May date confirmed for Dublin City half marathon 2026

The second edition of the Dublin City half marathon will take place on Sunday, May 3 2026.

Following a highly successful first event in March of this year, the organisers have announced a change of month for the the 2026 race, designed to better balance the needs of runners, organisers, and the wider city community.

Following runner feedback on last year’s first-come, first-served system, the event will move to a ballot-based entry process. This new approach aims to create a fairer process, giving all interested runners an equal opportunity to take part.

The general ballot will be open for seven days from 7am on Friday, January 16 until midnight on Thursday, January 22 on the Eventmaster website. The ballot URL will be published closer to the opening date.

Entrants will be notified of their ballot outcome by email in batches between Wednesday, January 28 and Thursday, January 29. Notifications will be issued in stages, with unsuccessful applicants notified first, followed by successful applicants. The full notification process may take up to two days to complete.

The race capacity for 2026 is 12,500, agreed with statutory agencies to ensure participant safety and a high-quality race experience. A total of 11,200 places will be available through the public ballot. The remaining entries will be allocated to our charity partners, elite athletes, international sports tour operators, and community participation programmes.

A €4 ballot entry fee (plus platform and payment transaction fees) will apply to all applicants entering the 2026 Dublin City half marathon ballot. Those who are unsuccessful in the ballot will receive a full refund of the €4 ballot fee.

The entry fee for the 2026 Dublin City half marathon is €75. Successful ballot entrants will have the €4 ballot fee deducted and will be required to pay the remaining balance of €71 to confirm their place.

The entry fee includes an official event t-shirt, finisher medal and postal delivery of the race bib. The fee also reflects the scale, quality and significant logistical costs involved in staging a major road race in Dublin city centre, which operates on a similar city-centre footprint and delivery scale to the capital's marathon.

While not all runners may secure a place through the ballot, additional entry opportunities may become available via the official transfer window which will take place from Thursday, April 2 to Wednesday, April 8.