by Josie Ward (66th and 17th in 26:08), Dave Tilly (72nd in 26:41), Tara Murphy (74th and 21st in 26:55), Iseult Ni Chuinneagain (75th and 22nd one second behind in 26:56), Aisling O’Riordan (96th and 34th in 28:22), Louise O’Riordan (106th and 40th in 28:58), Una McCullagh (126th and 55th in 31:26), Cynthia Peruicca (133rd and 59th in 32:43), Niamh Trihy (138th and 63rd in 34:35), Mari Hansen (143rd and 67th in 35:10) and John Lohan, tailwalking. Members of the Shine family ran in Marlay Park. Fiona placed 296th and 104th in 32:13, followed by Máirín (297th and 105th in 32:19) and by Lisa (377th and 157th in 46:19). The field there measured 392. Meanwhile, Colm Foley joined 179 other runners in Griffeen Park, where he placed 33rd in a time of 24:12. Further afield, our exile Thom Martini ran in Gunnersbury Park in Ealing in London placing 282nd in a field of 610 in a time of 27:47, whilst another exile, Richard Morrissey, placed 19th in a field 711 in Dulwich in a time of 17:55. Finally John Reidy ran in Perth in Scotland where, in a field of 307, he placed 55th in a time of 22:26. BHAA DCC mixed 4-mile road race (181) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Aidan Jones 1 00:21:48 6 Laura McDonnell 1 00:23:51 Crusaders AC runners 4 Donatas Jocius 00:23:34 5 Paul Cowhie 00:23:45 7 Karl Walsh 00:24:01 15 Phelim Murray 00:26:15 30 Robbie Moore 00:28:37 32 Neil Brown 00:28:48 38 Anthony Hackett 00:29:15 46 Olwyn Dunne 00:30:34 (7) 147 Lorraine Fitzsimons 00:44:16 (71) 155 Faeed Faeedi 00:45:31 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/DCC%204m%202024%20Results.pdf Roscommon Harriers 5k (131) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Declan Ryan 1 00:17:33 10 Áine Kenny 1 00:20:20 Crusaders AC runner 10 Áine Kenny 00:20:20 (1) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/roscommon-harriers-5k-series-2024-race-1/ BearRaces Dundalk Half marathon (562) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Andrew Tees 1 01:17:15 24 Joan Flynn 1 01:29:06 Crusaders AC runner 23 Shane Egan 01:28:48 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dundalk_half_marathon__10k/5122/results Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10-mile road race (257) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Tim O’Donoghue 1 00:51:37 12 Michelle Finn 1 00:57:08 Crusaders AC runner 355 Justin O'Connor 01:24:41 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sonia_osullivan_cobh_10/4981/results IMRA Annagh Hill 10.7k (93) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Enda Cloake 1 00:57:40 18 Caroline Harney 1 01:15:35 Crusaders AC runner 22 Warren Swords 01:17:18 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2467/category/O/ Tubbercurry Trail Parkrun (108) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Drew 1 00:21:00 3 Ciara Regan 1 00:22:08 Crusaders AC runner 3 Ciara Regan 00:22:08 (1) Shanganagh Parkrun (220) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rory Lush 1 00:18:05 11 Eleanor Foot 1 00:20:03 Crusaders AC runners 37 Darina Scully 00:23:35 (5) 124 Jill Nason 00:29:34 (38) 198 Carina Davidson 00:36:38 (88) Tolka Valley Parkrun (42) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Eoin Callaghan 1 00:18:49 6 Caoimhe Hickey 1 00:23:26 Crusaders AC runner 20 Maria Pertl 00:29:55 (7) Poolbeg Parkrun (164) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter Kern 1 00:18:58 9 Ruth Dervan 1 00:20:29 Crusaders AC runners 47 Fiona Bane 00:24:46 (8) 66 Josie Ward 00:26:08 (17) 72 Dave Tilly 00:26:41 74 Tara Murphy 00:26:55 (21) 75 Iseult Ni Chuinneagain 00:26:56 (22) 96 Aisling O’Riordan 00:28:22 (34) 106 Louise O’Riordan 00:28:58 (40) 126 Una McCullagh 00:31:26 (55) 133 Cynthia Perucca 00:32:43 (59) 138 Niamh Trihy 00:34:35 (63) 143 Mari Hansen 00:35:10 (67) 164 John Lohan 00:52:21 Fairview Parkrun (162) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Ainsworth 1 00:19:44 20 Aisling McNally 1 00:23:19 Crusaders AC runners 22 Andy Deuser 00:23:27 110 Mairead Cashman 00:32:15 (42) Griffeen Parkrun (180) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michal Gil 1 00:18:19 21 Shuang Shuang Wang 1 00:22:26 Crusaders AC runner 33 Colm Foley 00:24:12 Marlay Parkrun (392) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Doran 1 00:18:21 8 Doireann Mullany 1 00:19:56 Crusaders AC runners 296 Fiona Shine 00:32:13 (104) 297 Máirín Shine 00:32:19 (105) 377 Lisa Shine 00:46:19 (157) Congratulations to our ladies’ team who won the bronze medal (possibly silver) in the Leinster 10-mile championships which were incorporated in the Battle of Clontarf, conducted entirely within the confines of St. Anne’s Park in Raheny on Easter Monday. Two of the team also won individual age category and county medals too.
The period covered by the report starts on Thursday evening in the Marble County, where 873 runners took part in the quality Streets of Kilkenny 5k, the second race of the year in the Peugeot Series (the first being the Streets of Portlaoise 5k earlier in the month). On a fast and flat course, no fewer than 89 athletes broke 17 minutes with a total of 274 finishing under 20 minutes. The race was won by last year’s Docklands 5k winner, Pierre Murchan, in a road PB time of 14:04. We had 4 athletes in the race, all breaking 20 minutes and at least two likewise achieving PB results. Our first runner home was Colm Parnell in 11th spot, recording a time of 15:06. Colm was followed across the line by Brian Regan (99th in 17:10), closely followed by Henry Griffin in 101st with a PB time of 17:20. Conor Macguinness completed the contingent, placing 179th in a PB time of 18:32. The 4-man team placed 10th overall in a competition involving 34 teams. On Good Friday, two of our runners took part in a race around the streets of Glasnevin, the Na Fianna 5k. In a field of 294, Paul F. Kelly placed 22nd in 21:09, whilst his wife, Aoife, took 79th spot overall (and 7th female finisher) in a super time of 24:42. Dee Lawlor profited from a trip to Co. Kerry over the weekend to win the Ballybunion 10k in a time of 36:03. On a relatively hilly out-and-back north-south oriented course, Dee had little competition from the field of 257 runners, finishing a good 3 minutes ahead of the athlete in 2nd place. On Easter Monday, 6 members from the club took part in the tricky Battle of Clontarf 10-miler which incorporated the Leinster 10-mile championships. The race is challenging principally because of the course which can be quite confusing in places and has loads of twists and turns and slippery at times with mud on path corners. It also has a hill, as runners, having run down to the estuary, turn from running parallel to the coast road and push up alongside Watermill Road from the tree sculpture. They also had to negotiate the hill twice, in the 4th mile (memories of the old Raheny 5 course!) and then again in the 8th. The breezy and chilly day didn’t start out too well since the lead bike failed to turn up and the race director needed to get into his car to lead runners up the main drag, showing them the way and clearing out pedestrians (narrowly avoiding one or two!). Unfortunately, though, a car could not go any further and so the runners were dependent on marshalls being strategically placed for the rest of the race. Quite a challenge on such a course. Nevertheless, the lead runners thankfully didn’t take a wrong step. Our first athlete home was Aoife