Blog Post

DCC Road Races Review

Web Master • Apr 08, 2015

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It was a mad March day!  The start of BHAA’s road racing season was launched in traditional manner by the two races held on Saturday 28 March in Raheny’s St. Anne’s Park. The course is generally considered to be of PB quality, when the weather is favourable. On this occasion the weather was roaring like a lion, yet still some excellent times were produced.

As was the case last year, and repeating the recent Garda cross-country event in the Phoenix Park, our ranks were swelled by runners in bright yellow t-shirts signifying they are part of the Dublin Lord Mayor’s initiative, this year entitled the 5 Alive challenge. They always add great colour to these events and their support for fellow runners is infectious.

The first event of the day was the women’s 2 mile race, which involved one lap of the course. The entire race is held in the confines of the park. It starts off at the top of the main road through the park heading Eastwards, turns North briefly, then East again, to be followed within about 150m by a sharp turn to the west. At this point on Saturday, runners were confronted by a wind so strong they nearly came to a full halt! A brief respite was obtained after about 60m with a turn to the south, but then the headwind returned for most of the remaining mile or so  of the course as it meandered its way through a wooded area and around some playing fields, finally heading about 200m directly into the wind to the finish line. At least it was flat!

For much of the first half of the women’s race there was a lead group of about 6 runners, from where the podium places would eventually emerge. There followed then a ribbon of runners, more than 130 in total. The race was guided by Gerry Flaherty on his bike and a DCC van that ensured that pedestrians and dogs kept off the route.

Towards the last half mile or so the group broke up and Brid Ni Chonaill, a runner whose club, Raheny Shamrocks, trains in the park, emerged victorious in 12:57 with a 3 second advantage over a surprise, but in form, second place finisher, AIB’s Dee Ni Chearbhaill. Dee, likewise, was able to hold off Maura Kearns, the winner of the recent ALSAA cross-country race, who came in a further 6 seconds back. Lorraine Byrne, Orna Dilworth, the reigning National 50K champion, and Aine Crimin made up the remaining top six places, all finishing within roughly 30 seconds of the winner. Further back there were some interesting competitions within the race. Nuala Reilly and Sheelagh Jones had a good battle in their age category, only 6 seconds finally separating them.  Fiona Byrne was able to keep Sharon McGrane at bay in their age category, whilst only one second separated Mary Jennings from Una Reilly. Una did, however have the satisfaction of helping to win team prize for Revenue, along with Susan Walsh who enjoyed her own sprint victory over Sharon Woods (although they do not share the same age category). The third member of Revenue’s winning team was  Mary Kelly. The race was further graced with the participation of the Shine family and their friends, it being Fiona’s hen weekend. She made it a condition of the festivity that all her hens had to join her in the race. What a great way to recruit runners!

The 4 mile open race enjoyed a field of 240 runners completing two laps of the same course as the women’s race.  As we all left the start line, the DCC van, there to guide the lead runners around, had somehow been abandoned in the middle of the, thankfully wide, throughfare with both its front doors wide open. This didn’t phase us in the least and after having passed this inadvertent obstacle we were on our way without any further ado.

The race was won by recent ALSAA cross-country victor Kevin O’Connor from UCD in a time of 21:32. 2nd and 3rd places went respectively to IADT’s Turlough Conway (21:44) and ARUP and Mullingar’s Kevin Baker (21:52). The next 4 places came in within 8 seconds of each other, between Thomas Sherlock (22:13), Chris Flood (22:16), Rory O’Sullivan (22:18) and Tomasz Gagola (22:21). Surprisingly, there were some of us who ran it faster this year than last, notably Dee Ni Chearbhaill’s husband, Sean Murphy whose time of 23:04 was 10 seconds faster than last year, although most of us agreed that the windy conditions this year added between 15 and 20 seconds a mile to times.

Jennifer Sharkey was 18th runner home and first woman finisher in the 4-mile race in a time of 24:15, holding off Eamonn McWalter who placed 19th in 24:17 This year has been particularly notable for the depth of strong competition in the M55 age category and it was evident again during this race. The top 6 runners in the category all finished within 75 seconds of the winner of the category, Chris Keeling, who placed 26th in an excellent time of 24:40 for the distance.

