MORE THAN any other runner, Gerard Fay from Bettystown, Co Meath, will know his way round today’s Dublin city marathon course. Fay (38) has been running the course every day since the start of last week and he also plans to run in the New York City marathon next Sunday, all in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Association.
More than 12,500 runners are expected to take part today. Twenty-nine of them have run every marathon since 1980 when it was launched largely at the instigation of the noted athlete and then Dublin Corporation press officer, the late Noel Carroll.
A total of €53,000 will be handed out in prize money. The winners of the men’s and women’s races will each receive €15,000, and there will also be time-bonus prizes.
Russian Aleksey Sokolov, holder of the Lifestyle Sports-Adidas Dublin city marathon course record of 2:09:07, set in 2007, will be attempting to take his third title in four years.
The marathon will start at 9am on Fitzwilliam Square. The field will travel towards O’Connell Street and then via North Circular Road to the Phoenix Park. The course crosses back south of the Liffey and runners will pass through Inchicore, Drimnagh, Crumlin, Milltown, Donnybrook and Ballsbridge, before finishing on Merrion Square.
Traffic restrictions will operate and motorists are advised to park away from the city centre and to consult websites of transport firms for route alterations.
Traffic travelling into the city centre from the M1 will be diverted down Upper Gardiner Street when it reaches Dorset Street, from 8.30am to 9.45am.
Motorists travelling on the N2 towards the centre are advised to use the M50/N4 due to restrictions in the Phibsboro area from 8.30am to 10.30am. Traffic on the N3 will be diverted away from the North Circular Road, while motorists travelling to the centre are advised to use the M50/N4 from 8.45am to 10.30am.
While the N4 will be open all day, there will be delays on the north quays at O’Connell Bridge between 8.45am and 9.45am as the runners cross the Liffey.
There will be rigorous traffic restrictions in the Inchicore area and at Dolphin’s Barn from 9am to 12.30pm. A traffic box will operate at Drimnagh to allow motorists to filter out of the race area from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
The N11 will be unaffected, except for the slip roads on to and off the Belfield flyover.Traffic will also be diverted at the Merrion Gates.
Motorists coming from the north or west of the city, travelling to the RDS in Ballsbridge, are advised to use the East Link toll bridge and Strand Road or the M50/N11. Traffic coming from the south should use the N11 and Ailesbury Road. There will be severe traffic restrictions in the Merrion Square, Nassau Street and St Stephen’s Green areas.