Quigley who was delighted with her experience, and who placed 60th overall and 8th female finisher in a good time for such a course of 67:07. Aoife won the silver medal in the F35 age category and was lead scorer in the women’s O/35 team and a scorer on the gold-medal winning Co. Dublin senior team. Aoife was followed by Robbie Moore who had a stormer of a second half to the race (134th in 74:06) and then by the team’s 2nd scorer, Dee Ni Chearbhaill (135th and 29th) just behind. Further back came Adrian Groarke, in his first run following injury (156th in 75:22), followed by the third team scorer, Olwyn Dunne (161st and 36th in 76:15) who also won the F55 bronze medal and was a scorer on the gold medal-winning Co. Dublin team in the Leinster Championships. The contingent was completed by Paul E. Kelly who finished in 331st place in a time of 99:06. In the initial results the women’s O/35 team have been given the bronze medal. However, the winning O/35 team (LSA) actually recorded a better score than the third-placed (3-woman) senior team (Sportsworld) who also had a poorer score than all three O/35 teams. So, it is possible that the Crusaders’ women’s team might get promoted to the silver medal. Congrats in any event! Also, on Easter Monday, Máirín Shine took part in the 256-strong field running the Rosslare 10k, where she placed 204th overall and 64th female finisher (and 4th in her age category). Just in, came news that Ross Neill won the Carney Half marathon in Co. Mayo on the same day. On an out-and-back hilly and undulating course with one large loop, Ross headed the field of 229 runners in a super time of 76:17. He was followed across the line by Megan Smith who placed 203rd overall in 2:14:05 Further afield over the weekend, Andrej Kujikis, our New Zealand exile now based in Scotland, ran in the Tom Scott 10-mile race around Strathclyde Country Park, southeast of Glasgow. On a course that was largely flat, but with one large climb at about 5k, Andrej ran 66:44, possibly recording a PB. Parkrunners were out in force on Saturday morning, profiting from the Easter holiday. We had clubmates participate in at least 27 parkruns in Ireland and the UK, well up on the usual weekly numbers. As a consequence, we also witnessed a decent number of first finisher and podium finishes. Michael O’Conor took advantage of a trip to Co. Donegal to finish ahead of the 150-strong field in Falcarragh. Michael’s time was a useful 17:22. Then in her native Longford, in a field of 61, Rachael Yorke placed 4th overall and 1st female finisher in a time of 20:30. In Co. Galway, husband and wife, Alan Sheehy and Yvonne Macauley, ran alongside 67 other participants in Clonbur Woods, where Alan took first place in 19:49 and Yvonne placed 10th and 4th in 25:44. Closer to home, Darina Scully was a first finisher in Shanganagh. In a field measuring 255, Darina placed 45th overall in 23:28 and she was followed by Janet McManus (73rd and 7th in 25:21), Carina Davidson (97th and 17th in 26:36) and Orlaith de Burca, tailwalking. In Rostrevor, Ciara Regan placed 8th overall and first female finisher in a field of 79. Ciara’s time was 21:38, whilst, in Coole, Áine Kenny was also a first finisher in a time of 21:14, placing 8th overall in a field of 115. Among those recording podium places was Rory Goldsmith who finished in 2nd place in the 59-strong field in Knocknacarra. Rory’s time was 19:40. Meanwhile, Sharon Woods placed 34th and 3rd in the 169-strong field in Poolbeg in a time of 22:54. Sharon was led home by Rob Glascott, as he prepares for the Paris marathon next week. Rob placed 5th in 19:30 and further back they were followed by Tanja Narancic (55th and 12th in 24;39), Paul Campbell (56th in 24:41), just behind, Josie Ward (60th and 14th in 25:11), Russell Murphy (69th in 26:04) and Tara Murphy (70th and 18th in 26:12). Eoghan Corrigan was our sole runner in Porch Field in Trim, where, alongside 71 other participants, he placed 5th in 21:56, whilst, further afield, in Brockwell Park in London, Richard Morrissey ran once again, placing 5th in 17:59 in a field of 273. Also, near London, another of our exiles, Thom Martini, ran in a field of 1598 in Bushy Park, where he placed 301st in 23:13. Over in Sligo, Karl Walsh and Fiona Bane ran in a field of 144, with Karl placing 4th in 19:31 and Fiona taking 21st and 6th places in 25:06. Meanwhile, Dave Carter and Olwyn Dunne joined in the 9th anniversary celebrations in Cabinteely, where, in a field of 181, Dave placed 10th in 20:55, whilst Olwyn placed 61st and 13th in 25:58. Emer Kenny joined 126 other runners in Father Collins Park where she ran 26:58 for 45th and 12th places, whilst, in Tramore, Waterford, Gemma Cooper placed 67th and 17th in a field of 159, with a time of 26:27. As part of a much longer run, Franky Keane ran in the 111-strong field in Mullingar, where he placed 20th in a time of 24:48, whilst Daniel Cullen ran in Templemore, where, in a field of 115, he placed 66th in a time of 30:19. Down in Killarney House Park, Luca Marchesotti placed 27th in 22:41. The field there measured 194, whilst, in Fairview, Andy Deuser took 21st spot in 22:36, alongside 157 other runners. We had two participants down on the Wexford Racecourse. In a field of 132, Máirín Shine placed 65th and 17th in 29:20, whilst daughter Lisa placed 121st and 51st in 47:31. Then, in Tralee, Mary Noelle Rohan joined 264 other runners, placing 123rd and 44th in 29:35, whilst, in Tramore Valley, Cork, Martin Jones placed 91st in 25:55 and Mairead Cashman took 136th and 36th spots in 28:16, in a field of 244. Barry O’Neill ran in the Pobalscoil na Tríonóide parkrun, where, in a field of 72, he placed 38th in 27:08, whilst, in Narin Beach, Hannah Jones joined 82 other participants, where she placed 51st and 12th in 32:22. Meanwhile, we had 2 athletes participate in Tolka Valley Park, where, in a field of 38, Diarmuid Byrne placed 14th in 27:46, whilst his partner Maria Pertl took 23rd and 9th spots in 30:14. Colm Foley joined 247 other runners in Griffeen Park, where he placed 55th in a time of 24:06, whilst, in St. Anne’s, Raheny, Áine Crotty and her husband, Cian Coughlan joined 455 other participants. Áine placed 168th and 42nd in 26:27, just ahead of Cian (169th in 26:28). Finally, in Marlay Park, with its field of 510 participants, Maureen McGinley placed 314th and 78th in 29:24, followed by Cynthia Perucca (488th and 181st in 44:41). Battle of Clontarf 10 miler (Leinster 10-mile Championships) (359) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Karl Nolan 1 00:54:16 25 Sarah Flannigan 1 01:00:46 Crusaders AC runners 60 Aoife Quigley 01:07:07 (8) 134 Robbie Moore 01:14:06 135 Deirdre Ni Chearbhaill 01:14:20 (29) 156 Adrian Groarke 01:15:22 161 Olwyn Dunne 01:16:15 (36) 331 Paul E. Kelly 01:39:06 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/battle_of_clontarf_10_mile_leinster_championships/5011/results Streets of Kilkenny 5k (873) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Pierre Murchan 1 00:14:03 76 Fiona McKenna 1 00:16:46 Crusaders AC runners 11 Colm Parnell 00:15:06 99 Brian Regan 00:17:10 101 Henry Griffin 00:17:20 (PB) 179 Conor Macguinness 00:18:32 (PB) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/the-streets-of-kilkenny-2024/ Na Fianna 5k (294) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Donlon 100:17:29 47 Aoife Reynolds 1 00:22:38 Crusaders AC runners 22 