Dublin Marathon Group is extending the Irish Life Dublin Marathon experience beyond race day by launching a new realbuzz Shakeout Run, adding another official event to Marathon Weekend and spotlighting the fundraising efforts of charity runners.
The relaxed, non-competitive 5km will take place in Phoenix Park at 9:00 am on Saturday, October 24, the day before the 45th Irish Life Dublin Marathon.
It has been created with Official Charity Partner realbuzz and will initially be open to runners who secured their Marathon entry through the official charity programme.
Those runners have been offered access for €20 per person, plus booking fees, and can also register one friend, family member or supporter.
An additional 45 complimentary places are being made available to the wider Marathon field through a social media competition, reflecting the Dublin Marathon’s 45th staging.
The initiative is another example of major participation events broadening their footprint beyond the central race itself.
Shakeout runs have become an increasingly common feature around major international marathons, creating more opportunities for runners to connect while extending the event experience across an entire weekend.
For Dublin Marathon Group, the realbuzz event also provides another tangible activation around its charity partnership.
Through the Official Charity Programme, realbuzz connects runners with participating charities in Ireland and internationally and provides an alternative route into the sold-out Irish Life Dublin Marathon.
Those runners then commit to fundraising for their selected charities to secure their place.
The Shakeout Run creates a physical focal point for that community immediately before race day, recognising the runners and the charities whose fundraising campaigns have become an increasingly important element of major marathon events.
“The Irish Life Dublin Marathon has always been about more than running,” said Dublin Marathon Group Chief Executive Seán Ó Riain.
“Every bib has a story, and thousands of participants turn their personal Marathon challenge into meaningful support for charities and causes close to their hearts.”
He said the partnership with realbuzz has been instrumental in growing the Marathon’s fundraising impact and connecting runners with charitable causes.
“The realbuzz Shakeout Run brings that partnership to life during Marathon Weekend, giving us an opportunity to recognise the runners, stories and causes behind the miles and celebrate the impact they create before race day begins.”
For realbuzz, the event provides an additional activation point within one of Ireland’s biggest annual mass-participation sporting occasions.
“We’re proud to work with Dublin Marathon Group to help more runners make every mile count by raising vital funds for causes close to their hearts,” said realbuzz Chief Commercial Officer Nick Hollowood.
“The realbuzz Shakeout Run is our way of saying thank you to the runners who have taken on that commitment and bringing them together to celebrate every mile run, every euro raised and every cause supported before they take on the Irish Life Dublin Marathon.”
The addition of the event is commercially interesting as well.
Major endurance events increasingly operate as multi-day sporting festivals rather than single races, creating additional moments for sponsors, charity partners, runners and supporters to engage with the event.
A Saturday morning event creates another audience touchpoint before the main Marathon on Sunday while doing so in a way directly linked to one of the event’s wider social impacts.
All participants will receive a goody bag after completing the 5km.
Runners who secured their Marathon place through the Official Charity Programme are being contacted directly with registration details.
Other registered 2026 Marathon runners can enter the competition for one of the 45 additional places through Dublin Marathon’s social media channels until Sunday, September 20.
The 45th Irish Life Dublin Marathon will take place on Sunday, October 25.
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
The smartest sponsorship activations increasingly create something useful or memorable for participants rather than simply adding another layer of branding.
This does that well.
Realbuzz already has an important functional role within the Dublin Marathon ecosystem through connecting runners and charities. The Shakeout Run turns that relationship into an experience.
It also helps Dublin Marathon Group build the sense of Marathon Weekend as something larger than the Sunday race.
That is commercially valuable, valuable for the participating charities, and, most importantly, gives recognition to a community of runners whose contribution can often stretch well beyond the 26.2 miles they complete on race day.
Dublin Marathon Group, Dublin City Council and Irish Life are full members of Sport for Business. Dublin City Council are the Official partners of our Community and Participation Coverage.
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Image Credit: Dublin Marathon Group
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