The entry side of our site is down at present and our system provider is working to resolve the issue. Apologies to those who are trying to enter any of our events at present.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

SSE Airtricity, Ireland’s greenest second largest energy supplier, has confirmed their support for the Dublin Marathon and Race Series for a further three years. SSE Airtricity first came on board in 2013 as Dublin Marathon title sponsor, after the event had gone ahead in 2012 without a sponsor.

The news was welcomed by Race Director Jim Aughney at today’s official launch of the 2014 Marathon and Race Series at City Hall, where he also shared details of a new route, and a return to an invited elite field for 2014.

The marathon route has to change this year due to the current Luas works in Dublin City Centre. The route will start on Fitzwilliam Square and end at Merrion Square as per recent years, but it will run along St. Stephens Green towards Meath Street, Lord Edward Street & Parliament Street, taking in City Hall and Dublin Castle – two well-known Dublin landmarks before entering the quays and moving towards the Phoenix Park. The remainder of the course is similar to other years although the race will finish from the Mount Street lower towards Merrion Square as opposed to Nassu Street.” (http://dublinmarathon.ie/s/SSE-AT-DM14-ROUTE-MAP.pdf )

Last year saw the first Irish winner since Sonia O’Sullivan won in 2000 with Sean Hehir and Maria McCambridge taking the honours and the decision to return to a, albeit smaller, invited Elite field was not taken lightly by the organisers.

“We believe it’s important that we, as the leading marathon in Ireland, also help improve the standard of marathon running in our country.” said Aughney “And we believe our best marathon runners, such as Séan, Maria and Claire, can only benefit by running against a stronger field. We will have a much smaller field than previous years, but we feel it’s very positive for the event”

Speaking at today’s launch, Annabel Tonge, Head of Marketing at SSE Airtricity commented, “Everyone at SSE Airtricity is thrilled to be on board as overall sponsor of these well loved Dublin and national running events. Running’s’ popularity in Ireland has surged over the past few years and we believe that the positive energy created from taking part in the sport is a wonderful sustainable activity for the participants. For us this partnership is a perfect fit, and we look forward to encouraging more and more people to take part in the Marathon and Race Series over the next three years.”

Over 19,000 people took part in the SSE Airtricity Dublin Race Series last year, and over 14,500 runners, joggers and walkers entered the marathon. The 35th running of the SSE Airtricity Dublin marathon takes places in Dublin on Monday 27th October 2014 and the first event in the SSE Airtricity Dublin Race Series, the Irish Runner 5 mile, is on Saturday 28th June.

To register for any of the events, visit www.dublinmarathon.ie and stay in touch on Facebook/dublinmarathon or @dublinmarathon