Paul F. Kelly 00:21:09 79 Aoife Kelly 00:24:42 (7) Full results here: http://redtagtiming.com/results/NaFianna5km2024.pdf Ballybunion 10k (257) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Derek Lawlor 1 00:36:03 14 Cara Leahy 1 00:43:44 Crusaders AC runner 1 Derek Lawlor 00:36:03 Full results here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/7179812346981609216/races/2 Rosslare 10k (256) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Paul Doran 1 00:34:06 9 Erika Dowling 1 00:39:25 Crusaders AC runner 204 Máirín Shine 01:00:26 (64) Full results here: Rosslare10km_2024.pdf (redtagtiming.com) Carney Half marathon (229) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Ross Neill 1 01:16:17 12 Aela Stewart 1 01:25:49 Crusaders AC runners 1 Ross Neill 01:16:17 203 Megan Smith 02:14:05 Full results here: https://coretiming.ie/events/carney-10km-and-half-marathon-24/#1_876FAE Wexford Racecourse Parkrun (132) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sean Leahy 1 00:18:12 10 Annemarie Doyle 1 00:21:57 Crusaders AC runners 65 Máirín Shine 00:29:20 (17) 121 Lisa Shine 00:47:31 (51) Shanganagh Parkrun (255) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rory Lush 1 00:17:24 45 Darina Scully 1 00:23:28 Crusaders AC runners 45 Darina Scully 00:23:28 (1) 73 Janet McManus 00:25:21 (7) 97 Carina Davidson 00:26:36 (17) 248 Orlaith de Burca 00:50:45 (99) Porch Field Parkrun (72) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Thomas Feeley 1 00:19:19 7 Libby Rickard 1 00:23:25 Crusaders AC runner 5 Eoghan Corrigan 00:21:56 Narin Beach Parkrun (83) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Peter Fenyvesi 1 00:21:56 2 Helen McCready 1 00:22:25 Crusaders AC runner 51 Hannah Jones 00:32:22 (12) Templemore Parkrun (115) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Jake Bowe 1 00:20:13 5 Maria Maher 1 00:21:37 Crusaders AC runner 66 Daniel Cullen 00:30:19 St. Anne’s Parkrun (457) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel De Palol 1 00:16:49 20 Emily Witham 1 00:20:09 Crusaders AC runners 168 Áine Crotty 00:26:27 (42) 169 Cian Coughlan 00:26:28 Tolka Valley Parkrun (38) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Sam Steenson 1 00:20:44 9 Ciara Grant 1 00:25:54 Crusaders AC runners 14 Diarmuid Byrne 00:27:46 23 Maria Pertl 00:30:14 (9) Poolbeg Parkrun (169) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Seán Cahill 1 00:18:09 18 Joanne Page 1 00:21:24 Crusaders AC runners 5 Rob Glascott 00:19:30 34 Sharon Woods 00:22:54 (3) 55 Tanja Narancic 00:24:39 (12) 56 Paul Campbell 00:24:41 60 Josie Ward 00:25:11 (14) 69 Russell Murphy 00:26:04 70 Tara Murphy 00:26:12 (18) Knocknacarra Parkrun (59) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor O’Rourke 1 00:19:33 7 Brigeen Dolan 1 00:23:58 Crusaders AC runner 2 Rory Goldsmith 00:19:40 Fairview Parkrun (158) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Daniel Toal 1 00:18:15 24 Roisin Vance 1 00:22:54 Crusaders AC runner 21 Andy Deuser 00:22:36 Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (244) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Fintan Kerins 1 00:16:04 6 Siobhan Hoare 1 00:19:03 Crusaders AC runners 91 Martin Jones 00:25:55 136 Mairead Cashman 00:28:16 (36) Coole Parkrun (115) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Mairtin Grealish 1 00:18:18 8 Áine Kenny 1 00:21:14 Crusaders AC runner 8 Áine Kenny 00:21:14 (1) Rostrevor Parkrun (79) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Andrew Hicks 1 00:18:01 8 Ciara Regan 1 00:21:38 Crusaders AC runner 8 Ciara Regan 00:21:38 (1) Griffeen Parkrun (248) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary Farrell 1 00:18:32 13 Breda Smyth 1 00:20:43 Crusaders AC runner 55 Colm Foley 00:24:06 Marlay Parkrun (510) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ruben Bartelink 1 00:17:40 18 Sarah Fitzpatrick 1 00:19:55 Crusaders AC runners 314 Maureen McGinley 00:29:24 (78) 488 Cynthia Perucca 00:44:41 (181) Tralee Parkrun (268) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Gahan 1 00:18:36 16 Linda O’Sullivan 1 00:21:10 Crusaders AC runner 123 Mary Noelle Rohan 00:29:35 (44) Sligo Parkrun (144) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Rob Cross 1 00:18:41 8 Aoife Molloy 1 00:21:13 Crusaders AC runners 4 Karl Walsh 00:19:31 21 Fiona Bane 00:25:06 (6) Cabinteely Parkrun (181) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Storey 1 00:18:17 4 Cristin Scollard 1 00:18:56 Crusaders AC runners 10 David Carter 00:20:55 61 Olwyn Dunne 00:25:58 (18) Father Collins Parkrun (127) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciaran Chandler 1 00:18:35 16 Andreea Bortas 1 00:22:36 Crusaders AC runner 45 Emer Kenny 00:26:58 (12) Tramore, Waterford Parkrun (159) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Cavanagh 1 00:18:18 14 Ruth Comerford 1 00:21:24 Crusaders AC runner 67 Gemma Cooper 00:26:27 (17) Falcarragh Parkrun (150) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Michael O’Conor 1 00:17:22 22 Ita McCambridge 1 00:24:04 Crusaders AC runner 1 Michael O’Conor 00:17:22 Mullingar Parkrun (111) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Paulius Patackas 1 00:19:08 15 Kate Plunkett 1 00:24:06 Crusaders AC runner 20 Franky Keane 00:24:48 Longford Parkrun (61) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Patrick Meehan 1 00:18:49 4 Rachael Yorke 1 00:20:30 Crusaders AC runner 4 Rachael Yorke 00:20:30 (1) Clonbur Woods Parkrun (69) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alan Sheehy 1 00:19:49 6 Aoife Kearney 1 00:24:50 Crusaders AC runners 1 Alan Sheehy 00:19:49 10 Yvonne Macauley 00:25:44 (4) Pobalscoil na Tríonóide Parkrun (91) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 John Ross 1 00:18:09 10 Caroline Geary 1 00:21:36 Crusaders AC runner 38 Barry O’Neill 00:27:08 Killarney House Parkrun (194) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Martin Dineen 1 00:17:18 11 Mia Gallagher 1 00:20:27 Crusaders AC runner 27 Luca Marchesotti 00:22:41 opefully, we have now seen the last blast of Winter in the first week of Spring. Conditions have been cold again this week, with a strong wind on Saturday, mercifully much reduced for the big races on Sunday, the Dunboyne 10k, incorporating for the first time the 10k national championships, along with the tough Wicklow Gaol Break 10k and half marathon. We had runners in all of them.
