Dublin Marathon: Defending Irish champions to miss event this weekend

Defending Irish champions Martin Hoare and Courtney McGuire will both miss Sunday’s Irish Life Dublin Marathon.

The event has doubled as the Irish marathon championship since 2003, creating arguably the more interesting races, with Hoare and Courtney both winning their first titles last year.

Hoare ended up in seventh place overall, clocking a then lifetime best of 2:20:21 at age 35, the Maynooth athlete admitting in other years he’d have been back of the pack. McGuire produced an even bigger breakthrough as best Irish female when the Clonmel woman nailed third place overall, running 2:32:50 in her first marathon.

Hoare’s preparations to defend his title at age 36 were put on hold with the arrival of his third child, although he plans to return next year. McGuire has also withdrawn due to a minor injury.

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The absence of Hoare likely clears the way for Stephen Scullion to win back the Irish title he claimed in 2019 when the Belfast athlete produced a stunning performance to take second place outright, his 2:12:01 the then fastest time by any Irish man in 17 years.

Scullion’s run was even better considering the only man to beat him on the day was Othmane El Goumri from Morocco, just nine months after returning to the sport following a two-year doping ban.

“Arguably I might have won the thing if he wasn’t here,” Scullion said that year. “But look, I feel like a winner inside, that’s a victory for me.”

[ ‘The Dublin Marathon hasn’t changed, and neither has my naivety, so what has?’ ]

Scullion has since improved his best to 2:09:25, in London in 2020, and finished 10th in last year’s Commonwealth Games. There are some questions about his marathon fitness, although he certainly has the class and experience to put himself in contention.

Ryan Creech from Cork has showed the best form this year of any of the Irish runners, winning the Irish half marathon title and running 2:13:03 in his marathon debut in Seville. The Irish title also offers valuable ranking points towards Paris Olympic qualification.

Outright men’s winner Taoufik Allam is also back to defend his title, the 34-year-old Moroccan improving his lifetime 2:07:43 when winning the Rome Marathon in March of this year. His main rival will likely be Tadesse Mamo of Ethiopia who placed second to Allam in Rome, setting a personal best of 2:07:04, both likely targeting the course record of 2:08:06.

Last year’s outright women’s title went to Nigist Muluneh of Ethiopia in 2:28:31, and she is back to defend that overall win.

McGuire had to shake off the persistent Ann-Marie McGlynn over the final five miles 12 months ago, who finished second best Irish woman in 2:33:46. McGlynn has also shown fine form this year over the half marathon distance, winning in Belfast in September in 1:14:53, and is a serious contender to win her first Irish marathon title.

With more than €100,000 in prize money on offer in all, the women’s elite field includes Florence Kiplagat of Kenya, a two-time Chicago Marathon and two-time Berlin Marathon winner with a marathon best of 2:19:44.

In the wheelchair race, Ireland’s Patrick Monaghan, six-time winner of Dublin, will compete against Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sean Frame, who set a big personal best at the recent Berlin Marathon of 1:31:18.

John Treacy, the 1984 Olympic marathon silver medallist, will be the honorary starter, marking the 30th anniversary of his win in the 1993 Dublin Marathon, when he ran 2:14:40. That remained the best time by an Irish runner in Dublin until Scullion ran his 2:12:01 in 2019.