Dublin's rocky road to marathon success

The Irish Life Dublin Marathon is in very poor health. There were 40,000 entry requests for this year's edition, the 43rd edition of the event.

Only 22,500 people can be accommodated on Sunday, which begins with wheelchair users at 8:40 a.m. and four waves of participants the following hour.

There are minor changes to this year's route – a new start line on Leeson Street Lower and the finish line being moved to Mount Street Upper – but Europe's fourth largest marathon remains one of the most prestigious and popular on the calendar.

The holiday weekend has now become synonymous with the 26.2-mile trek around the capital, with tens of thousands lining the streets and creating a carnival atmosphere along the route.

According to a financial report from UCD, the marathon is estimated to bring in €26.5 million for the city.

But that wasn't always the case, and for many years the marathon struggled from year to year, desperately seeking sponsors and trying to increase the event's profile at home and abroad.

After breaking ground in 1980 with the start of the first ever Dublin Marathon, the first editions were a resounding success.

By 1982, 11,076 people had registered to take part, making it the fourth largest marathon after London, New York and Honolulu, but financial concerns were never too great.

It was certainly a different time. There was no chip timing, mass signage or bag drop-off. Little attention was paid to those under 18 who wanted to take part.

In 1981, as a 12-year-old, Conor Faughnan clocked a time of four hours and 20 minutes.

“The crowd was so big that it took 30 minutes on the race clock to get under the starting gate,” he told journalist Sean McGoldrick “The Dublin Marathon: Celebrating 40 Years”.

“It took another mile or two before the field thinned out enough that I could actually run. My ground time was probably closer to 3.50, which was more in line with my training times.”

Entry to the first marathon cost £1.50, but a year later this amount was increased to £5 when it was announced at the time that the full entry price was £20.

As cost and sponsorship issues faded beneath the surface, interest continued to grow.

The 8,748 finishers who crossed the finish line in 1983 were the highest total until 2008. In contrast, the average number of finishers in the lean years of the 1990s was around the 3,000 mark

Three-time winner Dick Hooper has always believed there is a connection to the economy. The figures from the 1980s and the post-Celtic Tiger era support this argument.

Due to low commercial revenues, the race was in grave danger in 1986 before RTÉ's director general, Vincent Finn, intervened.

Radio 2 has covered the event live every year since its inception and Finn persuaded a number of groups, including RTÉ, to save the event. A total of £10,500 went into the coffers, with Dublin Corporation adding £1,500.

Some argued – including Hooper – that RTÉ had not invested enough in the marathon. This criticism grew louder a year later when the broadcaster announced that it was ending its live television coverage and its formal links with the Dublin Marathon.

“You have the absurd situation where a sporting event partly sponsored by RTÉ should be ignored,” wrote Lindie Naughton in the Evening Press.

In 1989 the financial constraints became clear when prize money was cut by more than 80%.

A coal company, keen to promote its product due to new industry regulations, took part for three years under the slogan “CDL Coallite is delighted to keep the Dublin City Marathon flame burning”.

When the company decided not to renew, it was Groundhog Day in 1992 and the fight for sponsorship resumed. Because the international marathon calendar required confirmation that Dublin would take its place again, the event effectively had six weeks left to run.

Golden Pages stepped into the breach with the added bonus of publishing the marathon registration form in the phone book of most Irish households. Aside from the inaugural event, there were fewer race participants (2,414) in 1992 than at any time before or since.

The giant we know today was on life support. When current race director Jim Aughney took over in 1997, he brought with him fresh ideas and a more professional approach.

He soon resorted to foreign participants to boost the weak numbers.

When London rejected North American charities' requests to participate in their marathon, Aughney discovered a vacancy and used some of the marketing budget to attend trade shows at major international marathons.

In 1998, 356 foreign runners took part. At the turn of the millennium there were more US and Canadian runners running in Dublin than Irish runners.

Last year, 12% of the field were foreign runners, a number that Aughney said has remained consistent.

However, perhaps the most important factor in the steady increase in numbers to today's levels was the creation of the marathon racing series in 2002. The introduction of five-mile, 10-mile and half-marathon races proved to be a fruitful recruiting ground for the event . The 10km race was added later.

“This was the most influential factor in deciding the fate of the Dublin Marathon,” McGoldrick wrote in his detailed history of the event.

“It has built a strong running community that helps both new and experienced runners prepare for the marathon,” says Aughney.

“These positive experiences have shown runners that their Dublin Marathon will be a positive experience and have boosted overall demand.”

The racing series has also helped address the gender imbalance. The series is split roughly 60-40 in the men's favor, but in the past that number has been far more lopsided in the marathon.

Last year the proportion of women increased to 33%, but this work continues.

“We have made progress in the number of female participants, but are continually looking for ways to increase numbers to achieve a ratio that is more consistent with the racing series,” says Aughney.

Aughney, known for his calm demeanor, insists the biggest threat to the event was Covid.

“The pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when races had to be postponed, posed the greatest threats in recent history. There are always challenges in organizing a marathon, but none of them posed a serious risk of outright cancellation outside of a pandemic. ” Years.”

When you consider that the London Marathon (with a record 53,000 participants this year) has around 120 full-time staff, while Dublin's full-time staff numbers can be counted on one hand, you can appreciate the magnitude of the challenge Aughney faces and his dedicated team annually.

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