First things first, though, and as usual, we start with track results. It was a great achievement for Enda Clarke to make the final of the M40 1500m in the European Masters Indoor Championships in Torun in Poland on Saturday. On the previous day, Enda had qualified as a fast finisher by placing 3rd in his heat with a time of 4:20.06. In the final, he placed 10th in a strong field, with a time of 4:22.20. Congrats to him. For road racing, we start earlier in the week, in fact on bank holiday Monday, with the Skerries 10k. We had 3 athletes in the race, which was held in breezy conditions on a 1-looped relatively flat clockwise course, although with a bit of a climb at the start, that took in the outskirts of the town as well as the seafront. Our small contingent in the 379-strong field was led home by Peter O’Toole in 10th place with a time of 37:31. Peter was followed by Seamus Moore (23rd in 39:13) and Mark Browne (112th in 48:12). Later in the week, Darina Scully joined 123 other runners in the DCU Campus 5k in which she placed 32nd and 4th female finisher in a time of 24:23. Then, on Saturday morning, Gary Park took part in the Forth Mountain Trail Run, a largely out-and-back, north-south race with a steep climb at the start and a corresponding descent to the finish. He joined a field of 217 athletes running in the event, placing 16th in exactly 60 minutes. On Sunday lunchtime attention focused on the Dunboyne 10k, the 53rd running of a road race there, although in past times its distance was 4 miles. The race this year was awarded the honour of hosting the national 10k championships (after last year’s Phoenix Park débacle) and, as a consequence, although it has always enjoyed a strong field, its ranks were swelled by quality athletes. As illustration of this, despite the club fielding at least 24 athletes and with a few PBs, we were quite far away from podium positions, age category or otherwise. Indeed, of a field of 1256 finishers, no fewer than 365 runners (or nearly 30% of the field) broke 40 minutes in the race, a figure which included 9 of our athletes. The race took place in chilly but not too windy conditions, in some ways, perfect for such an event. As in Tallaght last week, our first runner home was Andrea Rondina who placed 32nd in a PB time of 32:22. Andrea was followed by Kieran Little who is soon to depart for Blackrock AC. Kieran placed 58th in 33:33 and he was followed by Kevin Fitzgibbon (63rd in a PB time of 33:30). Ger Forde was next, placing 94th in 34:25 and he was followed by a late entrant, Ciarain Kelly (106th in 34:46), with, further back Joe McDermott (156th in 35:55). Remaining runners to break 40 minutes included John Fahy (202nd in 36:49), Julie McGrath (316th overall and 42nd female finisher in 39:20) and Kathryn Sweeney just behind and breaking 40 minutes for the first time (323rd and 43rd in a PB time of 39:27). Carolyn O’Reilly enjoyed a strong outing to place 374th and 52nd in 40:18, and she was followed by Ollie McGrath (376th in 40:06), Phelim Murray (378th in 40:16), Isabelle Cairns with a steady run (443rd and 75th in a PB time of 41:43), Oisin Browne (487th in a PB time of 42:33), Ciara Regan (538th and 106th in 43:45) and Sarah Lyons, running with a slight injury (598th and 133rd in 44:46) alongside Rachael Yorke (599th and 134th in 44:45). Next came Robbie Moore (635th in 44:49), followed by Emily Glen (637th and 144th in a PB time of 44:48), Neil Brown (666th in 45:42), Olwyn Dunne (672nd and 159th in 46:11), Tony Hackett (678th in 46:03), Sharon Woods (692nd and 171st in 46:25) and Paul E. Kelly (1127th in 59:42). Earlier in the morning, we had 7 clubmates take part in the hilly Wicklow Gaol Break Half marathon, with its 100m climb over the first 10k of the race and its cobbled finish. In a field of nearly 1600 finishers, Dee Lawlor ran exceedingly well to record a time of 78:16 for 4th place. He was followed by Gerard Moore (45th in an excellent 88:38), Michael Judge (63rd in 91:53), Daniel Cullen (124th in 96:27), Phil Sykes (544th in 1:50:55), Catriona Egan (905th and 178th in 1:58:54) and Kelly Brown (1206th and 297th in 2:08:57). The results of the 10k were somewhat traumatic for at least one of our runners. Unfortunately, Joanne Carey was late to arrive at the start and, as a consequence, had to run without a chip. Her time of 45:59 would likely have placed her in the top 45 overall (in a field of over 1000 participants) and quite likely 7th female finisher place. Moreover, although she was the second F40 to cross the line, she would likely have been awarded first place, as the first runner in her age category placed 3rd overall in the women’s race. Commiserations to her. Joanne was followed by Darina Scully who placed 195th and 47th in 52:41 and by Carina Davidson (532nd and 222nd in 61:20). Further afield, in the South of France, Kevin Lambe ran in the windy and warm St. Tropez marathon, completing the point-to-point course in a time of 3:34:19. The route went from Sainte-Maxime in the north to Cavalaire-sur-Mer in the south and runners enjoyed a tailwind for large parts of it. It was mostly flat except for a large hill towards the end. Also, over the weekend, one of our London-based exiles, Louise Van der Wildermeersch took part in the flat Milan half marathon, the “Stramilano” which she completed in a PB time of 1:38:13. There was at least one event in the mountains this weekend, that possibly had Crusader participation. It was the Maurice Mullins 50k. If and when the results are published and they show we had one or more runners then the report will be updated. Also, just to point out that an IMRA race last week was initially missed, but last week’s report has now been updated with the result, which saw Warren Swords compete in his first race of the year, placing 6th overall along with Gavan Doherty in 79th spot. Saturday morning’s parkruns enjoyed a reasonable turnout, although several runners, who would otherwise have participated, may have been saving themselves for Sunday’s efforts and so our numbers were a little down as a result. As usual, our largest contingent contested Poolbeg. In a field of 187, Stephen Hurley was first across the line in a time of 18:38. Stephen was followed by Sharon Woods (29th and 2nd female finisher in 23:13), Franky Keane (36th in 23:31), Tanja Narancic (42nd and 4th in 23:52), Fiona Bane (72nd and 12th in 26:31), Olwyn Dunne (73rd and 13th in 26:32), Josie Ward (78th and 16th in 26:46), Louise O’Riordan (85th and 20th in 27:14), Maureen McGinley (107th and 30th in 29:24), Djinn Von Noorden (119th and 38th in 30:03), Niamh Trihy (149th and 53rd in 34:20) and Kevin Kenny (150th in the same time). Another podium place went to Dee Lawlor in Shanganagh, where, in a field of 185, he placed 3rd in a time of 17:55, followed home by Orlaith de Burca (136th and 37th in 30:40). Elsewhere, Ross Neill placed 4th in the 575-strong field in Ormeau Park in Belfast. Ross’ time was 18:27. Then, in the Ballinamore Greenway parkrun, Áine Crotty joined 31 other runners, placing 10th and 3rd in 29:05, whilst Maria Pertl placed 29th and 7th in the 38-strong field in Tolka Valley. Enda Currid and Hannah Jones ran alongside 402 other runners in St. Anne’s, where Enda placed 29th in 20:47 and Hannah took 160th and 34th spots in 26:23. We had 5 participants in Malahide. In a field of 296, Emer Kenny ran 25:11 for 115th and 15th places and she was followed by Darina Scully (136th and 23rd in 26:39), Fiona Shine (155th and 29th in 27:33), Máirín Shine (194th and 51st in 29:15) and Lisa Shine, tailwalking. Meanwhile, Mairead Cashman ran alongside 38 other runners in Macroom Castle Demesne, where she took 29th and 11th places in 32:20, whilst, in Poppintree, Paul F. Kelly placed 16th in 23:41 in a field of 232. Kevin Flynn ran 41:14 for 85th in the 97-strong field in Porterstown, whilst Eoghan Corrigan (and baby daughter Clodagh) tailwalked in River Valley. Over in the UK, Richard Morrissey placed 25th in 17:44 in the 666-strong field in Dulwich, whilst Aidan Hudner ran once again in Pollok in Glasgow, where he placed 70th in a field of 317 and in a time of 25:16. Following her recent return from a trip to Japan to run in the Tokyo marathon at the beginning of the month, Kate Murray ran 26:29 in Brickfields with its field of 113, to place 46th and 9th, whilst, in Ballincollig, Toby Benham joined 260 other participants, placing 27th in 