Marathon de Dublin

The Marathon de Dublin, Europe's fourth-largest marathon, has been held in Dublin every October since 1980 and brings together more than 20,000 participants from 60 countries; the next edition takes place on 25 October 2026. Nicknamed “the friendly marathon”, it is renowned for the large, encouraging crowds all along the route.

The course is a 42.195 km loop through the heart of the Irish capital, starting on Fitzwilliam Street Upper and finishing on Merrion Square North. The partly undulating route passes several landmarks of Irish heritage. The course records are held by Ethiopia's Kemal Husen in 2:06:52 for the men and Russia's Tatyana Aryasova in 2:26:13 for the women.

Each edition honours an Irish personality or event, and the race is supported by a charity that helps people who are ill and in hospital. After the finish, the city-centre pubs serve the essential Guinness and traditional Irish stew.