When is it happening?
The first Dublin City Half Marathon will take place on Sunday, March 30th.
When does the race start?
The race will start on O’Connell Street with the first wave setting off at 8.30am, followed by the second wave at 8.45am and the third at 9am.
The wheelchair start will be at 8.20am.
As the race falls on the last Sunday of March, the clocks will have changed overnight before the race, jumping forward by one hour at 1am. Consider yourselves warned!
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The course will be open for 3 hours 30 minutes, closing at midday.
What’s the route?
Starting on O’Connell Street and heading north, the route heads out to Ballybough past Croke Park before following Richmond Road towards Drumcondra.
From there, participants will head north to Ellenfield Park, turning on to Shantalla Road to pass through Beaumont and on to Artane. They will continue towards Raheny, looping around St Anne’s Park, before following the coast road back towards the city centre via Clontarf, down Alfie Bryne Road to cross the river Tolka and then over the Royal Canal before finishing on Guild Street, near the statue of Luke Kelly.
How many people are set to take part?
Entries went on sale in January, with the 12,500 available spots selling out within two hours.
How will the waves work?
There will be three waves, setting off at 15-minute intervals from 8.30am as previously mentioned.
Each entrant will be assigned a wave (based on their previous or estimated time half-marathon time), indicated by their bib colour – Wave 1 is orange, Wave 2 is green, and Wave 3 is blue.
All participants are advised to arrive at the start area at 8am, coming from the direction of bag-drop areas (more on that later) via the route relevant to their bib colour – orange turning right on to O’Connell Street from Cathedral Street, green from North Earl Street, and blue from Eden Quay.
Racers will be allowed to drop to a later wave if needed, but will not be permitted to move to an earlier wave.
Will there be pacers?
Yes, there will be pacers for finish times ranging from 1:30 to 2:50.
What race facilities will there be?
There will be a bag-drop facility available based on bib colour. Entrants with orange bibs will be able to leave their items in an area on Commons Street, while the area for those with green and blue bibs will be near the National College of Ireland on Mayor Square.
On the 21km route, there will be water stations at 5km, 10km, 14km and 18km. Lucozade will also be available at the 18km station.
Can my friends and family track me while I run?
Yes, spectators will be able to track participants using their name or bib number on the Dublin City Half Marathon tracker.
What do I get for taking part?
Participants will get a snazzy race T-shirt, commemorative medal and a goody bag.
Will there be prizes?
Yes, €13,500 will be available for the top five finishers in both male and female categories. There will also be prize funds for wheelchair and visually impaired winners, as well as masters and non-binary categories.
Will there be road closures in place?
The joys of a city centre-based race. Yes, there will be several road closures throughout the day.
Guild Street (where the finish line will be located) in North Wall will be the first to close at midday on Saturday before the wider closures take effect from the early hours of Sunday.
Among the closures on race day are:
- O’Connell Street southbound (3am to 1pm);
- O’Connell Street northbound (6.30am to 10.30am);
- Parnell Street (8am to 10.30am);
- North Circular Road (8.15am to 10.30am);
- Drumcondra Road (7.30am to 10.55am);
- Howth Road (9am to 12pm).
Aside from Guild Street, all road closures in the city are scheduled to end by 2pm on the Sunday.
Transport disruptions?
Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Go-Ahead Ireland services will be affected by the race, including routes passing through O’Connell Street, Malahide Road, Coast Road, Howth Road, Drumcondra, Santry, Gardiner Street and Clontarf
Both Luas lines will have closures and loops in place during the race. Green line services will terminate at St Stephen’s Green (northbound) and Dominic Street (southbound), while red line services will only run as far east as Smithfield.
Race organisers have advised public transport users to check with individual operators regarding any changes to services in advance of their journey.