22:46. Finally, Andy Deuser ran in Fairview where, in a field of 147, he placed 23rd in a time of 23:37. Dunboyne 10k (National 10k Championships) (1256) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Sean Tobin 1 00:29:17 44 Shona Heaslip 1 00:32:48 Crusaders AC runners 32 Andrea Rondina 00:32:22 (PB) 58 Kieran Little 00:33:23 63 Kevin Fitzgibbon 00:33:30 (PB) 94 Ger Forde 00:34:25 106 Ciarain Kelly 00:34:46 156 Joe McDermott 00:35:55 202 John Fahy 00:36:49 316 Julie McGrath 00:39:20 (42) 323 Kathryn Sweeney 00:39:27 (PB) (43) 374 Carolyn O’Reilly 00:40:18 (52) 376 Ollie McGrath 00:40:06 378 Phelim Murray 00:40:16 443 Isabelle Cairns 00:41:43 (PB) (75) 487 Oisin Browne 00:42:33 (PB) 538 Ciara Regan 00:43:45 (106) 598 Sarah Lyons 00:44:46 (133) 599 Rachael Yorke 00:44:45 (134) 635 Robbie Moore 00:44:49 637 Emily Glen 00:44:48 (PB) (144) 666 Neil Brown 00:45:42 672 Olwyn Dunne 00:46:11 (159) 678 Anthony Hackett 00:46:03 692 Sharon Woods 00:46:25 (171) 1127 Paul E. Kelly 00:59:42 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dunboyne_53rd_road_race_10k_2024/5045/results Wicklow Gaol Break 10k (1002) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Eoin Cregg 1 00:37:20 18 Elaine Kennedy 1 00:43:00 Crusaders AC runners XX Joanne Carey 00:45:59 195 Darina Scully 00:52:41 (47) 532 Carina Davidson 01:01:20 (222) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_wicklow_gaol_break_half_marathon__10km_2024/4930/results Wicklow Gaol Break Half marathon (1597) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Marc Augustin 1 01:14:19 19 Evelyn Twomey 1 01:22:13 Crusaders AC runners 4 Derek Lawlor 01:18:16 45 Gerard Moore 01:28:38 63 Michael Judge 01:31:53 124 Daniel Cullen 01:36:27 544 Phil Sykes 01:50:55 905 Catriona Egan 01:58:54 (178) 1206 Kelly Brown 02:08:57 (297) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/the_wicklow_gaol_break_half_marathon__10km_2024/4930/results Skerries 10k (379) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mick Clohisey 1 00:32:23 39 Sive Duncan 1 00:41:55 Crusaders AC runners 10 Peter O’Toole 00:37:31 23 Seamus Moore 00:39:13 112 Mark Browne 00:48:12 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/skerries_10k/5023/results DCU Campus 5k (124) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Gearóid Ó Cleircín 1 00:17:59 11 MK Andersen 1 00:21:57 Crusaders AC runner 32 Darina Scully 00:24:23 (4) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dcu_campus_5km_fun_run/5169/results Forth Mountain Trail Run 13k (217) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Niall Sheil 1 00:49:25 17 Eilis Peat 1 01:00:31 Crusaders AC runner 16 Gary Park 01:00:00 Full results here: https://justrunsevents.ie/event-results/forth-mountain-trail-run_results_2024-03-23?fbclid=IwAR3F3hE_H7AoRJMr7AaibNVeFtaRMxf5CURRidmQfjfsBC3O7UZChO2Mvxw Malahide Parkrun (296) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Hugh Armstrong 1 00:14:57 12 Iseult O’Donnell 1 00:18:37 Crusaders AC runners 115 Emer Kenny 00:25:11 (15) 136 Darina Scully 00:26:39 (23) 155 Fiona Shine 00:27:33 (29) 194 Máirín Shine 00:29:15 (51) 296 Lisa Shine 1:01:52 Shanganagh Parkrun (185) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Nickolas Colyn 1 00:15:20 16 Emily Feighan 1 00:21:05 Crusaders AC runners 3 Derek Lawlor 00:17:55 136 Orlaith de Burca 00:30:40 (37) River Valley Parkrun (95) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Viktoras Kuzminas 1 00:19:19 8 Sarah Pye 1 00:23:04 Crusaders AC runner 87 Eoghan Corrigan 00:46:14 Poppintree Parkrun (232) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Andrew Gaffney 1 00:17:55 10 Peigí Allen 1 00:22:09 Crusaders AC runner 16 Paul F. Kelly 00:23:41 Brickfields Parkrun (113) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Wesley Harrison 1 00:18:51 11 Eva Kennedy 1 00:22:20 Crusaders AC runner 46 Kate Murray 00:26:29 (9) St. Anne’s Parkrun (404) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kevin Kelly 1 00:16:46 18 Carmel Ward 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runners 29 Enda Currid 00:20:47 160 Hannah Jones 00:26:23 (34) Tolka Valley Parkrun (38) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oisin Gavin 1 00:18:29 2 Joanna Brown 1 00:19:58 Crusaders AC runner 29 Maria Pertl 00:32:53 (7) Poolbeg Parkrun (187) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:38 24 Deirdre McGing 1 00:22:41 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:38 29 Sharon Woods 00:23:13 (2) 36 Franky Keane 00:23:31 42 Tanja Narancic 00:23:52 (4) 72 Fiona Bane 00:26:31 (12) 73 Olwyn Dunne 00:26:32 (13) 78 Josie Ward 00:26:46 (16) 85 Louise O’Riordan 00:27:14 (20) 107 Maureen McGinley 00:29:24 (30) 119 Djinn Von Noorden 00:30:03 (38) 149 Niamh Trihy 00:34:20 (53) 150 Kevin Kenny 00:34:20 Ormeau Parkrun (575) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Tom Fleming 1 00:16:17 16 Lyda Martin 1 00:20:09 Crusaders AC runner 4 Ross Neill 00:18:27 Fairview Parkrun (147) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Edward Blacque 1 00:19:41 15 Ann-Marie Hayes 1 00:22:43 Crusaders AC runner 23 Andy Deuser 00:23:37 Macroom Castle Demesne Parkrun (39) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Lucey 1 00:18:22 7 Claire Curtin 1 00:24:49 Crusaders AC runner 29 Mairead Cashman 00:32:20 (11) Ballinamore Greenway Parkrun (32) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Caoimhe Mohan 1 00:22:41 2 Eamon MacFihionnlaoich 1 00:22:45 Crusaders AC runner 10 Áine Crotty 00:29:05 (4) Ballincollig Parkrun (261) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Diarmuid O’Sullivan 1 00:19:06 3 Aoife Cooke 1 00:19:20 Crusaders AC runner 27 Toby Benham 00:22:46 Porterstown Parkrun (97) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Niall Sherlock 1 00:18:32 18 Caroline Nolan 1 00:25:05 Crusaders AC runner 85 Kevin Flynn 00:41:14 It was another busy weekend in the road racing calendar, with events from 5k to marathon, near and far. Once again, Tallaght AC hosted the Dublin novices, incorporated into a more general 5k race, on Sunday morning, and we came away with a haul of medals, both individual and team. The field measured 483 on the one-looped anti-clockwise course, with a tough hill towards the end, running into the southwesterly wind. We had at least 15 Crusaders in the race and they were led home by Andrea Rondina, who managed to take 4th place in 15;34, after lying 5th with about 600m to go. With the result, Andrea was awarded with gold in the novices competition, as well as leading home the next three runners to first place (and the gold medal) in both the race team competition and the novices contest. The other three members were Alex Ainsworth who placed 11th overall and bronze medallist in the novices competition (in 16:30), Patrick W. Conlon (17th in 17:03) and Joe McDermott (28th and 4th M40 overall in 17:21). Henry Griffin with a PB time of 17:37 was next in 35th place and he was followed by Eddie Nugent (79th in 18:57). Eddie was followed by the first of our female scorers. Annie Hughes placed 96th and 13th in 19:24 and she led home the novices team to the silver medal (as well as 3rd place in the general competition). The other members of the team were Aoife Quigley (121st and 21st in 19:59), Cría Dowling (177th and 43rd in a PB time of 21:10) and Rebecca Fleming (196th and 49th in 21:55). Congrats to all! In between the women's team finishers came Simon Kenny (99th in 19:30) and