Meath athlete seeded in Dublin Marathon

Star of the Sea athlete Eoin Callaghan is the top Meath contender for Sunday's Dublin City Marathon.

For the elite runners there is a potential prize pot of €120,000 on offer.

For Callaghan, he has a PB is 2.21.47 from Rotterdam in 2016 and he finished third in the Cork City Marathon in June.

Another man in contention and with Meath connections through Dunboyne AC is Peter Somba from Kenya who has been a regular at various road race events in Meath over the past few years.

Peter won the Limerick half marathon this year in 68.59.

Also familiar to Meath road racing enthusiasts will be Freddy Sittuk (Kenya) who this year won the Cilles five-mile road race (see video clip of start of that race last July - Freddy is away quickly).

 

Freddy's PB IS 2.14.54 from Macao in 2011, but he ran 2.16.05 to finish fourth last year in Dublin.

PETER AND FREDDY AT CILLES AC RACE IN 2017

The race will also serve as the Athletics Ireland’s National Championships with Olympians Lizzie Lee, Caitriona Jennings, Mick Clohisey 
and current national champion Gary O’Hanlon set to line-up. 

This year’s race also incorporates the European Police Championships. 

In the Wheelchair race, four-time champion Patrick Monahan will have to contend with a strong international field. 

For many others taking part, this will be their first marathon and the achievement will be crossing the line.

MAP OF THE ROUTE

Race Director Jim Aughney said:

“We are delighted to again have a sold-out entry of 20,000. 
"The marathon has grown 10-fold from just over 2,000 runners in 1980 to 20,000 today. 
"I am also proud that we are celebrating female runners today, with a special mention to Mary (Hickey) who has competed in every marathon since we started back in 1980.”

Leanne Sheill, Sponsorship Manager at SSE Airtricity, said: 
“As proud health and fitness supporters we are excited for the weekend ahead to see all of the hard work and training commitment  come to fruition. 
"It’s also great to see the fantastic growth of the Dublin Marathon and Race Series over the last number of years making it one of the largest marathons in Europe. 
"I would like to thank the people who make the Dublin Marathon and Race Series so special every year, from runners, supporters to volunteers and the organising committee, including Race Director Jim Aughney, for their outstanding level of effort and commitment.”

 EOIN CALLAGHAN IN ACTION AT BOHERMEEEN AC

Celebrating Female Runners from 70 in 1980 to 7,000 in 2018

The top seed in the women's race is from Lithuania and she is sure to have plenty of 'local' support  She is Remalda Kergyte who had a PB of 2.35.13, Zurich 2014.

Her last marathon was Wien in Austria 2017 running 2.36.46. This year she has run half marathon in 1.21.13.

Also this year it is a celebration of female runners, linking with the nationwide commemoration of Vótáil 100. 

Constance Markievicz, a key campaigner for Irish women’s voting rights, will appear on the finishers medal. 

The Dublin Marathon has over the years, attracted women of all ages and fitness levels from around Ireland and across the globe. 

In 1980 the first year of the event, there were only 70 female runners entered, in 2018 it has increased to 7,000. 

For 66-year-old Mary Hickey, the only woman to have competed in 38 Dublin Marathons was one of the women who took part in the first event in 1980, said: 

“I really feel I'm blessed. It's not everyone that can run a race 39 years in-a-row. 
"Life hits you in so many ways so to get to the start-line every year, I'm amazed and surprised by that really and regard myself as 
very lucky”.

 
LIVE STREAMING
The SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon will be live streamed via the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon YouTube Page. 

Fans will be able to watch every moment of the action live from 8:30am-4:30pm. 

The commentary team for the day will also be made up of some well-known names from the world of Irish Athletics including 
Ian O'Riordan, Frank Greally, Susan Walsh, Fintan Reilly, Liam Moggan, David Carrie and Feidhlim Kelly 
 tune into all the action via http://bit.ly/2yERGfX

WAVES
Wave 1: start 9.00, 
Wave 2 start 9.15 
Wave 3 start 9.30   
Wave 4 start 9.45

PACERS 
Pacers will be running for the following times: 
Wave 1: 3:00, 3:10, 3:20 
Wave 2:  3:30, 3:40 & 3:50, 
Wave 3: 4:00, 4:10 & 4:20, 
Wave 4: 4:30, 4:40, 4:50 & 5:00