Two months out from the published entry deadline of 1st October, entries for the SSE Airtricity Dublin City Marathon have already exceeded 2015’s record number of 15,600 and will close once the safety capacity of 17,500 is reached in the next few days.
The surge in numbers includes many more overseas runners attracted by the hosting of the race for the first time on a Sunday, as opposed to the traditional October Monday bank holiday.
This move was designed to facilitate increased international participation, and will be a strong boost to the argument for supporting sports tourism as another valuable plank in tourism strategy.
Race Organisers are now looking to increase capacity for the 2017 Marathon.
“It’s great to see so much interest this year,” said Race organiser Jim Aughney.
“It shows how important running and staying fit has become in Ireland, as well as how popular Ireland is as a travel destination for the international participants.”
“We have already started looking into ways we can increase capacity for next year, and hope any of those who miss it this year, will keep training and take part next year.”
Shifting away from the August Bank Holiday Weekend, in their case to attract more local runners also worked well for last weekend’s Affidea Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon and Festival of running events in Dublin which attracted over 13,000 runners, including from 53 countries and 47 of the 50 United States.