then further back they were followed by Kelly Brown (289th and 87th in 24:32) who treated the race as a training run. Kelly was then followed by Paul E. Kelly (350th in 27:18), Mairead Cashman (372nd and 129th in 28:33) and Maureen McGinley (385th, 138th and 4th F60 in 29:40). Members may also be interested to hear that Catherine Thornton who trains with us periodically placed 42nd and 4th in 17:56. On the same day, there was another fast and furious 5k taking place in Portlaoise, where we had 2 athletes appearing. In a quality field of 862 and in wet conditions, Brian Regan took 55th place in 17:06, followed by Miriam Logan who recorded a time of 21:21 for 207th and 41st places. The day before, Donatas Jocius had run in a 5k in Kildare, where, in a field of 280 in the Run for Raphael’s, he placed 4th in a time of 18:05. Back to Sunday, we had at least 14 Crusaders take part in the Mullingar half marathon. On a wet and breezy day in Co. Westmeath, on an undulating anti-clockwise one loop course with lots of twists and turns on country roads, Alby Allan was our first clubmate across the line in a PB time of 83:39 (an improvement of 5 minutes) for 53rd place in a field of nearly 1400. Aaron Farrell was next, in 102nd place with a time of 87:33 and he was followed by Tim O’Donnell who recorded a PB time of 88:55 for 129th spot. Tim was followed by Michael Fitzsimons (149th in 90:30) and he was followed by Rachel Calvey (173rd and 13th female finisher in 91:35). Áine Kenny was next across the line (211th and 21st in 94:01) and she was followed by Gill Earley (244th and 29th in 94:15), Judy O’Connell (339th, 49th and 2nd F45 in 99:38), Triona Quill (421st and 69th in 1:43:42), Louise O’Riordan (480th and 87th in 1:44:49), Tanja Narancic (600th and 124th in 1:49:00), Kevin Kenny (654th in 1:51:15), Lisa Branigan, who, like her run in Bohermeen last week, treated the race as a training run (869th and 239th in 1:57:23) and Evelyn Neary (1105th and 378th in 2:08:50). Up in Belfast, Ross Neill joined over 4000 runners taking part in the Spar Craic 10k, where he placed 17th in a great time of 34:43. Earlier in the week, we had runners in two races organised in Sandymount, once again taking in the beach. In the Sandymount Night Run 10k, with its field of 733, Adrian Groarke placed 58th in 45:43, followed by John Corish (255th in 54:54). Meanwhile, in the 5k event on the same night, Alban Coghlan placed 2nd in 17:41 and Jim Stagg took 3rd spot in 18:21 in a field of 511. They were followed by Alan Martin (72nd in 28:01), Adam Kinch (74th in 27:51) and Feed Faeedi (440th in 39:34). Further afield, we had 4 runners take part in the Rome marathon on Sunday morning. In increasingly warm conditions, Kathryn Gibbons ran a negative split of around 90 seconds to finish her first marathon in a super 3:10:38, having joined up in the last 2k with Brian McGuckin who ran 3:10:39. They were followed by Sam McArdle who, despite hitting the wall at 35k, nevertheless produced a PB time of 3:21:07. Aitor Arribas Velasco also ran, but pulled out at the halfway stage. Elsewhere, one of our US exiles, Damien O’Brien ran in the NYC Half marathon where he recorded a time of 82:35. He was joined by Ian Kinsella, our exile in Canada, who ran in his first race since having had open heart surgery 5 months ago. Ian ran a great time of 1:44:15. Then in France, Clément Rincé took part in the 10k de Lille where he produced an excellent PB time of 32:33. Further south, Esther Requena Ferri and Cristian Vilchez Ceballos ran in the Campeonato Andalucia 10k torre del Mar where, Esther completed the distance in 39:08 and Cristian ran 34:09. Lydia Bigley ran 2:01 as a training run in the Lisbon half marathon, accompanied by Rory Goldsmith, who, in the heat of the day found the going tough but still recorded a good time of 1:24:07, whilst further north, Fanny Trébouet and Adelaide Foglia ran in the Liverpool Half marathon, where Adelaide recorded a time of 2:14:35 and Fanny, 2:14:40. In the mountains on Friday night, Warren Swords and Gavan Doherty took part in the 7.4k Crone Maulin Night Challenge in Co. Wicklow. It started at 20:00 and, although the route, with its climb of more than 400m, was well-marked, necessitated the wearing of head torches. In his first outing of the season, Warren placed 6th in the field of 161 in a time of 40:20, and he was followed by Gavan who ran 58:03 for 79th spot. With all the racing taking place over this weekend, there appears to have been lower participation generally in the parkruns. Nevertheless, we saw some super results among those that did participate. Stephen Hurley led the reduced field of 124 home in Poolbeg in a time of 18:30. We had at least 8 other club mates in the event, with Neil Monahan taking 6th spot in 20:16. Neil was followed by Jessica Norris (31st and 3rd in 24:44), Kevin Kenny (42nd in 25:41), Tara Murphy (52nd and 10th in 27:04), Tanja Narancic (66th and 16th in 28:40), Franky Keane (72nd in 30:02), Maureen McGinley (83rd and 26th in 31:49) and Rachel Calvey, tailwalking. Liam Morris, who has not featured in recent events, made a great return, placing 2nd in 17:12 in the field of 207 in Corkagh, ahead of Mairead Cashman who placed 102nd and 28th in 29:12. Dee Lawlor also placed 2nd, in Shanganagh, where, in a field of 215, he ran 17:28, ahead of David Carter (16th in 20:26) and Carina Davidson (181st and 75th in 34:46). In Tolka Valley Park, Phelim Murray placed 3rd in 21:21, and he was followed, in the field of 46, by Diarmuid Byrne (6th in 23:09) and Garret Connolly, no doubt pushing a buggy (14th in 25:38). Another buggy pusher was Eoghan Corrigan who tailwalked in Dodder Valley in the field of 143. Richard Morrissey ran once again in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, placing 5th in 17:57 in a field of 396, whilst Toby Benham also ran in the UK, where, in Worthing, in a field of 585, he ran 21:19 for 71st spot. Áine Kenny placed 14th and 3rd in 28:25 in the 31-strong field in Mountbellew Forest, whilst Andy Deuser took 21st spot in 23:52 in the field of 115 in Fairview. Ross Neill joined 461 other runners in Ormeau Park along with Fiona and Lisa Shine. Ross placed 18th in 20:27, followed by Fiona (195th and 40th in 27:34) and Lisa, tailwalking. Finally, Barry O’Neill ran alongside 468 other participants in Marlay Park where he placed 198th in 27:08, whilst Paul F. Kelly ran in Ballina. In a field of 51 there, Paul placed 14th in 25:11. Tallaght AC 5k (Dublin Novice 5k) (483) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Mitchell Byrne 1 00:15:03 15 Carla Sweeney 1 00:16:54 Crusaders AC runners 4 Andrea Rondina 00:15:34 11 Alex Ainsworth 00:16:30 17 Patrick W. Conlon 00:17:03 28 Joe McDermott 00:17:21 35 Henry Griffin 00:17:37 (PB) 79 Eddie Nugent 00:18:57 96 Annie Hughes 00:19:24 (13) 99 Simon Kenny 00:19:30 121 Aoife Quigley 00:19:59 (21) 177 Cría Dowling 00:21:10 (PB) (43) 196 Rebecca Fleming 00:21:55 (49) 289 Kelly Brown 00:24:32 (87) 350 Paul E. Kelly 00:27:18 372 Mairead Cashman 00:28:33 (129) 385 Maureen McGinley 00:29:40 (138) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/tallaght-ac-5k-2024/ AON Mullingar Half marathon (1392) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Peter Somba 1 01:09:24 34 Fiona Stack 1 01:21:26 Crusaders AC runners 53 Alby Allan 01:23:39 (PB) 102 Aaron Farrell 01:27:33 129 Tim O’Donnell 01:28:55 (PB) 149 Michael Fitzsimons 