I never dreamed I could accomplish a marathon.. but thanks to Irongirl Judy Molnar I have done it.. thanks Judy! I am now an active dreamer! Thanks also to my husband .. he walked the marathon also with me. I threw away my handicapped parking sticker a couple years ago and began walking. My New Year's resolution was to keep walking and to try to regain my health. I have arthritis and have several other medical problems.. besides being almost 70 pounds overweight. I was intending on only doing half of the race. My goal all along has been 13 miles.. but.. I got caught up in the thrill and the emotions.. and even though it was raining.. I walked the entire race.. I might have been 6819 to finish.. but finish I did! I ache today.. But every muscle and bone that aches is a reminder to me... I can do anything I want to do! Even finish a marathon across the world... at the age of 51 & 7 months! To all others that were there with me.. thank you for the inspiration.. my only regret.. because I was so far back.. I could not see the winning thrilling moments... but then again.. I guess we were all winners! The good thing about the rain was around the 20 mile marker we looked up and there was a beautiful rainbow.. which my husband and I followed to the finish line!
I was part of the Joints in Motion Team.. and we raised over 3 Million Dollars for Arthritis Foundation!!

This was my first marathon, and whilst I was excited to complete it in such a beautiful city, I was sorry to see that the bad weather kept many potential spectators away. The loneliest stretches of the course were the hardest.
Highlights:
1) The water bottles were excellent.
2) The sun when it finally came out, around mile 17.
3) The pints of Guiness afterwards
Drawbacks:
1) The organization of the expo. I waited in line for 2 hours to get my packet. There should have been specific lines for specific number groups.
2) There should have been some type of food (powerbars, gels, candies) at the waterstop.
3) More spectators would have been nice.
But overall, I would do it again, if I could only guarantee a dry day!

This was a new experience for me and did not know what to expect really. The Fans were very good those who turned up in the cold weather and rain. They really helped me carry on especially after 23 miles when I started to tire. I shall definitley be back for this one! I have to now, seeing that I ran it in 3hrs 40min not bad for a forty two year old first timer. The training since May paid off.

I ran this race again this year and once again the organisation was flawless. This year the weather was really bad, cold and wet, and finishing was a struggle. The bad conditions cut down on the number of spectators and so the atmosphere was more muted. Loads of American (4000 aprox) and UK (1000 aprox) visitors again with very vocal support for all. There were plenty of 'Dubs' as well though and the mix works well. There were several course changes this year, including the start/finish but all were improvements as far as I could see.

I ran this race in 1999 in almost perfect conditions. The course is fairly flat with some great highlights: St Stephens Square, Ballsbridge and a great finish on O'Connell Street. Half of the field are Americans and I would say that over half of the spectators were also American. It felt more like an American race than Irish. A good race & brilliant week-end if you like a post-race drink!

The Dublin City Marathon is my home town race and so I'm probably biased, but, my experience of this race was very positive. In particular the ability of the organisers to make the day run as smoothly as it did was commendable. The race souvenirs were very nice and the course well lined with spectators for the most part. About 7,000 runners took part and I'd highly reccommend the race.