The organisers of the Dublin City Half Marathon have announced a new date and a ballot-based entry to best facilitate the increased demand for the 2026 event.
Last year’s inaugural event was staged on Sunday, March 30th. Such was the sprint to gain a place among the 12,500 entries, the online registration system crashed several times once it opened on January 8th with all entries selling out in just under two hours.
The 2026 event will take place over the May Bank Holiday weekend, on Sunday, May 3rd. Organisers said the later date was chosen “to better balance the needs of runners, organisers, and the wider city community”.
Entries will again be limited to 12,500, and the ballot-based entry is designed to give all interested runners an equal opportunity to take part. However, unlike the Dublin Marathon, also organised by the Dublin Marathon Group, the €4 ballot entry fee will be refunded in full to all runners who are unsuccessful in securing a place.
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The general ballot will decide 11,200 of the 12,500 entries and will open for seven days from Friday, January 16th until midnight on Thursday, January 22nd via the event website. Entrants will be notified of their ballot outcome by email in batches between Wednesday, January 28th and Thursday, January 29th.
There is an increase in the entry fee to €75 (up from €68 this year), which “reflects the scale, quality and significant logistical costs involved in staging a major road race in Dublin city centre, which operates on a similar city-centre footprint and delivery scale to the Dublin Marathon,” race organisers said. “In addition, the fee covers the administrative costs associated with operating the ballot system,” they added.
Last month, the Dublin Marathon Group announced a record 47,000 ballot applications were made for the 22,500 places in next year’s marathon, set for Sunday, October 25th. Of the 47,000, 17,200 were successful in the ballot, with a €5 administration fee applied to all ballot entries to cover processing and verification costs.
For successful applicants, this fee was redeemable against the full €110 entry fee. From the 29,800 unsuccessful ballot applications, the non-refundable admin fee amounted to €149,000, which organisers said also goes back into the running of the event.
There will also be an entry transfer window available for the half marathon. “While not all runners may secure a place through the ballot, additional entry opportunities may become available via the official transfer window which will take place from Thursday, April 2nd to Wednesday, April 8th.
“A €10 transfer fee will be charged to the recipient of a transferred entry. There will also be charity places for runners wishing to support good causes while securing entry.
“Any financial surpluses generated by the Dublin Marathon Group are fully reinvested into event delivery, safety, participant experience, and operational improvements. In line with best practice, reserve funds are maintained solely for operational stability and contingency planning.”
The expectation is the same course will remain in place for 2026, with only minor adjustments, if any, being considered. The event also differed from the Dublin Half Marathon, staged in September as part of the marathon countdown race series.