01:30:30 173 Rachel Calvey 01:31:35 (13) 211 Áine Kenny 01:34:01 (21) 244 Gillian Earley 01:34:15 (29) 339 Judy O’Connell 01:39:38 (49) 421 Triona Quill 01:43:42 (69) 480 Louise O’Riordan 01:44:49 (87) 600 Tanja Narancic 01:49:00 (124) 654 Kevin Kenny 01:51:15 869 Lisa Branigan 01:57:23 (239) 1105 Evelyn Neary 02:08:50 (378) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/aon_mullingar_half_marathon__st_patricks_day_5k/5004/results Run for Raphael’s 5k (280) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Eoin Dowling 1 00:17:38 13 Theresa Doherty 1 00:21:36 Crusaders AC runner 4 Donatas Jocius 00:18:05 Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/run-for-raphaels-2024/ Spar Craic 10k (4138) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Stephen Connolly 1 00:31:42 19 Sophie Wood 1 00:35:10 Crusaders AC runner 17 Ross Neill 00:34:43 Full results here: https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results Streets of Portlaoise 5k (862) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Pierre Murchan 1 00:14:24 28 Annmarie McGlynn 1 00:16:19 Crusaders AC runners 55 Brian Regan 00:17:06 207 Miriam Logan 00:21:21 (41) Full results here: https://www.popupraces.ie/race/streets-of-portlaoise-2024/ Sandymount Night Run 10k (733) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Conor O’Reilly 1 00:36:01 16 Jamie Fitzgerald (sic) 1 00:41:22 Crusaders AC runners 58 Adrian Groarke 00:45:43 255 John Corish 00:54:54 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sandymount_nightrun_10km__5km_2024/5003/results Sandymount Night Run 5k (511) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 John Bugeja 1 00:17:30 15 Ursula Hughes 1 00:21:19 Crusaders AC runners 2 Alban Coghlan 00:17:41 3 Jim Stagg 00:18:21 72 Alan Martin 00:28:01 74 Adam Kinch 00:27:51 440 Faeed Faeedi 00:39:34 Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sandymount_nightrun_10km__5km_2024/5003/results IMRA Crone Maulin Night Challenge 7.4k (161) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Greg Byrne 1 00:38:55 37 Rebecca Carolan 1 00:48:56 Crusaders AC runners 6 Warren Swords 00:40:20 79 Gavan Doherty 00:58:03 Full results here: https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2492 Corkagh Parkrun (189) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Liam Morris 1 00:17:12 5 Kate McDonald 1 00:18:30 Crusaders AC runners 2 Liam Morris 00:17;12 102 Mairead Cashman 00:29:12 (28) Shanganagh Parkrun (215) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Brian Maher 1 00:17:18 11 Sarah Healy 1 00:19:37 Crusaders AC runners 2 Derek Lawlor 00:17:28 16 David Carter 00:20:26 181 Carina Davidson 00:34:46 (75) Dodder Valley Parkrun (143) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Robert O’Brien 1 00:17:59 12 Louise O’Brien 1 00:23:21 Crusaders AC runner 126 Eoghan Corrigan 00:42:48 Ballina Parkrun (51) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ciarán Canning 1 00:19:08 2 Grace Dempsey 1 00:20:24 Crusaders AC runner 14 Paul F. Kelly 00:25:11 Marlay Parkrun (469) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 August Benedicto 1 00:17:14 16 Anne O’Donovan 1 00:20:01 Crusaders AC runner 198 Barry O’Neill 00:27:08 Mountbellew Forest Parkrun (31) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Alan Conway 1 00:21:28 10 Bridget Murray 1 00:26:57 Crusaders AC runner 14 Áine Kenny 00:28:25 (3) Tolka Valley Parkrun (46) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Cian Ó Raghallaigh 1 00:19:13 13 Jill Gillman 1 00:25:34 Crusaders AC runners 3 Phelim Murray 00:21:21 6 Diarmuid Byrne 00:23:09 14 Garret Connolly 00:25:58 Poolbeg Parkrun (124) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Stephen Hurley 1 00:18:30 13 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:55 Crusaders AC runners 1 Stephen Hurley 00:18:30 6 Neil Monahan 00:20:16 31 Jessica Norris 00:24:44 52 Tara Murphy 00:27:04 (10) 66 Tanja Narancic 00:28:40 (16) 72 Franky Keane 00:30:02 83 Maureen McGinley 00:31:49 (26) 117 Rachel Calvey 00:47:52 (50) Ormeau Parkrun (462) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 2 Matthew Wray 1 00:18:27 12 Shileen O’Kane 1 00:19:33 Crusaders AC runners 18 Ross Neill 00:20:27 195 Fiona Shine 00:27:34 (40) 459 Lisa Shine 00:53:38 (182) Fairview Parkrun (115) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Koffi Kpoglo 1 00:20:10 18 Aine Ni Ghloinn 1 00:23:40 Crusaders AC runner 21 Andy Deuser 00:23:52 There were at least two races with Crusaders participation this weekend and neither disappointed in terms of results. The first was the visit of the BHAA to the University of Maynooth for its annual XC event, this year the penultimate race of the winter series. The second was the iconic Bohermeen half marathon in Co. Meath, with a turnout of more than 30 of our clubmates. Starting with the XC, there were 23 runners in the 2-mile women’s race on Saturday morning, conducted on two laps of a largely flat anti-clockwise looped course but in windy conditions. We only had two runners in the race, but they acquitted themselves well. Clare Sullivan won the race in a time of 13:08, with Rachael Yorke not too far back in 5th place in a time of 13:51. The following mixed race involved a field of 74 with 5 Crusaders included. On the same looped course with double the distance of the first race, Karl Walsh placed 19th in 26:19, followed by Neil Brown (35th in 28:39), Robbie Moore (40th in 29:17), David O'Donnell (44th in 30:24) and Paul E. Kelly (69th in 39:45). Then, on Sunday, many of our members recorded PBs in the half marathon conducted on the country roads around Bohermeen. It is a race well-known for its PB possibilities and we can safely say that at least half of those who represented the club on Sunday morning recorded improved times over the distance. Even so, it was a race carried out in wet conditions, making one’s shoes heavier over the two lapped course. It was breezy enough at times on what is essentially a flat course with just a couple of drags over the motorway. The start was slightly delayed because of late buses and the delay was compounded somewhat by a car meandering through the crowd gathered at the start line just before the gun. But, once the race was underway, there was no stopping everyone and there were some excellent performances recorded. Indeed, we even came home with some silverware. In a field of nearly 1500 runners, our contingent was led home by Kevin Fitzgibbon who placed 27th in a PB time of 74:11. Kevin was followed by Ciarain Kelly who also recorded a PB with a time of 74:45 for 34th. Next came Ciaran Diviney (36th and 1st M50 in 75:01) and Dee Lawlor, another runner with a PB (51st in 76:37). The 4 runners placed 3rd men’s team out of 40 in the open competition. When one adds in Robert Browne (69th in 78:05) and Joe McDermott (70th in a PB time of 78:12), the 6 men placed 2nd in the Rennick Cup behind Raheny and ahead of 27 other teams. Well done to them. Eugene McDonough was next (84th in a PB time of 79:00) and he was followed by Gerard White (97th also with a PB time of 79:29) and by Kenan Furlong (another runner with a PB, 107th in 79:42). Rory Goldsmith followed, with a time of 82:24 for 156th, ahead of Eddie Nugent (280th in 87:05) and Mags Foley who led the 4-strong women’s team home to victory in both the Delany Cup and the open competition (ahead of 24 other teams in both competitions). Mags recorded yet