Organisers of the Dublin Marathon have scrapped the priority entry system, a move aimed at increasing women’s participation and the number of first-time runners.
This year’s 44th running of the event on Sunday, October 26th, is once again a 22,500-entry sell-out. About 70 per cent of those were decided on the priority early-entry system – which guaranteed a spot to all those who entered the race the previous year, whether they showed up or not.
The 48-hour priority entry, first introduced in 2017, was designed to reward loyal Dublin Marathon runners during its leaner years. By 2019, however, with the demand for entries outpacing the supply, race entry was capped at 22,500.
From 2026 onwards, all general entries will be allocated through a lottery-based ballot system.
RM Block
“This change is designed to create a fairer balance between previous participants and newcomers,” said a Dublin Marathon statement. “More places will be made available for first-time runners, as approximately 70 per cent of entries in recent years have gone to previous participants.
“In addition, efforts will focus on increasing female representation, as women currently make up only 36 per cent of the field.”
Given the continued high uptake of priority entries, which are decided before the remaining entries go into a lottery, this created a bias towards male runners. Of the 17,719 official race finishers last year, 12,144 were men and 5,560 were women (with 15 listed as non-binary).
Priority entry also significantly reduced the number of runners looking to take part in Dublin for the first time, as most of them are relying on coming out of the lottery. There will still be a smaller allocation of entries for runners who entered the previous year, but their place will no longer be guaranteed.
This year, the preferential early entry was also open for all women who entered the 2024 Dublin Half Marathon. This was part of the effort to support more women’s entrants to the marathon.
Earlier this month, Irish Life announced it would extend its Dublin Marathon title sponsorship for an additional four years, from 2026 to 2029, and the event organisers are exploring ways to grow the event further.
It is hoped that scrapping the preferential entry will also decrease the number of no-shows on race day.
After experiencing a worrying decline in the uptake of race-day entries in recent years, the organisers expressed their satisfaction in reversing that trend for last year’s event.
Of the 22,500 sell-out, just more than 18,000 (18,091) made it through the start line on Leeson Street last October, and according to the race results there were 17,719 official finishers, just shy of the event record.
In contrast, for the 2023 Dublin Marathon, also a 22,500 sell-out, only 16,540 runners started the race, with 16,347 listed as official race finishers – meaning about 6,000 race entries went unused, despite all paying the entry fee of €110, plus a handling charge of €5.50.
Last year, a new transfer window opened from July 24th to August 26th, about a month later than the previous year, which according to the organisers is the closest workable date to race day.
Places will again be reserved for Athletics Ireland club members, as since 2003 the race also doubles as the national marathon championships.
Runners who have previously taken part will still be well represented, as those entering the ballot can indicate if they have taken part in the Dublin Marathon since 2016.
If runners are unsuccessful in the ballot, they will have additional chances to gain entry through the transfer window and a refund system, both of which will release returned places back into circulation. The dates for the transfer window and the refund process will be announced in 2026.
A €5 administration fee will apply to ballot entries to cover processing and verification costs. This fee will be redeemable against the full €110 entry fee if successful or non-refundable if unsuccessful. Only one ballot entry per person is permitted.
Applications for entry for the 2026 Irish Life Dublin Marathon via the ballot system will open for six days at 7am on Wednesday, November 12th, on irishlifedublinmarathon.ie and will close on Monday, November 17th, at midnight.
