Dublin Marathon 2022

after i got my t-shirt at the finish, walked round the corner and there were 2 guys just handing them out randomly without checking whether

people already had them or had their numbers marked, beside the bag dop area

Actually one other major gripe and this was with the participants and not the race... The amount of slow walkers and joggers wearing headphones was disappointing. Doing events like this are made brilliant by the fantastic stories of people and chatting along the way if you are doing a slow marathon it would have been great to chat and have the Banter. Having the crack with all the support. It really makes the kilometres fly. But each to their own I suppose.

It must be a lonely 5/6 hours just plodding along with your headphones. Surely ya can do that without paying €100 quid.

I was supporting on Sunday and really enjoyed it. My wife was in wave 4, so was primarily following that wave... saw all the waves pass up Chesterfield Avenue and then moved across to the Chapelizod exit to see more of wave 4. I was struck by the amount of people in waves 1 or 2 who had no business being there and were already under serious pressure by mile 5. The music in the Phoenix Park ended mid wave-4, which must be pretty disheartening for runners at the back of the field.

Walked through the Chapelizod water stop as the tail end of wave 4 passed through. It was an eye-opener to see the colossal amount of barely-used bottles and plastic cups strewn across both sides of the road. I know that I 100% prefer a bottle when I'm racing, but having seen the sheer amount of plastic waste at just one water stop, I'd be entirely happy for more sustainable options be pursued.

I made my way across to Milltown afterwards. Safe to say that 95% of the participants I saw here were walking by this stage. It is like a completely different sport down the field compared to the earlier waves, and to be honest I've lots of respect for the people at this end of things. The support had thinned out a lot by this stage too, but the runners were very appreciative of the encouragement.

Great to meet some new and familiar faces in McGrattan's afterwards - missed a few as we were late arrivers, but on the plus side this meant that the queues at the bar were beginning to thin as we landed. The €110 price tag for next year wouldn't be a deal-breaker on it's own accord, but when you throw in hotels and other costs of travelling up for the weekend it definitely gives a reason to explore alternatives.

I was running with a friend who admitted at the start that he'd done precisely one long run of ~25k! He does a fair bit of cycling so is fit enough. Our goal was ~4:08 and we were on pace 'til ~37k or so before the lack of long runs caught up with him. However we just slowed down a bit as he was determined there would be no walking so ended up coming home in 4:12. Was a bit worried after the finish line as he was feeling terrible & it was a long walk to get the goodie bags to get him some water but all was ok in the end.

I really enjoyed the day, saw lots of people I knew in the supporters along the way & got a huge cheer from a large group of Sanctuary Runners towards the end. 

Just a spectator this year, knew a few running so hoped to give them a cheer just after Myo's Castleknock.

That's always a busy spot, so we moved up further towards White's Gate etc where it spaces out a bit.

Definitely noticed that trend of spectators leaning out, and then dominoes onto the next, so get what people are saying about being nearly blocked.

Seemed like a great day for it, and definitely left me with FOMO. Think it's really poor there's nowhere to live stream it, it would have been great to pop home after the slower waves, and catch the remainder on TV. It wouldn't have been viable for me to chase the pack through various spots.

I'm always a bit bemused by some people's wave choice. We got there for the 3 hour pacers, and at just 11km, I'd have thought a decent number of them would struggle to get around - maybe it's to ensure they get around before dark? Not doubting their commitment or efforts, just wonder if it's difficult watching 3:30 runners blasting by.

Heh, thanks so much for the feedback. We are just starting out on this journey and quite scared about what the future holds. You and the other guys I met on Sunday have just reinforced what the doc told us, that there is nothing my son can't do. Maybe he was also included being an astronaut!!! Hope you had a great day.

I commented on this too. You would miss out on so much random encouragement from the strangers all willing you on.

I will never forget my last marathon from Milltown to the top of Roebuck Hill the sheer encouragement which the crowd cheering, clapping, willing you on, gives you. It was worth all the Running Songs on my playlist could ever give me. On Sunday, I tried to give it back to everyone running because I know how important it is.

A friend of mine ran it in 2019 and despite 3 of us screaming at him as he ran over the bridge at Dolphins Barn, he didn't realise we were there.

We are becoming more introverted and anti-social as a society and each to their own, but to me the crowd is what makes the DCM a great event. And the other runners who you chat with for a few minutes here and there.

As you say, you could run the 42k and have water in the front garden and its the same thing.

Agree with this. I was around the place in a few spots, etc and couldn't believe it when I saw some people coming through with the 3:20 pacers and clearly flagging before even getting 1/2 way. It was clear that they were WAY out of their depth.

I have heard so many people say "yeah, sure I'll get to 20-22 miles and hope to see it out from there" before. I think they don't realise that is not how it works. Race at haste, repent at leisure as they say!

Also, did they let a load of walkers off early? A load of them arrived around 1/2 way shortly after the leaders!

Confused by that too. Also thought the pictures were fairly crap. I have about 40, and maybe 15 are from the first 1.5miles before you head up to North Circular.

Not sure if it's number related, I had my umber pinned to my belt which is normally fine but the large barcode at the bottom kept blowing up and covering the number.

It will have your finishing time on it so they can't give them out on the finish line. It's a little piece you can put on the medal so you have the finishing time on the medal too as a momento

Normally can you defer an entry or was that just this year because of Covid? Friend is hoping to do NYC but if that falls through she'll do Dublin again.

No you can't defer it. It was a covid measure. It cost me €93 this year! Oh well, my friend had a good day.

Anyone know what the uptake on photos are?

Me personally I’ve never purchased them. I usually look awful in them

Felt the finisherpix bundle was overpriced so threw €113 on some race a year away instead.