Record-breaking year for Dublin marathon despite the rain

It was a record-breaking year for the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon as over 15,000 entrants made light of the inclement weather on Monday to take part in Ireland’s premier long-distance event.

For those who sacrificed the merriment of a Bank Holiday weekend for a sodden 26.2 mile jaunt through the heart of the capital, the sight of the finish line and that coveted medal will have been enough to cure the many ailments brought on by their herculean efforts.

As crowds gathered at the initial meeting point in Fitzwilliam Street from before 9am, the start line seemed like one heaving mass of apprehension as participants contemplated the physical exertions that lay ahead.

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Runners at the Dublin Marathon. Photograph: Cathal Noonan/Inpho

Ethiopia’s Alemu Gamechu made the circuitous run around the Phoenix Park, through Templeogue, across to Belfield and back to the city centre seem more like a cake-walk.

He romped home to claim a maiden Dublin Marathon victory in 2 hours and 14 minutes, just seconds ahead of Kenyan Francis Ngare.

Seán Hehir was the highest-placed home representative in the men’s category as he finished 9th with a time of 2 hours 19 minutes, and Naas man Patrick Monahan truly did his country proud by annexing top spot in the wheelchair equivalent earlier in the morning.

The women’s race was won by Ukraine’s Nataliya Lehonkova who crossed the line after exactly two and a half hours, and Pauline Curley finished best of the Irish in 9th.

Former Olympic champion Sonia O’Sullivan was in town, as was fellow Munster sporting great Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper who took on the unfamiliar role of water boy for thirsty runners.

Of course, for many the event is less about elite athletes and more about the craic, and a typically spectacular array of costumes graced the race with everything from leprechauns, minions, and the (slightly terrifying) 90s TV sensation Mr Blobby all making an appearance.

The crowds more than played their part, and hordes of spectators thronged the finishing strait along Mount Street bearing a selection of amusing signs such as ‘You might feel like crap but you look great’ and ‘Claire, 3 (hours) 30 or I’m keeping the dog’.

Competitors came from across the globe came to take part, and out of the 15,216 people who ran the route there were almost 4,500 foreign visitors representing 62 different nationalities.

Among the large international contingent was 51-year-old Karin Etter-Quabeck from Switzerland, whose husband Thomas Etter proudly held aloft their country’s flag as she passed by.

“She had a lot of cramps in her upper legs and a lot of problems, but she will finish within 3 hours and 20 minutes,” he said, adding that the couple were looking forward to a relaxing evening before heading home on Tuesday.

Over 140 members of An Garda Síochána and the PSNI ran in memory of murdered Garda Tony Golden.

Carlow native Des Lynch attracted plenty of attention in the build-up after it was reported that the 34-year-old would run in honour of staff at the Coombe Hospital who looked after his twin sons Noah and Matthew after a difficult premature birth.

Despite living with rheumatoid arthritis and viral meningitis himself over the last few months, he posted 4 hours 57 minutes.

For north Wales resident Mark Lally, the competition provided the perfect opportunity to contribute to his chosen charity Teen Cancer Trust in the hope of raising money to help alleviate the pain of suffering teenagers.

“About half of teenagers who get cancer don’t have access to the sort of facilities that the Teenage Cancer Trust have. It’s a difficult time for anybody to get cancer, particularly in those teenage years,” said the 45 year-old.

“The crowd were fantastic. I’ve done London, New York, Berlin and a few of those big glamour events. For me, Dublin is the best,” he added.

After 36 years on the go, 2015 entrants can proudly reflect on the fact that they’ve contributed to a small piece of marathon history.

This year will be the last in which the Dublin Marathon is held on a Monday, with organisers taking the decision to move it to Sundays in future to attract greater interest from UK residents who do not observe an October bank holiday.

Elsewhere, emergency services had a largely quiet day, and aside from dealing with a couple of cases of dehydration by the roadside there were no major incidents.