Dublin Marathon 2026: international victories and new national champions to celebrate
By AthRecs Editorial · 4 min read
Abay Alemu Lesa and Zenebu Fikdau Jebesa won the international races, while Hugh Armstrong and Judith Storm claimed their first national marathon titles. Dublin’s 25 October marathon rewarded established contenders and athletes whose progress has come quickly.
Judith Storm’s second Dublin Marathon ended with a national title. Hugh Armstrong turned an earlier championship bronze into gold. Alongside the international victories of Abay Alemu Lesa and Zenebu Fikdau Jebesa, their achievements gave the 2026 Irish Life Dublin Marathon several stories worth following beyond the first finishers.
The race took place on Sunday 25 October over a course that carried runners from Leeson Street, across the Liffey and through Phoenix Park, before returning south towards the finish on Mount Street. The international races, Irish championships and wheelchair competition brought different contests to the same city streets.
Dublin Marathon 2026: international podiums
Abay Alemu Lesa won the men’s race in 2:10:28, eight seconds ahead of Ebba Chala, with Sahlesilassie Nigussie third. Zenebu Fikdau Jebesa led an Ethiopian sweep of the women’s podium in 2:24:26. The organiser described her performance as a personal best, improving her previous mark by 17 seconds.
Tenebeb Nega Aynalem and Sechele Dalasa Adunga completed the women’s top three. The organiser’s published podiums capture both the narrow men’s winning margin and the depth of the Ethiopian women’s performances.
| Place | Men | Time | Women | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abay Alemu Lesa | 2:10:28 | Zenebu Fikdau Jebesa | 2:24:26 |
| 2 | Ebba Chala | 2:10:36 | Tenebeb Nega Aynalem | 2:25:50 |
| 3 | Sahlesilassie Nigussie | 2:11:25 | Sechele Dalasa Adunga | 2:27:22 |
Sources: Irish Life Dublin Marathon: official race report and podiums
First national marathon titles for Armstrong and Storm
Hugh Armstrong’s 2:14:51 earned national gold for Ballina AC. Athletics Ireland reported that he moved clear of Killian Mooney after about 35km. Mooney finished second in 2:15:44, with Stephen McAuley of Letterkenny AC third in 2:16:37.
Judith Storm brought the women’s title to City of Derry Spartans in 2:35:46. Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill of West Limerick AC took silver and Meghan Ryan of Dundrum South Dublin AC bronze. These were the Irish championship placings within the wider marathon.
The wheelchair race added another title to Patrick Monahan’s record. The Le Cheile AC athlete won for the ninth time, finishing in 1:46:03.
Sources: Athletics Ireland: national championships and wheelchair result
The progress behind the medals
Judith Storm’s recent results show how far she has progressed. Athletics Ireland’s race-week preview recorded 2:47:07 on her Dublin debut in 2025, followed by 2:39:09 in Belfast earlier in 2026. She then won the Belfast Half Marathon in September in 1:14:14. Her return to Dublin brought the national marathon title.
Stephen McAuley’s route to bronze also began relatively recently. The federation described a progression from taking up running in late 2021 and a 3:19 marathon debut to 2:15:26 in Valencia in 2025. He arrived in Dublin with victories at the Cork City Marathon and National 10 Mile Championships already part of his 2026 season.
Meghan Ryan brought established road credentials. A former national five-mile and ten-mile champion, she had finished fourth among the Irish women in Dublin the previous year and won September’s Irish Life Dublin Half Marathon. This time she reached the marathon podium.
Sources: Athletics Ireland: source-supported athlete background
A championship within a city-wide running occasion
The championships sat within an event that had grown from around 1,300 participants in its inaugural year of 1980 to 22,500 entries for the 45th running. Those entry figures describe the scale of the preparations, rather than a count of finishers.
The organiser’s programme included international competitors, club runners, wheelchair athletes, charity fundraisers and first-time marathoners. It also set out plans for 2,000 volunteers and 15 designated support zones, from the early miles around the Liffey to the final approach along Northumberland Road.
The 2026 finisher medal marked the occasion with the number 45 inside a laurel wreath. For athletes returning with a championship medal as well, it records a particularly successful day. For the wider field, it commemorates completing the same marathon distance through Dublin.
Sources: Irish Life Dublin Marathon: 2026 programme and event background
Results status and official records
Results reviewed on 2 November 2026: Athletics Ireland linked the event results as provisional. The organiser’s summary does not specify chip or gun times, so the table retains its published times without adding a timing-method label.
Sources: Athletics Ireland: provisional-results qualification