another PB in her preparations for the London marathon in April with a time of 88:24 for 319th place overall and 19th female finisher. The other scoring runners were Carolyn O’Reilly (415th and 38th in a PB time of 91:00), Sarah Lyons (440th and 44th in a PB time of 91:51) and Ciara Lynch (449th and 47th in 92:10). Congrats to them. In between came Conor Macguinness (351st in 89:03), David Carter (371st in 89:08) and Michael Fitzsimons (386th in 89:45), and they were followed by Tom Gleeson (in a placing to be confirmed in a PB time of 93:00) and Oisin Browne (476th in a PB time of 93:23). Oisin was followed by Isabelle Cairns (566th and 77th in 97:12), Cría Dowling (616th and 92nd in a PB time of 98:28), Dee Ni Chearbhaill (628th and 95th in 98:49), whose husband, Sean Murphy, who trains with us, placed 334th in a satisfying 1:28:30, Emily Glen (687th and 111th in a PB time of 99:58), Daniel Gleeson (695th in a PB time of 1:40:40) and Tara Gavin (698th and 113th in 1:40:14). Further back came Shivananda Pukhrem (822nd in 1:45:14), Kevin Kenny (928th in a PB time of 1:47:46), John O’Donnell (1029th in 1:51:34), Ciara Black (114th and 294th in 1:55:38), Daniel O’Mahony (1159th in 1:56:17) just ahead of Cecilia Sandre (1160th and 312th in a PB time of 1:56:18), Evelyn Neary (1396th and 440th in 2:14:25) and Linda Walsh (1414th and 454th in 2:15:48, her second fastest half marathon). We had participants on Saturday morning in only 9 parkruns, one of them in London, but as above, we had some super results. Kieran Little led home the field of 180 in Shanganagh in a time of 16:30. He was joined by Carina Davidson who placed 118th and 44th in 30:10. Dee Lawlor was one of those runners who prepared for Sunday’s half marathon by running a parkrun on Saturday morning. Dee placed 3rd in 19:59 in the 128-strong field in Cabinteely. A couple of others who participated in Bohermeen ran in Poolbeg in a contingent of 20 out of a field of 191 there. Kevin Kavanagh took 2nd place in 18:07 and he was followed by Stephen Hurley (4th in 19:13), Neil Monahan (7th in 20:36), Zlatko Kulic (21st in 21:38), Tanja Narancic (45th and 8th in 24:37) just ahead of Cian Coughlan (46th in 24:40), Franky Keane (69th in 27:04), Sharon Woods (70th and 15th in 27:05), Tara Murphy (75th and 19th in 27:14), Ciara Lehane (104th and 35th in 28:43), Yvonne Macauley (105th and 36th in 28:44), Fiona Shine (110th and 39th in 29:06), Mairead Cashman (115th and 43rd in 29:10) alongside Kenan Furlong (116th in the same time), Maureen McGinley (120th and 44th in 29:24), Máirín Shine (125th and 47th in 29:39), Áine Crotty (126th and 48th in 29:42), Kevin Kenny (129th in 29:53), Lisa Shine (161st and 73rd in 37:38) and Fiona Bane, tailwalking. Coming back from injury, Thomas Vogée headed over to London for the weekend and, alongside his brother, he ran in the hilly Hampstead Heath parkrun, placing 11th in 20:26 in a field of 372. Closer to home, Eoghan Corrigan placed 14th in 22:19 in the 228-strong Royal Canal Parkrun in Kilcock, whilst Toby Benham took 22nd spot in 21:40 in Tramore Valley, Cork in a field of 237 runners. Darina Scully placed 125th and 31st pushing her buggy in Malahide. Darina’s time was 27:33 and the field there measured 262. Finally, Maria Kennedy ran in Kilkenny, where, in a field of 189, she placed 83rd and 27th in 29:03, whilst, in Donabate, Brendan Glynn ran 25:10 for 46th place alongside 174 other participants. Bohermeen Half marathon (1486) Overall place Name Cat. Place Chiptime 1 Martin Hoare 1 01:06:49 44 Ciara Wilson 1 01:15:31 Crusaders AC runners 27 Kevin Fitzgibbon 01:14:11 (PB) 34 Ciarain Kelly 01:14:45 (PB) 36 Ciaran Diviney 01:15:01 51 Derek Lawlor 01:16:37 (PB) 69 Robert Browne 01:18:05 70 Joe McDermott 01:18:12 (PB) 84 Eugene McDonough 01:19:00 (PB) 97 Gerard White 01:19:29 (PB) 107 Kenan Furlong 01:19:42 (PB) 156 Rory Goldsmith 01:22:24 280 Eddie Nugent 01:27:05 319 Margaret Foley 01:28:24 (PB) (19) 351 Conor Macguinness 01:29:03 371 David Carter 01:29:08 386 Michael Fitzsimons 01:29:45 415 Carolyn O’Reilly 01:31:00 (PB) (38) 440 Sarah Lyons 01:31:51 (PB) (44) 449 Ciara Lynch 01:32:10 (47) Xxx Tom Gleeson 01:33:00 (PB) 476 Oisin Browne 01:33:23 (PB) 566 Isabelle Cairns 01:37:12 (77) 616 Cría Dowling 01:38:28 (PB) (92) 628 Dee Ni Chearbhaill 01:38:49 (95) 687 Emily Glen 01:39:58 (PB) (111) 695 Daniel Gleeson 01:40:40 (PB) 698 Tara Gavin 01:40:14 (113) 822 Shivananda Pukhrem 01:45:14 928 Kevin Kenny 01:47:46 (PB) 1029 John O’Donnell 01:51:34 1114 Ciara Black 01:55:38 (294) 1159 Daniel O’Mahony 01:56:17 1160 Cecilia Sandre 01:56:18 (PB) (312) 1396 Evelyn Neary 02:14:25 (440) 1414 Linda Walsh 02:15:48 (454) Full results here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/bohermeen_ac_half_marathon/5001/results BHAA AIB/NUI women’s 2-mile XC race (23) Overall place Name Guntime 1 Clare Sullivan 00:13:08 Crusaders AC runners 1 Clare Sullivan 00:13:08 5 Rachael Yorke 00:13:51 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/AIB%20NUI%202m%20CC%20results.pdf BHAA AIB/NUI mixed 4-mile XC race (74) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 George Snee 1 00:23:05 45 Louise English 1 00:30:27 Crusaders AC runners 19 Karl Walsh 00:26:19 35 Neil Brown 00:28:39 40 Robbie Moore 00:29:17 44 David O'Donnell 00:30:24 69 Paul E. Kelly 00:39:45 Full results here: https://irp.cdn-website.com/15e8030f/files/uploaded/AIB%20NUI%204m%20CC%20results.pdf Kilkenny Parkrun (189) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Edoardo Daves 1 00:18:54 10 Claire Phelan 1 00:21:50 Crusaders AC runner 83 Maria Kennedy 00:29:03 (27) Shanganagh Parkrun (180) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Kieran Little 1 00:16:30 11 Eileen O’Toole 1 00:20:58 Crusaders AC runners 1 Kieran Little 00:16:30 118 Carina Davidson 00:30:10 (44) Royal Canal, Kilcock Parkrun (228) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Gary McKenna 1 00:17:03 15 Aisling Nolan 1 00:22:34 Crusaders AC runner 14 Eoghan Corrigan 00:22:19 Cabinteely Parkrun (128) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Oren Kenny 1 00:18:19 5 Phillippa Lloyd 1 00:20:46 Crusaders AC runner 3 Derek Lawlor 00:19:59 Malahide Parkrun (262) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Conor Twomey 1 00:17:31 11 Jesseka Gallagher 1 00:19:58 Crusaders AC runner 125 Darina Scully 00:27:33 (31) Donabate Parkrun (175) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Patrick Phillips 1 00:18:22 9 Katie Halpin 1 00:21:18 Crusaders AC runner 46 Brendan Glynn 00:25:10 Tramore Valley, Cork Parkrun (237) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 Ken Ince 1 00:17:40 6 Siobhan Hoare 1 00:19:33 Crusaders AC runner 22 Toby Benham 00:21:40 Poolbeg Parkrun (191) Overall place Name Cat. Place Guntime 1 James Morris 1 00:17:55 18 Ava Rose Clarke 1 00:21:31 Crusaders AC runners 2 Kevin Kavanagh 00:18:07 4 Stephen Hurley 00:19:13 7 Neil Monahan 00:20:36 21 Zlatko Kulic 00:21:38 45 Tanja Narancic 00:24:37 (8) 46 Cian Coughlan 00:24:40 69 Franky Keane 00:27:04 70 Sharon Woods 00:27:05 (15) 75 Tara Murphy 00::27:14 (19) 104 Ciara Lehane 00:28:43 (35) 105 Yvonne Macauley 00:28:44 (36) 110 Fiona Shine 00:29:06 (39) 115 Mairead Cashman 00:29:10 (43) 116 Kenan Furlong 00:29:10 120 Maureen McGinley 00:29:24 (44) 125 Máirín Shine 00:29:39 (47) 126 Áine Crotty 00:29:42 (48) 129 Kevin Kenny 00:29:53 161 Lisa Shine 00:37:38 (73) 184 Fiona Bane 00:55:02 (89) |