All in all, a tough but rewarding experience. It’s good to be back once again on the roads and we are all looking forward to the K Club this week, on a course that’s seen its fair share of PB performances over the years. The after-race spread is pretty impressive too!
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By Charlie Cronin 31 May, 2023
 Dublin BHAA is extremely grateful to Paul Richardson who, at very short notice, took on the race director’s role for the 2023 Dunboyne 5-mile road race. This race has been ever-present on the BHAA calendar for over two decades with considerable participation and enjoyment. When he learnt that Paul Gorey, the former race director, would not be available, he came forward to rescue and manage the very effective delivery of this year’s race with style and panache. Many thanks. Needless to say a big thank you also to the many BHAA volunteers who came along on that night to help – a demonstration of sport’s community and volunteer spirit.
By BHAA Admin 19 Dec, 2022
Welcome to our BHAA AGM which covers 2022 following the Covid-19 Pandemic and the restricted times we lived in for 2 years. Let us remember our past colleagues who died during 2022. May they Rest In Pace Normal service was resumed in January 2022 with the staging of the Bank of Ireland cc race in Tymon Park. Our new Covid signs encouraged Social Distancing and Sanitisation! We were back in Tymon Park with Eir two weeks later – this time there was a marked change in attitude as the Covid Restrictions were eased at mid-night! And our Covid signs were redundant after 2 outings! At last we were free to race and Indoor Refreshments were available again. Everyone was delighted to be back racing and meeting old friends and foes! We completed our Spring cc races with Garda in a very windy Phoenix Park, with Central Bank in Wesley College, with Dublin Airport in ALSAA and with AIB/NUIM in ideal conditions in Maynooth College. BHAA noticed that numbers had not returned as per pre-Covid. There was still an element of fear in people mixing and getting infected by Covid. BHAA was not alone in seeing this trend. The BHAA Road Racing season began with a well-supported DCC event in St Annes Park which included a contra-flow due to the Farmers Market in the Park. This included the final race in the Lord Mayors Series in which she ran. Well done Alderman Caroline Conroy! I am not sure if she stayed for the Quiz? With the loss of the K-Club and BMS races in 2022, our summer calendar suffered. ESB Beach race was cancelled at the 11th hour due to inclement weather on the East Coast in mid-May – another sign of Global Warming???? Government Services staged their annual excellent 5-mile race in Dunboyne. Unfortunately Paul Gorey has stepped away from Race Promoting and BHAA are actively trying to recruit his successor – there is no mad rush with offers!!! DCC kept the flag flying with a well-supported 5k in Irishtown on a warm July day!  Pfizer brought the curtain down on our road season with a 5k around their Grange Castle Complex. Well done to Marius McNicholas on an excellent promotion. It was comforting to hear that our Pfizer Vaccines were manufactured in this Centre. The Irish Life Dublin Marathon was staged on the last Sunday in Oct and Jim Aughney and his teams did an excellent job in attracting over 25,000 entries. Unfortunately, our Irish Life cc race in Nov could not go ahead due to Track Upgrading in Santry but we hope normal service will resume in 2023. BHAA attended the Marathon Expo in RDS at the end of Oct. We used it to promote both our and the Cork BHAA 2022/23 calendars. Two new Race Promoters intimated their desire to host BHAA races – this was music to our ears! John Sheridan and BNP Paribas promoted a new 6k cc race in Kiltipper Park on 10th Dec in snow-covered fields. SDCC refused permission to race in Dodder Valley Park but with the help of Alan Merriman (TallaghtTown AFC), we were able to re-locate to Kiltipper Park. This has the potential to become one of our Signature events! Challenges – New members, New Promoters, Park Runs, Calendar Committee members – new people are always welcome, Sinead Lyons, Colm Murray and Mary Rigney made very valuable contributions to this BHAA committee. Kathleen Horgan and Jim Dwyer made welcome comebacks to this Committee. Recently, Irish Life Sports & Social made a very generous donation to BHAA – this was a major surprise and a Big Thank You to Mary, Kathleen and Irish Life. Thank you to all BHAA members for your continued support