Inside Dublin Half Marathon 2026 Route

The second running of the Dublin City Half Marathon is right around the corner, with the 21.1km race scheduled for Sunday, May 3. Dublin Half Marathon 2026 Route has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in Ireland.

Key facts

• The second running of the Dublin City Half Marathon is right around the corner, with the 21.1km race scheduled for Sunday, May 3.
• This article was amended on April 24, 2026, at 3pm to clarify the date of the Dublin City Half Marathon.
• When Killian Mooney proved a decisive winner of last year’s Dublin City Half Marathon, he mirrored the runaway success of the inaugural event which quickly cemented its place in the Irish running calendar.
• After the success of the inaugural Dublin City Half Marathon last March, this year’s edition has an expanded field of 13,200 runners taking part.
• The Dublin City Half Marathon gets under way from 8.30am and will run for three-and-a-half hours, wrapping up at 12pm.

What we know

Going deeper, this article was amended on April 24, 2026, at 3pm to clarify the date of the Dublin City Half Marathon.

On the substance, when Killian Mooney proved a decisive winner of last year’s Dublin City Half Marathon, he mirrored the runaway success of the inaugural event which quickly cemented its place in the Irish running calendar.

Beyond the headlines, after the success of the inaugural Dublin City Half Marathon last March, this year’s edition has an expanded field of 13,200 runners taking part.

More precisely, the Dublin City Half Marathon gets under way from 8.30am and will run for three-and-a-half hours, wrapping up at 12pm.

It is worth noting that since then, the 31-year-old improved his half marathon best to 63:59 in Napoli in February, the second fastest Irish half marathon time this year.

By the numbers

At this stage, his half marathon best is 1:04:46, clocked in 2022, and that certainly looks ripe for improvement on Sunday.

On a related note, Seán Tobin from Clonmel AC and Ian Guiden from Clonliffe Harriers will make their half marathon debuts, Guiden in fine form after recently winning the National 10km in 30:13.

Going deeper, With 2025 women’s winner Nichola Sheridan now living in Australia, another Dundrum athlete, Meghan Ryan, looks the strongest contender, along with Maebh Brannigan of Galway City Harriers, who set a personal best of 75:09 at the Bohermeen Half Marathon in March.

On the substance, Organised by the same team behind the Dublin Marathon, running conditions look set to be reasonably favourable, and all runners advised to arrive at their assigned wave by 8:00am.

The wider context

On a related note, Paul O’Donnell, his clubmate at Dundrum South Dublin, will likely be the biggest challenger to his title.

Going deeper, Sponsored by Dublin City Council, of this year’s 13,200 entries, 11,200 places were allocated through the ballot, the remaining allocated to elite athletics, charity partners, and international tour operators.

On the substance, Mooney made his bold move for home just four miles into last year’s race, winning in 65 minutes and 40 seconds, enjoying a victory margin of just under a minute and a half in advance of Kevin Kelly.

Beyond the headlines, In March, he debuted in the marathon with a time of 2:17:46 in Barcelona.

More precisely, At February’s Sevilla Marathon, the 27-year-old O’Donnell clocked 2:09:19, the third fastest marathon ever by an Irishman.

The bottom line

• This article was amended on April 24, 2026, at 3pm to clarify the date of the Dublin City Half Marathon.
• When Killian Mooney proved a decisive winner of last year’s Dublin City Half Marathon, he mirrored the runaway success of the inaugural event which quickly cemented its place in the Irish running calendar.
• After the success of the inaugural Dublin City Half Marathon last March, this year’s edition has an expanded field of 13,200 runners taking part.