Dublin marathon Ballot Sparks Runner Frustration
Many runners expressed dissatisfaction with the Dublin Marathon entry ballot results. however, those familiar with the Irish running scene anticipated this outcome.
Following the 2019 event, a lottery-based ballot was introduced as demand for entries began to exceed availability. For the upcoming marathon, organizers eliminated the preferred entry route, which previously guaranteed a spot to all previous entrants, nonetheless of participation.
This change aimed to increase participation among women and first-time marathoners. However, it appears to have intensified the competitive nature of the ballot, which opened for six days this month for the 2026 event.
organizers announced a record 47,000 applications for the 22,500 available places in next October’s race. The ballot selected 17,200 runners, with a near 50-50 split between first-time and returning participants. The remaining 5,300 slots will be allocated to charity partners, international tour groups, runners who meet age-qualifying standards, and elite athletes.
The results prompted widespread disappointment among unsuccessful applicants. A point of contention was the €5 management fee applied to all ballot entries to cover processing costs. While redeemable against the €110 entry fee for triumphant applicants, the organizers retained €149,000 in administration fees from the 29,800 unsuccessful applicants.
As a not-for-profit organization, these funds are reinvested into the dublin Marathon’s operation, and, like many costs, are increasing. Organizers were transparent about the administration fee from the outset. The option – increasing the €110 entry fee, which has remained unchanged for three years – was likely to have provoked similar criticism.
The current system contrasts sharply with the inaugural Dublin Marathon in October 1980. That event was initially conceived more as a publicity stunt than a test of athletic endurance, the brainchild of Louis Hogan, a senior producer with RTÉ Radio.
While vacationing in New York in 1978, Hogan encountered a nascent marathon in Central Park. He envisioned a similar event in dublin as a promotional platform for RTÉ’s new pop music station, Radio 2.
Lacking expertise in running, Hogan enlisted the help of Noel Carroll, a two-time Olympian. Carroll,already known to RTÉ Radio listeners as the public relations officer for Dublin Corporation,used his Monday evening segments on Jim O’Neill’s Drivetime show to actively recruit runners,some of whom were unfamiliar with the marathon distance.
Despite this, they secured 1,950 race