and loyalty. Unfortunately for BHAA, Stephen Naughton is stepping away from the Committee after many years in different roles as Chairman, Secretary and Race Organiser. After a tough personal year, he has been a tremendous supporter of BHAA over 40 years. I will miss his sound advice and support but I expect to see him racing more often. Thank you, Stephen. Thank you to all the other committee members who ensure that every race maintains a high standard with their input. Frank Wade, with his relentless pursuit of perfection ensures that I cannot drop my guard or make any school-boy errors around Timing! His attention to detail is frightening but it is extremely beneficial to BHAA. The Committee covers many areas, Admin, Finance, Web, Communications, Calendar, Registration, Results, Promoters, Venues and other Stakeholders – this Committee has ensured that all these areas are covered adequately. It is great to be back to Normal and we have a reasonable BHAA Calendar prepared for 2023. If BNP Paribas can put on a race within weeks of engaging with us, there must be more brave Promoters out there? Please come forward. Your input is important. New faces and new ideas are always welcomed by BHAA. Merry Christmas and have a great, sporting 2023 Charlie Cronin Chairman 2022
By BHAA Admin 16 Nov, 2022
Our cross-country season will be kicking off in Dodder Valley Park, Tallaght on Sat 10th December 2022 with a 6k race hosted by new race promoter, BNP Paribas.
By BHAA Admin 16 Nov, 2022
Support and hats off for trio of committee marathoners 2022
By BHAA Admin 20 May, 2022
Dublin BHAA committee were very saddened to learn of the sudden death of Myles Murphy. He was a great BHAA stalwart and member for several decades who ran and enjoyed races all over the country. He ran at the April 2022 BHAA DCC 4 mile race. He was a quiet gentleman who will be missed but well remembered. On behalf of Dublin BHAA members, sincere sympathies are extended to his partner Linda, family, and friends.
By BHAA Admin 03 Apr, 2022
 BHAA is pleased to report that long standing member Jim Kelly wrote a book about the BHAA running exploits of his colleagues and friends for over 40 years. Recently Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland launched “ The History of Dublin Corporation/City Council Runners 1979-2019”. The then Dublin Corporation runners club in 1979 – notably Noel Carroll- were instrumental in establishing the Dublin Marathon. The book charts the enduring legacy of 40 years of staff representing the Corporation and the City Council with their names and some short race biographies where possible. Dublin Corporation had three athletic Olympians, Noel Carroll, Des McGann, and Ailish Smyth of which there are accounts in the book. Just as important over the forty years more than 130 staff have represented the Corporation and Council in corporate races of the Dublin Business Houses Athletic Association wearing the Corporation and then Council singlet. Opportunity for similar books by long standing BHAA teams So it was important to have a formal record. Both Chair Charlie Cronin and Jim Kelly now encourage other regular BHAA teams – particularly major employers- to seriously consider researching and publishing accounts of their own racing history. It would be a shame if such rich sporting achievements are lost to memory. Charlie and Jim are available to advise for those interested.
By BHAA Admin 22 Jan, 2021
Dublin BHAA was very saddened to learn of the death of Jerry Kiernan. Jerry was a good man who contributed as a father, teacher, athlete, Olympian, coach and friend. He was twice winner of the Dublin City Marathon and had many athletic achievements to be proud of. BHAA were privileged that he competed successfully in… Read more
By BHAA Admin 22 Nov, 2020
By Web Master 11 Oct, 2020
I hope all our BHAA members are safe and well in these unprecedented times. Just to let you all know all races are cancelled until further notice. We will continue to follow Government and HSE advice. Please look out for updates on the BHAA website. The health and well being of our members, volunteers and… Read more
By BHAA Admin 10 Oct, 2020
It is with a heavy heart and sadness that Dublin BHAA learnt of the sudden passing of Pat Hooper yesterday. He still had so much to give. He contributed enormously since the 1970’s to Irish Athletics. He was a national marathon champion and ran in the 1980’s Moscow Olympics. He was an early supporter and… Read more
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