The Dublin Marathon is an annual 26.2 mile (42.2 km)

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

marathon in Dublin, Ireland, held on the last Sunday in October. Prior to 2016, the race took place on the last Monday in October, which is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...

in Ireland. Held each year since 1980, the marathon had a record 22,500 registrants for the 2019 race, including over 5,000 entrants from outside Ireland.

History

The race was founded in 1980 by a group led by Noel Carroll, who persuaded the Business Houses Athletic Association (BHAA) to take up the idea. In the first year, 2,100 took part, of whom 1,420 finished.

Dick Hooper Richard Hooper (born 26 August 1956) is a former long-distance runner from Raheny, Dublin, Ireland. Career He represented Ireland in the Olympic marathon in Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988. He also represented Ireland four times in ...

of Raheny club Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club claimed first place, in a time of 2:16:14. The women's winner was

Carey May Carey May (born 19 July 1959 in Dublin) is a former long-distance runner from Ireland, who won the Osaka Ladies Marathon in 1983 and 1985. She is married to Dave Edge David Edge (born November 12, 1954 in Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom) ...

who finished in 2:42:11. That year's runner-up was Neil Cusack, who returned in 1981 to post a winning time of 2:13:59.

Jerry Kiernan Jeremiah Kiernan (31 May 1953 – 21 January 2021) was an Irish long-distance runner. Biography Kiernan was born in Listowel, County Kerry. He represented his native country at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he finis ...

's 1982 time of 2:13:45 was a long-standing men's course record. This was finally improved upon by Lezan Kipkosgei Kimutai over twenty years later in 2004, but Russian runner Aleksey Sokolov twice broke the record with consecutive wins in 2006/07, running 2:11:39 then 2:09:07 the next year. Moses Kangogo Kibet became the first man under 2:09 in Dublin with his win in 2:08:58. The current men's record is 2:08:06 set by Othmane El Goumri in 2019. Moira O'Neill was the first woman under two hours and forty minutes with her win of 2:37:06 in 1988 and home athlete Christine Kennedy improved this with a run of 2:35:56 three years later. Kenyan Ruth Kutol win in 2:27:22 in 2003 was the first sub-2:30 time and Russian Tatyana Aryasova broke this record in 2010 with her current women's record of 2:26:13. The participation level of the race has followed an upward trend: by 1988 the number of participants had increased to 8,700 – up from the 4,000 the previous year. It was not until 2000 that the 1988 participation record was finally broken when 8,900 took part. An increasing number of people took part every year in the late 2000s, with 11,000 at the 2007 edition. Entry levels have since increased significantly year-on-year with 19,500 completing the 2016 event. In 2001 the marathon became part of the Dublin Race Series, which includes pre-marathon events of 5 miles, 10 kilometres, 10 miles and half marathon distance over the preceding months, run in the Phoenix Park and Swords. A competitor died while running in the 2006 marathon, and another in the 2013 marathon. In October 2015, it was announced that from 2016 the marathon would be held on Sunday rather than the October bank holiday Monday to attract more overseas runners. The 2020 and 2021 editions of the race were cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, with all entries made valid for the following year and all registrants given the option of obtaining a full refund.

Course

The course is generally reasonably flat. It starts at

Fitzwilliam Square Fitzwilliam Square ( ga, Cearnóg Mhic Liam) is a Georgian garden square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built, and is the smallest. The middle of the square is composed of a ...

in the city centre and concludes at

Merrion Square Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. History The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand fo ...

. Exact routing varies, although in recent years the race has proceeded in an anti-clockwise direction around the city, including passing through the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

before moving towards the southside suburbs.

Race series

The marathon is part of a race series that includes four other races: the Fingal 4 Mile, the South Dublin 10K, the Frank Duffy 10 Mile, and the Dublin Half Marathon.

Prizes

The overall winner receives the Noel Carroll Memorial Trophy. Both winners also receive 12,000 EUR.

Winners

Key: : Course record (in bold) : Irish championship race

Wheelchair

Only male winners of the wheelchair division have been recorded, with the exceptions of 2002, 2004 and 2005.Previous Winners
Dublin Marathon. Retrieved 2020-05-28.

Broadcast coverage

Notes

References

;List of winners *Heyworth, Malcolm et al. (2010-11-18)
Dublin Marathon
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.

External links

{{commons category
Official website

2012 Route Map
at Marathon Info Recurring sporting events established in 1980 Marathons in Europe Athletics in Dublin (city) 1980 establishments in Ireland Annual events in Ireland Autumn events in the Republic of Ireland Wheelchair marathons